saddle up.

i haven't yet made it to the west coast of the u.s. and am tryin' to get there.....but for the longest time now i have had a thing for western wear and all its functionality, its embellishments and frivolity. perhaps it stems from my one-time horseback ride or riding around in the bed of my dad's pick-up truck 'for fun'. drooling over £250 gabardine western suits at alfie's antiques and seeing dave berman effortlessly swoon in a western suit doesn't weaken the lust-factor!

one lazy sunday this past summer i caught a bit of the western bend of the river (1952). i don't remember much about the plotline, just jimmy stewart, rock hudson and the clothes of course!

do you ever have that moment when you find your dream coat, dress or shoe....the one you never even knew existed but can't live without as soon as you've seen it? i had one of those moments while watching bend of the river. julia adams (who remains my hair inspiration!) wears the perfect woolen blanket coat, and by perfect i mean that it's got just the right colour-burst of stripes, fits her to a t and goes with every outfit hands down. i haven't been able to find any photos of her in the coat but i've been pouring over how the west was worn and was so happy to see a few close contenders included.

(standing with wild west show associate tex cooper
in 1926, tom mix wears a coat fashioned from wool
blanket fabric. as early as the 1920s, mix endorsed
garments made by the pendleton company.)

tom mix is breakin' my heart in this coat!! the fit, the piecing together, the pockets and even a belt for added shape, swoon. now let's have a closer look at those jeans and boots...the pendleton coats below are like the ones i find on ebay, the middle one in 'glacier park' being closest to tom's and julia's. if i am lucky one day i will be united with the blanket coat of my dreams. until then i will dream on! and lust after camp blankets.

(these three examples from the 1950s were made from
pendleton blankets by nudie the rodeo tailor.
note: i've muted the colours in this photograph)

p.s. i've got so many favourite images from how the west was worn. i will share them a little along the way.