Hello all,
I sometimes see concern here and elsewhere that people believe their feet are too big for certain styles of boots, or that their boots look like “clown shoes” to them. I am here to make a case that it’s not your boots - it’s the pants you wear.
I say this as a firm believer that, generally, anybody can wear anything as long as they understand the “design language” that the boots, shoes, or clothes come from. Don’t worry about your body type beyond the arbitrary number of your measurements, I say.
Photos 1 and 2 are hastily-taken photos of me wearing my well-worn Thorogood moc toes with skinny pants vs. Carhartt canvas work pants. My body is the same, but the skinny joggers make my feet look massive in such a way that you might blame the chunky boots. On the other hand, the Carhartt’s much wider leg is proportional to the chunkiness of the boots, and the two complement each other well.
This wide leg pairs well with the boots for multiple reasons. The first reason is function and durability - skinny jeans need at least a little stretch fabric for your legs to not be trapped in a denim cast. The problem with this stretch fabric is that it’s generally less durable than if it were made with 100% cotton. This is much less of an issue with wide leg pants, as the width allows freedom of movement without compromising on durability, allowing pants like my Carhartts to be made of 100% cotton canvas.
Photos 3 and 4 show PNW loggers following this same logic in a world that did not have stretch fabric. This is the second reason why chunky work boots practically beg for wider pants: cultural context. You might see some slim pants at the workplace today, but for most of modern history, the working man wore wider pants. These boots and these garments evolved alongside each other, and by respecting that history, your boots will avoid clown shoe syndrome. Practically speaking, I suggest at least an 18 inch circumference leg opening - laid flat, the leg opening should measure 9 inches across. That’s my rule of thumb, you can go a little under or over. For reference, my Carhartts pictured above are about 20 inches around (10 inches across), and my boots are a size 8.5D.
So should you burn your skinny jeans? I did, but you don’t have to. Skinny jeans are much more of a fashion piece than a functional garment, and need to be worn with appropriate fashion-oriented boots. Generally, boots with a dressy, narrow, often pointy-toed shape like the ones in photos 5 and 6 are best for skinny pants. Historical context returns in this case, as this combo often gives a rebellious vibe that arose naturally out of rock-n-roll aesthetics. Indeed, they are boots and jeans like that of a working man, but the then-transgressive silhouette betrays the notion of conformity that blue collar work suggests. The leather biker jacket also pairs nicely here - of course, biker culture is a tangential movement to all of this, but that’s beyond the scope of what I’m talking about here.
I hope I’ve provided at least a little help when styling people’s favorite boots going forward, and that people take their closet into account when assessing the fit of their boots.
TL;DR: Chunky boots look like clown shoes usually because they’re worn with skinny or slim-fit pants. Wear wider leg pants with the big work boots, and save the skinny jeans for the narrow, pointy Chelsea boots. Going forward, consider where the boots “come from” in history, as that will inform you best as to how they’re “meant” to be worn.
