Boots. Here in the Southern US, boots are very common daily footwear, even for business casual attire.
I have two pairs of Lucchesse ropers, one black and one brown. A “roper” has a low, straight heel like a dress shoe rather than a tall angled heel like a more traditional “cowboy” boot.
I’ve probably got 10 years on both pairs and no telling how many times the heels and soles have been replaced. Still look like they just came out of the box. They are also very comfortable if you spend all day on your feet unlike most dress shoes. Lucchesse’s are expensive but most high quality footwear is.
Probably more of a rural vs. urban thing. Different areas tend to have different dress expectations. I’m an Arkansan and when you traveled to Little Rock on business (at least pre-pandemic), suites were more common in a business setting. Anywhere else in the state that would be considered overdressed for anything except church on Sunday, weddings, and funerals.
Boots. Here in the Southern US, boots are very common daily footwear, even for business casual attire. I have two pairs of Lucchesse ropers, one black and one brown. A “roper” has a low, straight heel like a dress shoe rather than a tall angled heel like a more traditional “cowboy” boot. I’ve probably got 10 years on both pairs and no telling how many times the heels and soles have been replaced. Still look like they just came out of the box. They are also very comfortable if you spend all day on your feet unlike most dress shoes. Lucchesse’s are expensive but most high quality footwear is.
Atlantan here; I think that might be more of a Texas-specific thing.
You’re back in boot county once you escape the metropolis.
Probably more of a rural vs. urban thing. Different areas tend to have different dress expectations. I’m an Arkansan and when you traveled to Little Rock on business (at least pre-pandemic), suites were more common in a business setting. Anywhere else in the state that would be considered overdressed for anything except church on Sunday, weddings, and funerals.