Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2020 July 20

= July 20 =

Western Wear
Why do cowboy jackets have tassels all round? What is the use of these. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.172.130.137 (talk) 11:14, 20 July 2020 (UTC)
 * http://www.lemen.com/qa256.html --Khajidha (talk) 11:38, 20 July 2020 (UTC)
 * --107.15.157.44 (talk) 14:48, 20 July 2020 (UTC)
 * To answer the OP's question, see fashion, to wit "aesthetic expression at a particular time, place and in a specific context." The purpose of the tassels is to be good looking in the context of the person who is wearing it (also note that the context in question may not be your context, which means it may not look good to you.  Or it might.  Fashion is individual and highly contextual and always evolving).  -- Jayron 32 19:10, 20 July 2020 (UTC)
 * I believe it comes from the Native Americans. If you look closely at design, you'd probably understand. I also believe this because cowboys were popular during the Wild West, and they fought the Native Americans. Kori das 📣 21:53, 20 July 2020 (UTC)
 * (Anecdotal) It was a form of camouflage. The tassels break the sharp distinctive outline of the human form - see Ghillie suit. 41.165.67.114 (talk) 06:38, 21 July 2020 (UTC)
 * One of the uses: "Buckskins are often trimmed with a fringe – originally a functional detail, to allow the garment to shed rain, and to dry faster when wet because the fringe acted as a series of wicks to disperse the water" 41.165.67.114 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 09:14, 21 July 2020 (UTC)


 * Buckskin Dresses and Pumpkin Breeches: Colonial Fashions from the 1580s to the 1760s (p. 9) details clothing worn by Native Americans and while agreeing with the quick-drying noted above, also says that it was a form of camouflage, helping a hunter to blend in with their background (also noted above).
 * A Fistful of Icons: Essays on Frontier Fixtures of the American Western (p. 23) says that white frontiersmen copied fringed clothing to give the impression that they equally at home in the backwoods and prairies as the Native Americans were.
 * Alansplodge (talk) 15:42, 21 July 2020 (UTC)