Suzie Fabricius, daughter of Russell President Ralph Fabricius, is a young, fit, athletic fashion maven. She’s “with it” if you know what we mean. While not a hunter herself, she’s been around the Russell boot and shoe making business since age 3 so knows full well the smells and sounds and numerous tasks involved in fashioning a pair of hand made Russell boots.
Shortly after Suzie joined the family business in 2011 she was inspired to design a Russell product that would appeal to the ladies of the world….hunters or not. Drawing upon her experiences in the world of ladies fashion, Suzie, with the help of our cobblers, developed a stylish new 15” tall pull-on boot that we named the Suzie’s Boot.
Suzie Fabricius and Gayne Young, On-Line Editor for Dallas Safari Club’s GameTrails.org. (Russell Moccasin image)
As Suzie explains, “Woman today wear a wide variety of vastly differing clothing options from tradition business attire to tailored slacks, jeans, leggings and yoga pants. When wearing tailored slacks or jeans, boots are the order of the day because you tuck your slacks into your boots…and tall boots are just the best.”
Suzie, at 5’ 9” tall, and being the fashion maven that she is, designed a 15-inch tall boot fashioned from buttery soft German Elk leather, double vamp construction for all day support and fully leather lined in soft full grained leather, fitted with a lightweight Aspen Gumlite sole.
After wearing her initial creation for a year, she stepped up her design to appeal to a broader range of styles and various levels of social applications. (And we all know that a woman can never have too many pairs of shoes…or boots in this case)
(Russell Moccasin image)
Next came a striking pair of black German Elk Suzie’s boots with alligator toe pieces and alligator accents. Not done yet, Suzie asked herself the inevitable question, “What if?” Which resulted in her ultimate statement Suzie’s Boot…a version made in all chocolate elephant leather. (The guys in the shop scoffed at such a thing).
We were wrong! While working at the 2014 safari shows which we participate in every winter, Suzie was working alongside the guys, wearing one or the other of her various Suzie’s Boot models….the standard brown German Elk model, the black German Elk and alligator combination….or, what turned out to be her knockout chocolate elephant version.
Much to the chagrin of the guys who were working alongside Suzie in the booth, we sold numerous pairs of the new elephant version. (The others too, but to a lesser extent). Suzie’s ingenuity and sense of style was resonating with the ladies at the shows. Every time we wrote an order for a pair of Suzie’s Boots, we would mutter to ourselves (quietly), “Well I’ll be! Maybe there’s something to this.”
For more fashion information on Suzie’s Boot, check them out on our website, www.russellmoccasin.com or call 920-361-2252 to request a catalog.
The Women's Outdoor News, aka The WON, features news, reviews and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure. This publication is for women, by women. View all posts by The WON
