The Fab 40’s are Western-Inspired: The Cowgirl in Me
The Fab 40’s are at it again, pushing each other way outside of our comfort zones and making sartorial magic happen along the way. The Fab 40’s is a group of six fashion bloggers from around the globe. Each month we choose a different theme and invite a guest blogger who is also in their 40’s to join us. This group’s goal is to take on style trends and show how we each interpret and incorporate them into our own lives. With six widely varied views, you are certain to find something that speaks to you each month and encourages you to continue to have fun with fashion after the age of 40.
This month Jennie of A Pocketful of Polka Dots threw us all into a little bit of creative chaos when she presented Western wear as the theme. My first reaction was, “You’ve got to be kidding me, Jennie.” While my style does not fit into one neat little category and I often integrate many different fashion genres into my wardrobe, Western wear is certainly not one of them. However, considering that country is my favorite genre of music, I suppose I am a bit of a cowgirl at heart. And rising to Jennie’s style challenge is what any good cowgirl would do.
Harkening back to 2001, I was 26 years old, recently divorced, and spiraling into a Bipolar abyss. Tim McGraw released his hit song, The Cowboy in Me, and the lyrics resonated with me so intensely at the time. It sort of became the anthem of my 26-year old self.
“The urge to run, the restlessness
The heart of stone I sometimes get
The things I’ve done for foolish pride
The me that’s never satisfied
The face that’s in the mirror when I don’t like what I see
I guess that’s just the cowboy in me”
There is still a little bit of that cowgirl in me, so I knew there was still a little bit of cowgirl magic hiding somewhere in my closet.
Of course…my favorite Ariat Fatbaby Cowgirl Boots! I purchased these boots in Las Vegas just around the time that I was divorced and was singing The Cowboy in Me at the top of my voice every time it came on the radio. I also had some turquoise jewelry laying around which seemed perfectly suited for a Western-inspired outfit. But boots and some jewelry are not quite enough for an outfit, I kind of needed some actual clothes (for this blog anyway…maybe the boots and jewelry would be enough for a naked blog, but I don’t write a naked blog…not yet anyway). The rest of the outfit sort of just grew from these two pieces and there you have it…Western-inspired the Shelbee way…with my cut off jean shorts and tights, a plaid button down, a denim vest, and an Aztec printed wrap all topped off with Pocahontas braids in my hair.
I haven’t much else to say about it, but I hope you find some sort of inspiration here. Or maybe you just get in touch with your inner cowgirl/cowboy. I think we all have one.
Clearly, my other Fab 40’s friends have inner cowgirls as well…because they all are killing it in their Western wear!
Jennie of A Pocketful of a Polka Dots has channeled a super feminine, festival-going, bohemian cowgirl in her flirty lace dress, denim jacket, cowgirl boots. I think she belongs right in the middle of a country music video!
Outfit Details:
Jean Jacket-NY & Co.
Dress-Vivid Collection of NY
Dress Extender-a’reve
Necklace-Kay & Star
Earrings-NY & Co.
Boots-Smokey Mountain Boots
Daenel of Living Outside the Stacks has gotten in touch with her cool and edgy inner cowgirl. I am picturing her riding through the mountains on horseback with a carefree smile on her face, taking beautiful photos in the sunset.
Outfit Details:
Lace Top-Old
Earrings-Nickel and Suede
Jeans-Laurie Felt Weekender Underpatch Jeans, QVC
Boots-Musse and Cloud, Evine Live
Sheela of Sheela Writes has brought to life one badass cowgirl that I believe she never even knew existed. But here she is, in all her glory, kicking ass in life and love! Can you see her cowgirl glow?
Outfit Details:
Fringe Jacket, Camo Boots & Suede Choker-Poshmark
Playsuit-Goodwill
Turquoise Necklace-c/o Ettika
Utility Belt-Salvation Army
Bracelets-Isabel Marant
Leather Hat-Australia
Suzy of Pixie Chick in Portugal is showcasing a very edgy, sassy, sexy cowgirl in her black lace and denim. I picture her turning all the cowboy heads at a country line dancing club!
Outfit Details:
Cowboy Boots-Zara
Skinny Jeans-Levi’s
Belt-Bay
Blouse-F+F Clothing Tesco
Poncho-Massimo Dutti
And our guest blogger this month, Dee of Dee Sayz has given us a modern cowgirl hottie in her cool shades and rocking fringed bag. I imagine Dee strolling through Dallas with her casual confidence and making everyone turn to stare!
Outfit Details:
Faux Suede Tan Fringe Shrug-Serenity
Fringe Boot Cut Denim-Forever 21
White T-Vero Moda
Scarf-StalkBuyLove.com
Tan Fringe Bag-Amazon.in
Chocolate Ankle Boots-Mango
Colored Sunglasses-Lenskart
And finally my look, simply channeling the cowgirl in me.
Outfit Details:
Wrap-Zaful
Plaid Shirt-Torrid
Shorts-Old Navy
Vest-Target
Boots-Ariat Fat Baby
Necklace-Old (Kohl’s, maybe?)
Earrings-I made them! Well, I bought the tassels at Michael’s and attached earring hooks to them.
Do you have an inner cowgirl/cowboy?
Stay tuned for next month. I am choosing the theme and inviting a guest! We will be posting on New Year’s Eve.
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Linking up with these Fabulous Link Ups.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
28 Comments
Suzy Turner
Shelbee, you really are the perfect cowgirl! I absolutely adore your look. Considering we struggled with the theme to begin with, I think you’ve really rocked it!! Country music is one of my favourite genres too – isn’t it just the most wonderful music to listen to?
