Bring on the boots

• Stroke, lung-cancer survivor dedicates time, talents to charity
• Menswear's got color, comfort

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Fashion Writer

"Long Horn Louie" is Pat Ekstrand's interpretation of a hot rod. Photos by Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Boots on the Beach' Nov. 1 fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society (sold out) ACS information/donations: 595-7544.

Seeking a fresh, creative approach, they decided to take last year's centerpieces, a pair of gold and silver ceramic boots, and ask Hawai'i artists and artisans to interpret and embellish them.

Twenty-five artists participated, using the boots, which were cast from a real pair of women's Size-7 boots, as a jumping-off point.

Pat Ekstrand of Pacific Heights called her boot "Long Horn Louie." "I looked at the pointed toe and the pattern seemed like wings, so I made it into a hot rod because it looked like it was speeding along," she explained. Her husband, Thad, helped make the wheels from a log rescued from the fireplace.

Ekstrand taught art at Hanahauoli School for many years, and her boot resembled some of the projects she had assigned to the children, so she dedicated "Long Horn Louie" to "those creative children."

Betsy Robertson used paper, paint and lots of embellishments.

Jodi Endicott used mulberry bark for her "living" design.

Peggy Chun did the "cow thing" for her boot.

The memory is more fresh for Charon Schwallie of Makaha, whose mother, Elizabeth Fichtner, had survived cancer but died just two years ago of other causes. She said that Nov. 1 (the day of the "Boots on the Beach" event) was her mother's birthday so she thought of her immediately. Her mother had a fabulous collection of hats for every occasion. As the wife of the mayor of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Fichtner wore this felt and feathered hat to meet Queen Elizabeth II. The artist draped the boot in a burgundy velveteen stocking and added a haku lei to bring out an Island-style Thanksgiving theme.

Jodi Endicott of Kailua, who often sculpts critters that are larger than life, chose a different direction for her boots: "I did a series of shoes a few years ago out of mulberry bark, so that's what I saw when I looked at those boots. I put papier-mache all over them, then started sculpting with banana leaves which are so leathery looking." She added the succulents as tassels on the toes: "I wanted to incorporate something living, because a lot of people are living with cancer."

Roy Venters of downtown Honolulu calls his work "Tattoo You." It was inspired by an image from an old ad for Tony Llama cowboy boots in which a decidedly macho "Marlboro Man"-type cowboy in the desert steps on a rattlesnake and leans down to cut off its head with a knife.

He added, "I've always loved tattoos. And of course you have to have a rhinestone toe cap if you're any kind of cowboy at all." He used tattoo art to create the snakes, daggers and roses.

Peggy Chun of Nu'uanu, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease and has lost the use of one hand, also donated her talent to fighting cancer. "At first, I was going to make it a cactus and had it all painted green, but with only one hand, I couldn't put all the prickly things on. Since I'm known for cows, I decided to do the cow thing," Chun chuckled. She also loves feathers and used three bags of maribou plumes to trim her "cowhide" boot. The bouquet of Japanese lantern flowers, she explained, added "a Halloween touch."

"I tend to let things take on their own life. You know how you find random things on the beach as you go along and pick things up?

I thought of that," said artist Betsy Robertson of Makiki. She often creates themed collage boxes for thegift shop she manages at the Contemporary Museum, and she employed the same treatment on her boot. Among the slogans she worked into the boot are "Girls just wanna have fun" and "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

Her materials include handmade papers, acrylic paint, rhinestones, toys and charms. She embellished the seams with glass beads.

This unconventional art is sure to bring big bucks into the American Cancer Society's coffers Saturday, when the boots will go on the auction block.

Reach Paula Rath at prath@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-5464.

Stroke, lung-cancer survivor dedicates time, talents to charity

Volunteer Diana Snyder, right, and her daughter, Malia Hoffman, have been working on the "Boots on the Beach" fund-raiser.

These volunteers often dedicate their time and talents because of a personal connection with the charity. Diana Snyder of Wai'alae Iki is among them.

A survivor of a stroke, Snyder has worked tirelessly for decades for the American Heart Association's Hawai'i chapter, including a year as chairwoman of the Heart Ball, a job akin to being CEO of a large corporation. A collector of art, she works as a docent at the Contemporary Museum and is a former chairwoman of the Honolulu Academy of Arts' Kama'aina Christmas.

As a survivor of lung cancer, she is assisting the American Cancer Society's Hawai'i chapter with its annual fund-raiser, "Boots on the Beach."

This year, she had unexpected help. Her daughter, Malia Snyder Hoffman, came home to Hawai'i for several months to wait out her pregnancy. Because she lives in Hong Kong, and SARS is still a concern there, she thought it safer to stay in Honolulu until the birth of her baby in January.

So mother and daughter have been working together on "Boots on the Beach," much to the delight of each of them.

Menswear's got color, comfort

"Look at all the pretty colors" isn't what you expect the average working guy to say when he's shopping for clothes. But if "in" is where he wants to be right now, he'll have to be open to an easy-going look.

According to fashion people everywhere, while past fall seasons brought us suits, formal and outerwear in conservative shades of gray, blue, brown and even white as the "new black," the words at the drawing board now are "casual" and "colorful."

Pete Snyder, CEO of Washington D.C.-based New Media Strategies, which monitors Web chatter for patterns on what's hot or not, said it's called "clash."

"Not '70s British punk stuff, but hybrid styles, a lot of mixing and matching of checks and stripes, even in different tie and shirt combos," Snyder said.

But given the regular schmo's propensity to overdo things, even clashed shirt-tie combos "should at least be a similar color scheme," Snyder cautioned.

Enough about shirts and ties, though. According to Snyder, this season being one in which casual will dominate, the fashion-savvy man should consider five styles:

• Colorful striped shirts, pressed and untucked over a pair of weathered jeans.
• Industrial chic, like the increasingly visible VonDutch line of T-shirts, jackets, jeans and trucker-style hats, based on the uniform of late 1940s and '50s California hot-rod customizer Kenneth Howard, aka VonDutch.
• Hip-hop gear — classic baggy jeans, matching denim jackets and hoodies — from the likes of Sean John, Phat Farm and Rocawear.
• Retro-classic tennis shoes from Puma, Pony, Adidas and Nike.
• The military look, including cargo pants, jumpsuits and even flight suits — inspired in part by President Bush's public appearance in a flight suit after he landed in a jet on the deck of the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in May.

Ultimately, Snyder said, is that these items are expected to be hot "because they're comfortable."