The Cowboy Look, Fem ???

[deebra]

Think about it, we all know cowboys are macho males, not even close to being feminine........ BUT,, nobody has seen this but me but isn't their clothes hinging on a feminine/CD flare? They wear boots with heels like women's, their jeans are tight like women's, they ware belts that are embellished with big buckles like women's, their shirts are very colorful with embroidered stitching like women's, they wear a scarf tied around their neck like women, they wear hats (not fem) like women. And nobody see's this? I like the look and so do a lot of other people, so what's wrong with us taking this look just a little further with a feminine flare ???? Acceptance ?????? Double Standard ?????? If it's O.K. and accepted for cowboys then why not us ???????

[Joni T]

I don't think John Wayne, Hop Along Cassidy or Gene Autrey would agree with you.
Jon

[stacycoral]

Deebra, being out here in the west were cowboys and cowgirls are, yes the clothes you talk it true, but there is a reason for what they were, we are talking about real working cowhands, not the what to be, and yes they still do work the cow from horses and that is why there clothes are the way they are. hugs girl

[Jenniferathome]

You're seeing what is not there

We have real cowboys in Idaho. I think you might be confusing

this cliche:
http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=256399&stc=1
with this:

http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=256400&stc=1

[Kate Simmons]

One reason I always played with cowboy figures when I was little. ;):)

[Sheila11]

A cowboy has two sets of clothes.
1. Working clothes and boots that are rough and ready, tattered and worn.
2. Going to town clothes that are what Deebra described.

[Alice Torn]

Deebra, Interesting topic! You mentioned high heeled cowboy boots. They are designed that way to fit snugly in the saddle stirrups. But, when i thought finding high heels for my big feet wa going to be impossible, I actually considerd butchering some cowboy boots, and fashioning them into high heels shoes!! Ha!

[Tracii G]

I saw an article online a few years ago on this very subject so you are not the first to notice this.
Its just a style and nothing wrong with it. In fact I think cowboys look fine as hell in their tight jeans.
You can wear what you want why can't they?

[Katey888]

Think about it, we all know cowboys are macho males, not even close to being feminine........

Have you not watched 'Brokeback Mountain'...? :eek:

And have you noticed how much cowgirls look like... cowboys...? These are largely (with the exception of the little embellishments) utility clothes... The boots have large heels to lock the stirrup and control the horse... shirts are colorful so you can tell good guy from bad at the cinema... ;) scarves are for all that dust and the smell of cow poo... (actually, I think I'm getting a waft of that around here...) hats also utility...

I'm guessing if you wanted to look like a cowgirl you'd get as much acceptance as if you wanted to look like any other femme variant of a utility style. How about the Inuit? Spot the girl/boy here...

256394

See...? Utility clothing tends towards unisex... These could be either girls or boys too - who would know...? :facepalm:

256395

:D

Katey x

[mykell]

had as much luck watching "brokeback" as i did "frozen" :facepalm:
Inuit just does nothing for me :sad:....would love to have that figure of our first cowperson pictured though katey :D....pretty sure i could make quite some fashion statements with it :) cowperson or otherwise....

[jessica_brink]

Cowgirls wear pretty much the same clothes as cowboys. On them it doesn't particularly look feminine but I do think it looks great nonetheless. Proof is on the pic below
256403

[AngelaYVR]

Except in that pic she's wearing a skirt! And, oddly because of my skirt penchant, I find cowgirls very alluring. Or at least, I find hot looking cowgirls alluring....

[docrobbysherry]

I think some of us mite pull off a kind of macho cowgirl look that can be quite appealing!:daydreaming:

256410

[bok4fun]

But which came first. The cowboy or the female look you describe. (Hint: it wasn't her!)

seems to to me it is the issue of women wanting to be men again...

[Jilmac]

I've never seen the Lone Ranger wearing a feminine looking mask

[Dana44]

I was a cowboy. H'mm the clothe's we wear in Texas does not look fem. But shirts do look pretty good and that is the stuff you see in town. Working the ranch, it is tight jeans so that a tractor or wire doesn't snag you. Shirts are typically cotton because of the heat. And those heeled boots are for the stirrups on the horses. That is so they do not slip through. All for the protection of the cowboy as he works. Nothing feminine about it.