Huge hugs my friend
Suzy xxx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Suzy! This really turned out to be a super fun theme after all the struggle! And yes, I do love all the mushy romantic country songs! And another thing you and I have in common…we are on a roll, girl!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
Looking very nice. I like the look.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Patrick!
xoxo
Shelbee
jodie filogomo
This fits in to our Denver area perfectly. You should all come out and we will have a hoe down (of course I don’t really know what a hoe down is…LOL).
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Ha! Thanks, Jodie! Well, a hoedown I believe is similar to a hootenanny! A jamboree, a shindig of sorts!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sheela Goh
I’ll have you know that Shelbee is proposing we cough up some semblance of an all woman country group band thingamajiggy so … a jamboree it is!!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Hahahahaha!
Kellyann Rohr
Oh there’s a little of that cowgirl in me too! Yes, the lyrics to that song could easily be my anthem from when I was a bit younger. Your western inspired look is so creative and I love the colors, so well done beautiful Shelbee!
xo,
Kellyann
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Kellyann! In my 20’s I really loved Western wear and had a collection of boots and hats. I got rid of them years ago and now I kind of wish I hadn’t because those pieces work so well with boho outfits…and I do love a little boho!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jennie
I love how you took this challenge, rocked it, and made it your own! Seriously your wrap and plaid shirt look so Good together. The tights and shorts with your cowboy boots was a brilliant choice and compliment your top layers perfectly. The braided pigtails and bit of turquoise tied it all together! Thanks so much for playing along with my crazy idea! 😉
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Jennie, thanks so much! I do love a good style challenge! I get super excited to go digging around my closet to find things to make it work. And then I love seeing everyone else’s interpretation as well. Your dress with the extender and cowgirl boots left me swooning, for sure! I have a fun theme planned for December, I am just waiting to hear back from my guest blogger then I will send out an email!
xoxo
Shelbee
Kim
You all did a great job with the western theme. Your blanket poncho really “sells” the look.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Kim! It’s funny because when I first received this poncho I actually kind of hated it. I am not a fan of Aztec prints for some reason. Yet, this poncho really has come in handy quite often!
xoxo
Shelbee
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin
Such a fun winter look!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Tamar!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sheela Goh
Hey there pardner!! GRIN you look adorable, friend, the plaid and the turquoise slabs. That poncho wrap thing. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Despite my not being a fan of the western theme, like Jennie, I discovered I had many pieces in my closet referencing cowboys and outlaws. No snake in mah boot though, thankfully. And yet, when it came down to this month, everything I’d envisioned as working perfectly, worked horridly in real life. I was just about to give up, to be honest, when the playsuit showed up in my line of vision at Goodwill, and the rest just sort of came together on its own. MEGA sigh of relief.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my goodness, Sheela! One would never know from the photos that you struggled! There is so much crossover between boho, Victorian, and Western wear though, isn’t there? And we all have rocked Victorian inspired outfits as well as boho, yet we all were so intimidated by Jennie’s theme! And we all came shining through as we always do when set to a style challenge. I do love a good style challenge! I am working on December’s guest blogger and will be emailing you all soon. I have already chosen a theme and I think you are really going to like it!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nailil
LOVE these looks. All of them!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nailil!
xoxo
Shelbee
Gigi Kiersten
Oh my god, Shelbee this outfit would fit in when we have the Rodeo next month. It’s Cowgirl, but it’s so super accessible and is something somewhere can wear if you don’t have a lot of western style clothing. I especially love those boots. They are super cute and more important they look super comfy!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Gigi! I was really quite happy with this outfit once I had it all together. I have had these boots for nearly 20 years and they are amazingly comfortable and perfect for the sludgy winters where I live. I do wear them frequently but I think they only appeared on my blog once before way back before anyone read it! I hope you are having a wonderful week, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Susan Marinelli
Loving those cowboy boots, Shelbee, and indeed, your whole outfit rocks! I’ve outgrown my old cowboy boots, so I’ve been searching for a flat heeled pair for a while. Our local cowboy store went out of business, so I’m hurtin’. I can still pull it off though, even without the boots, since my pointy toed booties work well for the fake cowgirl look.
And I can line dance in them!
My favorite cowgirl song is Dixie Chicks “Cowboy Take Me Away”. But Tim Mc Graw is not to be sneezed at.
I’ve been doing the boho/Victorian cowgirl look since, well…a long time 😀 It’s one of those looks that I pull out of my closet, and say, where have you been?
Fancy duds there, pardner!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Susan, thanks so much! And I am not surprised that you can line dance! I used to go to a country line dancing place in my 20’s, but I never learned how. I am not much of a dancer at all and prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch. Although, I do get much joy at watching others dancing and enjoying themselves.
I do like the Dixie Chicks and that song is definitely one that I will belt out in the car if it comes on the radio! As far as cowgirl boots go, I had a pair custom made nearly 20 years ago but since having children I can no longer get my feet into them. I need to find someone to amend this situation since they cost me a small fortune and they have my initials stitched on the side. They are beautifully crafted from black buffalo leather and they still smell like new after all these years. One of these days, I will get around to finding a solution to my boot problem!
I hope you are having a wonderful week, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
DEEPALI SONI
Hey Shelbee! Thank you for your description about my look. I have lived in Dallas in the early 2000s for a good amount of time. So can totally relate to what you are saying. Infact I have even stayed at Fortworth for a while. So the cowboy culture is not alien to me! And you certainly reminded me of that time…
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Dee, thanks so much for stopping by! Dallas is one of my favorite cities in the United States. I was there many years ago and I felt like such a cowgirl. Then I traveled to Houston and got myself some custom made cowgirl boots…which no longer fit since having kids! But I need to find a way to fix that. It has been such a pleasure getting to know you through this fun collaboration! Have a fantastic weekend.
xoxo
Shelbee
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