Why Texans Dress Like Cowboys

[Warpy]

268. Ranchers here favor jeans and t-shirts in summer

and they do wear straw cowboy hats, they'd be nuts not to in this state. Formal dress when they come to the big city for the state fair, for instance, is the new pair of jeans they're trying to break in plus either a shirt and a turquoise clasped string tie or C&W band t-shirt, or whatever. If it's a hot day the straw hats will be on. They generally leave the cowboy boots at home, they get put to hard use on the ranch and nobody wants to put some extra wear on them on pavement in the city. Suckers are expensive.

What you don't see are pressed jeans, snakeskin or other fancy cowboy boots, felt cowboy hats, fringed shirts or jackets, and the silly ass "I jest got off mah hoss" swagger affected by urban cowboys from Texas.

Now I've walked around a few towns in Texas and the guys who are urban cowboys do stick out like sore thumbs and you can tell who the real cowboys are because they're giggling. It really is costume and it really is a Texas thang, usually among people who have more money than sense.

The whole cowboy thing actually started in Florida and exists there today. Florida cowboys look a lot like NM cowboys, minus the string ties.