These cowboy boot sandals started as a joke, but they’re flying off shelves

I keep writing about ugly shoes, hoping that I have seen the worst of it. But no. They keep coming. And in today’s chapter of the ugliest shoes ever invented, I present you with Cowboy Boot Sandals.

Okay, okay. I understand the logic here. You love your cowboy boots. They’re so snazzy and go with all your outfits. But yeah, the downside is that it’s freaking hot right now, so your feet feel like they are in a compact leather sauna. And also, if you’ve just dropped $40 on a pedicure, you want to look country, but you also want to show off your toes. It’s a real problem.

That’s why one former sheriff, 31-year-old Scotty Franklin, decided to innovate on the design of the cowboy boot, by creating a sandal version. Missouri-based Franklin actually made his first pair for himself six years ago because he’s a bit of a joker, according to CNBC. But then he realized that his friends were seriously interested in getting their hands on a pair for themselves and were willing to pay big bucks for it.

Franklin set up a Facebook page, Redneck Boot Sandals, which, again, was more of a joke than anything else. But people have actually started buying these products, so he’s now contracting work out to local cobblers and sending boots to customers everywhere, from Texas to Australia. He’s now got fully fledged website (complete with images that don’t make these atrocities look as bad as they are) and quit his job to work on these boot sandals full time.

“I don’t know if I put myself up there with Tommy Hilfiger, you know, by any means or anything like that, but it’s pretty neat,” he tells CNBC. Nope, I don’t think we would put you up there with Tommy Hilfiger either, Franklin, but thanks for making it possible to wear a full cowboy getup and still have ventilated feet!