From TikTok Tricks to Timeless Traditions: The Truth About Boot Lacing

Ever notice how lacing up your boots feels like more than just… tying shoes? It’s ritual. It’s armor. It’s the unspoken promise that whatever the day throws at you, oil spills, unexpected downpours, or a 12-hour shift, you’re ready.

There’s a reason it feels this way. Psychologists call it enclothed cognition, the idea that what you wear influences how you think and act. A lab coat makes you feel sharper, a suit makes you feel powerful, and a pair of hand-welted work boots? That makes you feel unstoppable.

But here’s the twist: not all lacing is created equal. Generations of men have perfected the art of pulling their boots tight before stepping into the world. Meanwhile, on TikTok, younger crowds are busy turning boot lacing into… performance art. Think rainbow laces crisscrossed like a pretzel, checkerboard patterns that take 40 minutes to finish, or “loose aesthetic” lacing where the boots just dangle open like they’re allergic to tension.

Sure, it looks cool on a 15-second video. But try walking through a muddy jobsite like that and you’ll be donating your boots to the swamp gods before lunch.

For us, I assume, lacing is sacred. It’s not just about securing leather to foot. It’s about securing identity to soul. Each tug of the lace says: I’m here, I’m grounded, I’m ready.

So, while Gen Z is busy inventing the next TikTok lacing trend, we’ll stick to our time-tested methods: snug across the vamp, firm around the ankle, double knot for insurance. Because in the real world, boots aren’t about looking quirky for a 12-second clip, they’re about surviving 12-hour days.
Still, let’s give credit where it’s due.

Watching those experimental lacing videos is oddly satisfying. Unnecessary, over-complicated, but kind of hypnotic. And maybe, just maybe, they remind us not to take our boots, or ourselves, too seriously.

At the end of the day, whether you’re lacing up for work, for a night out, or just to make your grocery run feel like a military operation, one thing’s certain: tying your boots is never just tying your boots. It’s strapping in for life.

And you? How do you lace up?