I want to be a cowgirl – preparing to suit the part

.
Since I was a kid I fantasized about being a cowgirl. Suddenly, at Circle S Ranch, I could relish in it. Plus I learn a bit about cowgirl getup.

City gal transforms to Cowgal
My first night at Circle S begins as a “Field to Table Dinner” guest. I arrive wearing heels — as, according to this city gal, a dinner invitation behooves.

The dinner is served at the outdoor “wedding garden.” We guests cross a stone path, a little gravel, and then soft prairie to be seated. I know how to handle my heels across all this. Emphasis on stepping via toes.

Yet horseback riding lingers in the future. But of course high heels won’t do. Nor will the city gal garb in the Circle S “Claret Room” where I reside. I have dresses and short pants hanging in the armoire, and more high heels at the base.

Learning to use the bootjack

Saundra shows Jacquee T. how to use a bootjack

I need cowgirl getup. This for a photo shoot, an outfit for horseback riding and another for “First Dates” suggestions via Circle S. Folks at Roy Frey Western Lifestyles in Topeka help me prepare. They have every stitch I need to transform from city gal to cowgirl — from hat to belt to boots.

When I arrive at Roy Frey Western Lifestyles, I meet owners Jo Turner and Dewayne Burgess, and “queen sales attendant” Saundra Shirley. Saundra takes charge to help find cowgirl getup that suits this girly girl.

She is intuitive in selecting the right colors — pinks and vivid reds. The right hats, one has a pink ribbon. We look at cowgirl skirts and surpass them for jeans and leggings. She guesses correctly that I’ll prefer the high boots, or “buckaroo boots,” with a bit of a heel.

That decided, there is an array of design styles and colors to test with my outfits. Saundra shows me how to use a bootjack — a handy tool to easily remove this snug footwear. We choose jeans with a slim cut at the shin, so I may tuck the jeans into the boots.

Next we select belts for each outfit. A “bling” belt that features rhinestones and sparkle for the blue jeans getup. For the “First Dates” outfit with black leggings, a black belt with silver rhinestones and turquoise diamond shaped studs. The former is pulled through the blue jean belt loops; the latter is buckled atop the shirt in “fling” style.

Trying hatsNow to choose hats. The first is straw with a dainty pink ribbon around the rim. The next is black, with silver “conchos” medalions. Both are “Gus hats,” as the shape of the crown matches the hat that character Augustus McCrae wears in the movie “Lonesome Dove.”

My cowgirl outfits are almost complete. Now I need to select jewelry to match. A gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do!

Update: We went back to Circle S Ranch and took photos for an A Romantic’s Perspective(.com) FIRST DATES article, “Invite her to be a cowgirl.

Since the original date of this posting, Roy Frey Western Lifestyles closed, as the owners retired.

Leave a Reply