Is The Pervading Cowgirl Culture The Same As A More Authentic Western Look For Ladies?

Wear your favorite style without risking looking provocative when you implement a western look for ladies with practical modest flair. 

Mary Bowen

April 16, 2024

The phenomenon of Manifest Destiny and the State’s expansion West has created more than an epoch, it has defined a unique culture. The American cowboy is something we only see in what we commonly call the “Wild West”.

This culture still lives on in rural areas of Montana and Wyoming but has universally been hijacked by the movement which I would call the “horse” culture. This style consists of provocative tight jeans usually studded with bling and very expensive boots.

Forgotten are the graceful styles of the second generation of pioneer women who braved the trials of life in order to help pave a new frontier. These women were hard workers, make-doers and would have cared less if their make up was not perfect for the rodeo.

The Real Women Of The West As Compared To What We Now Find In The Cowgirl Culture

Moving to the untamed lands of Western America was not for the faint of heart. You had to be as tough as nails to live in a wilderness where grew only a few cactuses and sagebrushes to separate one group of civilization from another. This style of life consisted of cattle, ranches, outlaws, Indians and law of the jungle mentality.

Stage coaches and the mail only came by every few weeks so what was popular did not matter. You were basically on your own. Homesteading and ranching were the only ways to tame a wilderness.

While the American frontierswoman has rode off into the sunset, what has replaced her is a teenage “spirit”, or rather an attitude, of girls who sometimes talk like guys, are rough, and “sas” their parents, all the while are to the beck and call of the “horse” culture.

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The cowgirl has abandoned her nurturing nature to put it all into a few short years of being treated like a queen, spending thousands on clothing and tack just to wake up one day and realize that the game is over and its time to grow up. And sometimes they don’t and they are the most awkward grandmothers.

The style was mainly adopted because of the “need” to wear pants in order to ride. Over time, the pants got tighter and more bling was added to the rear. Western shirts, cowboy hats and boots—it's all part of the look.

Are You Wanting To Look Like A Lady That Likes Western Wear Or A Saloon Girl?

Someone recently reached out on an article I wrote asking for suggestions on how to get her 16 year old daughter to wear skirts and dresses more often. “My girl is fond of her Western style boots and jeans. I’ve been working on encouraging a more modest feminine style with her which can be obtained in her style. She rejects it.” 

I am sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, though, I’m not surprised. I have met several girls in my life who display similar obstinacy.

Their was once a girl, the only girl in her family, and she got to have every thing she ever wanted. At first she was a cute kid with a touch of a bad attitude but you could expect that she would grow out if it. By the time she turned 16, she was a cowgirl. She had horses that no one could ride because she neglected to spend the proper amount of time with them.

Later she was the 4-H queen for a year and that was the only time that she was ever caught wearing a dress. She had one stupid boyfriend after the other. One day she declared that she was done with piano lessons.

She called the shots.

She dropped out of school and sent the most provocative pictures of herself as graduation cards. She was such a grief to her parents as her mother was seen more than once crying over her fate once she had defied her parents’ wishes and moved in with her boyfriend. She had the sloppiest wedding in the family, her parents did not approve of her choice of husband, she has one wild child and began smocking marijuana.

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I would hate to see anyone repeat this pattern which I see in a lot of “horse” girls who are just trying to live a style. If only they knew how much grief that they cause the women who should be their role models such as their grandmothers and mothers.

Unfortunately they are only after the interests of one heart: their own.

The truth is, this is not a Western style. This is not what tamed a land. Imagine women who were obsessed with large mammals and being treated like she was the most fantastic thing in the world all the while flaunting away her true nature and innocence. That girl would be half dressed at a saloon.

Looking For A Way To Sport A Western Look For Ladies And Not Look Provocative Or Like A Guy?

I would like to offer two examples of true western women. Although fictional characters, they are the embodiment of the type of women who sacrificed the comfort of the East to bring something they had to offer to the untamed West, making it a better place because of it. This is a style that I could call a western look for ladies. 

And they are very modest. 

I enjoy watching films then searching for ways to incorporate their style in everyday life. I have found a few pieces that make up this Dr. Quinn look:

For this western look for ladies, you need a wool skirt, white blouse, neck tie, western vest, a fedora, and gloves to complete the look!

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Another recent movie which portrayed a real frontierswoman was the recently made Birthright Outlaw. Rose Bridger was an ex-outlaw turned mother who may appeal to your Western style:

Get this western dress with a blue floral skirt, white blouse, neck tie, and thick brown belt. 

What is the difference between yesterday’s “Western Style” and today’s “Cowgirl Style”? As far as attitude goes, one is a nature of sacrifice and daring, the other is defiant and seductive. These girls are not adopting a clothing style, they are adopting a culture that is anti-Catholic which is veiled under the guise of a clothing style.

One is a practical modest form of Western wear while the other is an unreasonable waste of childhood innocence.