Meanwhile, Back At Old Joe's Barroom
So, I was bopping along with my headphones on, and I got a concept stuck in my craw:
When I die, want you to dress me in straight laced shoes
A box back coat and a Stetson hat;
Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So the boys know I died standin’ pat.
Which struck me, as I’d just finished listening to:
“Stagger Lee,” said Billy,
“I can’t let you go with that.
“You have won all my money,
“And my brand-new Stetson hat.”
While I’ve a long familiarity with Stetsons, I hadn’t realized they were once considered a status symbol.
Stetson produced a very expensive hat. The Cowboy riding the range wearing that “Boss of the Plains” hat showed the world that he was doing well. “Within a decade the name John B. Stetson became synonymous with the word “hat,” in every corner and culture of the West.” – wikipedia
An easy enough concept, even for a city dweller. In my youth it was high-end sneakers, and, in my adulthood, I know plenty of folks who drive cars as a mark of status, and not as a device that transports them from location to location.
The thing is, Stetsons were obviously originally marketed to cowboys – who exactly were they attempting to impress, out on the range?
An interesting side-note:
According to Win Blevins’ Dictionary of the American West (p388), the term “ten-gallon” has nothing to do with the hat’s liquid capacity, but derives from the Spanish word galón (braid), ten indicating the number of braids used as a hat band. – wikipedia
I always found it odd that many of the famous men of the West- Wild Bill Hickok, Bufflao Bill, etc, were such fancy dressers. The average cowboy was always dusty and dirty- they worked in the dirt with cows and bulls! I think the Stetson hat, the fancy waistcoat, the gold pocket watch, all those things added to their fame-remember, in their later years, many of them became showmen- and like kids wearing Air Jordans today, the Stetson emulated their heroes and therefore elevated them. And of course, there really were no famous “cowboys”- most of the ones who achieved fame were either lawmen or crooks. Even the famous Doc Holliday was a dentist. Maybe many of them wanted to be above just being a mere cowboy, thus the Stetson.
Or I could just be talkling out of my (Stetson) hat.
Anyway, interesting topic. I never thought of it that way before.
That’s a great point about the reality of the famous “cowboys”. It’s sort of an odd feedback loop: cowboys inspiring showmen, inspiring cowboys.
I wonder if the price point, like Air Jordans, is part of the appeal as well – not as expensive as a big screen TV or a new horse, but something even the chronically poor (Blues Musicians, Cowboys) can aspire too.
I also find it interesting that they’re both something that’s immediately visible, but might only carry status with those ‘in the know’.
Run of the mill cowboys were pretty looked down upon. Afterall, they were the lowest of men on the totem pole. This is a bit contemporary but I think it fits- look at Of Mice and Men. They were cramped in a bunkhouse, uneducated, little future. Guys like Curly wore the Stetson hats. A good hat like a Stetson might elevate you above the masses, identify you with the higher (or at least richer) class.
Of course, Slim didn’t need a Stetson- he was Slim.
Great connection – well played.