Why Western Wear?

Western clothing is a whole universe with room for everyone

Western wear is serious work wear, with most of its distinctive features originating in ranching and cattle raising. But it’s also more than just work wear. We love that while everything has a practical origin, it’s become decorative and artistic over time. What we most love about Western wear though, are its contradictions.

Despite being practical, it’s full of toungue-in-cheek fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It can be masculine as heck, but still camp as hell with sequins, silk and embroidery. In much of the west men and women essentially wear the same items of clothing with small differences in cut. Western wear has long been gender neutral, yet it isn’t afraid to be sexy, with features that accentuate and celebrate the body.

As a cross-cultural form, western wear mixes techniques and traditions from the diverse cultures that make up the American West. Geometric designs and fringe and buckskin are directly rooted in indigenous traditions; tooled leather and silver work come from Mexico via Spain via the Arab World; while check and embroidery draw on the folk traditions of European settlers.

At its best, western wear’s joyous disregard for gender boundaries and acceptance of cross-cultural pollination make it totally contemporary and relevant.