Ye Haw! Cowboy Boots

Western Boots with suits

When you look at Washington State from outside of it, or from within the Puget Sound region, you most likely have an image of hip urban cities with a west coast vibe, supported by aerospace, software, and online goods and services.

And in a way, that’s true.

But it is also true that the vast majority of the landmass is extremely rural, and well over half of it is dry. Without irrigation, really dry.

So, we’ve got lots of urban professionals here in Washington. But we’ve also got lots of cowboys.

And they don’t really mix much. That’s understandable given that there is a massive mountain range separating them.

But one place they do mix is our Legislature. Because the entire landmass of our State is divided up into Districts, so we’ve got folks from Republic, and Winthrop mixing with folks from Seattle, and Mercer Island. Right there in our Legislature, for about four months each year.

Photo by Nicole Cavelli on Unsplash

Now, I’ve got to watch all of that, for most of my life. When I was a kid, my grandfather was a member there, and I spent a lot of time hanging out in the Capitol each year. Then I went to work there for a couple of decades, heck my wife still works there. And in the years since, I’ve lobbied for small municipal governments there.

All this has exposed me to a lot of folks, and how they dress in that environment.

Now me, I’ve been known to dress kind of odd on rare occasion.

I remember once I wandered around there for a day with a large frame handgun openly carried on my hip. But it was a day in which a Legislative shooting contest was being held, and the political party that controls the place now didn’t control it then. If I tried that today, I’d never make it through the door.

Once to my wife’s undying shame I found this really cool sports jacket. Some sort of dark wine color, silk. I thought it was the greatest thing ever and wore it one day. I’ve not seen it since, I think it must have made a quick trip to the garbage can. Much like the time I came home with a cool looking orange shirt. I don’t think I ever actually made it out of the house wearing that shirt.

But, these are of course outliers. And irrelevant to today’s essay, which is all about dressing professionally, with a western flair. And all of this is a really long way of getting to my point.

Yesterday I was reading some online forum or another, and a trial attorney who picked up a case in Kansas was asking advice about wearing cowboy boots with his suit to court.

Well, I figure that I’ve got a lot of relevant experience with just that.

Not in a courtroom setting, but certainly in a Legislative setting.

Men wearing suits with western boots.

And I got to thinking, maybe this is relevant to Freemasonry. Because lots of Masons, and Lodges like to dress up for Lodge meetings. And some might wonder about the appropriateness of cowboy boots with suits.

So, here you go, a brief primer on wearing boots with suits, from my own decades of experience in an environment that demands professionalism.

I’m sticking to men’s dress with this. Women’s dress has completely different demands.

Undoubtedly not all men in that environment wear western boots. If I had to guess, I’d guess that it is less than half, but more than a quarter. I wore them to the office every day for going on twenty years, and so did the Senator I worked for. Cowboy boots with suits is not a rare thing at all here. And just to be clear, I’m talking about real suits, the kind normal men wear, not those odd looking ‘western suits.’ Those things are never seen.

Another thing I should point out is that cowboy boots don’t code an individual to one political party or another. They are worn by men from across the political spectrum.

Based on the fact that they are commonly worn by our lawmakers in their official capacity, and that they don’t code to one party or another, I can safely say that western boots are perfectly appropriate for Masonic functions, no matter how formal or informal those functions might be.

If all of this long, rambling, nonsense has convinced you to give a pair of western boots a try, here’s a little bit that you need to know, before you go shopping:

They are basically going to come in two forms. I’ll call these two forms Regular and Roper. Regular is the most common form. Ropers have a shorter shaft (they don’t go so high up your leg) and a lower heel. Both forms are perfectly acceptable. Myself, I’ve never worn Ropers because I don’t like the shorter shaft, but my old boss has never worn anything but Ropers. It’s all just a matter of preference.

There’s also a big variation in toe shape. Everything from Pointy to Square with lots in between. This is also a matter of personal preference. I’ve not found one shape to be anymore comfortable than another, and I’ve worn the full variety of toe shapes over the years. The only thing to remember is that if you wear boots with a big square toe, folks who know about such things are going to assume that you don’t ride horses. The pointed toe and high heel on cowboy boots both exist to function well with stirrups.

You’ve found a boot that you like the look of.

Now pick it up and turn it over so that you can look at the bottom. Is the sole leather or rubber? If it is rubber, that’s not a boot that you should be wearing with a suit. That boot is for tramping around in the mud. Put it back. Just as with quality dress shoes, you are looking for a leather sole. Plus, you can dance a heck of a lot better in a leather soled boot!

While you are looking, direct your eyes towards the couple of inches where the heel and the sole meet. Are there little nail looking pegs there? If there are, the boot in your hand is properly constructed and will both last and be comfortable. If there aren’t, it’s a junker. Put it back.

Finally, look inside the boot and see where it is made. If it is in the United States or Mexico, that’s good. Don’t be nervous about Mexican manufacture, some really fine cowboy boots are made there. Across the Pacific Ocean, not good.

Now that you’ve got this thing in hand, you’ve got to find the size that fits.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is buy a pair of proper socks to try it on. Get some ‘boot socks.’ Whatever appeals to you. These will be a bit thicker than regular socks, and reach higher on your leg. Remember that color doesn’t matter, when you are wearing boots no one can see your socks! Any old ‘boot socks’ will do, but if you want a recommendation, I’m pretty darn fond of those made by Dan Post.

Then put your foot into that baby! You’ll have to pull to get your heel to seat. That’s normal. You’re going to want the boot to feel good, just like any other pair of shoes, but to hold your foot. You don’t want the front of your foot moving around from side to side in there. Different from other shoes, you’re going to want to feel your heel slip as you walk around. If your heel isn’t slipping up when you take a step in new western boots, the boots are too small. This heel slip thing is really important, and of course different than with shoes, so don’t neglect it if you want to end up with comfortable boots.

Now you’ve got your boots. Let the fun begin!

But when wearing them with dress clothes, we have to remember a few little things. Mainly we have to remember that they need not match. Cowboy boots are designed to be noticed, to stand out, to add flair. Their color need not match your slacks or your suit, not your belt, nothing at all. Your boots are what they are, stand alone, matching with nothing at all. That’s the way it’s done.

The only exception to this, in my mind, is when wearing a tuxedo. I have shined black dress boots to wear when I wear a tuxedo. I think it might look kind of odd to wear a light brown ostrich boot with a navy blue shank along with a tuxedo. Anything other than Black or White Tie, you are good to go.

Growing beyond boots just a bit, if you are so inclined, you can snag a flashy belt to go with those flashy boots if you’d like. Again, it need not match the boots. Just don’t put one of those Championship Buckles on the belt. Unless you actually won it in a rodeo. Get a snazzy buckle to go with the snazzy belt, but avoid one designed to be a trophy in order to avoid embarrassment later. Flashy belts are perfectly appropriate with flashy boots when wearing a suit.

The look can be completed of course with a cowboy hat or a bolo tie. But when it comes to these two items, I would urge caution. We do have Legislators here who wear bolo ties with suits, and we have Legislators who wear cowboy hats with their suits. But, the other things that they have done in their lives, or still do, lend credibility to those items. They have worked with cattle, or horses, or driven a combine. Western boots and belts are perfectly appropriate for all men in a formal setting. The boots and bolo can be as well, but based on who is wearing them can appear to be a costume instead.

There you go! Everything you need to know about wearing boots with your suit, or tuxedo at Lodge! Wear ‘em with a smile!

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