Article (and neutral chaos provided) by Paige Venturi
I don’t know who, what, when, or where it started– and I don’t think I need to know– but the hottest boot trend of 2019 is…
The COWBOY boot.
As a girl who is a born and raised Hoosier that spurns any and every association with Indiana and being “country,” this trend appalled me at first. How was it that this mid-western staple was suddenly a trendy accessory?
I grew up with quite a few people who wore cowboy boots on the daily. Many wore them to work on farms, raise horses, or ride for show/have a horse-focused hobby. I never saw my grandfather a day in his life where he wasn’t wearing cowboy boots. Even my mom rode barrel for the county fair growing up in Illinois.
Never. And I mean never. Did I associate these boots with fashion.
As I moved away from Indiana this summer and started walking the streets of New York, I didn’t see black-clad fashion mavens strutting in high-heels, as I had always envisioned them. (Obviously, it’s New York. Walk, and walk fast. Or get eaten alive. )
Sure, I lowered my expectations to cute, chunky tennis shoes– definitely still popular– but common outfits grew to include cowboy boots.
And really cute ones at that!
Then this realization hit me like a city cab: the boot doesn’t make you country. You make the boot into whatever the hell you want it to be.
Ever since I’ve hopped on to this trend with full force; I even bought a pair of vintage woven, chunky-heeled cowboy boots myself.
Many designer variations have included fun color-blocking, cool embroidery, animal print and patterns, as well as edgy-studding. So whatever your dream “look” is, you can achieve it while wearing cowboy boots at the same time.
So go ahead, channel your inner Taylor Swift circa 2006! There’s a pair of boots out there waiting for you and your preppy/bohemian/trendy/grungy self.
Here’s even a few pairs to get you going:
Photos courtesy of ManRepeller and InStyle.