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Post by tartanphantom on Nov 27, 2024 8:59:13 GMT -5
See the thing for me, as an American, with cowboy hats and boots is I feel, personally, that it is a uniform. I, as a damn yankee, have no business being in either. Now I am in the south and see the cowboy fashion on guys that clearly have no idea what being a cowboy is like. They are no less a city slicker than I am. That's just me personally. Like you can tell the difference between the clean, slick, starched uniform of a poser over the clothes of an actually working cowboy/farmer. But I will say, I do very much like western formal wear for men and wished I could pull that look off. 
The "drugstore cowboy" look can usually be spotted a mile away.
Intentional family relocation from the suburbs to a rural landscape when I just about to turn 13 was life-changing for me. I've raised cattle and horses, birthed half a dozen calves, worked crops, hauled hay, built fences and barns, hunted and fished for the dinner table (as well as fending off predators), operated and serviced farm equipment; all before reaching the age of 18. In fact, the first vehicle I ever learned to drive was a Ford 8N tractor at age 13.
For me, a well-worn hat, a pair of boots and a buckskin jacket is like a second skin. While I do have "nice" semi-formal western attire, I rarely wear it these days, except for funerals and weddings.
I may live back in the suburbs as an adult now, but I hope to remedy that before I retire.
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Post by impulse on Nov 27, 2024 10:00:37 GMT -5
Edit: This is one from a little bit over a year ago.  Very sharp. The hat really suits you and it works well with the rest of the outfit. It's rare to be able to pull off a fedora in 2024, but it suits you well (no pun intended, but appreciated). I like to center my general attire around "smart casual" with more of an emphasis on the casual, especially when it's warm. I like t-shirts and shorts/jeans for every day, and I pair the jeans with a rolled-up-sleeves button up shirt. I prefer cotton ones that can dress up or down with slacks or jeans, and slip on shoes. I'm from the southern US, but now that I live somewhere with actual seasons, it's not rare to catch me in a big old sweater, either, which my life loves. I am a textbook elder millennial and will wear my canvas slip-on sneakers as long as I can get them (with no show socks in the warmer seasons). If I need to wear dress shoes, I like Kenneth Cole. Good style and you can catch them on sale enough. My favorite is a pair of oxbloods. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 27, 2024 10:27:38 GMT -5
Most of these are usually for stage-wear or performances, but occasionally they make their way into regular life when I feel like it-- particularly the tweed cap and the bowler.
The bowler was the true hat that won the west. If you look at photographs from the "Old West" the bowler is the predominant hat. It's what Bat Masterson wore. I've currently got seven pairs of cowboy boots, four of which are general wear (kicker boots) and three exotics (ostrich quill and leg wingtips, eel, and python). I wear them 99.5% of the time. I have a pair of hiking/work boots and a pair of walking type tenner shoes. I grew up with horses that we used for elk and deer hunting. I used to watch my Dad light his cigarettes while riding a trotting horse in the rain. And my brother was part-owner of a dairy when I was young...I've chased a LOT of cattle. |
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Post by tartanphantom on Nov 27, 2024 10:55:15 GMT -5
Any time I talk about headwear, this Chuck Jones Looney Tunes classic always comes to mind.
(not full-length-- abbreviated by the uploader)
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,218 
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Post by Confessor on Nov 27, 2024 11:03:42 GMT -5
Most of these are usually for stage-wear or performances, but occasionally they make their way into regular life when I feel like it-- particularly the tweed cap and the bowler. It's what Bat Masterson wore. Very true, but I thought they were called Derby Hats in the U.S.? I tend to think of "Bowler" as being a British thing, so it's interesting to see you yanks using the term. Here's an old picture from about 12 years ago of me in a derby/bowler, placed jaunitly on the back of my head (which is how I'd wear one). As I said earlier, I think they suit me, but I'm not sure that I wouldn't feel like a bit of a dick wearing one in public.  |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 27, 2024 11:16:23 GMT -5
The bowler was the true hat that won the west. If you look at photographs from the "Old West" the bowler is the predominant hat. It's what Bat Masterson wore. I've currently got seven pairs of cowboy boots, four of which are general wear (kicker boots) and three exotics (ostrich quill and leg wingtips, eel, and python). I wear them 99.5% of the time. I have a pair of hiking/work boots and a pair of walking type tenner shoes. I grew up with horses that we used for elk and deer hunting. I used to watch my Dad light his cigarettes while riding a trotting horse in the rain. And my brother was part-owner of a dairy when I was young...I've chased a LOT of cattle. Yep, as demonstrated by that famous photograph of the Wild Bunch (of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid fame).
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 27, 2024 11:20:42 GMT -5
The bowler was the true hat that won the west. If you look at photographs from the "Old West" the bowler is the predominant hat. It's what Bat Masterson wore. Very true, but I thought they were called Derby Hats in the U.S.? I tend to think of "Bowler" as being a British thing, so it's interesting to see you yanks using the term. Here's an old picture from about 12 years ago of me in a derby/bowler, placed jaunitly on the back of my head (which is how I'd wear one). As I said earlier, I think they suit me, but I'm not sure that I wouldn't feel like a bit of a dick wearing one in public. The term is interchangeable. I feel like derby was more common in the 20s-40s, but I mostly hear bowler here in the US now. This is Number Three Son a number of years back in his Western Heritage outfit for 4-H. My Dad made and hand-tooled the holster back in the 70s.  |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 27, 2024 11:28:13 GMT -5
Number Two son and his girlfriend recently went to a Kacey Musgraves concert in Baltimore. He wore a pair of my old boots that he still has and the cowboy hat that was part of the wedding attire when his best friend got married. Apparently he had at least four people positively comment on his hat and boots as they were walking on the streets of Baltimore.
And yes, I realize the appropriateness of those last five words.
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