Wild West shows and frontier rodeos are largely responsible for the distinctive styling and flare seen on cowboy shirts today. The arena cowboys...
Head Over Heels
“These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you.” –”These Boots are...
Fake or Real?
“The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most...
Ponchos Ride Again
“Is that a real poncho?… I mean, is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?” —”Camarillo Brillo” by Frank Zappa In one of the few tender...
Cowgirls in the Sand
The idea of cowgirls in the sand was once just a fever dream Neil Young had about beaches in Spain—that was his explanation for the creation of one...
Buckles: The Cowboy Calling Card
Out West, the belt buckle’s significance reaches beyond its functionality of keeping your pants from sagging. The buckle can proclaim the wearer’s...
Outerwear Out West
"A genuine mountaineer is a...kind of sui genus, an oddity, both in dress, language and appearance, from the rest of mankind." "Associated with...
The Genesis of Jeans
"I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have...
The Genesis of Jeans
"I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have...
The Functional Side of Cowboy Boots
All the men were well shod in good looking riding boots, except the cook. I learned that the boots were mostly made by a boot maker named Hyer, of...
What to Wear This Summer
I wear a sombrero, silk neckerchief, fringed buckskin shirt, sealskin chaparajos or riding trousers [sic]; alligator hide boots; and with my pearl...
Straws in the Wind
“One can thresh the straw of history until he is well worn out, and also is running some risk of wearing others out who may have to listen. So I...