Dressed Out: Gone Country
Illustration by Sharon Dennard
I found a hat. A cowboy hat, to be exact.
Over the holiday, my husband and I took a road trip from our home in Los Angeles to my mom’s house in Houston. We had many fun stops along the way – including the ten outta ten alien/dinosaur attraction “The Thing” and an excellent side-of-the-road place in Deming, New Mexico called the Cactus Café - some of the best hatch salsa I’ve ever had! BUT I was maybe most excited to take my husband to Marfa.
If you’re unfamiliar with Marfa, Texas, it is a desert town turned arts oasis for Texas’s creative and connected. It’s home to the ranch where they shot the film Giant, a Prada store in the middle of nowhere, and recently, a truly incredible Italian sandwich shop.
Prada, Marfa
We were a road trip family growing up, and one of our favorite visits was to Marfa. As both my parents were artists in Texas, they had friends who lived there on and off and we'd often "pop" out for a visit. (I say "pop" because Marfa is a good 9+ hours from Houston...)
But back to the hat.
Evan and I woke up the morning after we arrived in Marfa to pop around and see what little shops happened to be open the Sunday before Christmas. (If you’re familiar with Marfa, you know – the business’s hours are sporadic, to say the least.) We first stepped into Communitie Marfa, a shop with piles of gems, western shirts, and tables spread with stacks of cowboy hats.
Communitie Marfa. In classic Marfa fashion, it has very little internet presence - but just check them out.
I immediately plucked one of the hats, a light minky colored one with a rhinestone braided hat band and popped it on my head in jest.
I say in jest this because I have never looked good in a cowboy hat.
Hats, in general, are tough for me due to my large head and thick hair (sorry, brag). Hats are often too small or just awkward. Until recently, the best a hat has ever looked on me is a pink novelty cowboy hat that read “Birthday Princess” that Evan got me for my 31st b-day.
Me on my 32nd Birthday in Palm Springs. Yes. I have worn it multiple years now. It is my birthday hat.
But when I turned and looked in the mirror at myself in the mink cowboy hat, I gasped. I looked so cute. Maybe it was the color, or the shape, or something else – but it was a Cinderella moment.
The owner of Communitie came over and reinforced what I already knew, I needed it.
Cowboy hat + LNA Leopard Sweatsuit. Obviously.
Maybe because I feared feeling too much like a tourist in Texas – an LA girl buying a cowboy hat on vacation – I told the owner that although I was from Texas, this would be my first cowboy hat. She said it was an honor any time she sold a Texan their first hat.
As someone born and raised in Texas, you might be shocked to find that I purchased my first cowboy hat at the age of 35.
But I think many people born and raised in Texas will tell you that you are always fighting the caricature of Texas. I constantly had to remind people that I grew up in the fourth largest city in the US and only interacted with cattle on elementary school field trips to the Blue Barn Fun Farm.
Baby Alice headed to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
In high school, I wouldn’t have been caught DEAD in a cowboy hat. (Dear reader: As I think back on it, I believe at one point, I did own a leopard faux fur cowboy-esque hat in middle school. But it was more in the pop star vein of the late 90s than an actual cowboy hat.)
But as I left Texas as an adult, I found myself more drawn to the kitschy, country-western aesthetic. I accepted that as part of my history. I like country music and smoked brisket, and now I have a cowboy hat.
Jenna Maroney. She is me. I am her.
And I am not alone in that current draw. Fashion has embraced this Western aesthetic recently with the rise in cowboy boots, western shirts, and suede fringe. Even fellow Houstonian Beyoncé has started embracing her Country Western roots.
"She looked at me in my leopard Ganni dress, matching coat, and cowboy hat and said, “I can see the LA/Texas mix.”"
So, I proudly wore my hat around for the rest of our trip.
At some points, it seemed a little like I was wearing a band’s merch to their concert. When we checked into our hotel in San Antonio, the receptionist asked where we were from; Evan told her we lived in LA but were heading to Houston. She looked at me in my leopard Ganni dress, matching coat, and cowboy hat and said, “I can see the LA/Texas mix.”
The Texas x LA hybrid.
At first, it felt like a dig at my new hat.
I have worn much showier things in my life than this hat – and as much as I love my hat – I am a bit self-aware of it. But then I decided she was right. I am a mix of LA and Texas. Old and new. Hollywood glam and shine, with Texas kitsch and comfort.
But the most important thing it made me realize is that my style and taste are ever evolving. Tiny tweaks and discoveries that push me out of my comfort zone and challenge my expectations. So let this be your call to be brave with your fashion this year.
Try on the hat. Go Country.
I mean... look how happy I am?
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