Recently, Worth's founder Carl Abad was interviewed and photographed for Canada's most respected newspaper, The Globe And Mail. Congratulations Carl! Evidently, your hard work is not going unnoticed. For 10 days every summer, everyone is a cowboy in this town. Or so the saying goes during the Stampede, which opened yesterday and will keep Calgary hooting and hollering until the party ends on July 12.
That means hats and boots are pretty much compulsory, from the beer tents to the chuckwagon races, from the pancake breakfasts to 17th Avenue's mile of patios.
Hence the lineups at the traditional cowboy emporiums – Smithbilt Hats, Alberta Boot Company and Lammle's Western Wear. But even mainstream retailers get into the act: Winners has a special western gear section, and chains including Aldo and Le Château have mannequins dressed in cowpoke finery.
A little bit country is very stylish. But how do you keep from looking like you work in an O.K. Corral theme park? The hipster boutiques offer a more nuanced take on the look.
“I've picked out the cutest denim jumpsuit at Worth,” says Melissa Wusaty, a fashion stylist and creative director at a model agency.
Indeed, the little blue shorts-suit by Vancouver label Lily + Jae ($129) is simple enough to handle both hat and bandana, belt and fringe bag, which is how Wusaty plans to bust it.
“I grew up in Calgary, so Stampede is summer for me. But I never go head to toe. I'm a huge fan of shirt-dresses, and they are great with boots and bandanas.”
Boutique Worth was opened a few years ago by veteran Calgary fashion stylist Carl Abad. From the custom wallpaper (by Vancouver's Rollout) to the giant white plush stag in the window, Abad is determined to bring international style to Cowtown.
Beside labels such as London's YMC, Generra from New York and Greyhound from Thailand, you'll find the best-ever skinny jeans for women by Bluenotch ($177)plus one-of-a-kind pieces by local designers Samantha Reed, KaaDiki men's wear and jewellery line Rare.
“The trick is to reference western,” Abad says. “For men, a plaid shirt is enough. Bandanas are easy and chic around the neck. Just a hint of prairie rancher's wife – an embroidered collar on a dress, a more refined gingham shirt, a maxi-skirt – is better than full costume.”
Wusaty says denim is the uniting fashion factor for men and women, young and old. She also suggests neutral colours, and lots of prints. “Fit is very important. The biggest mistake you can make is to go for a western shirt that is too big. You need to feel sexy to pull off the cowgirl thing.”
The other way to go is rockabilly. Just down the street from Worth is Blame Betty, a rockabilly and pin-up fashion shop with simply the prettiest summer frocks in the window. From New Orleans, the line is called Trashy Diva, and the soft green and blue floral prints are reproductions of 1940s styles.
“You just want to look vaguely prairie,” says manager Sonja Bloomer, who wears a Trashy dress ($149) with classic boots in the store's Stampede ads.
She points to Rockmount Ranch Wear fitted blue gingham shirts ($89) as the perfect piece for the week.
An Australian line, Route 66, features slightly more expensive but limited-edition embroidered black-and-white cowgirl shirts for $129, and some red-and-black plaid shirts made to fit tight on the prow.
But Abad points out that some boots can't be made merry with just a shirt. “Really cheesy cowboy boots are a disaster,” he says, suggesting that the fashionable head out to local footwear shop Gravity Pope for their signature “almost” cowboy boots. Under jeans, the toe and heel look like classic rancher boots, but the top is “more refined.”
Or go vintage, which means someone else had to break in those boots for you. Abad's pick: “Cat's Eye is the best vintage boot shop in the country.”
With good boots, no matter how uncomfortable you are around bucking broncos, you'll blend.
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