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How about that vintage western look

Thanks fellas. My wife has had a turquoise colored Ortega's coat since the early 1980s. It hasn't seen the light of day for a long time. Not sure if it is faded or just needs a cleaning.

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BlueTrain

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,073
Someone probably mentioned it already somewhere between pages 2 and 14, which I skipped over, but I remember Roy Rogers explaining one reason, at least, why he wore those fancy outfits when performing. The simple answer was so it would make him seem a little bigger and more noticeable on stage. I don't know if he actually started that trend or not but I don't recall any photo from before around 1940 of Western entertainers wearing fancy things like he did later on. In fact, many Western Swing performs didn't even wear western-style clothes at first but more college-style things. Later, though, he and his band always wore Western outfits, though not exactly cowboy gear.

Where I grew up, anyone who owned horses wore cowboys hats and boots and jeans. One person, whose name was the very appropriate sounding "Jody Whittaker" had a stable a block from the house and kept horses. He could be seen going up and down the street with a team of horses and wagons but I otherwise know nothing about him and I never saw him actually ride a horse.
 
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11,130
Location
Alabama
Someone probably mentioned it already somewhere between pages 2 and 14, which I skipped over, but I remember Roy Rogers explaining one reason, at least, why he wore those fancy outfits when performing. The simple answer was so it would make him seem a little bigger and more noticeable on stage. I don't know if he actually started that trend or not but I don't recall any photo from before around 1940 of Western entertainers wearing fancy things like he did later on. In fact, many Western Swing performs didn't even wear western-style clothes at first but more college-style things. Later, though, he and his band always wore Western outfits, though not exactly cowboy gear.

Where I grew up, anyone who owned horses wore cowboys hats and boots and jeans. One person, whose name was the very appropriate sounding "Jody Whittaker" had a stable a block from the house and kept horses. He could be seen going up and down the street with a team of horses and wagons but I otherwise know nothing about him and I never saw him actually ride a horse.

There were quite a few around before the 40's with silent film actors and western performers on vaudeville. Tom Mix, who died in 1940, was famous for his exaggerated outfits.
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BlueTrain

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,073
I think Roy Rogers was referring to the rhinestone cowboy look they got from Nudie's in California, which is still in business. Remember Porter Waggoner's outfits?

Referring to Western wear and riding outfits in general, I think it always looked odd to see a double-breasted suit jacket with riding pants, but they turned up quite often. Also the way short neckties were popular, that ended four or five inches above your belt buckle. It's really hard to recreate that look these days. Riders in the Sky does a fair job but mind you, they're recreating old time Western entertainers, not Old West cowboys, but that's okay. Roy Rogers was never a cowboy. Tom Mix, on the other hand, was a little bit of everything, except maybe a singer or musician.
 

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