Here at the University of Oklahoma, you will find a pair of cowboy boots in nearly everyone’s closet. Wearing them to class isn’t really the norm (unless you’re a frat boy and are also rocking a Columbia fishing shirt and backwards Ralph Lauren Polo hat), but girls here save them for occasions like home football games and country concerts. At OU, cowboy boots signify that you’re ready to dance and have a great time. I’ve had the same pair all through college, and the more beat-up they get, the more comfortable they feel!
Though cowboy boots aren’t unusual in parts of the midwest and the south, in many regions of the United States (and in other countries) these boots can be a neat way to make your outfit stand out. This week’s challenge is to see cowboy boots as a fashion statement rather than just a part of a costume.
Need to brush up on how to rock cowboy boots without looking ridiculous? Read on!
Tips and Tricks for Pulling off Cowboy Boots
- Consider the material and color. Suede boots look great, but are really difficult to maintain. Leather boots are the most classic, and they come in every color, the most popular options being black, brown, white, and red. I prefer boots that are made to be worn out, but some girls like styles that are more structured and formal.
- Think about the style and shape. Pointed toes look the most authentic, but a rounded or square toe might make the boots more versatile. Calf-length cowboy boots are the most traditional, but ankle boots will give your outfit a nice boho-chic aesthetic.
- Consider your budget. Forever 21 and Payless have cheap pairs that will be perfect if you only plan on wearing them every once in awhile. However, if you plan on having your cowboy boots for a long time, it’s worth the splurge for a nice pair. They’ll mold to your feet and become one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes in your closet!
- Try them under your jeans. This is the way to go if you’re hesitant about wearing them out and about. They’ll give you a bit of a height boost and make your butt look tiny. Obviously this won’t work with your skinnies – cowboy boots will look best under boot cut or flared jeans.
- Flaunt them by wearing them over a pair of skinny jeans, jeggings, leggings, tights, or bare legs!
- Keep them from looking costume-esque by refraining from wearing double denim, plaid shirts, a fringed vest, or your Daisy Dukes with them. I know I’m preaching to the choir, but the gingham dress/pigtails/cowboy boots look only works on occasions like Halloween.
- Dress them up by wearing them with a dress! Cowboy boots will look great with almost any casual dress you own.
- Keep the rest simple. Cowboy boots make enough of a statement on their own — let them have the spotlight by keeping the rest of your outfit relatively basic.
Outfit Inspiration
Dress, Boots, Bracelets, Ring, Cardigan
A simple dress and cardigan will look awesome with a pair of ankle-high, vintage-inspired cowboy boots. The bulk around your ankles, combined with the amount of leg revealed will make your gams look so slender! Finish with a stack of bracelets and a cocktail ring.
Sweater, Jeans, Earrings, Boots, Necklace
A lacy knit jumper and skinny jean combo will look casual and chic with a pair of worn-out cowboy boots. Add extra interest with cute earrings and an owl pendant necklace.
Dress, Ring, Jacket, Boots, Tights
In fickle spring weather, tights will keep you warm and make a pair of cowboy boots pop! Pair them with a dress and denim jacket, and finish with some cute jewelry.
CF Reader Looks
Emily Duckworth- Indianapolis, IN
I love my Lucchese cowboy boots! I’ve had them for about 3 years and really like them paired with skirts and dresses. For class, I put together my favorite pink cotton dress, brown tights, and a open front brown dressed up vest. I kept the accessories simple with the locket.
Rocked the Challenge? Send in Photos!
Did you wear cowboy boots this week? Before taking them off and stashing them, take a couple snapshots and send them to fashionchallenge AT collegefashion.net along with your name, school, a description of what you’re wearing, and the URL of your blog if you have one. We’ll feature your photos here to inspire other CF readers.
We can make you a celebrity overnight. 🙂
What Do You Think?
Do you have a pair of cowboy boots? What are your favorite things to wear with? What fashion challenges would you like to see in the future? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment!
I go to the University of Calgary … EVERYONE wears cowboy boots out here. To class, to clubs, to concerts and to football games.
