A Cowboy In The Court Of Louis XIV

OK, I have to admit I got a little Personal-Jesus-ed after my last shopping post.

When I got on the task of creating a new outfit, cowboys were all I had in my mind. However, I didn’t want this to be just another classical cowboy look. I had my purple cowboy hat and my purple velvet trousers and I asked myself: “What can I do to turn this into something different?”

Once again, the answer came through Depeche Mode.

It’s funny, because they really seem to share my curious fetishist love for catholic aesthetics, or at least they did in the Songs Of Faith And Devotion era. I purchased that album quite recently and was instantly killed by the pictures in the booklet. Good Lord!

It was probably that what lead me to review my beautiful rosary collection (I have around thirty different pieces in it! LOL) in search of a couple that could fit in with the look I was planning. I chose them using the colours of the hat as a reference: black, purple and white. In fact, that combination of colours determined the palette of the whole outfit as well.

I didn’t have any black in my pick of rosaries, so instead I got it in my shirt. My first idea was to use one of my black cowboy shirts, but it seemed a bit too predictable. Instead, I decided to take a risk and add some royalty to the look with a frilled shirt.

I was very satisfied with the result.

I picked the blazer by process of elimination: it was the only one that had something purple on it (LOL). That blazer is a super cool vintage piece I purchased at Humana. I like calling it Jimmy Page jacket because it strongly reminds me of the ultra-flashy suits he used to wear in the 1970s. Remember that gorgeous dragon suit?

The boots were quite an easy choice: I only have two pairs of cowboy boots, and only one of them is black. I wasn’t sure about how (fake) leather would match an outfit based on velvet, but I just said to myself: “if you never take any risks, where’s the fun?” And the funny part is that these don’t only look like biker/cowboy boots, but they also have a certain something that reminds me of musketeers’ boots.

Of course, the star accessory in this outfit is my black velvet belt with tassels. I introduced it in my previous post, so the fact that I’ve found a use for it so quickly (with me, this is as quick as it gets – LOL) makes me kind of proud. I wanted something that was western and baroque at the same time and that’s exactly what I got ^^

The way I see it, the character in this outfit is quite a bizarre cross between a cowboy, a musketeer and a mariachi. It might sound strange, but it works – it all started back in Europe, right? ;) I just recombined the pieces at my will ^^

In case you are wondering, I have to say that hat was meant as a Carnival accessory. I bought it just for fun at first, but you know how these things go… (LOL). And if anyone ever tells you that a purple zebra print cowboy hat is not suitable for street wear, you know they are a liar (yep – that was a quote from L.A. Woman :P).

By the way, this is what I wore for Christmas dinner. I’m not a big fan of family reunions, so wearing something really fancy always makes me feel better. It’s a bit of a statement – something like: “I am here doing what I have to, but I play by my own rules.”

…which reminds me there’s still something I haven’t said to you:

Happy New Year! ^^

Shirt: MNG

Trousers: MNG

Boots: In Extenso

Blazer: Sita Murt (purchased at Humana)

Hat: unknown (purchased at Carrefour)

Belt: MNG