Conspicuous Consumer WINDFALLS

Chair Leaders

The Inside Out Shop really does know the patio furniture business inside and out. The shop can repair wrought iron
and repaint it to match any color scheme, replace worn out cushions of almost any type, relace vinyl straps on vinyl
furniture, and if the manufacturer will allow it, they will order replacement parts for brands of furniture they
don’t even carry. The shop also has the largest selection of covers for director’s chairs in Dallas. The accessory
shop is at 5706 W. Lovers Lane. A new showroom recently opened at 5730 W. Lovers Lane.

Hands Off



A California industrial engineer has designed luggage that eliminates almost all the hassles of traveling with
baggage. The Day Pac ($62), the Suit Pac ($104) and the Week Pac ($104) – or all three for $260 – have been
scientifically designed for convenient, time-saving traveling. Each piece of luggage has a surprising amount of
packing space. They fit under airline seats or overhead to save you travel time, and they can be worn over the
shoulder, leaving your hands free. In tan or navy blue with leather reinforcements. Available at The Outfitters and
Bag ’N’ Baggage.

Touching All Basics

The Last Resort is a buyer service for everyone who has taste but not time. The brainchild of Dallas designer Sheila
Freidberg, the service offers fully coor- dinated move-in packages for the kitchen, patio, bath and bedroom – all
the basic items one needs for a well-outfitted home. Each package is available in several color and style choices.
The “Patio Picnic Pack,” for example, includes non-breakable Melamine dinnerware, flatware, place mats, napkins, and
accessories for eight, $118. The kitchen package includes dinner-ware, flatware and glasses for eight, cook- ware
and appliances. The delivered pack-age $337. Call 387-0179 or write The Last Resort, 11931 North Central Expressway,
Dallas 75243.

The Kindest Cut

With a little nerve, you could get a free haircut. Just go to the Classic Cut (formerly Vidal Sassoon) on a
Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening between 5:30 and 6:00 and wait your turn to be guinea pig. Students are
licensed cosmetologists with a minimum of 1,500 hours training and, frequently, experience as salon stylists. After
a brief consultation, the stylist will recommend a cut suited to your facial features. If you like the suggestion,
the stylist will give you a shampoo, cut and blow dry free of charge. The process, which lasts about two hours, is
supervised by one of the salon’s owners. The Classic Cut, 1310 Elm, Dallas. 741-2821.

DON’T SIT UNDER THE APPLE TREE IN ANY OTHER CHAIRS BUT THESE

Furniture for the back yard now gets the same design attention as your sofa or bed. The proof is on these pages.
1 A dining/arm chair by Keller Scroll in rust-free solid aluminum with vinyl strap cover. $86.95 at Freed’s
Furniture. 2 White lacquer folding beach chair with treated canvas cover by designer Peter Condu. Cover comes
in sky blue or sun yellow. $77 at Lord & Taylor. 3 Buy several of these stackable plastic coated steel pool
chairs, enjoy them all summer and store them compactly during the winter. The Rialto deck chair pictured here is $29
(4 for $100). At the Storehouse. 4 The Nomad chair, a new design from Brown Jordan. Totally weather resistant
and light as a summer breeze. About $75 through your designer at the Brown Jordan Showroom (558 Oak Lawn Plaza), or
directly in Dallas through Freed Furniture, Sanger-Harris, and the Inside Out Shop or the Sundial in Fort Worth. 5.
This French import six-position chair can be bought separately for $235 or as part of a dining group that includes a
great looking umbrella table. It is made of white lacquered beech and is cushioned with 100% dralon fabric. At Lord
& Taylor. 6. The Spair Chair is really two chairs in one. Turn it one way and it’s dining height, flip it over and
it’s a lounge chair. Made of molded white plastic and canvas with detachable cushions. Covers in rust, brown,
natural, green, blue or yellow at John Simmons in NorthPark. The frame and canvas cover is $30. A pair of cushions
is $20. 7. This completely handmade redwood chair is’ available exclusively at Bloomer’s, 2923 N. Henderson. The
group includes chairs, tables, planters, benches and birdhouses, as well as custom designs. $240 for the chair,
including freight.