Incidentally, I don’t actually own a pair! So this is a great post for when I am going to buy some! Thanks!!
I love it! It’s a wonderful post! 🙂
I do have cowboy boots and I bought them about two years back when now one wore them in our contry so I was quite exceptional with my skinny jeans in those boots. But I still love to wear them with leggins, jeans and my red coat. 🙂
I love cowboy boots! I own several pair.. I really like the ankle cowboy boots.
I have these but i dont know what to wear with them… I dont really have any casual dresses but I REALLy wanna wear them. HELP!
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.aldoshoesshop.com/cpft/aldo-womens-boots-shoes-41SA6stns5L.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.aldoshoesshop.com/aldo-pompa-clearance-womens-boots-13748.html&usg=__P_tllFNdXwUWFT2fDBf8eCmUIsk=&h=500&w=500&sz=24&hl=en&start=20&sig2=ExvY9fNw9spEwcwjgLduyQ&zoom=0&tbnid=UyIpmxaJp4XKtM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=125&ei=QtdvTd3gM4aBlAeBxcR_&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daldo%2Bcowboy%2Bboots%2Bwomen%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1138%26bih%3D555%26tbs%3Disch:10,569&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=330&oei=PtdvTZzDBMGAlAeywqGmAQ&page=2&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:20&tx=38&ty=40&biw=1138&bih=555
LOVE the look of cowboy boots. I still need to invest in a really good pair.
I love all of these outfits, especially the first two =P. definitely need to buy a pair of cowboy boots. I’ve wanted to forever but couldn’t find ones I loved in my size.
The outfits are very cute. However, I just don’t think cowboy boots fit with my personal style. I might have to try a way to incorporate them into a look though…
I love how you’ve put these outfits together- i love the dress in the last outfit with the denim jacket- but like Paula, cowboy boots aren’t really very me!! maybe it’s to do with being British!!
Charlotte xxx
Not a fan, sorry. They’re just a little too costume-y seeming for me.
Being from texas, I see people wearing boots all the time (in Texas we call them boots, not cowboy boots). Men even wear dress boots under suits. My family always gets our boots from this one factory outlet that’s authentic but far less expensive than the other boots of similar quality I’ve seen. I love my boots because they’re kind of unusual. They’re charcoal gray with dark yellow and magenta stitching. You can wear them with pretty much anything. I wear mine at least once a week. My boyfriend is a big Texan and he wears his at least twice a week and has two pairs. I usually wear mine over skinny jeans or under boot cut jeans like this article suggested. I personally like contrasting the structure of the boots with a light, cotton, flowy top.
Oh also something not mentioned in the article: I think boots look wonderful with chambray dresses and skirts.
Some girls like having a big booty, thank you very much! haha
@Sam What part of Texas are you from? there are SOOO many texas kids at OU, and all the boys refer to them as just “boots” and wear them with suits too!
I love my cowboy boots! I ordered mine online for only 19.99 – they are very comfortable, with a little wedge, and versatile. I’ve worn them with skinny jeans, under bootcut jeans, with a dress and with leggings, they look great in all seasons.
Being from Vancouver and going to school here, I don’t see cowboy boots very often. I must admit, I’m not really a fan. I don’t really like country music or anything so I’ve never had an occasion to wear them! That being said, I think the second outfit is super cute :). Definitely a helpful post, cowboy boots are tricky to pull off!
Never owned a pair of cowboy boots, but I did live in Texas for a while, and our school mascot was even a buckaroo clad in cowboy boots! I adore the second outfit, that’s how I would love to wear it if I owned a pair! 🙂
I had a pair I wore so often that the heals almost wore off! I wore them all year round too, LOVED them until the day they ripped open and I had to throw them out. Traded for a pair of Doc Martins, but I miss them, they went with practically everything =)
This post kind of makes me sad, only because my cowboy boots had to be thrown out fall my freshman year after a good four years together. I haven’t replaced them yet, but I’ve been dreaming of that moment. I love cowboy boots, and they really are classic and all-American. My favorites here are the Stetsons, of course.
