Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1162046
48 F rom the moment it launched in 2017, the name to know for chic western boots has been Miron Crosby, the fashion- thinking bespoke boot purveyor imagined by sisters Lizzie Means Duplantis and Sarah Means. They're the fifth generation to grow up on their family ranch in Valentine, Texas, near Marfa. After graduating from Rios of Mercedes factory in Mercedes, Texas — a 160-year-old manufacturer owned by Duplantis and Means' cousins. Consider it the Louboutin of the west: At Rios of Mercedes, the art of bootmaking is a careful skill passed down through generations of artisans. While fashion is, of course, at the forefront of the Miron Crosby mission (Gigi Hadid sported a pair in Vogue), it's the preservation of the Rios of Mercedes factory and the handmade boots produced there that truly drive Duplantis and Means. On a recent afternoon, I met the sisters for lunch at Park House, the private club just steps away from their dove's nest of a studio in Highland Park Village in Dallas. They both sported ankle-skimming Shorty-style boots (Duplantis in a pink pair, and Means in a splatter-painted boot from Miron Crosby's recent Rialto Jean Project collaboration), paired with feminine dayware that have all at once become their signature — and redefined what it means to dress Texas chic. In the beginning — boot camp. LMD: We saw a huge hole in the market for an authentic, more fashion-forward boot. You can throw them on when you go through carpool or go out on a date night. SM: We wanted to make sure people had a lot of opportunity to express themselves in their customization, by picking leathers and fabrications and doing their own thing. What's in store. LMD: One thing we're becoming known for — for better or for worse — is that people love to come up [to the boutique] and have a ranch water and pick out their boots. We've turned into a local watering hole. Bootleggers. LMD: In the winter, I lived in a pair of cropped leather pants that I wore with the Shorties and oversized sweaters or a silk blouse and a blazer. In the summer, I BY REGAN LANDRETH. PORTRAIT KRISTEN KILPATRICK. THE WEST TEXAS NATIVES BEHIND MIRON CROSBY HAVE TAKEN COWBOY BOOTS INTO THE REALM OF FASHION, HELPING TO PRESERVE A 160-YEAR-OLD BOOT-MAKING FACTORY IN THE PROCESS. TWO YEARS AFTER THE LAUNCH OF THEIR DEBUT COLLECTION, WE CHECK IN ON THE POWER DUO. BOOT-MAKING BEAUTIES Texas Christian University, both honed their fashion chops working in New York City — but now back in Texas, they're putting the cowboy boot squarely on the fashion map. A key to their success is that Miron Crosby boots can be ordered ready-to-wear or one of a kind, with options for custom pulls, leathers, stitching, even monograms. The magic, though, is in the craftsmanship: Each pair of boots is hand-lasted at the Sarah Means, Lizzie Means Duplantis