Why Texans Dress Like Cowboys

[northoftheborder]

135. There's a bit o truth in your statements about Texas "cowboy" dress......

I'm a born and bred Texan, city dweller. There are subtle differences in the wearing of so called "western wear". There is a carving by a well-respected wood carver, Gene Zesch, who is a Texas rancher, descended from several generations of ranchers, original immigrants to Texas from Germany. His carving depicts two guys, standing at a bar. One is dressed as a regular rancher, with a well-worn hat, well-worn cotton shirt, droopy jeans, scuffed boots. The other has on a similar outfit, brand new bright colored plaid shirt, a bandanna around his neck, slick jeans, polished boots, and a sparkling white western hat. The first guy says to the other, "I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.!" We call that second guy a ''dude". There are "dude" ranches in Texas, where city folk go ride horses, and play at a generation's old way of life. It's all in the context, and I can see where a non-Texas would group everyone together and call them anachronistic.

George Bush, with his sparkling hat and cowboy riding boots, worn with his business suit is a "dude", in my humble opinion. He was a dude even on his own "ranchette". However, I would not disparage every person wearing such things as showing off, or trying to be something he's not. People like boots for their fashion and style; jeans are practical and last forever; teenage, and young women sometimes wear fancy western boots with a short skirt to parties. To me that looks like a costume, but they are just dressing up.

A member of my family, now deceased, wore riding style boots every day, all of his life, a lifetime rancher. That's the only kind of shoe he had. His newest pair were for Sunday, parties, the rodeo, going out of town. His middle pair were for every day, around the ranch, going into his local town. His oldest pair was for riding, doing rough ranch work. When those wore out, the second pair became his work boots, his Sunday boots for every day, and bought a new pair for "best". When he got too old and frail to wear boots, he had a hard time finding any shoes comfortable for his feet, and mainly wore slippers. NEVER had a pair of athletic shoes, even for walking. He also preferred those snap-fastened shirts, plaid or white. Now I would not call him a "dude" for wearing his boots, shirts and hat to church or anywhere else.

Sometimes people, not necessarily from rural backgrounds, have "western weddings" where the bride and groom both wear boots, the groom and other men in the wedding party wear jeans with their tuxedo jackets. To me, that borders on being anachronistic.

It's all in context.

Please try to not be judgemental of Texans' dress habits. We have a hard enough time living down our idiot elected officials.