Country Inspired Fashion in Calgary Alberta
by Cailyn, Miss Teenage Calgary 2017
I live in Calgary and consider myself lucky when it comes to fashion. We have everything we need here including fancy evening dresses and country wear, which includes cowboy boots and, during The Calgary Stampede, a cowboy hat. Even for simply enjoying a Saturday night inside with the girls, you have to still go out and pick up that pizza, and so you have to look semi presentable. That’s the look I find myself wearing more than I’d like to admit.
In Calgary, we have many diverse fashion styles; some folks like long, baggy shirts worn as a dress with a plaid around your waist, while others seem to always choose sweat pants and jersey tops. These styles are not gender specific and us younger ladies like to occasionally wear a man’s shirt or a blazer.
I have four different looks that I find myself wearing most frequently, and sometimes I mix them up and combine styles.
My first look is something you can wear to a casual event/ outing or you can dress it up with heels like I did or even a bit of jewelry like bracelets or a longer necklace since the front is quite plain and you’re good to go to a nice dinner.
The model is me, Cailyn. Here I’m wearing a shoulder less top which is a must in every girls closet during the summer (free those shoulders) but due to the fact that there is no hiding annoying bra straps I highly recommend a strapless bra, which I know can be tricky to keep up sometimes but your outfit will look so much better. The shirt is just a plain high waisted black skirt which gives you the freedom to tuck in your shirt or leave it untucked, the shirt I’m wearing was quite long, so I decided to have it tucked-in for a cleaner and more put-together look.
My second outfit is ‘country inspired’ and is something I find myself wearing quite often. This is a look I could wear for a day out, to the Calgary stampede or another local outing like many country-themed restaurants and bars we have in town. I chose a light coloured jeans and top because not only does it get less hot, the subtle notes make your boots pop. Regardless you could just as easily throw on some dark blue jeans and the outfit would still work.
Traditionally, with cowboy boots, I would wear boot cut jeans that cover them, but not and then I like to show them off by wearing tight jeans such as a ‘skinny jean’ to show those boots off. Also on a side note is like to add the fact that cowboy boots are one of my favorite shoes because they are versatile and functional but also they look great with jeans and if planned right they go amazingly well with a skirt or cute summer dress.
My third look is street wear that is comfortable for an exercise work-out and nice enough that you could wear outside and do your daily deeds. I went with white sweat pants because I feel like they are a great statement piece considering how often you actually see white sweatpants. I went with the white tank top to blend in under to make the black jersey standout more. Then I used the red bandana and lipstick to give the look a pop of color and as a standout piece. Also I swear by Converse running shoes, they are my absolute favorite sneakers because you can where them with anything at any time!
For my last outfit I went for more of a classic look with the 50s style red dress. You can wear it whenever and its light enough to wear in the summer and once winter rolls around you can throw on some leggings or thighs and put on an old style knitted jacket (the one I have reminds me of a sock monkey)
I think my favorite part about any of these outfits is that you can wear them anytime and dress them up or down due to your mood and what you are dressing for.
“Street fashion to me shows comfort and character.” Lexi explained, “Also bright colors show bright personalities.”
