Western Studies: Western Fashion
Western Fashion Bibliography
The McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West suggests the following bibliography for further reading on western fashion.
Abrego, Sonya. Westernwear: Postwar American Fashion and Culture. Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022. The rise of western fashions in post-World War II America.
Ahlberg Yohe, Jill, Teri Greeves, and Laura Silver (editor). Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists. Minneapolis Institute of Art and the University of Washington Press, 2019. Examines the creative force of Native American women as artists and designers.
Ball, Gene, and George P. Horse Capture. Design Symbology and Decoration. Limited to 200 copies, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 1980. Iconology of Plains Indian ornamentation.
Bartlett, Bruce, Brandi Price, and Marsha Pfluger. The Spurs of James J. Wheat, Pioneer Collector. National Ranching Heritage Center, 2008. Fabulous spur collection.
Beard, Tyler. The Cowboy Boot Book. Peregrine Smith Books; Gibbs Smith, 1992. Colorful overview of western boots.
Beard, Tyler, and Jim Arndt. 100 Years of Western Wear. Revised edition, Gibbs-Smith, 2001. Strong photography, along with explanations of the functional design of many western fashions.
Bender, Texas Bix. Hats and the Cowboys Who Wear Them. Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1994. Hats, hats, and more hats by a cowboy authority.
Brasser, Ted J. Native American Clothing: An Illustrated History. Firefly Books, 2009. Historical overview with wonderful photography.
Burbick, Joan. Rodeo Queens and the American Dream. Public Affairs, 2002. Stories and interviews of hard knot glamorous cowgirls.
Callery, Emma, and Bob Langrish. The New Rider’s Companion. Chartwell Books, 1994. Includes recommended clothing for both horse and rider.
Coe, Ralph T., J. C. H. King, and Judith Ostrowitz. The Responsive Eye: Ralph T. Coe and the Collecting of American Indian Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003. Includes a chapter on moccasins and traditional clothing styles.
Corn, Wanda M., and Georgia O’Keeffe. Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern. Brooklyn Museum, 2017. Information on the artist’s clothing styles.
Crouch, Howard R. Historic American Spurs. SCS Publications, 1998. Spurs for your boots.
Cunningham, Patricia A., and Susan Voso Lab. Dress in American Culture. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993. Historical overview of American fashion history, including Native American and Western wear.
Dary, David. Cowboy Culture: A Saga of Five Centuries. Knopf, 1981. Includes insights into the origins of western style.
DeLano, Sharon and David Rieff. Photography by Star Black and Erwin E. Smith (1886-1947). Texas Boots. Penguin Books, 1981. History of famous boot makers and how to select and care for your own boots.
Downey, Lynn. American Dude Ranch: A Touch of the Cowboy and the Thrill of the West. University of Oklahoma Press, 2022. Dude ranch culture, including western fashion.
______. Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World. University of Massachusetts Press, 2016. Biography of the blue jeans entrepreneur.
Downey, Lynn, et al. This Is a Pair of Levi’s Jeans ..: The Official History of the Levi’s Brand. Levi Strauss & Co. Pub, 1995. Engaging business history of the Levi Strauss & Co. brand.
Emil Her Many Horses, Janet Catherine Berlo, Elizabeth Woody, and Colleen Cutschall. Identity By Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women’s Dresses. Collins in association with the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, 2007. Native American fashions changing within cultural contexts.
Fashion Institute of Technology, and Emma McClendon. Denim: Fashion’s Frontier. Yale University Press; in association with the Fashion Institute of Technology, 2016. A celebration of the long history of denim fabric in western fashion.
Finamore, Michelle Tolini. Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 2022. Broad overview of American fashion history, including western wear.
Flood, Elizabeth Clair. Edited by Helene Sage, photography by William Manns, foreword by Dale Evans. Cowgirls: Women of the Wild West. Zon International Pub, 2000. The influence of cowgirls on American culture and fashion.
Georgia Museum of Art. Real Western Wear: Beaded Gauntlets from the William Healey Collection: September 29, 2007-January 6, 2008. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 2007. Beaded gloves exhibit catalog.
Green, Richard, Michael G. Johnson, and Carole A. Morris. A Warrior I Have Been: Plains Indian Cultures in Transition: The Richard Green Collection of Plains Indian Art. Written Heritage, 2004. Interpretive catalog of the Richard Green material culture collection.
Henderson, Debbie. Cowboys & Hatters: Bond Street, Sagebrush, & the Silver Screen. published by the Wild Goose Press for the Kent State University Museum Exhibition, 1996. Museum exhibit catalog for notable Hollywood cowboy hats.
Higginbotham, Mary C. In Genuine Cowgirl Fashion: Nan Aspinwall Gable Lambell and the Image of the Cowgirl in Wild West Entertainment, 1880-1930. M.A. thesis (English), University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 1996. Biography of an influential Wild West cowgirl.
Horse Capture, George P. (editor). Fourth Annual Plains Indian Seminar: Ribbonwork and Cloth Applique. Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 1980. Decorative ribbon and applique.
