You have a hot date tonight. You’ve been looking forward to it for a week (or a couple of weeks.) You possibly haven’t interacted much with anyone in the past year, so there’s a lot on your mind.

Including what the heck you’re going to wear. Because all you’ve been rocking for a solid 13 months are a rotation of two pairs of sweats.

Whether it’s out on the town or just a casual cup of coffee, you’re going to need to dress to impress.

You have your basics like your nice dress, your favorite piece of jewelry, your hair (up? Down? Half up half down?). You’re styled head to toe.

Except for wait. Not toe. You need shoes. But what kind of shoes?

We’ll tell you. The answer is fake leather boots. And here’s why.

Why Fake Leather?

First, you may be wondering why we specified fake leather.

It’s because regular cow leather just isn’t really cool anymore. As you probably know, leather involves some pretty serious animal cruelty. In fact, over 100 million animals are killed every year just for their skin to become fashion items.

Sorry to bum you out, but that’s not all. The farming techniques used to raise cattle also have a serious environmental impact.

In fact, animal farming contributes to over half of the ammonia released into the atmosphere and a lot of methane.

Not only that, but cattle take up and damage a lot of resources. This includes space for pastures, lots of water, and food.

Fake leather is a better alternative in more ways than one, making it the obvious choice for your boots.

You Have Options

Okay, so we’re going fake. What do we get to choose from? 

Mushroom Leather

Arguably the coolest option here is mushroom leather. It’s pretty new to the market, so if this is the first time you’re hearing about it, you’re not the only one.

Mushroom leather is actually made out of the mycelium fibers that create the mushrooms themselves. Think of it as the roots for mushrooms. It’s a web of fibers under the ground that helps compost and deliver nutrients to all sorts of plants. It’s also responsible for the growth of mushrooms.

There are quite a few uses for mycelium leather. These include things like jackets, high fashion pieces, and accessories.

Oh, and yes. There are mushroom leather boots.

PVC or PU Leather

The most common fake leather is “pleather,” short for plastic leather. These options come in either PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PU (polyurethane) options.

PVC is made from thermoplastic material and is pretty much just vinyl made to look like leather. There have been a few health and environmental concerns about it due to toxins.

PU is made from coating a woven fabric in a thin plasticky layer to create a leathery appearance and feel.

Both are affordable options for your fake leather boots.

How to Style Them

You’re now looking at your fake leather boots like “what now?”

Fear not, we got you.

Tall Boots

If you have knee-high or even thigh-high boots, style them with a short dress or skinny jeans.

Honestly, you could hide some leggings under these for max comfort levels. We won’t tell anyone.

Booties

If you’ve gone for a shorter fake leather boot, you have tons of options.

Go with your favorite pair of jeans, cuffed, for a cute and casual look. Or swap those jeans out for a skirt and maybe a cool-girl t-shirt for a chill look that makes you look like you put some effort into it.

Style without Suffering

Tall or short, no matter which fake leather boots you choose, the cows will thank you.