Cowboy fashion is riding back into the spotlight, and it’s not just for the enthusiasts. Thanks to Beyoncé’s latest album, “Cowboy Carter,” the streets of the UK are echoing with yeehaws and the clatter of cowboy boots. Since news of the Cowboy Carter album dropped, John Lewis has reported a 62 per cent rise in searches for cowboy boots, while Clearpay saw cowboy hat sales increase 326 per cent year-on-year, and fringed suede jackets by 45 per cent. Gen Z are scouring Depop for similar, with searches for fringe up 58 per cent since the start of the month. Let’s dive into this rodeo renaissance and explore where you can snag your own cowboy-chic looks in the UK.
The Unexpected Comeback
Remember when neon-pink, feathered cowboy hats shipped in from China were all the rage? We hit peak nouveau western, and it seemed like cowboy fashion had galloped off into the sunset. But hold your horses! In recent weeks, cowboy vibes have returned worldwide:
- Pharrell Williams staged a spaghetti western spectacular for Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection.
- Bella Hadid has shacked up with a cowboy and gone “full cowgirl.”
- Rihanna graced Vogue China’s cover in a cowboy-inspired look.
- Orville Peck, the masked cowboy singer, is gaining notoriety.
And you don’t have to shop high end, M&S is pushing out a triple denim look for its spring collection, and Whistles has a suede tassel jacket that is the spitting image of Jon Voight’s in Midnight Cowboy.
Where to Get Your Cowboy Fix in the UK
Boho Buffalo
Based in the UK, Boho Buffalo is your go-to for luxury bohemian clothing and handmade accessories. Boho Buffalo is a unique online boutique specialising in luxury ‘Boho-Western’ style clothing and accessories for authentic, high vibe women. This unique brand blurs the lines between bohemian and western styles in an aesthetic that feels personal with a heightened sense of individuality.
Hand Made Designs
Cardiff based designer Emma-Jayne Lloyd says “The hand made designs that are exclusive to Boho Buffalo are always in high demand as these are limited edition. I design turquoise jewellery, hats, bags and boots in house, with all the designs inspired by western patterns and carefully sourced natural gemstones.”
Boho Buffalo has also collaborated on styling projects with top country artists such as Kezia Gill & Ruthie Collins as well as other big names on the UK country scene.
Where to Buy
In addition to exhibiting at all major country festivals, every month Boho Buffalo hosts a live shopping event on Facebook and Instagram for customers to engage with the product and get styling tips. Their social media is full of reels and styling inspiration for the country fans!
El Hobo
El Hobo brings sustainable and ethical handmade clothing and homewares straight from Cornwall. Their jackets, waistcoats, hats, and dresses exude that happy ’70s vibe. Channel your inner bohemian-cowgirl hybrid with El Hobo’s unique pieces. Founder Hannah says “My love for western and Native American styling has been life long. I spent some time living in the States and South America and absorbed so much of cultural costume and everyday workwear, its never left me. My love of Country Music inspires me to create homespun, folksy designs. Natural, raw and rugged, delicate, heartfelt and simple…it’s all there just like the songs.”
The most popular items currently are Palamino Jackets, says Hannah: “They are handmade from vintage Mexican FALSA blankets. A beautiful mixture of sudued and vibrant textiles like wearing a painting.” She adds: “My hand painted jackets and waistcoats are pretty popular too….they tell a story. I like to blend eras, I have a foot firmly placed in the 70’s, my happy childhood place I guess and the styling was just so fabulous.”
EL HOBO is all about sustainability above everything else. I source all of my materials from used and salvaged to make my products out of and hand select my vintage clothes to accompany my handmades.This is my driving force to show people how beautiful things can be created out of used items. This may not resonate with a lot of people who like buying new but hopefully with my products I can start to make a little change.
Hannah
I’m embracing a bit of 70’s revival in the western scene at the moment…have always loved it and excited to mix it with a relaxed boho style. Hannah’s advice is “Keep at it, stay true to yourself and above all wear what you do and own it!”
Hannah, EL HOBO
Where to Buy
El Hobo is a frequent prescence at Americana based festivals but is also active on social media and the web. Hannah says she loves spending time amongst likeminded people enjoying the music.
