From the 1910s – 1930s we saw the Wild West American lifestyle move largely from a way of life, to ever-increasing faded memories and folklore. The western world was getting smaller. Technology and transportation were ushering in a new era of industrialized cities and advanced accessibility. The real denim-rockin’ cowboy lifestyle of days past were kept alive over the decades largely through the Western fashions worn by the stars of silver screen and music.
These images remind us when the American cowboy was an actual lifestyle and not just a passing trend. It was pointed out in the Selvage Yard, a lifestyle fashion blog geared towards men’s fashion and influence of style, that some of these images were taken by LIFE photography giants like Loomis Dean, and Ralph Crane to name a few. It is amazing to see how what was once a style dependent upon necessity has now become a fashion icon inspiring much of today’s trends. Vintage jeans, worn in full length or cut-off, western cowboy boots for dress of for the field, denim jackets and leather belts, cowboys hats and belt buckels are all pat of today’s looks.
1960– Clarence Hailey Long, foreman on the JA spread in Texas –Photo by Leonard McCombe
Shaving at the bar in yer’ chaps with one of them new-fangled electric razors. Phil Phillips, longtime foreman at the Double H ranch, or HH ranch, in New Mexico.
This image pretty much says it all. the Selvage Yard
Vintage Western Photo Denim Chaps
Classic Western friends relaxing in the sun
Images courtesy of LIFE magazine. Inspiration Courtesy of >the Selvage Yard
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