H Bar C ↗
A Western wardrobe at the retail counter
The name inside the collar
Names & labels.
A guide to the makers, commercial names and marks already encountered in the archive.
Follow a name into its full history, or look at the garment, advertisement or record that brought it here. A photographed label, a retailer’s offer and a company notice each tell a different part of the story.
The six commercial histories.
Tem-Tex ↗
The people and paper trail behind a Texas Western-shirt line
Frontex ↗
A Dallas name in cloth and print
Rockmount ↗
A Denver name at the Western shirt counter
California Ranchwear ↗
From rodeo week to the dance floor
Wrangler (with Rodeo Ben) ↗
A tailor’s name on a denim advertisement
The makers and their workrooms.
Nathan Turk ↗
The work behind the spectacle
Viola Grae ↗
her name in the work
Rodeo Ben ↗
A tailor gives the travelling West a choice of clothes
Sam A. Formann ↗
Buffalo shirts built around the yoke
Marge Riley ↗
Western clothes in the fashion window
Fay Ward ↗
A Manhattan cowboy tailor, a guide to ranch work, and clothes made for named performers
Manuel Cuevas ↗
The tailor who kept the room moving
Rose Clements ↗
the work behind the name
Jaime Castaneda ↗
clothes for the next show
Harvey Krantz ↗
The tailor between Hollywood and the road
Nudie Cohn and Bobbie ↗
The family, workroom and clothes behind Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors.
More names on the shop counter.
CHRISTENFELD
A registered clothing word mark. Its use on a period garment has not yet been established.
USPTO TSDR status record, CHRISTENFELD, registration 1182253 / serial 73261612 ↗
Miller Western Wear
Named in a 1948 catalogue advertisement and a 1958 retailer offer; a museum shirt carries the Denver label.
*The Billboard*, 27 Mar. 1948, printed p. 72 ↗ · *The Alvin Sun*, Alvin, Texas, 6 Nov. 1958, printed p. 5 ↗ · object record 71.8.20.1 ↗
Miller Stockman
A Denver supply-house and catalogue name advertising Miller Western Wear in 1948.
Lee / Lee Riders
Jeans named in inspected retailer advertisements from 1949 and 1953.
*The Post Dispatch*, Post, Texas, 17 Mar. 1949 ↗ · *Let's Dance!*, Sept. 1953 issue ↗
Levi Strauss / Levi’s
Western goods named in 1953 retailer advertisements. Individual garments and labels need their own identification.
Panhandle Slim
Named shirts in a 1987 trade feature; its earlier founding chronology remains a company account.
Aug.–Sept. 1987, `What's New in Western Wear` ↗ · About Us ↗
Westmoor
Named alongside Arrow in a 1950 retailer’s combined offer for sport and Western shirts.
Arrow
The combined 1950 advertisement does not identify which individual shirts belonged to Arrow or Westmoor.
Tex-Son
A Western-shirt line named by Leddy’s in 1962. Its connection to the similarly named San Antonio firm remains open.
*The Abilene Reporter-News*, Abilene, Texas, evening ed., 8 Nov. 1962, printed p. 13-A ↗
Texas Togs
Western shirts named in a Lytle, Texas retailer advertisement in 1965.
*Medina Valley and County News Bulletin*, Castroville, Texas, 15 Dec. 1965, printed p. 12 ↗
Karman Western Wear
Western shirts named in a 1969 retailer notice; a later registered mark covers Western clothing.
*The Castro County News*, 20 Nov. 1969, p. 9 ↗ · USPTO TSDR, serial 73243021 ↗
Trail Ridge
Western shirts named beside Karman in a 1969 retailer auction notice; no maker or label chain is established here.
Read the label.
These photographed marks and inscriptions identify what is visible on an individual object. Their company histories and the roles of named people may still be unknown.
Rex Bell’s Walking Box Brand
A separate Rex Bell's Walking Box Brand label on the same ensemble.
Buck Bernie
Photograph or document from Reagan Ray, ‘Western Clothing Labels,’ 12 December 2017; this view is shown as part of the Western wear visual archive.
Gross Original (Denver)
Photograph presented with the Gross Original Denver suit in Spencer Stewart’s Vintage Haberdashers article.
Spencer Stewart, “Gross Original Western Suit,” Vintage Haberdashers, 5 March 2016 ↗
Longhorn Sanforized
Close seller view of a sewn Longhorn Sanforized label with Dickson-Jenkins Mfg. Co. and Fort Worth wording. The label is evidence on this shirt, not a complete company history.
Vintage Mushroom seller photographs, Longhorn denim Western shirt ↗
Circle A
Auction close-up shows Circle A Western Wear and Kohinoor labels together inside the photographed tan shirt. Their precise business relationship and the shirt's date remain open.
