Big Kick: Cowboy Boots : Fashion: They are wearing them in basic black in Paris, Tokyo and, of course, in Texas. But this footwear is no longer only at home on the range.
They don’t have a thing to recommend them as a summer wardrobe staple, yet black cowboy boots with sharply pointed toes and underslung riding heels--weighing more than 2 pounds per pair and rising up the leg as much as 12 inches-- are the must-have, wear-with-everything accessory for women this season.
Look around and you’ll see black cowboy boots everywhere. By day, they exhibit chameleon-like qualities: They are worn with business suits to the office, under miniskirts at the mall and paired with spandex shorts on the boardwalk. At night their numbers increase as the night clubs fill with the head-to-toe black-clothing crowd.
Armando Romero, vice president of marketing for Tony Lama, the boot company based in El Paso, Tex., credits the band Guns N’ Roses, with bringing about the trend. Lead singer Axl Rose and crew wear black cowboy boots with studded straps encircling the ankle. As their videos air around the world, along with those of other boot-stomping rock groups, so does their fashion message.
French teens adopted the cowboy/biker look immediately. Japanese and American youths did, too. And fashion magazines began touting the return of the cowboy boot as seen on the streets of Paris. With the stamp of approval from both the international teen music scene and the French fashion world, boots were bound for glory.
Two traditional boot makers, both Texas-based, say business is booming. Tony Lama, with net sales of $75.6 million in 1989, reports a 50% increase in its women’s boot business in the last two years as department stores and boutiques turn to the company to supply the authentic product. And Justin Boots, the largest dealer of hand-crafted boots in the United States, has seen its women’s boot business double in the last two years.
“It’s a testament to the solvency of the trend,” said Kevin Kelley, buyer for Thieves Market, a Southern California-based chain of boot stores that carries both Tony Lama ($179 to $400) and Justin Boots ($160 to $600).
The fashion elite in California and New York have embraced the look. And the word is spreading across the country.
Bert Louthan, national sales manager for Justin Boots in Ft. Worth, said the markets in Chicago and Detroit are now coming on line with trend. Indeed, he says the Justin Boot style with pointed toe and sloping heel is selling well everywhere except in Texas and Oklahoma where boots are not a trend, but rather, a wardrobe basic.
The boot style that is preferred in cow country has a decidedly rounder toe. In that part of the nation, boot wearing is done on the ranch for practical reasons, not on the city streets for fashion’s sake.
“I see women wearing boots all the time in New York. But I never see them here,” said Louthan. “We’ll sell black boots with the real pointy toes in Dallas, but outside of the large metropolitan areas, it’s not popular.”
Scott Emmerich says fashion mavens began coming into his Brentwood store, Falconhead Boots-Belts-Buckles, for black cowboy boots two years ago. Now his customer base for basic black ranges from teens to the elderly. Since Falconhead boots are custom-made, the cost is higher; the average price for cowhide boots is $415. Some of the most recent famous faces to come shopping for basic black boots include Goldie Hawn and Sally Field. Even Madonna, usually a trend originator, was a follower this time. She, too, bought black Falconhead boots. But hers have a twist--they’re black suede with leather wing tips.
At Bootz, with locations in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, the basic black boot is available for $179 from either Justin, Tona Lama or Nacona. The big demand has been for boots with the 10-inch tops for summer, said store owner Carl Wright, “because they look good with shorts and skirts.”
Pairing cowboy boots with bare legs and a mini skirt or a pair of spandex shorts is unique to California, says Kelley. “You may see it other places but not like you do here.”
Boot makers suggest that sleekness and sexiness are the primary appeals of the black boot. But ask a dedicated boot-wearing woman, such as local publicist C. Smith, or fashion designer Bryan Emerson and their first response is, “comfort.”
“They are like your old favorite pair of jeans,” said Emerson, who bought her first pair of boots seven years ago.
“I always liked the way they looked. I thought they were romantic,” she said. Emerson’s affinity for romance can be seen in the delicate dresses she designs in Chantilly lace or Fortuny-like pleated silk, available at Shauna Stein in the Beverly Center. But it was comfort, she admitted, and the way that boots adapt to both her jeans and lace dresses that sold her on her next three pairs.
Smith has been wearing cowboy boots for years. She still has the first pair she bought when she was 13 years old and rode barrel-racing horses. Today, she owns nine pairs, two of them black.
“Cowboy boots aren’t confusing,” Smith said, “you can wear them with anything. I wear them with suits, skirts and shorts. They go with 90% of everything I own.” She says she consciously chooses clothes that will go well with boots.
Boot lovers swear their footwear is as comfortable as sneakers. And they like the extra two inches of height a riding heel gives. But if the truth be told, it may just be the psychological boost that causes women to wear them.
There is a bit of the Wild West spirit in each pair. Pull them on and your attitude changes. Smith said when she wears her boots, it’s her way of announcing, “Move over. Here I come!”
