As part of the Old West, Texas has a style all its own. It’s a place where the jeans are Wranglers, belt buckles are trophies, and hats the size of Texas come in your choice of felt or straw. Spurs jingle beneath leather chaps, vests, dusters, boots and pearl snap shirts. Worn dancing in the town square and working in the barn, Western wear is the ultimate combination of style, practicality and durability.
Carol Pope, Bowie-Cass EC: Tad Hobbs of Hooks shares a gentle touch with his horse, Gingersnap.
Julie Klammer, Pedernales EC: Mylie Pearl, 3, wears chaps and a cowgirl hat for a Texas birthday party.
Becca Bridge, South Plains EC: These 1952 cowgirls—Jane Powell Bridge, left, and sister Pat Powell Hightower—are ready for the rodeo.
David Pena, Pedernales EC: “My son loved the sound the spur made as he walked.”
Web Extra: Jesus Valverde, South Plains EC: Kelyn Valverde is excited about turning 1 year old.
Web Extra: Sabrina Shannon, Central Texas EC: The cowboy way
Web Extra: Larry Golden, Trinity Valley EC: “A gathering of cowboys and girls at the Fort Worth Stockyards”
Web Extra: Jennifer Tuggle, Cooke County EC: “One of the chuck wagon food judges at the 2017 Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering in the Fort Worth Stockyards”
Web Extra: Linda Whitted, San Bernard EC: Linda’s husband in his earliest Western wear, circa 1945
Web Extra: Jeanie Mann, Hamilton County EC: In the old days, when cowpoke friends would ride in, they were invited to “hang their hat and sit a spell.” They always wiped their boots and hung their hats on the wall before coming in to sit at the kitchen table and tell stories over mugs of hot coffee.
Web Extra: Judy O’Kelley, Nueces EC: “My sister Cheryl wearing her favorite suede cowgirl vest and chaps in 1956, and her great niece Alis wearing the same vest and chaps in 2017.”
Web Extra: Alice Langley, Panola-Harrison EC: Caden Commander is the 5-year-old son of Chad and Lexi Commander, who live in Elysian Fields. Caden wants to be a marshal when he grows up. People already call him Matt Dillon when they see him.
Web Extra: Ed Walraven, Bryan Texas Utilities: “Members of the Catalena Cowgirls, a western-themed mounted parade unit of Bryan, display the colors in a recent fiesta patrias parade.”
Web Extra: Jessica Adams, Lamar County EC: Jessica’s husband, Henry “Hank” Manson IV, bundles up while working in the barn.