Augusta Auctions, Circle A and Kohinoor labelled Western shirts, lot 945 ↗
Kohinoor
Auction close-up shows Circle A Western Wear and Kohinoor labels together inside the photographed tan shirt. Their precise business relationship and the shirt's date remain open.
Augusta Auctions, Circle A and Kohinoor labelled Western shirts, lot 945 ↗
Connie Sportswear
Dealer close view shows a sewn label reading Connie Sportswear. The label alone does not establish the garment’s production date or manufacturing place.
Der Fuchs Vintage seller photographs, Connie Sportswear daisy-embroidered Western shirt ↗
Big State / Cowtown / Fort Worth
A close view of the neck label visibly reads Big State, Cowtown and Fort Worth. Those words are evidence on this shirt; its maker and production date remain open.
Mask Santa Fe seller photographs, Big State / Cowtown labelled Western shirt ↗
Ring & Brewer (Dallas)
Dealer view shows an embroidered Western shirt with bucking-horse and saddle motifs. The dealer’s period and dead-stock descriptions remain unverified.
Wanderer seller photographs, Western shirt with Ring & Brewer label ↗
Authentic Western Youngbloods
Close view reads Authentic Western Youngbloods, with a size XL tab and separate fabric-content label. It documents this photographed shirt, not the full company history.
Vintrowear, Authentic Western Youngbloods shirt photographs ↗
Rali Burleson
Close view of a shirt bearing a Rali Burleson name label and a ram-head metal clip. The image establishes their presence on this photographed garment.
Buddy Brady
The shirt carries a “Viola Grae / California” label above another reading “Buddy Brady 1”; the latter is a named lead, not a confirmed wearer identification.
Kerry Taylor Auctions, lot 113, burgundy wool shirt with Viola Grae label ↗
Dick Christensen
A separate sewn label reads “Dick Christensen” with size figures; it does not establish who wore the shirt.
Kerry Taylor Auctions, lot 282, *Viola Grae and Globe Taylors men’s embellished shirts* ↗
Pilgrim Registered Sportswear
Auction composite shows separate All Wool, Sam A. Formann Co. Buffalo N.Y., and Pilgrim Registered Sportswear labels. Their placement on individual shirts must be read from the lot’s other views.
Augusta Auctions, four embroidered Western shirts, lot 275 ↗
T-CRAFT LTD.
A seller composite visibly shows labels reading ‘Rex Bell’s WALKING BOX Brand / Las Vegas / Reno’, ‘T-CRAFT LTD.’ and ‘HANDMADE / MADE IN / Hollywood’. The image does not establish which photographed outfit component bears each label.
Augusta Auctions via Bidsquare, Rex Bell Walking Box Brand culotte ensemble, lot 24 ↗
Behind the trade names.
These records name firms or companies. A connection to a particular consumer label or a continuous manufacturing history remains to be established where noted.
Feldt Manufacturing Company
The 1951 federal order names the Temple, Texas firm for the covered Tem-Tex shirts.
*Federal Register*, 22 Aug. 1951, 16 FR 8311, Special Order 420 ↗
Irby Thompson, Inc.
UNT attributes this manufacturer name to its Frontex shirt, accession 1983.024.056.
Blue Bell / Blue Bell Overall Company
Wrangler’s later corporate account links this firm to the brand; period company records remain to be reconciled.
Blue Bell, Inc.
A 1957 federal notice records Western shirts at Tupelo. It does not allocate that work to a particular consumer label.
The George W. Prior Co.
A 1952 federal notice names the Denver firm for Western shirts and jeans, without a consumer label.
Vanderbilt Shirt Co., Inc.
Federal notices name the Asheville firm for sport and Western shirts in the 1950s.
*Federal Register*, 28 Oct. 1953, 18 FR 6809 ↗ · *Federal Register*, 26 Oct. 1956, 21 FR 8224 ↗
Tex-Son, Inc. / Tex-Son Company
San Antonio firm names in 1942 and 1944 notices for children’s clothing; a Western-shirt connection is unproved.
*Federal Register*, 20 Oct. 1942, 7 FR 8440 ↗ · *Federal Register*, 10 May 1944, 9 FR 4951 ↗
The Kaynee Co. / KAYNEE
Federal notices document a Pawhuska apparel firm. These records do not identify Western shirts.
*Federal Register*, 6 Dec. 1950, 15 FR 8653 ↗ · *Federal Register*, 8 Jan. 1952, 17 FR 215 ↗
Carwood Manufacturing Company
Federal notices document a Winder, Georgia apparel firm. A Western label or line is not established by them.
*Federal Register*, 4 Nov. 1942, 7 FR 8968 ↗ · *Federal Register*, 11 May 1943, 8 FR 6066 ↗
Miller Western Wear Mfg Company
A 1975 Georgia directory records the Baxley firm and Western shirts. Its legal chain with Denver remains open.