Cowboy boots are one of the typical fashion symbols of the 20th century. They not only get a beautiful outlook, but they also express the popular culture, lifestyle and personality of the American people.
Cowboy boots were mainly used by men in the early days when they were born. Nowadays, today’s cowboy boots are very popular among women.
In the 20th century, cowboy boots became a fashion phenomenon among women. They still hold a very important position in the women’s fashion industry to this day.
However, not everyone knows the difference between men’s and women’s cowboy boots. They have very interesting differences though.
What are the differences? Today, we will let you know through this article.
Shall we?
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Difference Between Men’s and Women’s Cowboy Boots
There are many differences between cowboy boots and cowgirl boots: heel, toe shape, shaft and vamp, size, color and design.
To clarify the difference, we’re going to cover the general information and highlight the interesting differences between men’s and women’s cowboy boots.
Heel
The first difference between men’s and women’s cowboy boots is the heel.
Cowboy boot heels can be divided into three categories: high heels (about 2 inches), standard heels (about 1.5 inches) and low heels (about 1 inch).
These 3 heels all have different strengths and weaknesses. However, when talking about fashion, women prefer high heels and men favor standard heels.
High-heeled cowboy boots give women an attractive and sexy look while standard heels retain the true cowboy-like confidence for men and help them stay flexible and comfortable at work.
Plus, the heel shapes of women’s cowboy boots are more diverse than men’s.
Nowadays, cowboy boot heels for women have many improvements, they come in various styles and have more height.
You can find a pair of cowboy boots for women with spiked heels that measure up to 3.5 inches in height.
Meanwhile, men’s cowboy boots with heels have a maximum height of about 2 inches.
Read more: Different Types Of Heels On Cowboy Boots
Toe shape
Regarding toe shapes, cowboy boots have 3 main types of toe shapes: pointed toe, round toe and square toe.
Nowadays, people also develop 2 new types of toe shapes: snip toe and wide square toe.
Each type of toe shape will have different advantages and disadvantages.
As for fashion purposes, women love cowboy boots with pointed toes, snip toes and round toes because these toe shapes make their feet look slimmer, longer and more beautiful.
In comparison, men prefer square toes and wide square toes since these toe shapes offer a strong appearance and have enough room in the toe box for comfort.
Of course, many men love the beauty of traditional cowboy boots, so they often opt for pointed toe and round toe cowboy boots.
There has been a lot of controversy between pointed toe and square toe.
However, the decision is yours, you can only be a real cowboy when you feel confident in your cowboy boots!
Read more: Cowboy Boot Toe Types
Material
If you have been a fan of cowboy boots for many years now, you will know for a fact that cowboy boots for men are made from many different materials, not only cowhide and bull hide but also exotic leather (caiman belly, lizard, snakeskin, ostrich, alligator, shark, stingray, etc.)
Meanwhile, cowboy boots for women are more limited in the variety of materials. They are mainly made of cowhide and sometimes some exotic materials such as ostrich or lizard.
However, many women’s cowboy boots can also be made from synthetic materials (this is a material rarely found in cowboy boots for men). They are usually more affordable and come in a variety of colors.
Because of the diversity in the materials that make up the boots, cowboy boots for men often have a more diverse appearance than for women.
Each type of leather will come with a different surface, creating different styles. Therefore, this also brings up the difference between cowboy boots for men and women.
Shaft and vamp
It’s not easy to tell the difference in shaft and vamp between cowboy boots for men and women, but you can recognize the diversity of the shaft and vamp textures.
Fashionable women’s cowboy boots often feature floral motifs embroidered on their western-inspired shaft and vamp. This is also the pattern that girls and bootmakers love.
In addition, the vamp and shaft motifs of women’s cowboy boots are more fragile, feminine and fussy than men’s (of course).
How about cowboy boots for men? Well, their motifs on the shaft and vamp are often simpler and stronger. The patterns can include wings, crosses, etc.
Size
The clear difference between men’s and women’s cowboy boots is definitely the size. There is no doubt that most men’s cowboy boots are bigger than women’s.
The above is something everyone knows, but do you know what an interesting thing is?
That is, the men’s size charts of most cowboy boot brands offer more size choices than for women. If you don’t believe it, you can go to any cowboy boot brand homepage to check it out!
Choosing a cowboy boot size is always a problem when buying cowboy boots.
