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FASHIONFAST FORWARD

BOOSTS FOR BOOTSTV westerns in the 1950s and ’60s popularizedcowboy culture, including boots. Match theshows with the performers.1. Maverick A. James Arness2. The Rifleman B. James Drury3. Wanted: Dead or Alive C. Robert Conrad4. Have Gun, Will Travel D. James Garner5. Gunsmoke E. Steve McQueen6. The Virginian F. Barbara Stanwyck7. The Wild, Wild West G. Chuck Connors8. The Big Valley H. Lorne Greene9. Bonanza I. Clint Eastwood10. Rawhide J. Richard Boone

ANSWERS: 1-D, 2-G, 3-E, 4-J, 5-A, 6-B, 7-C, 8-F, 9-H, 10-I

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES ENCYCLOPEDIA OFTELEVISION BY LES BROWN (NEW YORK TIMES BOOKS, $20)

Stanwyck Eastwood Boone

Garner Arness Drury

hey tracked outlaws with TomMix in the ’20s, rode off into thesunset with Gene Autry in the’40s, and busted a mechanical bullwith John Travolta in the ’80s.

Just last month, cowboy bootsgrabbed the spotlight again, strut-ting their stuff at inaugural bash-es with the Beltway crowd. Amongboots made for President Bush forthe inauguration are a pair hand-

crafted from alligator skin and decoratedwith the presidential seal.But the boots aren’t just for movie stars

and politicians. They’re at home almost any-where — from barnyard to boardroom.

An American icon whose roots extendacross centuries and cultures, their popularitytoday touches all walks of life: men andwomen, young and old, blue-collar andwhite-collar, the practical-minded and thefashion-conscious.

“There really are no typical buyers for cow-boy boots,” says Lisa Lankes, spokesmanfor Justin Brands, Inc., which owns Justin, TonyLama, Nocona, and Chippewa boot mak-ers. “People of all ages, backgrounds, and sizesenjoy wearing cowboy boots because it’s a greatlook whether you’re going to the rodeo or justgoing out to dinner. They are classic.”

Western-boot retailers in the Toledo areaagree, saying that about half of their sales areto people in the horse business, with therest sprinkled among people with an eyefor fashion or a hankering for comfort anddurability.

“There are a lot of men who are more theprofessionals — the doctors, the lawyers —who are coming in to wear the boots with theirdress suits,” says Kim Weisbrod, co-owner withher husband, Tom, of Sonseeahray Western& English Store in Perrysburg. “The women,

Cowboy boots can give anyone a western flair

STYLE & STATUSFOR CENTURIES

Cowboy boots as fashionwear may not have caught onwith the masses until the1920s, but they have had anelement of style for centuries,says Don Reeves, curator ofthe cowboy collection at theNational Cowboy & WesternHeritage Museum in Okla-homa City.

In Europe during the1700s, for example, horse-men often wore boots toshow their status and wealth,Mr. Reeves says.

This tradition carriedthrough the centuries, withthe forerunner of today’scowboy boots emerging inthe early 1800s, when Mexi-can vaqueros and Americancowboys rode on horsebackwearing boots to herd cattle,he says. The tall upper part ofthe boot protected legs frombriars and thorns, and theheels kept the riders’ feet inthe stirrups.

From the late 1860s intothe 1880s, young men whohired on as cowboys oftenspent any extra wages onboots with decorated uppers.

Mainstream Americansgained exposure to cowboyboots in the 1880s and1890s, thanks to Buffalo Billand his troupe in the WildWest shows. And an offshootof those shows — publicrodeo contests — furtherpopularized western wearthrough the early 1910s.

Performer Tom Mix andothers helped complete thetransformation of cowboyworking clothes into fashion-able western wear in the 1920s.

FASHION OR FUNCTION?Not all of those boots are made for gawking.While some people want cowboy boots withstyle and flair, others need sure-footed workgear. Many people in the horse business wearlacers such as the Justin model atleft. Lacers are lace-up boots thatare usually about 8 inchestall and have wide, roundtoes and flat, shoelikeheels for stability. Incontrast, the fashion-minded oftenopt for morestylish boots suchas the Dan Post model at right. These bootsoften have decorative stitching, pointed toes,and forward-slanting western heels.

See BOOTS, Page 2

Cowboy boots areavailable in an array ofstyles and colors, suchas those at top andbelow in SonseeahrayWestern & EnglishStore in Perrys-burg.

By CHRISTOPHER BORRELLIBLADE STAFF WRITER

So you say you’re 14 andyour mother will not let youwatch Desperate Housewives,never mind Sex and the City —and not the HBO reruns either,but those gently sanitized ver-sions that are showing in syndi-cation on TBS?

