Ever since the early days, the trail drives after the Civil War, western
cowboys have been written and spoken about, their images sketched
and painted, their trappings braided and sewn. Western wear and western
hats were a big part of life. But no historical narratives adequately
explain the chemistry that bonded an incredibly diverse lot of men,
in the wilderness, and forced them to rely on each other and their
animals during long and trying odysseys. A cowboy was never without
his hat and stetson hats lead the way. Stetson hats have been a part
of the west and western wear as long as anyone can remeber.
From this experience came an astonishing amalgam of life that
would identify Americans forever - cowboy hats.
It was a jazz of Irish storytelling, Scottish seafaring and cattle
tending, Moorish and Spanish horsemanship, European cavalry traditions,
African improvisation, and Native American experience, if also oppression.
All the old ingredients can be heard and seen in the cowboying way
of life even today. We know that most of this nation's first cowboys,
the cowboys of the trail drives of the 1870s and 1880s, hailed from
the Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Gaelic roots in the British Isles. Their
distinctive lingo was largely based on the English language and
the songs and poems of the American cowboy are part of that old
tradition of balladry.
Today the cowboy spirit lives on with wester wear and cowboy hats.
Cowboy hat styles have become a part of every fashion generation.
Denim and leather remain traditional fabrics for outfitting the
cowboy. Detail such as pearlized buttons, massive belt buckles,
and snakeskin boots still adorn modern cowboys. And of course, where
would any cowboy be without his hat? The classic style holds through
with traditional rope braiding and trims. Colors range from basic
brown leather to flashy exotic animal skins. No matter where it
is worn, it still represents the robust vigorous figures who blazed
the historical trails.
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