When you go to any e-commerce site and search for cowboy boots for men and women, you will quickly come across cowboy boots that have a lot of 1-star ratings because of the wrong size.
Maybe cowboy boot brands need to fix this problem, right?
Cowboy boots don’t fit your feet well because they are unadjustable, what does that mean?
You can see that cowboy boots don’t have laces like other shoes. Therefore, once they are loose or tight, you can’t adjust them.
Don’t worry, we have a secret for choosing size here!
Color
Besides, you can notice that men’s and women’s cowboy boots have different colors.
Cowboy boots for women have various colors that range from bright to dark colors, creating a feminine, cute look or even a cool, distressed style.
On the other hand, cowboy boots for men are simple in color. They tend to have dark colors for a wild and distressed outlook.
When it comes to the color of men’s cowboy boots, there is a lot of difference as the boots made from exotic leather with different skin types will come in distinct and typical colors.
In general, men’s cowboy boots are not as colorful as women’s.
Design
The design is the obvious difference between men’s and women’s cowboy boots.
Men need cowboy boots with strong, wild designs and fewer textures. Meanwhile, women’s cowboy boots are often diverse, more feminine and lovely, though there are still many cowboy boots for women with distressed style and color.
There are many different designs of cowboy boots in the world. But there are only a few main types such as traditional cowboy boots, stockman, roper boots, buckaroo, short western boots, cowboy work boots, etc.
To illustrate, we will give you a few examples:
Traditional cowboy boots
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Traditional cowboy boots have a common design: pointed toe shape, high and underslung heel (about 2 inches).
This type of cowboy boot is often used for riding cowboys as they have a heel design that fits into stirrups very well to keep cowboys balanced and safe.
Besides, cowboy boots easily slide into stirrups with a pointed-toe shape.
Traditional cowboy boots have almost no variations and are still favored by men today. However, they are quite different from those for women.
Traditional cowboy boots for women have been transformed and evolved.
Besides riding, some traditional cowboy boots have heels that grow significantly (over 3 inches) to serve fashion purposes.
With such high heels, girls get a very impressive look in these tall cowboy boots.
In contrast, traditional cowboy boots for men retain a heel height of around 2 inches – enough to give them a swagger look of a true cowboy.
Click image for more information on Amazon
Short cowboy boots (ankle cowboy boots and booties)
Unlike many other cowboy boots, ankle cowboy boots are usually only popular for women. The height of ankle cowboy boots is often a bit above the ankle.
Some types of short cowboy boots are favored by many women even don’t have shafts. They are booties.
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This type is not the taste of men. In America, men always wear boots that reach at least mid-calf.
Roper boots
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Roper boots are cowboy boots that are crossed with British dress boots. These boots are quite low in height.
Roper boots have low heels (about 1 inch) and low shafts (normally only high to mid-calf). Whereas, other cowboy boots usually have shafts that are higher than mid-calf.
You can see that most men’s roper boots are taller than women’s.
Roper boots for men can reach mid-calf, whereas these boots for women are just a little taller than the ankle.
That is the distinct characteristic of roper-style cowboy boots for men and women.
Click image for more information on Amazon
Stockman
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If stockman cowboy boots are known for those who like to “pack up and hit the road”, then we will consider the appearance of stockman boots for men and women.
You can easily find stockman cowboy boots for men with extremely masculine looks, strong, wild and distressed styles.
Stockman cowboy boots for women can have the same design, but their colors are different.
These cowboy boots are more colorful, feminine and a little more “adorable,” while still retaining designs that support those who like “pack up and hit the road” (standard heels, square or wide square toe, mid-calf shaft…)
Click image for more information on Amazon
Conclusion
The differences between men’s and women’s cowboy boots are more obvious when comparing the heel, shaft and vamp, toe shape, design, color and size.
Cowboy boots for men have a rough and sturdy look, while the ones for women often come with seductive curves.
Glad that I could help you with this article, so you can choose the best cowboy boots for your purposes.
Good luck!
Howdy y’all, and welcome to From The Guest Room, your ultimate guide to all things Western! I’m Jay Gatz, a lifelong cowboy boot enthusiast with over 5 years of experience in the Western style world. I’m excited to share my knowledge with you and help you discover the perfect cowboy boots and western gear to elevate your style. Let’s explore the rich history and timeless appeal of Western fashion together!
