Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the nineteenth century American West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of pioneer, mountain man, Civil War, cowboy and vaquero clothing to the stylized garments popularized by singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers in the 1940s and '50s.
Western wear ranges from accurate historical reproductions of pioneer, mountain man, Civil War, cowboy and vaquero clothing to the stylized garments popularized by singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers the 1940s and '50s.
The most elaborate western wear is the custom work created by rodeo tailors such as Nudie Cohen, which is characterized by elaborate embroidery and rhinestone decoration. (See also Nudie suit.) This type of western wear, popularized by country music performers, is the origin of the phrase Rhinestone Cowboy.
You can discuss westernwear clothing and accessories at the Western Wear fashion group at the Fashion Industry Network.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/western_wear). 8/10/05 |
Every signature piece of western wear began as equipment. The high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat shaded sun and shed rain; the bandana filtered dust; chaps armoured legs against brush and cattle work; pointed boots slipped easily into stirrups and out again in a fall; the snap-button shirt could tear open rather than drag a fallen rider. Vaquero dress from the Mexican ranching tradition supplied much of the vocabulary, and Civil War surplus, buckskin and frontier tailoring filled out the working wardrobe that later generations would romanticise.
Historical reproduction western wear takes that working layer seriously — correct fabrics, period cuts and hand finishing for re-enactors, collectors and film work. It is a craft market in its own right, and its standards are documentary: a garment is right when it matches what a mountain man, pioneer or working cowboy of a specific decade would actually have worn.
The second branch of western wear deliberately leaves realism behind. Hollywood's singing cowboys needed outfits that read at a distance and on camera: fringe, piping, embroidered yokes and bright contrast colours. Rodeo tailors, above all Nudie Cohen, pushed the style into full spectacle — suits covered in rhinestones and chain-stitched embroidery for country music performers, where the suit itself became part of the act. That lineage runs straight into modern stage costume and festival fashion, while the working branch continues on ranches. Western wear holds both at once: a heritage workwear tradition and America's most durable dress-up style.
Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the nineteenth-century American West, from pioneer, mountain man, Civil War, cowboy and vaquero clothing to stylised stage versions of the same dress.
The most elaborate western wear is the custom work of rodeo tailors such as Nudie Cohen, characterised by elaborate embroidery and rhinestone decoration. This type of western wear, popularised by country music performers, is the origin of the phrase Rhinestone Cowboy.
Singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers popularised the stylised garments in the 1940s and '50s, carrying western dress from working clothing into entertainment costume and everyday fashion.