By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World.
Cheryl McMullen founder of DoubleD Ranchwear always dreamed she would grow up to be the best dressed cowgirl
Every little girl grows up dreaming about ponies. There is something about our love of western heritage that just sticks. We had a few special women heroes to count on as kids. Annie Oakley and later Dale Evans... but somewhere in the fabric of our lives we find comfort in denim, want to look like but not act like dudes, and strut our stuff everywhere from Madison Avenue to the streets of Laredo Texas.
But then there are the McMullen girls from Yoakum Texas who have set the bar.
It all started with the McMullen sisters and a rickety bus ride filled with chickens and dogs from Laredo, Texas to Taxco, Mexico in search of authentic silver buttons, then sending a check for $5000 to that shady button merchant who could very well have taken the money and run, to landing in New York at 3 a.m. with $200 in your purse, no place to stay and no idea who could put an Indian blanket design on wool.
I love their spirit of "rugged individualism." Without it the west would never have been won.
I once had the occasion to meet First Lady Laura Bush.
I always thought she had impeccable style. I loved the references she would make about her and President George Bush when they would spend time at their ranch. Nancy Reagan too was another First Lady to set a great example not only for designer couture but also for a relaxed look when on her and President Ronald Reagan's ranch in Santa Ynez Valley.
Today, more younger women are inspired to dress west. And I don't mean just west of the Rockies. Western wear has become a staple in every woman's wardrobe.
In my search for LuxEcoLiving's Best Western Wear I found this amazing website.
The Ba Da Bling Jacket, just one of the fabulous items in their collection stops traffic.
The apparel line has been called Western haute couture. But today, girls just want to have fun.
Editor's Notes
When Cowgirl Hall of Fame Inductee Audrey Murphy Griffin showed up at the Fiesta in Santa Barbara she wanted to know who designed my hat. I told her it was a Carol Carr design. And I asked her about her shirt and she said vintage DoubleD Ranchwear.
