What is it about this resurgence of the country diva? We're currently in the beginning days of the early-Millennium comeback (I know). And with it comes the Yeehaw Revolution. Cow print nails are happening, Acne's fall/winter 2018 campaign happened, the Saint Laurent spring/summer 2019 collection is happening. Some say it's a re-reclamation of Americana. With our congested political climate, there's a lot of debate on who is American? or what is American? This article from Man Repeller dives into the "yeehaw agenda" of black girls wearing western wear. What's more patriotic than dressing like the societal ideal of "an American": the cowboy. A similar movement happened at the turn of the century pre-and post-9/11 when an all too familiar political climate was stifling the air. Thus, the revolution: a rotation of similar thoughts from 20 years ago. Without blaming the political air, things seem to return every 20-some years anyway. This time, instead of low rise jeans and a Von Dutch hat, it's a pair of high waisted, vintage Levi's and a Saint Laurent cowboy hat. An upgrade.
Women who wear pants when they're not supposed to. I suppose what qualifies a character's wardrobe for this examination is an obvious rebellion against the social norms of women's wear. Is there a switch from dresses to pants? Is there an overt display of skin? Is the character out of place in her environment as a woman and therefore dresses to equalize herself with her male peers? What also qualifies a gal for this examination is a less obvious version of western wear. I'm excluding actual cowgirls who don't depict a switch from a skirt-girl to a jeans-girl. These ladies wear pieces you and I would wear (but make it western). It's a new norm: women wearing pants. Or, better yet, women wearing clothes they actually want to wear and not what they are supposed to wear.
** I've also included a playlist (of course) of some of my favorite country-pop fusion babes.
Part one of the Yeehaw Revolution isn't exactly a highly embellished version of a cowboy get up (minus Thelma's jeans that still have some bedazzle around the hip) but the mindset is there: women who wear pants when they're not supposed to. Actually, it's really the opposite of the glitter and glitz of Kacey Musgraves and Kylie Minogue. It's stripped back and bare; jeans and a t-shirt, leaving the lipstick and diamonds behind and leaving the attitude exposed.
Thelma and Louise's transition from housewife and diner girl to full on female fugitives is clear just from examining from their wardrobe. We go from head scarves, skirts, and lipstick to windblown hair, desert dirt everywhere, and rugged denim in just over two hours. It's an obvious "fuck you" to women's wear. As soon as things start to go a little bit south, the skirts get kicked to the curb and the lipstick is non-existent. They are no longer girls. They use their clothes as a part of their revenge tour. I am your equal, they say. They are not supposed to be wearing pants. They're good, proper, southern women, damn it! Labeled as a housewife and a diner girl, two very stereotypically feminine jobs, