Styles and Styles of Texas
From Davy Crockett to Sasha Fierce, thirty people who changed the look of our state—and the world.
Tom Doody (Washington D.C.) says: I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way, but Eva Longoria???? Jerry Hall??? Seriously? As a Texas native I’m sad not to see Barbara Jordan and Stevie Ray Vaughan on that list in the place of those two. (February 27th, 2009 at 4:02pm)
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21) Farrah Fawcett
(February 2, 1947— )
Not long after the Corpus Christi native and UT graduate arrived in Hollywood, she posed for a poster in a red one-piece bathing suit that revealed the outline of her nipples. She grinned broadly, showing her very white teeth, and her feathery blond hair was tousled in every direction. When the poster was released, in 1976, it instantly ranked in the annals of cheesecake history alongside Marilyn Monroe’s Playboy centerfold and Betty Grable’s World War II pinup. Twelve million copies were ultimately sold, the most of any poster ever. To this day, no one can explain how she came to symbolize all-American beauty in the seventies, but she was the first celebrity to capitalize on the commercialization of her looks in quite that way. And for many of us who grew up in that era, she remains the best. SH
22) George Strait (May 18, 1952— )
Legend has it that when he showed up for his first Texas Monthly cover shoot, in 1988, he honored the photographer’s request that he bring a couple different outfits by packing two pairs of creased Wranglers and two white dress shirts, all of which were starched to a crisp. Apocryphal maybe, believable nonetheless. At no moment in his career has he strayed far from the uniform of a South Texas calf roper: stacked jeans sized two inches too long so they wouldn’t come up over his boot tops when he rode, button-down collars that wouldn’t flap when he lassoed, low-heeled boots so he could run to a roped calf when he dismounted, and a trophy buckle to prove he was good at it. He’s made a mint for his preferred brands—Justin, Wrangler, Resistol—and provided the look that dominated dance halls and frat houses in the eighties. JS
23) Jerry Hall (July 2, 1956— )
Of all the supermodels to emerge from Texas, none have ever come close to our ultimate “it” girl. Raised in the working-class Dallas suburb of Mesquite, she escaped to Paris at age sixteen, was discovered by a fashion agent while sunbathing on a beach in Saint-Tropez, and was featured on more than forty fashion magazine covers. And, boom, along came Mick Jagger. They spent the next two decades together making tabloid-worthy headlines before splitting up, in 1999, but unlike other models-turned-rock-star-wives, she hardly disappeared. She took roles in big-budget movies (Batman) and plays (The Graduate), starred in a reality-TV series (Kept), and, late last year, was hired by Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld to model for the fashion house’s handbag line. That makes 37 years as a style icon . . . and counting. SH
24) Lyle Lovett (November 1, 1957— )
“Style is communication,” he explains. “It tells people what to expect from you. You can never underestimate the superficial power of human beings.” For some, the list of designers he has been associated with—Armani, Comme des Garçons, Prada—is indeed impressive, and also incongruous; seeing a Texan singer-songwriter dressed to those particular nines is a paradox, like hearing Bach float out of a barn. It makes perfect sense to him. “I grew up watching LBJ and the Kennedys, the classic menswear of the sixties, dark suits with natural shoulders that let you look like a guy, not a guy in a suit. That’s my idea of the way a man dresses.” He intends for that elegance to let his audience know he appreciates their time and attention. As for his earlier trademark, the woodpecker coif that was once as recognizable as Ann Richards’s beehive, he says, “I guess what I was communicating was ‘Never cut your own hair.’ ” JS
25) Emilio Navaira
(August 23, 1962— )
With his macho black mustache, pressed Wranglers, and ever-present Stetson, he could be the cowboy next door. But pair his classic looks with a smooth voice (accompanied by a conjunto accordion) and his signature dance move, the Emilio shuffle, and híjole: The Grammy Award nominations and big-name sponsors, like Miller Lite and Wrangler, pour in. “He had this energy that no one else had,” says David Lee Garza, whose band, Los Musicales, gave him his big break. “When most singers would just stand there, he did these moves, swaying back and forth.” Although a serious bus accident has sidelined him for the past year, his influence still makes him the gold standard in tejano today. KR
26) Wes Anderson (May 1, 1969— )
The world that the Houston-born filmmaker has created onscreen is one of vaguely luxurious quirk, set in an indeterminate era and peopled by grown-ups who act like children. The same description could apply to his closet, filled as it is with his signature shrunken suits and Wallabees, plus all manner of corduroy, sweaters, and scarves. While his films of late have been knocked for displaying more style than substance, his own look remains widely admired and copied. The clear progenitor of the geek-chic trend that has defined menswear in recent years, he’s a best-dressed-list perennial and a member of Esquire’s style hall of fame. Hipsters should note that his tailor, Mr. Ned, of New York, says the auteur has begun wearing his pants a little longer. JS
27) Erykah Badu
(February 26, 1971— )
Like a child in art and music class, the Dallas singer treats every day as a project, with herself as the medium. She draws on plenty of groovy templates (earth hippie, soul shouter, rap poet, jazz crooner) and is as apt to borrow from black-power iconography or Chinese astrology as Yoruban mythology. She treats her body as a mannequin: On her head might be a wig with hair that is straight down to her knees, parted in the middle like Cher’s; molded like Diana Ross’s; poufed like Angela Davis’s; or fluffed to the side like Loretta Lynn’s. On top she might wear an African gele. Or she might shave her head. On her body might be a plaid pantsuit or a seventies retro space suit or African ceremonial garb or baggy pants and a T-shirt. On her feet might be Converse sneakers or nothing at all. Experiment, grow, experience; fail, succeed, whatever. Wake up the next day and try something new. MICHAEL HALL
28) Selena
(April 16, 1971—March 31, 1995)
Cleavage-baring bustiers paired with boots weren’t typical tejano attire until she made them her trademark. Her onstage style was a well-fused combination of accessible South Texas boots and jeans and glitzy studded bolero jackets and push-up bras. She was exacting with her ensembles, designing and detailing most of them herself to ensure that just enough was left to the imagination. Who can forget the concho leggings she wore one year at the Tejano Music Awards or the shimmering purple bodysuit she rocked at the Houston Astrodome? The latter was such a favorite that she covered a pair of boots in a similar fabric. When it came time to lay her to rest, her family chose a purple outfit as her last. KR
29) Eva Longoria Parker
(March 15, 1975— )
The dark hair. The glittering eyes. The stark, familiar beauty in stilettos on such a teeny, tiny frame. The ten hairdo-and-designer-gown changes at the 2008 ALMA Awards—an Olympian accomplishment worthy of Gabrielle Solis, the negligeed schemer she made famous on Desperate Housewives. Sure, she plays something of a sexpot cliché in the Hispanic spitfire tradition, but she’s a shrewd operator of the first degree, someone who knows what she wants (an NBA star for a husband, a wedding reception in a storybook castle in France) and how to get it, inspiring millions of girls, Latina and otherwise, to toss their heads back and follow her lead. MS
30) Beyonce (September 4, 1981— )
There was a time when there was only one kind of Texas beauty: blond-haired and blue-eyed. Now girls of all races and creeds affix to their mirrors pictures of a young woman so famous she needs only one name. Yes, she earned more than $80 million from June 2007 to June 2008. Yes, she made that spicy homage to Gwen Verdon. Yes, she’s getting A-list movie roles and magazine covers. But it’s her face—wide-open, winning, simultaneously innocent and knowing—that promises she’s still a Texas girl, despite Jay-Z and the Sasha Fierce alter ego that no one really buys. MS
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