Denim & the Wild West

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western fashion has become the symbolic national folk costume of the United States, distinguishing America and Americans around the world. The cowboy image is rooted in the "rugged individualism," western wear and the pioneers. They made this style fashionable and are the source of inspiration for those shaping American identity at home and abroad.

Denim & the Wild West

High-profile figures such as Buffalo Bill's touring Wild West show in the 1880s, as well as Tom Mix and other movie idols of the 1920s and 1930s spawned a prosperous western wear industry that produced fancy inlaid boots and heavily embroidered shirts with western yokes, arrow pockets and whipcord piping. After World War II, fashion elements like pearl snap buttons, bolo ties, tooled belts and engraved buckles spread across the West. Today, clothing worn by rodeo champions and western music stars continues to influence contemporary fashion.

Denim & the Wild West

 

Movie star cowboys remained enormously popular from the 1930s through the 1960s. The new medium of television also adopted Western themes as mainstays of programming. Added into the mix were a host of singing cowboys, honky-tonk heroes, and country music superstars, all riding the trendy cowboy image to new heights of fame and fortune. Real cowboys became increasingly rare during the period.

Denim & the Wild West

Denim and buckskin clothing and shapes associated with frontiersmen and cowboys have continuously influenced public perceptions of the West and Westerners.