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See How Diana Ross, Marilyn Monroe & More Styled Western Boots Through the Years

The style has reemerged in full force on the runway in recent years.
DIANA ROSSVARIOUS - 1980
Best Cowboy Boot Fashion for Women Through the Years: Celebs & More
Models on the runway during the Western gala highlighting Ralph Lauren's western wear and jeans in a foot stompin', hand-clappin' fashion show benefiting the Motion Picture Television fund put on Neiman-Marcus on May 7, 1979 in Beverly Hills, California...Article title: "S-hoedown"
Best Cowboy Boot Fashion for Women Through the Years: Celebs & More
Chris Westwood wearing a Versace mini dress and friend attend Giorgio Armani's party, turning Studio 54 in a winter wonderland with a snow-covered floor, a receiving line of 20 white-tie-and-tailed musicians playing Viennese waltzes and an amusing performance by the Trockadero Gloxinia Ballet Troupe on January 22, 1980 in New York...Article title: "Eye"
22 Images

Western boots seem to be all over the place lately — with big-name celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Hailey Baldwin and Gigi Hadid rocking the trend.

kendall jenner, fendi spring 2019, milan fashion week
Kendall Jenner exiting the Fendi spring ’19 show on Sept. 20, 2018 in bold teal Western boots by the Italian label.Splash

At Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week in January, Schiaparelli teamed the boots with elegant frocks. Victoria’s Secret Angel Taylor Hill worked the runway in a hot-pink minidress that was surprisingly paired with Western boots.

Schiaparelli , taylor hill, runway, couture, western boots
Taylor Hill on the catwalk at the Schiaparelli couture show for spring ’19.Shutterstock

But while the trend has reemerged in full force in recent seasons, Western boots are not new to fashion.

Ralph Lauren was the first one to take the American heritage style and make it a high-fashion must-have. At a 1979 gala, Lauren sent models down the runway in high-waisted pants and the must-have shoes. Models added bandanas and cowboy hats as accessories and sashayed on the catwalk with hands on hips.

Models on the runway during the Western gala highlighting Ralph Lauren's western wear and jeans in a foot stompin', hand-clappin' fashion show benefiting the Motion Picture Television fund put on Neiman-Marcus on May 7, 1979 in Beverly Hills, California...Article title: "S-hoedown"
Models on the runway during a gala highlighting Ralph Lauren’s Western wear in 1979.Alexandra Milovanovich

In the early 1980s, cowboy boots were a surprising fashion staple that moved far beyond the American West. A 1980 photo of Motown legend Diana Ross shows the singer sprawled out in a petal-pink jumpsuit and high-heeled white Western boots with fringe detailing.

DIANA ROSS, western boots, celebrity style, VARIOUS - 1980
Diana Ross sports a pale-pink jumpsuit with white high-heeled Western boots.Chris Craymer/Shutterstock

Perhaps one of the most memorable Western boot moments of all time came courtesy of Princess Diana. The royal stepped out in 1989 to pick up her youngest son, Prince Harry, while clad in a black blazer and sweatpants. She finished her surprising look with brown cowboy boots and a navy baseball cap.

Princess Diana, cowboy boots, sweatpants, blazer, baseball cap, Prince Harry going back to school, Britain - Apr 1989
Princess Diana wears cowboy boots with sweats in 1989.Shutterstock

Click through the gallery to see more major Western boot moments through the years.

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Fiona O'Keeffe, Team USA, FN, Footwear News, March 2024, cover, magazine, magazine cover, print media
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