THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN': BOOTS TREAD IN WORLDS OF BARNS, BOARD ROOMS

Exotic cowboy boots from left, boa constrictor, ostrich, rattlesnake and alligator.

Below, A pair of Justin Lace-R Roper boots made of sorrel apache bull hide with a double welted sole.

In barnyards and in board rooms, boots tread successfully in both worlds.

Proving that function need not preclude flair as boots of many makes have become wardrobe standouts.

Joining country music in cross-over appeal, boots with a western flair are hot commodities. The lace-up-roper style is at the top of the charts.

"Everybody likes them," said Tammy Clark of the Circle S Saddle Co. in Gordonville. "We sell them with work-boot soles, we sell them to kids for wearing to school, to the rodeo crowd, even for dress wear," she said.

Part of the lace-up roper's appeal is in construction, Clark explained. Built on a flat heel, sporting a rounded toe, and topped with an interchangeable flap called a kiltie, the lace-up boot combines comfort with good looks.

Authenticity, too, is a defining element. "There is a point behind them, they're not just a fashion statement," Clark explained. The flat-heeled-western boot was born from the need of calf ropers to jump from a horse and hit the ground running.

Anymore, boots are made for more than walking.

Work boots, ankle boots, hiking boots, lace-up boots with a European flair, they're as proliferate on playgrounds as in adult circles.

Adult styles usually influence the looks found in the younger sizes, and boots have certainly followed that trend, observed Susan Leimbach, manager of Children's Bazaar Shoes at The Crossroads. "Boots have been popular for at least four years," she said, observing that comfort and versatility are among their abiding strengths.

Lace-up work boots in leather and suede remain strong in boys' styles. Darker colors are preferred by many shoppers this year, Leimbach noted.

In girls' fashions, lace-up-ankle-boot color is wide-ranging. "We've got them in red, black, navy, brown, green, any color just about," Leimbach said.

For girls, patent boots are popular, too. "The patent black and red are real big colors," Leimbach said. A crocodile look in leather and patent can even be found.

Again, echoing adult styles, lace-up boots with more of a platform heel are also showing strong, Leimbach noted.

Hiking boots continue to become more mainstream.

"People aren't really hiking in them, they're more of a fashion statement, a casual look," observed Matt Duncan, manager of the recently opened Shoe Carnival at Cape West Plaza.

In the men's department, hiking boot styles are "leaning away from the more rugged look to the cloth. They're a little more sporty, fabric instead of leather," Duncan said.

However, when it comes to modified hiking boots, ladies continue to prefer the more rugged look, he pointed out.

The ankle boot fitted with a smooth sole continues to be a strong look in women's casual footwear, Duncan noted.

However, boots are far from relegated to a casual clothing niche.

Take, for instance, the classic elegance of the ladies' long, lean, riding boot. It's a timeless look, observed Dottie Pekarek of Hecht's Shoes on North Main Street.

And there is plenty that's new, too. "We have a little high-fashion boot with about a 2 1/2-inch heel and crocodile-print front," Pekarek noted. "It's very attractive with a long skirt with opaque hose or with tights; it's dressy, a dynamite look. ..." An elastic extension of the leather upper strikes above the ankle.

In the world of western boots, exotic leathers are particularly popular during the Christmas season, Clark noted. For boots with traditional western appeal, basic cowboy boots with medium-round-toe construction in a buckskin color is a favorite.

Packers -- a hiking book/roper/cowboy boot hybrid -- are another newer style for both men and women. The lace-up boot sports a medium-rounded toe and an undercut, riding heel, plus a spur ridge, Clark explained.