I totally have you beat. Iknow this woman from Cleve-land, a high school teacher now,and not an especially shelteredlass, who never watched TheBrady Bunch until she wasmature enough to commandthe remote control.

She wasn’t allowed.It’s just that, faced with such

a picture-perfect portrait of anAmerican family, her parentsgot all weirded out. This wasn’thow families lived, she was told,and this wasn’t how familiesworked out their problems.Sometimes it was, but rarely. Itwas all too idealized for them,and I have met these people,and they’re not recovering hip-pies or military camp aficiona-dos. They’re like everybody’sparents, and though I spent achildhood watching everyepisode of The Brady Bunch aseemingly endless number oftimes, after sitting through TheBrady Bunch: The CompleteFirst Season (Paramount,$38.99), new on DVD, I got it.

The Bradys are pod people.Happy, seductive, and soul-

less. If you’re a parent, it’s easierto explain what’s wrong withthe world than to explain whyyour home isn’t more like theone where Mr. Brady and Mar-sha and Alice and the wholecheerful cult reside. If we’re sohappy, you might ask, why can’twe bond over measles (episode13) or learn an important lessonabout ego after saving a child ina toy store (episode 21)? Creat-ed by Sherwood Schwartz, whogives a warm, nostalgic com-mentary on a handful ofepisodes, The Brady Bunchalways felt true enough to makeyou completely jealous.

Especially if you were a kid.They rubbed their happi-

ness in your face. There’s theepisode here where the Bradyspool trading stamps to buyeither a canoe (for the boys) or asewing machine (for the gals),and have a card-stacking con-test to decide. There’s a sadisticepisode where Cindy could onlyinvite one parent to her gradeschool play and she’s forced byan unfeeling school district topick the parent she loves themost. Even at their low points,the Brady Bunch membersnever fought. They learned, andat their best, behaved the wayyou thought your friends’ fami-lies acted when you weren’t eat-ing at their house.

By chance, the day TheBrady Bunch DVD landed onmy desk, South Park: The Com-plete Fifth Season (Paramount,$49.99) mercifully arrived in themail. It was a relief. I neededsome reality.

�THE LONG RUN: What does

this say about Toledo? Thelongest-running films here inthe last year — as in, the onesthat stayed the longest in the-aters, without interruption —were The Passion of the Christ(about four months), The

Ford museum plansvintage fashion display By RHONDA B.SEWELLBLADE STAFF WRITER

DEARBORN, Mich. —Elizabeth Parke Firestonewas serious about lookingher best.

The blond-haired,blue-eyed wife of HarveyS. Firestone, Jr., main-tained a 24-inch waist-line well into her 50s. Sheloved American andFrench couture, wearingdesigns by the likes ofChristian Dior, PeggyHoyt, and Jean Patou, andshe was voted one of thebest-dressed women inh ld i h 1950 b

New York Institute.Beginning March 4,

visitors to the Henry FordMuseum here will be ableto view some of the lateMrs. Firestone’s collec-tion in the exhibit “VintageCouture: The Fashions ofElizabeth Parke Firestone.”

The exhibit, the muse-um’s first couture display,will showcase 50 dressesand 200 accessories fromthe 1920s through 1960,says exhibit curator NancyVilla Bryk. It runs throughJuly 13.

Ms. Villa Bryk says theexhibit provides insight

By JUDIE SCHWARTZand EVELINDA URMANSCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

Author Gigi Levangie Grazerknows about the byzantine, com-petitive world of Oscar day prepa-ration. Married to Brian Grazer,Ron Howard’s partner in the movieproductionc o m p a n yI m a g i n eEnter tain-ment, andwinner ofn u m e r o u sawards, including a best PictureOscar for A Beautiful Mind and aGolden Globe for the televisionseries Arrested Development, Mrs.Grazer herself has writtenManeater, Rescue Me, and the

l f h fil S

Sarandon. This June her latestnovel, Starter Wife, will hit book-stores.

Mrs. Grazer has attended manysoirees with her husband of sevenyears, and gave a rundown ofwhat a typical female Oscar invi-tee might undergo in order to beRed Carpet-ready. Let the count-down begin.

� Six to 12 months before: Ifyou even think you might be nom-inated, book your hairstylist andmakeup artist to be at your homethe day of the Oscars.

� Six weeks before: Add anextra day per week with your per-sonal trainer. Mrs. Grazer works outwith Valerie Waters, who alsotrains Jennifer Garner and CindyCrawford. Select the dress: Mrs.

‘Brady Bunch’DVD paintsportrait of TV’sperfect family

The Bradys’ housekeeperAlice (Ann B. Davis) andeldest son Greg (BarryWilliams) in an episodefrom the popular sitcom.

See FORWARD, Page 2

BLADE PHOTOS/LISA DUTTON

Peggy Hoytevening dress

Christian Diorevening gown

Getting ready for the Oscars

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