Wild style: Saddle up with cowboy-inspired menswear this season
Here's how to pull it off without looking like an extra in a John Wayne movie
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Your support makes all the difference.Cowboy style hasn’t been considered a wardrobe essential since the early Eighties, but this spring ranch dressing stomped all over the catwalk with brands including Topman, Coach and Missoni looking West for inspiration.
Unless you’re an avid line-dancer, the idea of embracing the rugged revolt of the cowboy can seem rather daunting and rightly so.
It’s important to know how to get it right and to do so requires restraint. Otherwise, you’ll end up looking like you’ve roamed a little too far from your home on the range.
Ditching the Billy Ray Cyrus allusions is also key to making a style statement here and luckily, there was little of him to be seen in these new iterations.
At Topman, a celebration of Britain’s seaside towns saw an unlikely take on wild west style with silky monochrome tailoring, patterned shirts and silver tassel chains while Coach opted for a modern take on the great icon of American style with hand painted white leather boots and cowboy insignia.
For Missoni though, ‘Gautemalan cowboys’ wore desert tones, embroidered shirts, cowboy hats and boots cut from buffalo leather and suede.
The only problem here of course is that, while these masculine styles work on the runway, the pieces don’t always translate quite as well IRL.
Instead, the key to doing western without looking like an extra in a John Wayne movie is to select pieces with subtle accents.
Ditch the cowboy boot and opt for suede versions with a modern Chelsea fit. Go for classic jean styles like Levi’s, pull together coordinating desert tones and update shirts with details on the collars or buttons.
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