Melbelle
Melbelle is your Western x Boho haven. From graphic tees to denim, they’ve got it all. But the real star? Their cowboy boots! Designed in the UK, these vibrant, hardwearing boots will keep you chic and dry. Plus, they have vegan-friendly options. The key to their success, according to founder Melanie Fielden is staying fashionable. She says: “It’s very important to me that we stick to our original values and that is to keep Melbelle a fashionable place to shop. It’s very easy for western attire to become ‘tacky’ and to avoid this we put a lot of effort into curating the collections and styling outfits, along with constantly checking that the pieces fit within the overall aesthetic of the brand. Many hours are spent researching latest trends both on home turf as well as across the pond, but we also look back in time and draw inspiration from vintage styles/colours/silhouettes. I love combining 50’s, 60’s and 70’s elements with modern trends to create a unique yet recognisable look to our brand style.”
To minimise impact as much as possible, we try our best to source the majority of our products from a small number of factories, enabling us to order higher quantities and minimise the shipping impact. We’re also fussy when it comes to the leather cowboy boot manufacturers, checking that they source their leather from ethical and cruelty-free factories. At Melbelle we re-use anything and everything that we possibly can. This is our first priority and we never discard anything that can re-used one way or another.
The classic brown leather cowboy boot with subtle stitching has been our number one bestseller to date. But over recent months I’m excited to see a shift taking place and we’re getting bolder! Bell bottoms are extremely popular, along with styled hats, thanks to Lainey Wilson’s signature look and her rapid rise to fame! I’m most excited about the styled hats and hope this trend continues, as we have so much fun letting our creative juices run with these.
Where to Buy
We’ve hosted trade stalls at the UK’s top country music festivals Country To Country and The Long Road, featured on CountryLine Radio, and our brand has even been worn by grammy award-winning country artist Lainey Wilson. A monthly T-shirt subscription club is popular. Melbelle are official stockists of the industry’s biggest brands including Ariat, Corral Boots and Free People, among others.
Talolo Boots
Talolo Boots are the ultimate cowboy wellies that make you smile. Designed in the UK, they are made from sustainably sourced rubber, vegan, and available in eye-catching colors. Whether you’re at a country concert or just walking the dog, Talolo Boots have your back (or should we say feet?). Sharing the inspiration for starting Talolo, Phillipa says it was down to the great British weather! “Prior to running Talolo we had a events business, where we were often in a situation when we didn’t have the right footwear, when meeting clients. We either wore smart shoes for indoor meetings, and then find they would be ruined when we headed outside to a soggy field to do a site recce or we would wear wellies, but look a bit silly wearing them indoors!” So the idea was born. Phillipa adds “There had to be an in between – waterproof boots that we could wear indoors. Then hey presto Talolo Boots. We both love our country music and wearing cowboy boots, so it was a no brainer to create a waterproof pair”
Trending Boots
One of Talolo’s most popular designs is our Urban Croc which is a plain black boot with a croc effect and really does not look like a welly at all. “Very fashionable and of course it goes with every outfit.” says Phillipa, who runs the company with her sister Lucy. “Another popular design is our Dallas Dreamer, which we commissioned Vera Black to design for us, when we were located next to her at The Long Road Festival a few years ago. The brief was to come up with a design that completely resembles a cowboy boot and this boot really hits the mark.”
Where to Buy
Talolo go to a lot of the country music festivals, which they love, always hoping to escape (briefly) from their stand to go and hear the artists play. You’ll also find them online where they ship their eye catching western wellies around the world.
Vera Black
Vera Black is where Bohemian Rock n Roll meets Country Western. Their incredibly unique detailed hats with feathers, precious stones and stitching have become the UK & US Country Artists and fans ‘must have’. All handmade in the UK in their home workshop they also design and hand make beaded jewellery & specially crafted feather hair accessories, all add that rebellious twist to your country & western ensemble. Based in Shropshire, Vera Black is your ticket to urban cowboy cool.
