“Save a horse, ride a cowboy.”
If you walk into any trendy boutique, you’re likely to find that or other Western phrases like “Cowgirl Era,” “Make Cowboys Cry” or “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” plastered onto shirts next to various pinup cowgirls. If you look beyond the T-shirt section, there’ll probably be some dark-wash denim and cowboy boots. Of course, to top off this little ensemble, there’ll be some cowboy hats — likely with some sort of rhinestone in the mix.
Recently, elements of Southwestern culture have infiltrated the mainstream at a breakneck pace. The resurgence in popularity of genuine leather — moving away from plastic disguised as pleather — and the sudden repopularization of fringe suggest that the world is longing for the days of the Wild West. But this raises the question: Why is Southwestern fashion back?
The first place to look when analyzing any trend is the economy. According to a 2024 survey from Bank of America, more than half of Gen Z doesn’t have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses. For many, buying new clothes all the time just isn’t feasible — especially when you can easily pay $60 or more at a boutique for the same polyester garbage available from fast-fashion brands for pennies on the dollar. Western wear, on the other hand, is rooted in practicality and built to withstand the toughest conditions.
For ranchers, investing in a good pair of boots is essential. After all, that’ll probably end up being the only thing standing between their feet and a hoof. Cowboy hats are designed to protect from both heat and cold, as well as wind and rain. While these pieces aren’t cheap, they are built to last and are worn daily by those who rely on them for safety. A good pair of boots will last thousands of wears and can be dressed up or down for many occasions, making them a better investment than the run-of-the-mill tennis shoe or flip-flop.
However, beyond the practicality of it, I believe the younger generation is searching for the good old days that we’ve heard so much about from older generations. When we look back at photos from when our parents and grandparents were our age, we see many of the styles that are popular today. It was in the 1950s that Westerns became massively popular in Hollywood with stars like John Wayne and Dale Evans, as well as films and TV shows. These brought the styles and customs of the Wild West into the homes of many who had never experienced life on the range. Fast-forward to the mid-1970s through the late 1990s, and we witnessed another wave of country music hit pop culture, giving rise to a style known as the urban cowboy, which continues to influence many different fashion subcultures today.
Moving into the new millennium, Western wear fell to the wayside for a while until it made a slight comeback following the global phenomenon that was Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” in 2018. The following year, celebrities and influencers took Coachella by storm in cowboy hats and chaps — surely I’m not the only one who has James Charles’ iconic chaps burned into their retinas. However, once the pandemic hit and everyone was quarantined at home, many traded in their cowboy boots for platform shoes.
Then, an ad during Super Bowl LVIII changed everything. Beyoncé, historically known for R&B, pop and dance music, was making a country album.
Cowboy Carter brought the style of Western Americana in a way not seen since the 1970s. With the classic “all-American girl” aesthetic popularized by artists like Lana Del Rey already gaining traction, the transition from Northeastern to Southwestern styles was an easy one.
However, now that Western wear is in a new heyday, I’m starting to see something interesting happening. Fashion influencers are beginning to lump in Western wear with the “old money” aesthetic. This is the same cultural label given to the clothing worn at country clubs or on yachts — classy, timeless and most of all, better than everyone else. The irony here, of course, is that most real old money folks wouldn’t have been caught dead in that sort of workwear, leaving that to the manure-covered ranchers and farmworkers in the fields.
The fact is, real Western fashion was born out of necessity, not micro-trend cycles built on hundreds of years of Indigenous American and vaquero traditions. But now it serves as nostalgia bait for an America that only ever existed on the silver screen. What was once considered “hick” or “redneck” just a few years ago is now sold at Nordstrom for hundreds of dollars.
And that’s the core of it. Western wear is an easy way for people to feel unique without having to push any boundaries, or, God forbid, take on the label of “alternative.”
While cowboy hats and big belt buckles may be trendy right now, we must remember and appreciate those who will continue to carry on the true Western tradition after the spotlight fades — a tradition of grit, hard work and struggle.
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