The paradox of the rough and tumble cowgirl and the girl who embraces her feminism and loves to dress up is one that comes up over and over when talking about the Wild West cowgirls.
Their outfits had to serve several purposes. They needed skirts that split in the middle so they could ride astride (more on that in another blog), and they needed to stand out from a distance in the dusty arenas.
Their clothes also had to be durable because who knew when you might be dragged along behind a horse or thrown against a fence.
The solution was to make their own. They added fringe, beads, sequins, feathers, and fur.
“From the beginning, the cowgirl received worldwide attention for her sense of style,” writes Clair Flood in Cowgirls, Women of the Wild West. “Her attitude toward clothing revealed much about her character, layered as it was with contradictions and surprises. She was practical, she was professional; she was feminine, and in many cases as capable, daring, and/or irresponsible as any cowboy.”
But, no matter how hard they tried, rodeo cowgirls couldn’t quite get it right, writes Candace Savage in her book, Cowgirls. “Had they refused to act feminine, they would have been outcasts. By happily agreeing to do so, they marked themselves as specialty acts.”
“I know you think I’m a paradox,” champion cowgirl Mabel Strickland once told a New York reporter, “but I belong in the saddle for I’ve been there since I was three. I love the open, dogs, horses, a gun, the trees, flowers…Still I love dresses and everything that goes with them.”
“A performer like Prairie Rose Henderson—who once showed up to compete in boots, silk stockings, bloomers, and a skirt trimmed with ostrich plumes—could become as famous for her clothes as for her bronc riding,” writes Flood. “By experimenting with a wide range of fabrics and styles that expressed their “feminine” side, rodeo cowgirls created a vogue for fancy western garments that is still very much alive.”
