How the West Was Worn [Hardcover]

Holly George-Warren (Author), Michelle Freedman (Author), Marty Stuart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

Forget bucking broncos - some of the wildest sights in the West can be found right inside a cowpoke's closet. From fringed chaps and embroidered jeans to silver-spurred boots and ten-gallon Stetsons, Western wear is a uniquely American look. Accompanying an exhibition at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, this book tells the story of Western wear and its place in American culture through photographs of costumed cowboys, Western movie stars and country and rock musicians, ephemera (such as vintage album covers, sheet music and sewing patterns), and Western clothing from buckskin vests to spangled chaps. "How the West was Worn" is an authoritative yet entertaining look at "glitterbillies" long riders, rodeo girls and rhinestone cowboys.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In How the West Was Worn, Holly George-Warren and Michelle Freedman offer a sartorial history of the American West. From the pre-20th-century origins of western style to Hollywood westerns, rodeo stars, cowboy crooners, ranchers and businessmen, good old boys from the Tetons to Dallas are presented in all their tooled, embroidered, sequined, fringed, 10-galloned, gun-toting finery. Accompanying an exhibit at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, this loving catalogue of inimitable western styles will have broad classic and kitsch appeal, depending on the audience. George-Warren (Garcia), editor of Rolling Stone Press, and Freedman, a clothing designer and writer, give engaging scholarly treatment to the clothes that help make the icon.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Western-wear buckaroos will think that they have died and gone to the great ponderosa in the sky when they sit down with this over-the-mountaintop book, which accompanies the eponymous exhibition at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles through January 21, 2002. Rolling Stone Press editor George-Warren and clothing designer Freedman trace the progression of Western clothing from its mountain men and cowboy progenitors through the iconographic restyling of Hollywood and Nashville to the off-the-rack consumer incarnations produced by companies like Rockmount Ranch Wear and H Bar C. All the designer luminaries are well represented, including Rodeo Ben, Manuel, Katy K, and Nudie. The color and black-and-white photographs will fringe, chainstitch, and rhinestone your Rocketbuster boots off, and the text, not to be entirely upstaged, provides depth and clarity. Other titles like True West, 100 Years of Western Wear, and Way Out West (all o.p.) are good, but this one is art; and at $45, it is also a steal. For Western-wear clothes horses, fans, collectors, and anyone who was ever hoisted as a kid onto a pony in full faux Western regalia. Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810906155
• ISBN-13: 978-0810906150
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,524,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A LUXE LOOK AT WESTERN GARB, November 13, 2001

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How the West Was Worn (Hardcover)

If your idea of Western wear is John Wayne in chaps and creased 10 gallon hat - forget it. Rolling Stone Press Editor Holly George-Warren and clothing designer Michelle Freedman have produced a luxe look at Western garb that is more Las Vegas than Laredo.

The iconic American cowboy typifies our country's spirit to many, from New York City sidewalk stompers who have no saddles but don boots to diamond encrusted Grammy award winners who twang with the best of them.

So, for those attracted by the lore and lure of ranching days, here is a photographed filled bow to all garb Western. It begins with the practical clothing needed by scours, traders, and ranch workers, then details how early movie stars such as Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Dale Evans and Roy Rogers spurred a popular trend in cowboy wear.

That vogue was to later influence British rock musicians and high end fashion designers such as Ralph Lauren.
"There's a little bit of cowboy in everybody," the foreword states and that would be seem to be true as the pages of How The West Was Worn reveal glimpses of tastefully displayed silver buckles, jauntily worn Stetsons, and rhinestone embellished rigs that never saw a range.

- Gail Cooke

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wild & western romp chronicling the classic American costume, October 21, 2001

By 

Mary Lynn (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How the West Was Worn (Hardcover)

A colorful and comprehensive examination of American style at it's most iconic - the authors have done a wonderful job telling the story of how cowboy duds came to symbolize America the world over. A must have for anyone interested in the West, design, decorative arts, fashion, pop culture or Americana/American History. The book is gorgeously presented, expertly written and endlessly entertaining, the photography is beautiful, and the interviews are rare and revealing. From the plains and frontiers, to Buffalo Bill to the Hollywood Cowboy, Country & Western, Rock & Roll, the current fashion craze, the authors leave no cowpie unturned as they reveal how the cowboy hat became our collective unconscious. The most complete record of the lives and work of N. Turk, Rodeo Ben, and Nudie to date. How did the famed North Hollywood rodeo tailor get men in the 20th century to wear fanciful embroidered and rhinestoned creations, that became more and more elaborate in a competitive fervor to outshine each other?(And how did Keith Richards cause him to draw the line?) Find out. From the fanatical to the casual observer, and especially anyone who has ever bedazzled denim or worn a pair of cowboy boots, all will treasure this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Western Attire in all its considerable glory!, August 16, 2007

By 

Hermine Stover "Hermine Stover" (perris, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How the West Was Worn: A History of Western Wear (Paperback)

A wonderful wallow for a clothing collector! A source of inspiration for an obsessed person who is likely to make his or her own clothing! Marvellous images, beautifully printed, I love this book.