How The West Is Worn .....
There's More to the Western Look Than Being a Cowboy
Rapid City, SD -- Whether you hold to the fashion philosophies of a
Beau Brummel or a Mae West, what you wear and how you wear it presents the most
visual statement of self.
And it's a surprisingly short trip from Rodeo Drive in Hollywood to say,
Vintage Cowboy in Hill City. You can't get much more country than the
collections seen strolling down high fashion ramps 'round the world these days.
But you don't have to blow your trust fund trying to look as if you've
experienced baling hay. "Designers have been incorporating some form or
another of what we know as cowboy wear, for years," says Diane Norman, who
along with other organizers are presenting the Black Hills Stock Show Foundation
Style Show, Sat., January 26 in the Civic Center Theater.
They are envisioning trendy yet traditional.
There's no shortage of fashion savvy people in a part of the country where
living in the Wild, Wild, West is no less true today that it was a century ago.
"Some use of materials that have evolved over time began as a
necessity," says Norman, who as community relations director for the Black
Hills Stock Show Foundation is designing the event as a fund raiser for the
Foundation's scholarship programs. "First and foremost, people wore
leather, fur, and wools to keep warm and dry. People weren't making fashion
statements back then; they were just surviving."
From that has come enduring styles (some now crafted in synthetics) worn
around the world. The genre even makes its way into the pop culture where this
year's World Tour by Madonna, featuring an entire segment created around a
mechanical bull, has resulted in variations of the cowboy's belt buckle becoming
a hot fashion accessory.
"There's more to the western look than being a cowboy," observes
Norman. "But they look pretty good in that stuff, don't they?
"You can too. We'll present the looks, the style, the fashions that will
show you how easy it is to look and feel like the song says - a little bit
country and a little bit rock and roll .... without losing sight of your own
sense of style."
Over time, it's those examples of adaptations that has seen western fashions
also play to high fashion. And everything in between.
Take a stroll through stock show any time during its 10 day run and you'll
see most every interesting combination of country, western, casual and formal
wear imaginable - from the horse set outfitted in tweed hacking jackets to the
durable ranch cowboy outerwear of oilskin dusters, to eyelet work boots (popular
with the younger, urban crowd), to handbags that beg to be thrown over a saddle.
If you can't find a heel style or calf height on a boot to suit you, then you're
not looking.
For others, like Martha Rodriguez it's a matter of pulling together clothes
that will take a person from home to the business community and on to a city
government meeting. Providing input into this year's style show event, Rodriguez
is a wife, mother, business owner and public servant. Wearing that many hats all
in one day could challenge even the most venerable fashion veteran.
It doesn't have to. "My philosophy for clothing lines we offer at Some
Where Special is affordable clothing for women who have to move through the day
in any number of settings and who aren't going to be running home to change.
What you start your day in is what you'll end your work day in. That's a concept
that can be achieved in whatever particular fashion style suits someone."
This show will allow for 'atmosphere', says Norman. Beginning at 4:30 p.m.
with wine and cheeses, clothing line and accessories displays will be available
for viewing prior to models taking to the runway who will include local
personalities and professional cowboys and their spouses.
Participating stores (Vintage Cowboy; D.J.'s, Hill City; Miss Vickies, Belle
Fourche; Kathleen's, Spearfish; Some Where Special, Next Door 2 & RCC
Western Stores, Rapid City),
