Windsor No More
May 17th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Craddick Shmaddick, the big news out of the House is in fashion. The bill authorizing the hot new look for 2009 made it’s way down the Senate catwalk this week. Currently hanging out in committee, the bill is all about lawmakers loosening up while embracing tradition and comfort — all thanks to the new official state tie of Texas, the bolo.
HCR 12 by Rep. “Mando” Martinez elevates the bolo to its rightful spot in Texas symbolism. “A fashion accessory that can be personalized to reflect the wearer’s taste and interests, the bolo tie is well matched to the individualism that is so much a part of the Texan identity,” the bill analysis reads. “In selecting or designing a clasp, bolo tie wearers are able to express their personal flair; moreover, the selection of a bolo over a standard tie can suggest that the wearer refuses to be bound by convention and relishes the freedom to exhibit a distinctive sense of style even as they maintain a dignified, formal appearance.”
Rooted in our state’s history — unlike our fraudulent efforts to claim credit for the hamburger — the bolo is popular with Texas Native Americans as well as cowboys of all stripes, especially those who came up from South America. If the Senate knows Texas haute when it sees it, the bolo tie will join a prestigious group of state symbols, including old favorites like the state native shrub (Texas purple sage), the official epic poem of Texas (”Legend of Old Stone Ranch”), state pastries (sopaipillas and strudel), and any of the three varieties of state mammal (i.e., large, small, and flying).
You can bet this maverick, iconoclast blogger, when donning formal attire for the House floor, would prefer a bolo to the Washington-big-government-bureaucrat constraints of a normal tie. While we’re at it, can we got ahead and make the Lone Star Beer buckle the official state belt?
