Bankers and Cowboy Boots

The obsession about whether on not one should wear cowboy boots continues, as evidenced by this google search which landed on my "Cowboy Boots and Jeans" web page:

The question from someone at Wachovia Bank's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, was:  "can I wear cowboy boots with a suit?"

Well of course you can... the question is, do you want to?  Does the corporate dress code say anything about it?  Probably not.  Corporate dress codes have relaxed a lot in the past decade.  As long as you're not wearing flip-flops or crocs, you can wear anything you like on your feet.

So I return, once again, to the age-old mantra, it is not if you can but what you think of yourself and your fear of what others may say.

Get over it.  Dress cowboy boots look fine with a suit.  On those rare occasions when I wear a suit, be it to an office or a high-class social function, I wear nice-looking cowboy boots.  If the boots are well-shined and don't have dramatic flairs like colorful inlays or contrasting colors of scales from snakes, or are not dyed unusual colors, then certainly, you CAN and you SHOULD wear cowboy boots with a suit.

But only you make that choice.  What drives the choice is usually not the quality of the boot or its appearance, but your own internal fears or concerns about other people's perceptions.  Be your own man.  Boot up!

Life is short:  wear boots!