A Guide To Look Like An Authentic Cowboy, Amarillo, Texas

For the Paul Bunyan wannabe in boots and a shaggy beard, here’s some advice: Go West, young lumbersexual.

For a naturally rugged look, you can’t beat the grizzled knight of the American West: the working cowboy. Whether driving a herd of ornery steers or lifting a stray calf out of a patch of thorny green briars, riding hard over rough and ragged ground, or shouldering through a storm with just a slicker and a Stetson to turn the rain, the cowboy works hard and looks good doing it. And hey, the downtime versions of that same working gear look fine as cream gravy on a worn-smooth dance floor in the Texas Panhandle.

Hankering for that masculine, outdoorsy, do-it-all-and-come-back-for-more look? Ask a cowboy. Or better yet, ask a cowgirl.

We found a couple of good ones to help us saddle up:

• Phyllis Nickum, who wrangles cattle and visiting cowhands at Cowgirls and Cowboys in the West, a western adventure ranch on the rim of Palo Duro Canyon, near the short-grass prairie town of Amarillo.
• Alyssa Barnes, a former rodeo rider and the daughter, and sister, of working cowboys. She runs a western style-blog.

Go west, young lumbersexual.

Booting up your look

First off, notice that cowboy boots have enough backbone to stay on with no strings attached. Cowboys can’t burn daylight tying three-foot laces; they grab ’em, pull ’em on and hit the trail.

There’s the classic “cowboy” style, the “roper,” the “Stockman,” even the “buckaroo”—all with stirrup-friendly heels in varying shapes and heights. Toes range from squared off to extra pointy.

But not every boot is right for every would-be cowhand. “I would definitely recommend a ‘roper’-style heel for those who are new to boots,” says Alyssa. “They’re lower than many of the ‘riding’ styles, which are designed specifically for a stirrup.”

And avoid those spikey “cockroach killers,” says Phyllis. “Too-pointy toes are always a giveaway that you’re a dude [i.e. a city slicker], as do no scuffs or scars. If you buy a new pair of boots, you want to get them dirty and scuffed right away.”

Note: For the sake of your wallet, don’t follow that rule about scuffing up exotic boots in ostrich hide, alligator skin or pirarucu fish scales.

And a night out with your honey doing the boot scoot boogie requires—guess what—boots. “A true cowboy boot with a leather or otherwise smooth sole is designed for sliding in and out of a stirrup, so it also does a good job of sliding across the dance floor,” Alyssa says.