Necessity bred
Western dress

The most famous Western poster of all time was produced by the John B. Stetson Co. Shown is an old-time cowboy, probably 1870s, wearing boots, leather chaps, fringed gauntlet-type gloves, bandana around his neck with a silver rosette and holding his large Stetson hat upside down.

On the ground nearby lies his empty canteen. Just behind the kneeling cowboy stands his mount, a paint horse complete with bridle, saddle and gear, sipping the last drop of water from the upturned sombrero. Titled, "The Last Drop From His Stetson" the poster illustrates the concern and love of a cowboy for his horse.

In 1872, a Reno, Nev., tailor wrote Levi Strauss that he had been adding copper rivets to standard issue Levis to add strength to the most stressed seam corners. He offered to share the patent with Strauss if he would apply for the patent. A patent was issued to Levi Strauss & Co. on May, 20, 1873, thus increasing sales by making a good product better.

Unknowingly, the addition of the copper rivets probably increased the sales of men's underwear at the same time.

How? Well it seems that men did not always wear underwear under their Levis when working. When they backed up to a campfire or wood stove to warm, the visible copper rivets quickly conducted heat transferring it to the inside where the other end of the rivet lay close to tender body parts.

Because of this danger and that the rivets sometimes scarred furniture when sitting, the rivets were eventually concealed under the fabric for protection.

Western legend states that as a general rule, old-time cowboys had small feet. Not always true but certainly small feet were more common than not. Thought to be because riders spent most of their time riding instead of walking (like other working men in other occupations) believing it was a mortal sin to walk when you could ride.

To bear this fact out, in the 1920s, Justin Brothers Boot Co. boot sizes only ranged from size 4 to size 9 in their catalogs. Size 81/2 was the average size boot sold. Today, Justin boot sizes range from size 8 to 18. Quite a change from the old days.

History believes the first cowboy boots were leftover Army surplus from the Civil War. Often both left and right boots were made on the same last and had to be soaked in water and worn until dry to set the shape of the boot to the proper foot.

Later, all cowboy boots sported tall tops for leg protection and had heavy pulls to assist getting the boots on for wear. These tall somewhat soft tops tended to sag after wear and settle down in wrinkles above the ankle.

The problem was solved by stitching on the tops lending strength to prevent sagging. H.J. Justin is given credit for designing the first ornate and colorful stitching so prevalent in today's Western boots.

Also added for comfort and longer wear, inside linings have been added with the stitching on top of the boot toe holding all in place.


© Delbert Trew
"It's All Trew" February 15, 2011 column

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