Around Spring/Summer 2005, I lived in a couple of pairs of cowboy boots. I spent part of that summer in Nashville and Memphis, so I guess those cities rubbed off on me. But back in Miami my friends were wearing them too.  Cowboy boots are comfortable because they get broken in quickly and easily. They mold to your feet, and when worn right they look more sleaze-rock than Dolly Parton (not that there is anything wrong with Dolly). Then that stupid Dukes Of Hazzard movie came out, and Jessica Simpson and her minions ruined it — cowboy boots turned into that year’s Uggs. Ugh!

Still, I have hung on to my favorite white pair of cowboy boots for years because I love them so, and I am happy to say it may finally be time to break them out again. Before now, it always seemed too soon because of the terrible trend status they’d acquired in recent years (everywhere outside of Texas and Tennessee). But lately, I’ve been seeing them around again, even in Miami where the Summer is boiling hot. I noticed several pairs while attending the recent local So Raw Festival, a scrappy, homegrown two-day marathon of sloppy-on-purpose garage rock. (Check photographic evidence here).

A couple weeks later, I saw some at Urban Outfitters which may signal that they’re soon going to be “over,” again, but I’ll enjoy them before they reach saturation again. Besides, I can’t be the only one getting toe fatigue from all the hideous gladiator sandals everywhere this summer.