FASHION : Cow Charisma : Bovine Images Are Everywhere--From Earrings to Aprons
The cow has taken this country by storm. Where once the dog and the goldfish held America’s heartstrings, they’ve had to take a back seat to the hefty newcomer (which doesn’t actually drive cars, Far Side’s assertive Holsteins to the contrary).
Not that we cotton to actual cows. The country is caught up in virtual cows. It’s so much neater than keeping cranky livestock that could spoil the lawn or challenge your right of way into the garage.
It’s hard to say where it all began. The roots seem to lie in Vermont dairy country. From there they spread westward, converging on the coast perhaps five years ago with the onset of cow accessories for the home and automobile. Cow-shaped doormats began to decorate suburban doorsteps; cowhide seat covers appeared in trendy cars.
At first, those caught by cow charisma were branded extremists. But then, the fad got a hoof-hold. Cow pillows, cow mobiles, cow calendars, salt shakers, cookie jars and bed linen stampeded the market. Like Rush Limbaugh and the flag, cows were in.
Holstein-inspired clothing followed, not entirely by grass-roots effort. It got a boost from the folks who keep reminding you that milk does a body good--the California Milk Advisory Board.
The board ran a milk commercial a couple of years ago with models wearing black swimsuits splotched with white paint. Staffer Adri Boudewyn dreamed up the idea.
After it ran, “We had many calls from consumers saying, ‘Where can I get these bathing fashions?’ ” Boudewyn said the other day.
He passed the concept along to a manufacturer, Flyte, which came out with black-and-white T-shirts, swim and exercise wear, with a label that plugged milk.
“It had that real Holstein look, not a Dalmatian look with enlarged dots,” Boudewyn said proudly.
The clothes took off like a heifer in a hurricane. Americans apparently had longed to be more involved with their cow icons all along.
So to this day, cow fashions may be found where Ventura County shops. For those who have missed out on the craze, there is still time.
For instance, a wide assortment of cow jewelry is available at Claire’s Boutique in Ventura and Thousand Oaks, including earrings of black and white cowbells as well as entire miniature cows.
At Sears, adult-size cow slippers with horns are popular, according to salesclerk Carlos Sanchez, who says he owns a pair. However, in men’s sizes, “The dogs are a little more of a seller,” he said.
Imitation cowhide vests and shirts are available at various stores, including Beno’s in Santa Paula and Rave at the Buenaventura Mall.
Whole-cow motifs seem to be au courant locally, with night wear possibly the animal’s most popular forum.
Robinsons-May has a typical entry, an adult sleeper with an all-over pattern of red, pink and purple cows interspersed with multicolored MOOs.
Cows grace aprons and T-shirts at The Coach House in Thousand Oaks. Well, actually, several of the designs are bulls musing about cows. One of them, strumming a guitar, sings a melancholy, “Something in the way she moos . . . “ A second, seated at a bar with a straw in his mouth, declares, “I said HAY, bartender.”
But lest you think all cattle-inspired accessories are impulse buys, consider a pair of black-and-white cowhide boots at Howard & Phil’s Western Wear in Ventura and Thousand Oaks for $299, or a cow-shaped briefcase for $59 at Oxnard’s Carnegie Art Museum gift shop.
Teddy Knight of Ventura distributes the briefcases, which are made of humane Neoprene. She uses one as a purse herself and reports that it’s “an instant icebreaker.”
Knight pointed out the Neoprene produces an all-black animal, which some people would like to see in black and white, and suggested Holstein fans could add white splotches to the material.
She sells a menagerie of different animal-shaped bags but reports the cow and the Scotty dog to be top sellers, with the former holding a slight edge.
“The cow has this big agate-colored eye. People like that; she’s got a very soulful-looking eye,” she said.
It’s clear from this survey that the appeal of the cow is wide and enduring. Personally, we take the animal to be a symbol, if not a catalyst, of the back-to-nature movement. You will recall that at about the time cow mania became mainstream, thousands left the big cities for rural environs. Thousands more stayed on but clung to their bovine security symbols, cowed by the need for a higher income.
All of this has to do with agrarian roots that have been too long denied. Deep inside, we know this. Wal-Marts and freeways may fill up pastureland, but they can’t fill the place in our hearts left by the vanishing herd.
And won’t anytime soon. This is cow country.
Kathleen Williams writes the weekly fashion column for Ventura County Life. Write to her at 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura 93003 or send faxes to 658-5576.