THE MOWER THE MERRIER

Alas, Spring has indeed sprung. The dandelion is upon us. The only hope for survival until the day when all the
world is again a golden brown is to attack with the best combat equipment, to arm ourselves with the right weapons
against the North Texas sun, grass and terrain, and to persist until the last blade of crabgrass withers. Here is a
rundown on this year’s best equipment.

Push mowers. Don’t laugh. Today’s manual mowers are not like the old cast iron variety that you used to mow
Grandma’s lawn for fifty cents. Lightweight, easy-to-handle push mowers are ideal for small North Dallas townhouses
or condominium courtyards, especially if you have no garage in which to store the messy, smelly and volatile can of
gasoline. It’s amazing how much they cost though. Sears Light Weight Easy-Mow will run you about $70.

Electric mowers. If you have a small area to tend and if you’re not the pushy type, consider an electric. If
your mowing area is quite near an electrical outlet, the cord electric models are your best bet. Black and Decker
has a dandy line of cord electric rotaries with a blade range from 14″ to 19″. My favorite is a new model just out
this year, a 19″ top of the line mower which has counter-rotating twin blades and a rear grass catcher ($139.95).

The battery-operated electrics really have not been perfected except for short runs, though the concept is
tremendously appealing. The most area that you can realistically expect to handle with one of these before the
battery runs down is 5,000 square feet, though 2,000 to 4,000 is more likely. And tall, tough grass will drain the
battery three times as fast as sparse grass.

Push power rotaries. This is a compromise between the pioneer spirit and automation. You make the wheels turn
and Briggs and Stratton cuts the grass. This is a very good mower for a small or medium flat yard since it gives you
a feeling of being in control. If your yard is steep or hilly you will regret buying a push mower. For small yards
the Sears Craftsman 20″ Rear-Bagger, which lists in the catalog for $134, should do nicely, but if your lawn is
closer to 10,000 square feet you’ll probably be happier with the 21″ Snapper for $207.95.

Self-propelled rotaries. This is the music machine of Saturday morning America, the badge of recognition in
middle-class suburbia. There are a number of dealers in Dallas and Fort Worth who carry several brands. Of the
multi-line dealers consulted, no one listed Snapper ($295.95) lower than a tie for first place. Jacobsen ($299.95)
was next, and the general feeling prevalent among dealers was disappointment that Jacobsen had sold out to sex
appeal. Personally I’m not interested in having an affair with my mower. I want one that will start most of the
time, cut most of the grass and get me back inside where I can drink a Nehi Orange and listen to Johnny Paycheck
sing “Slide off of Those Satin Sheets.” This year’s 21″ Jacobsen has a sleek red-orange cover over the motor that
makes the machine look like it’s more interested in setting a new land speed record on the Bonneville salt flats
than in decimating tiresome crabgrass. The cover serves no purpose and gets in the way when servicing is needed.

Toro ($299.95) was the consensus third choice. Everyone insisted that it’s basically a good machine, but one dealer
said that the “76 model had so many bugs that he didn’t push it. He added, though, that the Toro people have
apparently ironed out all of the problems with the ’77 model. The most controversial self-propelled mower is the
Lawn-Boy ($274.95). Some swear by it, others wouldn’t have one. Unlike the other major brands it has a two-cycle
engine, which means that you have to mix the gas and oil as if it were an outboard marine motor. In fact it’s made
by the same people who make Johnson and Evinrude boat motors. “If you don’t get that mix just right,” says one local
repairman, “it will freeze up on you, and then you’re in a mess.” But it’s a handy little lightweight mower, and all
agree that if you take care of it and are careful with your mix, it will give you good service. It’s a popular model
because it doesn’t weigh a ton and it’s easy to start. And the two-cycle engine has a distinct advantage on steep
slanted lawns – as long as it’s getting gas, you know that it’s getting oil, not the case with the four-cycle. But
for a mower specifically designed for rough sledding on sharp slopes, I prefer the Ja-cobsen Heavy Duty with rear
wheel drive ($299.95), the only two cycle in the Jacob-sen line.