It’s so funny that you wrote this post today!!! Today, I decided to show off my Texas pride and wear my BEAUTIFUL boots to work. I LOVE THEM, especially while wearing a dress– which I did. Although many girls may be hesitant to wear boots, I think it’s a great way kick up your look. I maybe bias seeing that I am from Texas and recently graduated from the best university– University of Texas at Austin m/ Hook’em. Whenever I get the chance I try to wear my boots. And, I must add you Sooners got the look from us Longhorns, sorry I had to;)
The Frye harness boots work well for me, and were kind of a way of a compromising between wanting both motorcycle boots and cowboy boots. They’ve become such a staple in my wardrobe that sometimes I struggle to keep them looking fresh, but I still love them!
YaY! This is great! I’m going to d rodeo here in Houston n I didn’t know what to wear!
Oooh. I like it. 🙂 I own a great pair of black stud cowboy-style booties (huge percent discount now):
http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Supply-Co-Kamara-Ankle/dp/B003MD15M4/ref=br_1_5?ie=UTF8&id=Mossimo%20Supply%20Co%20Kamara%20Ankle&node=14291631&searchSize=30&searchView=grid3&searchPage=1&sr=1-5&qid=1299289773&rh=&searchBinNameList=style_name%2Ctarget_com_shoe_size-bin%2Clifestyle-bin%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=salesrank&frombrowse=1
and I’m thinking about getting a pair of boots from a local vintage store. Thanks!
Haha, another Texan here! I love love love my cowboy boots! They’re really old-fashioned (they were my Mom’s before they were mine), and red! =D However, I don’t call them just ‘boots’, because I not only wear cowboy boots, but hiking boots and high-heeled boots (though I grew out of my last pair and haven’t gotten around to replacing them yet…) lol. I always have to deferenciate (sp?) otherwise my Mom will be like, ‘wait…which ones?’ lol
My best friend has who knows how many pairs of boots, and he’s never worn anything else. Sometimes I think he wore his boots even when he played basketball in high school!
One thing about this post I’d have to disagree on, was where you said not to wear your cowboy boots with like, double denim, or plaid shirts, to avoid looking too costume-y. Personally, I don’t think it looks costume-y. I’ve worn my boots with my skinny jeans, my western belt buckle, a red tank, and my red and blue plaid shirt (the front tied…yeah, I’m country all right =P), and it certainly wasn’t for Halloween.
(I do like the outfits, but I just don’t find cowboy boots to be particularly interesting as a focal point.)
Cowboy boots are not a challenge. Consider the facts that you already have a tutorial for them and that the boots are a staple of some parts of the country. This should not be a “challenge” to wear the boots, but rather, to make them interesting in any way again.
I’m also from Texas and never call my two pairs (vintage from Mom!) anything but boots! Its so strange to see this as a fashion “challenge”- for me, my brown or white boots are something I wear multiple times each week! You can honestly wear them with anything, so don’t sweat trying out a pair if you never have.
Cowboy boots are definatly not a part of my personal style, although they look cute with these outfits, I’d rather use them as reference for regular boots. I definatly won’t be adding these to my closet any time soon.
LOVE cowboy boots with dresses. One of my favorite spring time looks.
Funny, I feel like this post has been recycled.
@Chelsea: Originally from Fort Worth but I go to school in Houston. Haha yeah its kind of funny. My boyfriend (from Austin) didn’t even know that people called them cowboy boots until I told him!
I like all three outfits, but I personally LOVE number two!
Thanks for this post! I’ve been looking for some cowboy boots for a couple weeks so this post was so perfect. Love the website 🙂
I love all these outfits (and that rarely happens that I love all of them) the first two are especially adorable!
I am obsessed with cowboy boots. I’ve had the same pair since freshman year of high school (that’s 6 years). They are worn to perfection. I LOVE pairing them with my floral dress and a cute denim vest. It’s been too cold to wear that outfit in Chicago though. Can’t wait for spring!
@Shi Cowboy boots are supposed to have a bigger shaft (upper part of the boot). They aren’t going to fit right up against your leg like say an English riding style boot would. Don’t worry, I’m sure they look good. Rock ’em with pride with any outfit you want. 🙂