When the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo comes to town each January, Denver’s streets and stockyards are full of folks in cowboy hats and boots, big belt buckles and embroidered shirts.
To the untrained eye, they may all look alike. But there are many dimensions to Western attire, some function and a lot of fashion and showmanship.
The working cowboy dresses in basic shirts and jeans, the rodeo competitor in starched denim, fringed leather chaps and dinner-plate belt buckle.
For spectator events like the parade in downtown Denver that kicks off the show, kids still show up in leather vests and holsters, and business executives polish their boots and brush off their hats to greet the public.
Performers like the Westernaires precision riding team and the myriad Miss Rodeos have full wardrobes of colorful and sparkly outfits for their appearances and picture signings.
Also gleaming are the crystal-studded women’s outfits for showmanship horse events. They are custom made, have dyed-to-match boots and can easily cost $3,000-$4,000, according to Karen Qualls, a competitor from Chino Hills, Calif., who had a half dozen ribbons pinned outside her horse stalls.
The guy or girl who just wants to add a Western item or two — a hat, rhinestone-studded belt, silver jewelry — can find ample geegaws to buy at the booths inside the show’s exhibition halls.
Karen Batchelor of Brighton Feed & Saddlery was showing customers how to tie silk scarves in four-square knots one afternoon last week.
Patty Smith of the Rocky P. Ranch store was showing Double D Ranchwear jackets that sell for $600 and up, and $2,000 silver necklaces featuring charms with broken china pieces and semi-precious stone. Jackets of her own design are trimmed in fox.
Diane Bishop of Cheyenne, who shapes, steams and cleans hats for customers at her Western Traditions booth, said a visitor came by and paid her the highest compliment after looking over her outfit. She was wearing a plaid shirt, red vest and jeans, accessorized with a wide- brimmed cowboy hat, belt, boots and even a tooled leather cellphone pouch.
“He told me, ‘You’re 100 percent Western,'” she said with a laugh.
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
