Beach at 5, rodeo at 9: Coastal cowgirl trend comes to Calgary
Urban cowboy look is having a resurgence, just in time for Stampede season
Sorting through a sea of online content, there's one hashtag you're bound to see: #CoastalCowgirl.
With the original tag being used more than 137-million times on TikTok, it's variations like #CoastalCowgirlOutfit, #CoastalCowgirlAesthetic, #CoastalCowgirlspring, are no less popular and have been used millions and tens of millions of times.
Coastal cowgirl can be defined a few ways. It's a fashion trend (think linen dresses, knits and florals, paired with cowboy boots), a design sensibility and sometimes it's even referenced as a way of life.
- LISTEN | Calgarians define coastal cowgirl:
The trend has shown up commercially in retail spaces filled with cowboy boots, long flowing skirts and Old West tchotchkes.
But in southern Alberta, home of several rodeos, the famous Calgary Stampede and rural industry rooted in farming and ranching, western wear never really goes away.
So what happens when the popular trend comes to Cowtown?
The Vintage Rodeo
At the Vintage Rodeo pop-up market last month, there was a line stretching down the block in anticipation of the opening.
"It was actually insane," said Marissa Myers, who was running the booth at the local vintage resale shop Change is Good.
"[Coastal cowgirl] was a trend that came out obviously like on TikTok, where I feel like everything is starting these days," she said.
"It's kind of like the easy breezy … sort of like clean girl cowgirl that's coming out. So there's definitely a lot of people that are looking for that esthetic as well going into Stampede and also coming to events like this."
People at the market define it in a few words as "Beach at 5 p.m., Rodeo at 9 p.m."
Like most fashion trends, the urban cowboy trend is cyclical, with John Travolta largely being credited for its emergence in the early 1980s.
Myers said their booth saw dozens of boots sold within the first hour of the market opening.
People were eager to nab items they can work into their everyday looks, beyond the 10 days of Stampede.
"It's not, yeah, just one pair of boots isn't enough anymore. Like, you need multiple for like your different personalities," she said.
Jamaal Mwangi co-hosted the event for the second year running. The outdoor market hosts different thrift and resale vendors — all showcasing vintage and second-hand clothing and accessories.
"Western wear is so popular, especially this time of year, because it's stylish, handmade … you just can't find anywhere else," said Mwangi, who operates the shop Like New Vintage and Thrift.
Mwangi says the appeal of vintage western wear is in its sustainability and "because it is really cool."
Old meets new
At the Alberta Boot Company showroom in downtown Calgary, CEO Eytan Broder says western wear has been trending for the past two years, and it's good for business.
"We call it sort of the Yellowstone effect maybe, and that's been great for our business as we sort of reinvigorate and reinvigorate and re-energize our brand. It's been great timing for us."
The company has been handcrafting boots for about 50 years. It also makes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform boots, and it's the official boot provider of the Calgary Stampede.
"[Calgary Stampede] is kind of Super Bowl season for us," he said.
Beyond Stampede, Broder says the company is tapping into new markets and new consumers, even shipping several pairs of boots to South Korea that morning.
He says the company has two types of customers, typically.
"We have sort of our traditional customer who really, you know, doesn't just put it on for Stampede but lives it. And then we have a customer who is sort of that urban cowboy or sort of Stampede-time relationship."
At the Vintage Rodeo Market, mini donut vendor Alexis House has a theory about why cowboy culture draws such a crowd.
"I honestly think it's this kind of wildness inside all of us and it kind of comes out during Stampede in all forms. It could be within our fashion or our activities, if you will, but it's begging to come out."
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