Today (July 9th) marks the beginning of 10 days of good old fashioned country-western fun for this fair city.
Photo credit - Flickr / Google Images
Why? Well because it is the annual event that Calgarians (such as myself) simultaneously celebrate, passionately love and defend, and absolutely loathe…all to various extents and combinations. That would be the greatest outdoor show on earth.
Credit - U of C Activities Around Calgary
Now I personally haven’t done Stampede properly since I was about 17, when I went to just about a show every night at the Coca-Cola Stage (2010 lineup is here) with a group of my friends. Since then I’ve either been out of town or working for the entirety of these 10 days and haven’t been quite able to participate. Well, participate in person that is.
You see, having grown up in Calgary you innately experience Stampede every summer for 10 days whether you like it or not. The whole city turns into a tribute to our roots, and…well…it’s a great excuse to bust out the cowboy boots, denim (hello 10 days of jeans to work…actually!), and all things country. Which leads me to the purpose of said post, a bit of a simultaneous challenge and I’m sure to some extent punishment or stretch of my creative capacity: the only shoes I am allowing myself to wear for the next 10 days are my cowboy boots.
The boots that started it all.
Dear Kate – Newsflash, that’s not a challenge, you wear your boots pretty well at least once a month. – Love, Your readers.
Yes, I’m aware that the above statement is true, but the key here is to actually be able to style these so that they are the right mix of country with a dash of style. Tough – especially when you can get away with being a complete pretend cowboy/girl for 10 days in this city without being mocked during Stampede. I try all year to attempt to just intertwine my cowboy boots into the odd outfit, but when you can finally be a little flamboyant with the whole thing and strut my boots during this period in Calgary…why not?! The challenge bit though is that I’m the kind of girl who changes out her handbag and shoes on a daily basis…so having to centre a full 10 days of outfits around these boots may actually prove difficult.
The Mission: 10 days of wearing the same boots.
The Rules: 1) No outfit repeats. 2) No outlandishly mocking of the cowboy aesthetic in outfit form. 3) No exceptions.
…wish me good luck?
anonymouschic 