Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 21, 1993 TAG: 9303180275
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHLEEN WILSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WESTERN INFLUENCE
SOME say it started with "Lonesome Dove." No, wait. What about "Urban Cowboy"?To others, it's newer still.
Sure loved that "Dances With Wolves." And doesn't Jane Seymour look great in "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman"?
But did it ever really go out of style?
Not really. It just took most of us a lifetime to appreciate.
Call it country. Or call it western. But if you have to mix the two, call it C&W, enthusiasts insist.
The lines wherever you find western inspiration have blurred. You swear you hate country music, but you like Mary-Chapin Carpenter. Garth Brooks, too.
OK, you're not quite ready to admit you like Billy Ray Cyrus. At least not yet.
And, no, you'd never wear one of those hats, but you sure love the boots. And lately you find yourself straying away from Guess? in favor of those Levi 501 jeans with the little red tag.
Even Guess? saw it coming. The label launched its own western-wear specialty chain, claiming that sooner or later, you've done all you can with blue jeans.
Sooner or later, there's money to be made on shirts, boots, belts and jewelry, too.
It's where romantic myth and dusty reality collide. Western wear has always been known for its craftsmanship. Bold spirit.
No two of anything ever look quite the same because the best - and that's what you want - is made by hand. Crafted by artists from the earth's most basic elements.
By day you were always a suit. But by night, you were a testimony to rugged trailblazing spirit. By night, you were a cowboy, trading in your serious shoes for a kicky pair of two-color boots to hit the town loaded for fun.
Cowboys are individuals. They revel in solitude and enjoy the ride. They are western by choice. The West was no place for sissies.
And you only ride with the best. So why just be a cowboy after dark?
Wear the silver-embossed bolo ties to the office. The jacket with the embroidered blue boots used to look great with denim, but now it works with a black skirt, too. The western-inspired button-covers are fun, but they look great, too.
Fashion isn't what it used to be. It's better. The shirt, the jeans, the belt, the boots - they're not fad. They're fashion basics that have stood the test of time. Designers are taking the comfortable clothes you love to wear at home and retooling them for the office.
It's a whole new frontier.