I’m looking for a pair, and I know it’s a really dumb question, but I don’t know!
And if it’s customary to wear socks, what weight?
Is there a particularly well-regarded brand?
Oh God yes or at least all the true cowboys and cowgirls I know do. I always have when I have worn boots. I can’t imagine the nastiness and being simply uncomfortable if you go without socks in boots. The blister factor must be way up there as well. I don’t have any recommendations but any socks that do well in high sole shoes are certainly better than nothing.
I wear my usual socks with my boots. My dad does the same with his. Of course, it’s a fit preference- if your boots are a bit big, you might prefer a thicker sock.
But I would never, ever, wear cowboy boots without socks. Of course, at least they don’t have to match… 
<shudder>
Boots w/o socks are just nasty!
Get yourself a good pair of medium to heavy weight cotton socks for those boots. To tell the truth, plain old cotton gym socks work just fine.
They actually make special socks to wear with Western boots, such as these . I actually have some, they’re good socks.
Yes.
They even sell special socks (which before I wore holes in them were the warmest (and therefore best) socks I owned) for cowboy boots.
Boots with no socks would be very uncomfortable.
I’ve never worn cowboy boots in my life but just the thought of wearing all that leather on unsocked feet all day long and then having to pull them off when I get home? shudder
Without stockings the whole works get pretty nasty in fairly short order – feet do sweat, you know. What works as well as anything, including the fancy-pancy boot sox that western wear stores sell, is the good old Army green or black boot sox with the padded soles. They absorb moisture and do cushion your foot a little bit – a good thing if you tend to stand in the stirrups.
Yes. Definitely socks. Weight depending on weather and the fit of the boot.
Hell, yes, wear socks. Why would you think otherwise?
I like and use Gold Toe socks when I wear my boots.
Yupyyupyup.
A medium weight sock with a bit of cushioning is the best thing. It should also be high-calf enough to go past the boot top.
As a young and stupid child I once wore cowboy boots with no socks. Once. I was pathetically miserable. My feet have never been so hot in my life. There need to be PSAs on this or something.
Heh. This was my exact response when I saw the thread. I even said it out load startling my coworkers.
Wear socks.
Socks, yes. Shorts, no.
But remember, white only. Anything else is just not the cowboy way.
Also, it’s important that whatever socks you wear stay up. Socks that slip down into your boots suck rocks, especially if you’re riding and don’t have easy access to pull them back out.
I prefer snug, thin socks with mine, because my feet get claustrophobic in tight boots (but not so much tight socks, go figure). I also like them to be a little synthetic so they slip a bit on the boot sole, otherwise I get a worse problem than them falling down: the socks schooch up my feet and mash my toes.
I used to wear mostly wool socks. It just seemed right. In my opinion to go barefoot in boots is just begging for foot problems. Now remember that a pair of boots should let your feet breath a touch, which can cause a bit of rubbing (I understand city folks wear them tighter). So socks are a necessity. I have recently found diabetic socks that seem to fit the bill really well - kind of woolish, yet they stay up really well, too.
I generally won’t go out without a spare pair of socks in my saddle bags (or bed roll) but then again I will wear my boots until there isn’t much to them so moisture is able to get inside a bit easier than most.
Slight hijack: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter of the Doobie Brothers said that he got his nickname because he used to wear 2 pairs of socks with his boots.