The very first time I went clubbing in Manhattan, I wore sneakers.
Not tonight, boy, the Gospel bouncer said after a cursory up-and-down glance.
You got any other shoes?
I did, in fact, have several other pairs of shoes.
But none of them felt right.
My Tabi loafers were too precious, and my frat shoes were too wrecked.
Courtesy of Derek Deng / Byrdie
By then, the era of algorithmically-fueled fashion was in full swing.
I was certain cowboy boots were similarly destined for a swift descent into TikToks microtrend graveyard.
Before their TikTok renaissance, cowboy boots usually existed within the confines of the Western imagination.
Getty Images / Byrdie
But the cowboy boots origins are actually a mishmash of overlapping histories.
Getty Images / Byrdie
So its no wonder cowboy boots have captured our digital imaginations.
How exactly did we get here?
Getty Images / Byrdie
Why are we gatekeeping the country music genre?
Who gets to define the genre?
And isnt it about time that minorities are included in this conversation?
And so began the Yeehaw Agenda.
First came Lil Nas Xs Yeehaw Agenda, then the It Girls.
Styling my cowboy boots feels like stepping into a choose-your-own-adventure game.