Hutchins, Dan, and Sebie Hutchins. Old Cowboy Saddles & Spurs: Identifying the Craftsmen Who Made Them. Sixth annual, Hutchins Publishing Co, 1996. Spur guide.
Hutchins, James S., and Alfred Gibbs. Boots & Saddles at the Little Bighorn: Weapons, Dress, Equipment, Horses, and Flags of General Custer’s Seventh U.S. Cavalry in 1876. Old Army Press, 1976. U.S. Cavalry uniform and equipment documentation.
Kauffman, Sandra. The Cowboy Catalog. C.N. Potter: distributed by Crown Publishers, 1980. Comprehensive review of western cowboy clothing and culture.
Kramer, Karen, Jay Calderín, Madeleine M. Kropa, and Jessica R. Metcalfe. Native Fashion Now: North American Indian Style. Peabody Essex Museum, 2015. Modern fashion design.
Leisch, Juanita. Who Wore What?: Women’s Wear, 1861-1865. Thomas Publications, 1995. Historical women’s clothing during the Civil War years.
Lindmier, Tom, and Steve Mount. I See by Your Outfit: Historic Cowboy Gear of the Northern Plains; Illustrated with Historic Photographs. High Plains Press, 1996. Documented historical cowboy fashions.
Little, David. Vintage Denim. Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 1996. A collector’s guide to historical denim clothing, with photography by Larry Bond.
Manns, William, and Elizabeth Clair Flood. Edited by Charlotte Berney, with foreword by Roy Rogers. Cowboys: & the Trappings of the Old West. Zon International Pub. Co, 1997. Traditional western fashions.
McFadden, David Revere, and Ellen Napiura Taubman. Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation. Museum of Arts & Design, 2005. Includes a chapter on Native fashion by Kimberly “Wendy” Ponca.
Moore, Robert John, and Michael Haynes. Tailor Made, Trail Worn: Army Life, Clothing & Weapons of the Corps of Discovery. Farcountry Press, 2003. Clothing of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Pattie, Jane. Cowboy Spurs and Their Makers. Texas A&M University Press, 1991. A collectors guide to spurs.
Price, B. Byron. Fine Art of the West. Abbeville Press, 2004. Includes a chapter on western boots and hats.
Reynolds, William, and Ritch Rand. The Cowboy Hat Book. Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1995. Comprehensive guide.
Riske, Milt. Those Magnificent Cowgirls: A History of the Rodeo Cowgirl. Wyoming Publishing, 1983. Includes the influence of equestrian function on western fashion.
Romer, F. The Stetson Hat in Literature: Excerpts from the Works of Authors of Western Fiction made into a Story. John B. Stetson Company, 1925. Stetson becomes famous.
Rutledge, Lee A. Campaign Clothing: Field Uniforms of the Indian-War Army, 1866-1871. North Cape Pub, 1998. U.S. military uniform information.
Savage, William W. The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History & Culture. University of Oklahoma Press, 1979. Examination of the influence of the cowboy on American culture.
Sewell, Dennita. Photography by Ken Howie. Way Haute West. Phoenix Art Museum, 2000. High western fashion.
Snyder, Jeffrey B. Stetson Hats and the John B. Stetson Hat Company, 1865-1970. Schiffer Pub, 1997. History of the famous Stetson cowboy hat.
Stern, Jane, and Michael Stern. Way Out West. HarperCollins, 1993. Includes Hollywood western fashions.
Stoecklein, David R. The Western Buckle: History, Art, Culture, Function. Stoecklein Pub. & Photography, 2003. Part of a six volume series on cowboy gear.
Taylor, Colin F. Buckskin & Buffalo: The Artistry of the Plains Indians. Rizzoli, 1998. Native American buckskin clothing and more.
Traugott, Joseph. Sole Mates: Cowboy Boots and Art. Museum of New Mexico Press, New Mexico Museum of Art, 2010. Western boots and the artist.
Ward, Fay E. The Cowboy at Work: All About His Job and How He Does It. University of Oklahoma Press, 1987 (1958). Includes information on clothing and horse tack.
Wilson, Kathryn J., and James Austin Hanson. Feminine Fur Trade Fashions, 1800-1840. Fur Press, 1976. Women’s clothing patterns from the fur trade western frontier.
Winkler, Sandra K. Masculine Identity and Culture in the Work of Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and John Ford. California State University, Long Beach, 2010. The “cowboy cult of masculinity” among western artists and early Hollywood filmmakers.
Children’s selections:
Christian, Mary Blount. Illustrated by Ib Ohlsson. Hats Off to John Stetson. Macmillan; Maxwell Macmillan Canada, 1992. Biography of John Stetson and his famous hat company.
Emerson, Scott, and Howard Post. The Magic Boots. Gibbs Smith, 1994. Children’s story.
Greenlaw, M. Jean. Ranch Dressing: The Story of Western Wear. Lodestar Books, 1993. Superb overview in a concise, easy to understand presentation, for adults too!
Hubbard, Elbert. A Little Journey to the Home of John B. Stetson. Forgotten Books, 2015 [1913]. Reprint of Stetson biography for children.
Nathan E. Bender, October 2025