The latest craze among manufacturers of self-propelled mowers is rear bagging. Instead of a grass bag on the side to
scrape against trees and fences, everyone has come out with a model this year that has the bag in the back between
the mower and the handle. Why didn’t someone think of that 40 years ago? Snapper and Jacobsen have the best designed
rear bagger. Lawn-Boy has missed the whole point of the rear bagging concept by bringing the dispersal chute out the
side and then around to the back like the first rung of a spiral staircase. A rear bagger is a must for a wooded
lot.

The mulchers. Generically, these are actually self-propelled rotaries but they are becoming so popular that
they deserve separate treatment. There is no bag to empty, no residue to rake. There isn’t even a discharge chute. A
strange-shaped cutting blade clips the grass into smaller than normal pieces and blows it down below the grass
level, out of sight, to turn to nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Too good to be true? An unnamed Midwestern
university has tested the process and confirmed that it does in fact work, providing the same nutrition as a
10-10-10 fertilizer. “That might be fine for the Midwest,” says one dealer who doesn’t handle mulchers, “but in this
Texas sun you need to get rid of that cut grass or you’re going to have problems.” Even he admitted though that if
you have no intention of bagging or raking, the mulcher is your best bet. Bolens ($269.95) is the innovator and
generally acknowledged to be the best. Jacobsen has a twin blade mulcher ($289.95), but in steering clear of the
Bolens patent they have sacrificed efficiency.

Simplicity ($289.95) has a “4-in-l” mower this year that will mulch, collect grass at the side, collect it at the
rear or disperse it. This may be a step in the right direction. You could mulch one mowing and collect the next, or
even mulch for half a season and collect the other half. The problem with the 4-in-l is the design of the discharge
chute to the side, rendering the rear bagger of no advantage. All of the mulchers have one of the same handicaps as
the cordless electrics. They don’t do well in tall grass, thick carpeted St. Augustine being particularly
overwhelming.

Self-propelled reels. You have to have one of these if you have Tiff or Zoysia or if you have Fescue mixed
with your Bermuda. Ideally a seven-blade reel would be preferable,but there have been problems with these. One
dealer has had difficulty with the McLane seven blader ($259.95), yet another claims to have sold ten without any
serious complaints. The best gamble appears to be a high speed, front throw, five-bladed reel such as the Trimmer
($349.95).

Riding mowers. If you want a rider for a two-acre tract in Piano or Allen, great, but don’t buy one for a 60’
by 100’ lot in University Park. A rider is more trouble than it’s worth for less than half an acre. Sears makes a
nice 7 horsepower 26″ Craftsman which catalogs for $439 that can make short work of a half acre. For an acre, the
John Deere 8 horsepower 30″ rig ($1,095) would be more suitable. Snapper has a new “High Vacuum” rider that sucks
the grass upward into the blade to give a smooth, even cut. The 8 horsepower is $782.95 and the 10 horsepower is
$892.95. The eight-bushel bag attachment is $104.95, the 30-bushel, $199.9



POWER ACCESSORIES

Grass and weed trimmers. The greatest innovation since fireplace matches is still the leader in the trimmer
field, the Weed-eater ($69.95). Competitors and even the Weedeater Company itself make cheaper models but this is
the one to get. It’s safe, using fishing line instead of a blade, and amazingly fast. It does have one major
drawback. The whirling line will injure small trees and plants. If your trees are still saplings you had better
stick with a long handle electric grass shear such as the Black and Decker ($31.95) or the Dis-ston Cordless
Electric ($29.95).

Edgers. The consensus choice is the gas powered 3 horsepower McLane ($189.95), which has a ball bearing
crankshaft and four adjustable 7″ wheels, suitable for attacking from either the grass side or the curb side. For
smaller yards the Black and Decker Deluxe Lawn Edger ($49.95), a lightweight electric, should do nicely. Sears has a
handy 3 horsepower combination Edger-Trimmer with a blade that will operate either parallel with or horizontal to
the ground ($139).

Shrub and hedge trimmers. Black and Decker has the best line in this field offering double edge, single edge,
cord and cordless models. The best all around trimmer appears to be the 16″ Deluxe Double-Edge Shrub and Hedge
Trimmer ($36.99). If all of your shrubs abut your house, the cord models are preferable.

If you buy all of this fine equipment and your neighbor’s yard still looks better than yours, don’t feel bad. Grass
always looks browner on this side of the fence.