I interviewed two people whom I believed could provide a good insight into how to dress country, but are from two different parts of the country.

Joanna LaPerriere

The first, Joanna LaPerriere, is a “fifth-generation Wyomingite”. She, like her mother, and her grandmother, (and so on for generations), was raised in Wyoming and considers it to be her true home.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYtNGgwZFgzUG5YOWc/edit

When Joanna came to Wellesley, she decided to bring her cowboy boots and Stetson hat with her. Her boots, she informed me, were a graduation present which she asked for, instead of the typical high school graduation ring. Even though she has owned her boots for only a short amount of time, they are very important to her as a symbol from home. She wears them on a regular basis, and does not think of it as anything out of the ordinary to do so.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYtMlRjSzdQQVlPSTg/edit

On the other hand, Joanna does not wear her hat as often as she does her boots. Not because it is anything uncommon, but simply out of personal preference because it is such a large hat. However, when she boarded the long flight from home to Wellesley, she wore her hat on the plane in order to avoid having it be flattened in her suit case. When she arrived at Boston-Logan airport, people gave her weird looks, she says. She thinks that it is because it is uncommon for people in the Northeast to see someone wearing a big cowboy hat, whereas at home no one would think to look twice. She claims that even while she was at Denver airport, she did not get the same looks as in Logan.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYteEJUUjNqTTJhems/edit

Although those two pieces are iconic in country dress, Joanna believes that “dressing country” is more than just the boots or the hat individually. It is a combination of things, the outfit as a collective. It is the style of jeans and type of shirt too. Wearing boots with jeans isn’t necessarily country; “if you don’t wear the whole look, it just kind of looks every day”, says Joanna.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYtRVBnVkxldXp5dnc/edit

She personally learned how to dress from her family, and says that in her entire life, she has never seen anything but cowboy boots on her grandfather’s feet. She puts her own spin on her country look though, which is something that she got from her father. Even though she would wear a typical button-down, which could be seen as part of the country style, she describes some of the shirts as “artsy” because they’re classier than typical work clothes, but still the same style.

Although Joanna knows the style well enough to tell the difference between what is true country or not (such as an Easterner simply wearing boots, for example), she chooses to put her own spin on it to better represent herself and what she has garnered from her family. Each person has a slightly different style, though the differences may not seem so distinct to the unknowing eye. Big buckles, for example, are typically only worn by people in rodeo, or at least by a person with family that has participated in rodeo, because they earned the buckle. This way, they are representing something about themselves or their family, within the parameters of the dress style.

Estefania Lamas

The second person I interviewed is Estefania Lamas, a Mexican-American who lives in the southwestern region of Texas.

In general, Estefania expressed the same sentiments as Joanna about how to dress country. She also has her own set of cowboy boots, but unlike Joanna, decided not to bring them from home because of their bulkiness. Her boots, she told me, were her mother’s boots and were passed down to her. Therefore, her boots also hold something of value for her; they are more than just a pair of boots.

What I found most interesting though is that when asked if they would be able to tell the difference between real cowboy boots and other styles of boots if they were shown a line-up of several different types of boots, both were adamant that they would be able to. In fact, not only were each able to name several brand-names of boots, but thought that the answer was an obvious yes.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYtV0JBcEg2X0U1SGM/edit

In the case of Estefania, she showed me more dresses and spoke more about wearing a dress than about jeans and a button-up like Joanna did. This is not to say that Joanna does not wear dresses in a country style or that Estefania does not wear jeans and a button up shirt. Rather, it simply indicates what is more common in their respective regions and this difference could most likely be attributed to the difference in climate.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYtQzFkdUFaVDdGcms/edit

If wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt instead of a dress, Estefania named a specific brand of jeans, Miss Me jeans. She says that this brand of jeans are very highly acclaimed by women, and are very expensive. She does not own a pair of these jeans mainly because they are not her style, due to that the jeans have rhinestones embedded into them and are very flashy. This style of jeans, she says, and Joanna also mentioned during her interview, are very rodeo-y, or glitzy country.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYtNG9UQ3JZVmRtbXM/edit

However, Estefania’s considers her style to be more Tex-Mex, not only because of her nationality, but because of the region of Texas in which she lives. This red “reboso” which she showed me is like a scarf from Mexico, but is worn more so as a shawl, which helps in the cold and adds a little of her own style to her outfit; it brings a piece of home.

https://docs.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/file/d/0B5hzje8BkVYtV1ZicGQtNldlNUk/edit

Lastly, unlike Joanna, Estefania also showed me a bag/purse which she described as country. The bag’s big buckle is typical of country dress, and the color and material of the bag gives it a “rugged” look, which Estefania likes very much.

 

Keeping all of this in mind though, Estefania strongly felt that it was important to keep in mind that some parts of Texas, like the town where she lives, have become more rural and urban. As a consequence, she feels that the country style of dress is not as pronounced as in other parts of Texas, or other states like Wyoming. The style of dress is more prominently seen in ranching or farming culture, which she is not a part of. Nonetheless, she owns “country-style” clothes and knows how to dress country because she likes the style.