Wearing Cowboy Boots As Tradition

The farther away people get from the cowboy way of life, the more romanticized the whole notion becomes. This isn't unusual, and it has been helped out along the way by Hollywood movies that added glamorous appeal with characters played by John Wayne showing the cowboy to be the ultimate man. Even Marlboro cigarettes championed the lone cowboy as the height of masculinity. Clearly, donning a pair of cowboy boots and some western apparel is about more than mucking stalls, herding cattle and so on. Now, this is just a theory, but it might just be about freedom, or at least the concept of it.

You see, when the west was still being explored, those in western wear weren't wearing it because it was fashionable, they were wearing it because it was the only kind of clothing that was durable enough to live up to their lifestyle. They were living in a land where the territory seemed boundless. If you wanted a plot of your own, you simply went out and staked out something that wasn't already claimed. If you needed to move your cattle, you hired a team and had a cattle drive. The plots of land that were worked by individuals were vast, and the surrounding territory was untouched by human civilization as those of European decent recognized it.

There were not yet the defined borders that we have today. There wasn't a coast to coast and Mexico to Canada definition of what comprised America. This mean more skirmishes amongst those whose territory was being taken over, of course, but even that didn't limit them- they simply moved on to new land if a boundary was established. Man was living outside the law. There were not governments to rule over these men, and while law and order may have existed to a certain extent in the towns, it was certainly nothing like that which was left behind.

Does this mean that everyone who enjoys western wear or owns a pair of cowboy boots wishes to break from their oppressive life and run off to new uncharted territory? No, of course not. For some people it is about fashion, for others function. And for those who do yearn for the days of old? Well, there is precious little uncharted territory left, so they had better be avid travelers or find another way to get their life-of-a-cowboy fix. If you've never felt that way before, why not throw on some western apparel and see how you feel then? It might be all in the clothing.
Written by Mel Bryson. Brand name cowboy boots and western wear at The Boot Store online store for western apparel. Ariat boots, Justin boots more at western-wear-store.com