The Vera Black story is one of perseverance mixed with happy accident. “Both my husband Luke and I were professional musicians for over 15yrs”, says Vera, “My song ‘The Fool’ won a song writing award in Nashville, the prize included a trip to Nashville to record the song with some of Nashville’s top session musicians. Whilst touring across the USA I was inspired by the music and fashion and started to get an idea of how I wanted to present myself as an Artist, but I couldn’t find anything that I had in mind, so when we reached the end of tour in LA I went downtown and bought loads of feathers, beads and materials to take home to Sydney and start designing unique designs that didn’t exists anywhere else”.
Vera First started trading her jewellery at Bondi Beach, Australia in 2009 and then to London doing Artist Development in Music. However the call to be creative was always there, and Vera started building her brand on the streets of London at Portobello Market, Brick Lane Market and then eventually opening a shop in Camden. Playing a show at the O2, she met one of the organisers of the first ever C2C Festival (undoubtedly the U.K.’s biggest singular country music event), who then invited her to run a stand selling her designs. And the rest is history, as they say!
Industry Insights
“I was there at the beginning of festivals like Black Deer, The Long Road Festival, Buckle and Boots, Red Rooster and of course C2C.” remembers Vera, “Country Music Festivals started popping up everywhere and people were coming out in huge numbers, it’s incredible to see how much the scene has grown in such a short amount of time. I’ve spoken to some of the American Artists and they have said that the UK Country festivals are on another level than most in the US and they just love coming out to the UK as the response from the audience is so huge. Big brands like River Island and All Saints are bringing out their own country western lines so it’s obviously having an impact to the mainstream.”
Vera Black also an Artist stylist, styles the likes of Award winning Artist Elles Bailey, Troy Redfern and Arielle.
Where to Buy
You can find the Vera Black Pop up shop at almost every UK Country Music Festival, you can’t miss it with their American Vintage Van.
Vera Black’s designs are sold to customers from all around the globe and have attracted the attention of a myriad of Rock Stars & Celebrities including Johnny Depp, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snyder, Tom Hardy, Robert Plant, Lady Antebellum, The Shires, and many more.
Beginners Guide to Country Fashion
Countrycore fashion is more than just a style; it’s a way of life. Whether you’re two-stepping at a hoedown or strumming your guitar under the big Texas sky, these terms will have you roped in and ready to boot-scoot:
- Stetson Swagger: The confident tilt of your cowboy hat that says, “I’ve got more twang than a pedal steel guitar.”
- Dusty Denim: Jeans so worn they’ve got more stories than a country ballad. Bonus points if they’ve seen a few rodeos.
- Bolo Bling: That flashy bolo tie with a turquoise centerpiece that screams, “I’m here to lasso hearts.”
- Lone Star Layers: When you pile on flannel shirts, vests, and denim jackets like you’re building a cozy campfire.
- Boot Scootin’ Boots: Your trusty cowboy boots, scuffed and worn from line dancing and late-night bonfires.
- Gingham Galore: Dresses, shirts, and skirts in classic gingham patterns that make you feel like you’re sipping sweet tea on a porch swing.
- Saddlebag Chic: Fringed leather bags that carry your essentials—lip gloss, harmonica, and a little bit of outlaw spirit.
- Hayloft Hair: Messy, windblown locks that say, “I’ve been riding bareback through sunflower fields.”
- Barn Dance Bling: Chunky turquoise rings, silver concho belts, and leather cuffs that shine brighter than a Texas sunset.
- Honky-Tonk Hankies: Bandanas tied around your neck or wrist, ready for wiping away tears during a heart-wrenching ballad.
- Rodeo Ruffles: Skirts and dresses with flouncy ruffles that twirl like a fiddle tune.
- Lariat Layers: Layered necklaces with horseshoe pendants, feather charms, and a touch of cowgirl magic.
- Sundown Serape: That cozy, oversized serape blanket you drape over your shoulders during chilly campfire sing-alongs.
- Bluegrass Boho: Flowy maxi dresses, floppy hats, and fringe galore—because even cowgirls need a little flower-child flair.
- Barnyard Chic: Overalls, plaid shirts, and work boots that say, “I can mend fences and break hearts.”
Remember, countrycore isn’t just about the clothes; it’s about embracing the spirit of wide-open spaces, good tunes, and a little dirt on your boots. So next time you’re sipping moonshine by the fire, tip your hat to countrycore—it’s the soundtrack of the heartland.