[Lily Catherine]

I'm on the stance that such garments (from an outsider's point of view) are entirely pragmatic, and the aesthetic is secondary albeit salient.

Now that said, that's a look that's almost unisex and can be worn tastefully independently of gender. More notably, it's a look that can and has been easily feminized (and admittedly sexualized). But it's beyond a far stretch to claim that it's anywhere near crossdressing.

[Heidi Stevens]

You nailed it, Dana! Been around "real" Cowboys all my life. You got working Cowboys who's clothes are functional and "Coca Cola" Cowboys who are dandy wannabes or the working fellas trying to "dude up" a little. Even so, the real Cowboys don't go over the top.

Now as far as the ladies "cowboy" look, you can go "Dale Evans" (skirts and fringe all over), you can go Reba (cute tops and tight jeans) or you can go Nashville (tight sequine dresses or leather and some boots). It all depends on where you're headed. Yip-I-yo!

[Sarah Beth]

A lot of you seem to have this vision of the movie or tv cowboy in your head. I grew up in cow country, and yes I have the boots and the hats and all of that and I have worked cattle from the back of a horse, and the only time you see any very fancy is for some special occasion when they want to decked out to impress some girl. For the most part is blue jeans, wranglers or levis and a lot of chambray shirts. A lot of the work on the ranches around here is still done on horseback and seeing a horse trailer or two or more around town during the day is pretty normal. As for the women it's pretty much the same for the ones who work on the ranch or farm blue jeans and plain shirts.

I really don't see anything fem in how a cowboy dresses. The high heels on the boots serve a purpose and the clothes are for the most part practical for the work even the big hat to protect from the sun and keep the head dry if it ever rained and a kerchief to put over the nose to keep the dust out. I have never seen a working cowboy in the midst of working a bunch of cattle in a fancy fringed shirt.

[deebra]

I hear all of you that said their clothes aren't feminine or a shade from CDing, however none of you know what their under ware looks like and maybe the reason they never bend over like the plumber is they don't want to show that they are wearing a th%#?........Just horsing around and kidding, however going by percentages you can't say none of them aren't CDing under the chaps!!!

[Beverley Sims]

Wearing a cowboy/girl outfit is probably akin to wearing a maids uniform or wedding dress.

Go to the costume shop and purchase "One very sexy cowgirl outfit. "



Practical clothing on a ranch is shirt, hat and jeans.

it is the person and how they wear it is what makes the difference.

[bok4fun]

It still blows my mind how you can have a whole thread with 20 posts about a given topic, and they all stay on topic, and then somebody comes along and tries to takes it a different direction.

[joank]

When I'm working horses I wear t-shirts or long sleeved shits, jeans and boots. Usually a baseball cap cause big hats get in the way when you are on the ground going under horses (checking hoofs). Nothing fancy and certainly not feminine.

[lingerieLiz]

Cowboy boots have heels so as not to go through the stirrups. The tall ones are called dogging heals because when you rope the doggie (calf) you usually stand in the stirrups.

I love women's western wear.

[Maxi]

Here I am trying out the country look.

[mechamoose]

I was waiting for the 'Daisy Dukes' comment. Kind of glad it didn't happen. My butt can't pull off those shorts anyway...

- MM

[Lorileah]

I really find this whole thing rather offensive. The Stock show just ended here today, there are barrel riders in the rodeo. Most the equestrians were women, half the people SHOWING cattle, sheep, horses, pigs were female. These women throw hay bales most you all would need help lifting. They wrestle animals up to 2000 pounds.

And let's address the "Brokeback Mountain" comment...those guys were pretty macho. There is an International Gay Rodeo Association and I know a few transpeople who compete riding and roping. Personally, give me a man in Wranglers any day. Try and throw a calf in those droopy "Gansta" pants.

But we won't hold your skewed idea of our farmers and ranchers against you. You will meet the nicest people when your car breaks down 50 miles from town on your way to watch the Fauxboys

Come to my part of the country and see how REAL cowboys dress