My youngest brother was the first of the Timko brothers to wear cowboy boots. Although a love for western footwear is not common among most toddlers, Matthew would always end up in his pair of beloved, brown, banged-up boots—completing the look with purple-checkered Umbros and a stained t-shirt. Despite appearing like we shoplifted him from a K-Mart, my brothers and I had to respect the kid in the cowboy boots.
Matthew eventually outgrew the boots, but my oldest brother Charles recently entered a cowboy phase of his own, one I attribute to moving from Charleston to New York and trying to take a bit of the South along. He convinced me to trek to a store near my house in Virginia called Boot’vil to find the perfect pair of boots to fit his new style. After trying on pairs made of everything from ostrich to armadillo, we both settled on some shiny leather Laredos, which we stomp around in with faux-authority. As we saddled up the ol’ Volvo for the ride home, we had some hand-rolled ones and galloped into the sunset. And by that, I mean it was getting late, so we drove home in our Scandinavian automobile and ate fruit rollups.
While the mystique we were trying to emulate is completely Hollywood-generated, the American population is still latched on to the idea that when dressed in the garb of a cattle-driver, one becomes the Epitome of Machismo, the Quintessence of Sex, the Pinnacle of Manliness.
Jim Krantz knows this fact better than anyone. The photographer behind those famous Marlboro Man ads of the 1990s is back at work shooting on the ranch. But rather than use his lens to sell “cowboy killers,” Krantz teamed up with New York designer Adam Kimmel to sell Kimmel’s killer new look for cowboy wannabes.
Adam Kimmel’s Spring 2010 collection—revealed on his website this month—is an ode to Western Wear. Utilizing twills, faded denim, velvet, cotton jersey, and corduroy, Kimmel produced an array of heavy riding coats, baby blue and turquoise jeans, moccasin boots, multi-tone bomber jackets, square cut blazers, and more western-collared shirts than you can shake a branding-iron at.
The look is simple yet sophisticated, rugged yet refined, modern yet functional, and makes every model in the shoot appear as if he just walked off the set of an old Western. The style gives the men a natural confidence and heightens their masculinity—and they don’t even need to puff on a cigarette.
If you’re ready to try the cowboy style for yourself, Kimmel’s collection is the ideal starting point to get ideas for clothes. His garments, however, retail at Barneys, Couture Lab, and the like, so you’ll have to pay in the hundreds for even a double-buttoned cotton blazer.
The best alternative to selling the farm for your look is to rummage through the closet and make the most of what you have. Most cowboys-to-be probably already have bandanas, checkered shirts, and boot cut jeans, as well as leather belts. Tractor supply stores often sell canvas work jackets, collared flannel, and denim shirts on the cheap. Tweed and twill vests and blazers are easy to come by at second-hand clothing stores, as are denim and camelhair coats.
Completing your cowboy look with a pair of boots and a hat will take a little more cash. Luckily, it’s possible to find hats and boots at entry-level prices and in a wide selection of styles to match any man’s fancy. Check out Cavenders.com, where you’ll be able to pick up a hat and boots for under a Franklin and a Jackson. Once you’ve got it all together, you’ll be riding into the sunset in no time. So long, partner.
Saddle up with Keenan at ktimko@georgetownvoice.com.
