Denim has become a fabric so popular and current in contemporary fashion that in its ubiquity we may forget it has a history too. The origins of the denim fabric are somewhat disputed but some historians trace its production to centers in Italy and France during the sixteenth century where mention is made of fabrics ‘de Nimes’ (from a region in France) or ‘jean’ from production centers in Italy that were made of various threads including wool, silk, cotton. By the 18th and 19th centuries the production of denim had transmitted successfully to England and the United States and had begun to detach itself from association with ‘jean’, becoming a durable, entirely cotton weave fabric, akin to the denim we are familiar with now. 
Jean and denim remained different in their categorization through the 19th century- with ‘jean’ fabric being designated for slightly more refined clothing and the sturdier denim weave being used for work-clothes and considered a much simpler, unpretentious textile. The first textile mills in the United States arose in New England and that is where in the mid 1800’s the production of denim in the weave and color we are familiar with began as well.
The cowboy boot as we know it today, as an icon of the American West and the rough riding and spirited cowboys who wore them, is a style of boot actually born far from North America as part of the military dress of Hessian (German) soldiers in the 18th century. The Hessian boot was characterized by a high shaft decorated with a tassel at the front, which was cut at a v-shape. The tip of the boot was narrowed and it had low heels that were adapted for ease of use with the riding stirrup.
The journey of the Hessian boot to the cowboy boot of the wild west was helped along by England’s Duke of Welllington, Arthur Wellesley, who took the original Hessian style of boot and had the design altered for his own use towards the middle of the 1800’s. His version of the boot, which came to be termed the Wellington, had a shorter shaft cut to mid-calf and was more closely fitted than the Hessian original. This boot quickly became popular with his compatriots and eventually made its way to the United States where it was widely worn among soldiers in the Civil War and then by those involved in the expansion of the western frontier: the cowboys of the American imagination.
The cowboy boot, an evolution of the Wellington (which also later would be more firmly associated with the rubber material version rather than the original leather version), was distinct for its ornamentation and slight variation on the Wellington style; they originally did not have as pointed a toe as the Wellington and some alternatives had the cut of the shaft higher at the front or decorated with inlaid ornamentation. By the 1950’s, the cowboy boot was popularized to an extraordinary extent by the film industry. Hollywood proliferated the image of the heroic cowboy and the fashion for cowboy boots was no longer confined to the great wide open frontiers or the rural lifestyle but became tokens of independent spirit for the urban style-setter as well.
| The Old West Store offers products of interest to the reenactor and collector of Old West replicas and Wild West gifts. We offer authentically reproduced Old West clothing including but not limited to: Western Gambler Shirts, Old West Range Pants, Old West Trousers or Duckins, Old West Lawman Vests (Waistcoats), Old West Frock Coats, Old West Suspenders, Old West String Ties, replica rifles, replica revolvers and more. Visit our store for your reenactment, film or stage requirements today. |
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Tags: 18th century fashion, 19th century fashion, American West fashion, Arthur Wellesley, Civil War Boots, Civil War Reenactment Cavalry Boots, Civil War Reenactment Infantry Boots, Civil War Reenactment Officer Boots, Duke of Wellington, heroic cowboy, Hessian Boot history, Hessian style boot, History of the Cowboy boot, Old West, Old West clothing, old west fashion, Old West Frock Coats, Old West Lawman Vests (Waistcoats), Old West Range Pants, Old West replicas, Old West Shotgun Reenactment Boots, Old West Store, Old West String Ties, Old West Suspenders, Old West Trousers or Duckins, replica revolvers, replica rifles, Western Gambler Shirts, Wild West gifts
With the economy in the current chaotic condition, many investors turn to gold as a stable investment. Gold has been the basis for American currency for a long time and one of the most well known events involving the precious metal is the California Gold Rush that began in 1848 and lasted until 1855. Gold was discovered in California by James Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in the town of Coloma on January 24, 1848. The news of his find spread like wildfire and more than 300,000 men, women, and children made their way to California from all corners of the world.
The early gold seekers were referred to as “forty-niners” and they journeyed to California by boat and covered wagon and the trip provided many hardships. Most of the early settlers were Americans but they were joined by many thousands of people from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In the beginning, the gold was removed from streams and rivers by panning. This is the method most associated with prospecting involving scooping soil into a pan and sifting through the sand looking for gold flakes and nuggets.
The rectangular shaped poncho has seen its fashion rise and fall through many periods and cultures in history. Its origins lie with the indigenous cultures of South and Central America, whose mastery of the weaving craft produced woolen textiles so fine that they have hardly been altered in design or degree to this day. The poncho is a simple rectangular or square- shaped cut of fabric with an opening at its center for the wearer’s head. It is essentially a formless piece of clothing that protects the body effectively despite its basic design and is a garment worn by both men and women traditionally. 
In the indigenous cultures where the poncho and other textile weaves were staples of costume, what one wore was not only a decorative choice but could also be an indicator of status, origins, and familial association. Woven textiles from the indigenous groups of Central and South America would be patterned with layers of meaning so that bands of colors, and the grouping of these, as well as arrangement of design, served as social indicators.
