Cowboy Boots Are Everywhere, So I'm Trying Them

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

I’m originally from Arizona, and I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me if I grew up wearing cowboy boots. For the record, I did wear them (there’s evidence here), but they weren’t really something I threw on more than once a year. Instead, I typically broke them out for holidays like Rodeo weekend—a beloved holiday in Tucson where traditional cowboy attire is the rule—so they’ve always felt more like a costume piece to me.

But recently, I’ve been wanting to give them another try. It all started with Calvin Klein’s S/S 18 show. Metal-toe cowboy boots were styled with everything from silk trousers to printed dresses, and they felt wearable and cool. Then, last month at Paris Fashion Week, they were absolutely everywhere. In the audience at Isabel Marant, I sat there wishing it was a see now, buy now show so I could wear them immediately, but for now cowboy boots are on the top of my shopping list for fall. And yes, now I’m ready to try them for myself—but this time not as a costume. Here, shop some of my favorite cowboy boot styles.

Associate Director, Special Projects

Kristen Nichols is the Associate Director, Special Projects at Who What Wear with over a decade of experience in fashion, editorial, and publishing. She oversees luxury content and wedding features, and covers fashion within the luxury market, runway reporting, shopping features, trends, and interviews with leading industry experts. She also contributes to podcast recordings, social media, and branded content initiatives. Kristen has worked with brands including Prada, Chanel, MyTheresa, and Luisa Via Roma, and rising designers such as Refine and Tove, and her style has been featured in publications including Vogue.com, Vogue France, WWD, and the CFDA. Before Who What Wear, Kristen began her career at Rodarte, where she worked on assistant styling, photo shoots, and runway shows, and at Allure, where she moved into print and digital editorial. She graduated from the University of Southern California, where she studied art history and business, and currently lives in New York.