Core77

For your Sunday reading pleasure, Adam Levy's recent article on Design Observer profiles Jack A. Weil, inventor of the snap-buttoned cowboy shirt, Bolo tie, and well, a way of life. Here's the sweet spot:

Back in the 1940s, Jack A had realized that the cowboy shirt could be something more than a simple product. The idea behind the cowboy shirt, he said, was to reflect the flamboyance of the rodeo riders, their reckless bravado. His job was to translate those qualities into the language of pattern and cut: shaped cuffs, bold yokes, tapered waists, and vibrant colors. "In those days, when cowboys rode into town they wore simple chamois shirts and denim Levis. They had two or three months pay in their pocket to raise hell with and get drunk and I got the idea that they'd buy a few fancy shirts while they were at it." His innovation, in other words, was to sell back to the cowboy the very idea of what their life was all about.

And a bit more:

Manufacturing those early bolos was a craft-intensive undertaking. Special pliers, used by telephone linemen, were used to bend the silver tips around the lariat. It took training and persistence. As a result, for many years Rockmount produced only two types of bolo ties. ("Bolo" is actually a misnomer. Jack A wanted to call it the "bola" but he didn't write the "a" clearly enough on the manufacturing order one day. Remarkably, when westerners pronounce "bolo" it comes out sounding like "bola.") When Jack B assumed some of the design responsibilities from his father in the mid 1970s, he felt it was crucial to expand their output. "I've styled the bolo line for over twenty five years," Jack B boasted to me as he tucked into his meat, "and now we have over 300 styles. You know those bolos with dried scorpions on them? Those are mine, along with all the ones with buffalo nickels and cowboy boots, pigs asses and Stetson hats. Oh yeah, its been a lot of fun."

Continue reading here.