Cowboys and Indians : Western Classics Playing in Texas

The Southwestern look may come and go on the urban frontier, but it never strays from Texas fashion runways.

For fall ‘91, urban-cowboy garb as well as a new breed of Southwestern-inspired, clean and dressy classics, were the star attractions among looks presented earlier this month at the Dallas Mega Market.

Well-established labels such as Circle T, Australian Outback, Panhandle Slim and K. Baumann, available in Los Angeles at Nordstrom, Howard & Phil’s, King’s Westernwear, Boot Barn and Thieve’s Market, stayed true to the trappings of classic cowboy attire. Familiar items included plaid shirts worn with denim jeans or skirts and jackets and dusters with the well-worn look.

But these same companies, along with Gerard and K2K Southwest Canyon, added a few new twists. Classic cowboy plaids were cast in bold, neon-bright colors. Western prints and Indian-blanket patterns decorated everything from shirts and blazers to car coats, jeans and dusters. Patriotic red, white and blue and All-American, star-studded treatments had their place in the collections of Patricia Wolf, Circle T and Rough Rider.

Women’s dresses, skirts, blouses and jackets were duded up with fringe hems, Indian-pattern embroidery, appliques and beading. Jeans were updated with animal-print details. Skirts were fashioned in velvet as well as lightweight denim or twill. Silver jewelry, boots, cowboy hats and conch belts, along with Indian-bead bags, complemented many looks.

New York-based design houses Calvin Klein, Basco and British Khaki also presented weekend wear influenced by the early West. Oversize blanket coats, appliqued knitwear and boldly colored corduroy pants and jackets had a place in most collections. These clothes were throwbacks to the Southwest of long ago, gone but obviously not forgotten.