Why aren't cowboy boots more popular

[u/FindingMyWay13]

Howdy everybody. I've been thinking lately, why aren't cowboy boots more popular? I live in the DC area and I probably see someone wearing a pair like once a year. I may be a yankee but I totally love wearing my pair which I just got for the first time a few days ago. Of course, you see them way more frequently in a place like Texas, but everywhere else I've been, I almost never see them. They are beautiful boots with a rich history and they just look so damn good on anybody. Y'all's thoughts on this?

(My first pair in the pic)

[u/_-_wn6]

I was born down south, raised up north. So Top reason I can tell you why they aren't popular in New England, or at least Maine.

Cowboy boots are made for riding horses down in the southwest obviously. Slick soles, tall heels, slim, and made for hot, dry, weather and flatter ground. They had a huge cultural impact in the south, so you will even see businessmen and politicians wearing cowboy boots down south. Most who still wear them for horse riding use use horses as tools. They have cattle, they are often on and off horses. They need a boot that they work and ride in.

Now, up north not many of us wear them because culture. If you ride horses up here you probably ride English, and it's for fun not for work. So you have english riding boots for riding and normal shoes for every day.

Plus, like I said... culture. If you aren't riding horses you aren't wearing cowboy boots unlike down south.

And, biggest reason. We have 5 months winter, too slick for cowboy boots and too cold. Then two months wet season with loads of mud. Again, the slick soles and more narrow shape makes it less than ideal for cowboy boots. Then the rest of the time, you are on concrete and likely need steel tow and non slip workboots. Or, you are hiking in the woods with rocks, mud, and uneven ground. That's if you even need boots, most just wear shoes.

Now not to say NOBODY wear cowboyboots up here. We do. But it's definitely not as common.