The new Crocs Classic Cowboy Boots are hard to miss. They’re plastic or something close to plastic. Metallic stitching in quasi-western style decorates the boot’s faux-leather upper. The vamp is cast in a shiny black Crocskin texture meant to imitate alligator skin. And they have spurs: plastic detachable ones that fasten to the heel strap. They cost $120 and look like a caricature of a boot. I’d been wearing mine for a week when my neighbor rode over to my house. He’s in his 70s and been a horseman all his life. When he saw the boots, he crossed his hands over the front of his saddle and canted his head to one side like a dog trying to understand English.
“Those are cute, Will,” he said. “Really cute,” he said. I pulled off my left boot and went to hand it to him, but his horse shied and backed away when I approached. After the dust settled, he asked, “Are they supposed to be cool or something?”
His nine-year-old grandson knew the answer to that. The kid, who owns and cherishes a pair of camouflage Crocs, had tagged along that…
