These Boots Were Made For Line Dancin'

At a honky-tonk, you can dress western (boots, belts and hats) or go vintage '40s and '50s (bowling shirts, rhinestoned dresses, lace skirts). But if you're going line dancing, you should at the very least have boots.

So says Cindy Chance, co-manager of Carol's Western Wear in Glen Burnie and Laurel. Chance, also an anthropology student at the University of Maryland, wrote an ethnography on cowboy boots last year. The topic: why men wear them. The reasons: to uphold tradition, to evince masculinity and to stick out, which goes well with Carol's Western Wear's tag line ("Stand apart from the herd").

"If you look at the footwear around the city street in Dupont Circle, western boots are different than everything," Chance says.

Carol's sells hats, buckles, leather goods and jewelry, but the store's trademark is its vast selection of boots, ranging from $88 to $1,200 a pair from more than a dozen vendors. For a first-time boot buyer, Chance recommends looking in the $150 range for a leather-soled pair made by Justin Boots out of Fort Worth.

Two locations for Carol's: 7347 Ritchie Hwy., Glen Burnie, 410-761-1992; 9600 Route 198, Laurel, 301-470-6136; http://www.carolswesternwear.com.

Other Local Retailers

W.J. Colt & Co. Outfitters. This company outfitted guests for presidential inauguration events in 2004. In addition to standard western attire, W.J. Colt has jewelry and accessories to ornament your ensemble. 6690 Springfield Mall, Springfield, 703-971-7555, http://www.wjcolt.com.

Cowboy Western Wear. It's hard to find a better outpost for boots, hats, belts and buckles in the District. 3147 Dumbarton St. NW, 202-298-8299.

Western Gear on the Web

Alcala's Western Wear ( http://www.alcalas.com). Founded in 1972, the headquarters in Chicago has 5,000 hats and 10,000 boots whose brands can be ordered from the company's Web site. Find hats made of felt, straw and leather, or consider getting boots fashioned out of alligator, ostrich, lizard, snake, stingray or eel.

Bowling Concepts ( http://www.bowlingshirts.com). The site caters to bowling teams, but this is still a good place to buy retro button-ups for honky-tonk wear.

Sheplers ( http://www.sheplers.com). This Wichita-based company purports to have the world's largest selection of every imaginable kind of western clothing for men, women and kids. With its endlessly clickable Web site, that's easy to believe. Most notable is its collection of belts and belt buckles (which range from a $14.99 Confederate flag buckle to a $180 turquoise stone inlay buckle).

Viva la Vintage ( http://www.vivalavintage.com). You can sort clothes right on the home page by choosing "Western," "Rockabilly" or "Denim." This is primarily a site for women, with a healthy supply of skirts from taffeta to squaw to jean.

-- D.Z.