Vested Interest

Mustaches, hats, boots and vests became sartorial staples among males in the American West during the 1800s. Case in point is the accompanying photograph showing members of Company F of the Texas Ranger’s Frontier Battalion. The vest—that sleeveless upper body garment meant to be worn under a topcoat—was the Westerner’s nod to Victorian propriety, which dictated that gentlemen wore vests over their shirts. Indigent cowboys, well-heeled card sharps, ornery outlaws and stalwart lawmen