Yellowstone’ Costume Designer Picks The Best Stagecoach Fashion for 2023
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The famed Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif. — home to Coachella, Stagecoach and their thousands of trendsetting attendees — is where the most popular fashion trends of the past year come together and mingle in one place. It also can also signal what fads will continue to be in vogue for the rest of the year. Last year, we saw Gen Z’s Y2K obsession in the flesh, the subject of countless think-pieces, often paired with glittery-heavy, “Euphoria”-inspired makeup. And after Harry Styles hit the stage in a sequined Gucci jumpsuit at Coachella last year, searches for Gucci spiked by 101 percent.
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So, while the music is front of mind as we head into festival season, it’s impossible to argue that it’s not also a place that encourages sartorial experimentation and expression. Of course, some festival-friendly attire will always be in style, like California-inspired crochet and colorful bucket hats, which serve utilitarian, in addition to aesthetic, purposes in the desert heat.
Stagecoach, in particular, has a more specific unspoken dress code due to its country-leaning lineup. Since the festival debuted in 2007, cowboy boots and floral dresses have taken over the field throughout the three-day fest. But as western-core becomes more mainstream, you might be wondering how to stand out in the crowd. To help you dress to impress, we enlisted the help of a costume designer who knows their way around western style more than anyone else: Johnetta Boone, who has dressed the ranch-owning Dutton family of “Yellowstone” since its first season.
“Cowboy boots, jeans, belts…these are all trademarks of the Western style,” says Boone, who has enjoyed seeing the costumes she’s worked with for years on set enter the mainstream. “It’s timeless, and it’s so iconic because the joy you get out of wearing Western wear transcends any other style. You don’t typically wear any style from head to toe but with Western clothes, you do without hesitation. That’s the beauty of it.”
Ahead of Stagecoach, Boone offers recommendations for the most authentic and versatile Western-inspired clothes to pack this year — from Reformation prairie dresses to Ariat cowboy boots.
Check out all of her tips and recs below:
Rancher Cigar 4.25″ Hat
“I would start with cowboy hats that are made out of nearly 100% beaver,” Boone says, explaining that fur is more likely to endure the elements compared to felt which shrinks when it gets wet.
When it comes to shapes, there are several options, from the ranger shapes that they wear in the plains of Montana (where Season 2 of “Yellowstone” was shot) to an open crown (what Walker wears in the show) to the cattleman shape (the most popular silhouette). But no accessory is one size fits all: “It’s all based on your facial structure — the length of your face, the width of your face, your cheekbones,” Boone says.
She defers to the hat brand when choosing which shape works best but a go-to is Burns Custom Hats, which employ hat experts to stream, crease and shape their hats into custom creations.
Dupes: Amazon, Anthropologie
Rancher Cigar 4.25″ Hat
Long Sleeve Western Snap
“I have so many vintage Wrangler shirts that are 20, 30 years old,” Boone says. “They’re fantastic and they wear in so nicely.”
The brand, which boasts dozens of Western snap button-downs with yokes, even had a Yellowstone collection that dropped ahead of the show’s fifth season.
Women’s Longsleeve Western Snap
Western Fit Jeans
Taylor Sheridan, who plays Travis on “Yellowstone,” is a real cowboy so Boone says it was particularly important to maintain authenticity on set. For jeans, Boone says, “cowboys typically wear — strangely enough — Levi’s.”
“I had someone DM me on Instagram and say, ‘You’ve almost gotten it right but cowboys don’t wear Levi’s.’ And I said, ‘Well, here’s the truth ma’am. Levi’s are the first dungaree, they’re the first jeans that people wore, so cowboys absolutely do wear Levi’s.'”
Levi’s Western Fit Jeans
Wrangler Womens Cowboy Cut Jeans
One magic trick in curating an authentic Western fit is long jeans. “Cowboys wear their jeans like four inches too long,” Boone says. “Because when you get in the saddle, you don’t want your jeans to be too short, you want them to come down to meet the top of your boot. So to adjust that style for more everyday wear, your hem length could be more in keeping with your general inseam length for your jeans prior to wearing cowboy boots.”
Wrangler has a wide variety of cowboy cut jeans that the brand released and streamlined as a style in the 1970s. Other jean styles and brands that Boone recommends are Cinch Jeans, which Boone says a lot of cowboys wear because “they’re a baggier cut and not quite so fitted.”
For women, Boone recommends Kimes Ranch. “Women seem to love that jean because it’s really fitted well on the body, and they’ve worked out nicely how to fit all body types, whether you have broad, narrow, short-waisted or long-waisted hips. And they also do a nice gentle cowboy cut which is a slightly wider leg and then they do a super wide leg. So it’s nice to have that option.”
Wrangler Womens Cowboy Cut Jeans
Justin Canter Western Boot
The Empire Polo Club grounds during Stagecoach may be populated with more cowboy boots than Dutton Ranch. But if you decide to keep them in your wardrobe beyond the weekend, you’ll want a pair that can stand the test of time.
Boone swears by Justin Boots and Ariat, which both feature the leather soles favored by cowboys. “In the equine culture, the reason why boots are chosen is specifically for their durability,” she says. “If you don’t have a leather sole, your foot could get hung up in that stirrup and you could break a leg.”
Like hats, preferred styles will vary by the person. “For some cowboys, the square toe is more comfortable while cowboys in Texas, for example (where they filmed Season 5 of “Yellowstone”), they all wear your original rounded or pointy toe cowboy boots.”
Another brand featured in the show is Lucchese, a higher-end brand worn by JD. “It’s not for someone who’s working every day,” Boone explains.
Justin Canter Western Boot
Nocona Floral Western Belt
The easiest way to add a Western twist to your festival ensemble is a western-style belt, which takes inspiration from the authentic rodeo belts that cowboys, like those on “Yellowstone,” are rarely without. “There’s not one cowboy that’s not wearing a rodeo buckle from an event that he participated in and most likely won,” Boone says,.
Justin Boots and Lucchese both make custom belts that are featured in the show but Boone says more affordable dupes can be found at Nocona.
Nocona Belt Co. Men’s Floral Embose Western Bucle, Tan, 36
Dôen Tahlia Dress
It would be wise, in the Indio desert heat, to channel Beth with a breezy prairie dress, which Boone describes as “any midi-length dress with a floral pattern. They typically have sleeves, but they don’t have to, and they’re fitted at the bust and wider from the waist down.”
Boone often sources her dresses from Dôen, which has several praire dress options such as this gorgeous Tahlia Dress.
Dôen Tahlia Dress
Reformation Adriana Skirt
For more versatility, you can go with a midi-length skirt from Reformation, another brand that boasts dozens of prairie-style dresses and skirts of which Boone is a fan. This Adriana Skirt can be paired with a black blouse, colorful cowboy boots and gold jewelry for a more subtle Western-inspired outfit.
Reformation Adriana Skirt
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