cowboys

Luxist Speaks to Lisa Sorrell about Cowboys and Sorrell's Custom Boots

Filed under: Shoes, Men's Style, Modern Gentleman

Boots are special by dint of numerical minority: most people don't wear them, so we tend to notice them. As well, they present a larger palette for expression and are often expressive far beyond mere size. Yet the statements most boots make concern their wearers: the bella donna in an intoxicating pair of thigh-high Cavallis will probably have you wondering what other influences she might be able to exert on you.

But there is no archetypical wearer, no marble goddess eternally posing in an ur-Cavalli-thigh-high to which all subsequent thigh highs can pray for inspiration. (And yes, we do think that is a shame...)

Cowboy boots, on the other hand, speak to origins and a certain history in a way that few other boots do. Wellington wearers aren't trying to channel Napoleon's nemesis, nor are those in postilions likely to be anywhere near a coach – whereas the very point of a cowboy boot is to recall the men of the prairie. They are the Grecian urns of the American West, but instead of wine, their 10-inch, stitched and inlaid and tanned leather tops are portage for the overflowing, canteen-stained aura of "selfless, honest, independent, and self-reliant" loners.

And when you put them on, those are the waters in which you choose to dip your feet.

The problem, as with most cult relics, is that they are poorly understood. So Luxist spoke to custom boot maker Lisa Sorrell of Sorrell's Custom Boots – whose average boot runs $6,000 – to learn more about how the West was worn. One of the first things she told us: "I tell my customers that cowboy boots are a way for men to wear high heels and bright colors."

Poorly understood, indeed...

Gallery: Lisa Sorrell's Custom Bootmaking Process

Gallery: Lisa Sorrell's Custom Boots

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Tags: boots, cowboy boots, cowboys, lisa sorrell, sorrells custom boots

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Texas To Auction Off Desirable License Plates

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

If you live in Texas and want a special popular tag, mark down September 22 on your calendar. That's when Texas Department of Motor Vehicles , in cooperation with a private company will be auctioning off 30 highly desirable seven-letter combinations at Cowboys Stadium. Up for bid will be tags including cowboys, ferrari, rangers, ftworth and porsche. Winners will get the rights to the plates for 25 years with an option to renew and can resell the plate if they want to. The revenue from the sale will be shared between the state and MyPlates.com, the company that holds the contract to sell Texas' personalized plates. Other states have raised millions through similar plate auctions.

My Plates sells new specialty license plates in the state of Texas. A variety of specialized backgrounds and messages are available independent of this auction. The most expensive are the luxury series which has a choice of 18 background designs and a message of up to six letters/numbers. A ten-year license plate in the luxury series costs $595.

[via Dallas Morning News]

Tags: cowboys, license plate, license plate auction, license plates, License Plates for Money, license tag sale, texas

New Decor Options For Cowboys and Cowgirls

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Vintage Western photographs get a new life at WesternWare. The company has turned old photographs into useful pieces of Western home decor. Images are used in paperweights, on dishes and serving pieces, decorative pillows and lamps. Particularly charming are the handbags with selected images of cowgirls from the Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. The lamp at right shows the image "Phil Spear Cutting Out a Steer" which dates back to 1895. It is on a base of tooled red leather and sells for $870.

Tags: cowboy art, cowboys, western art, western decor, western photography, westernware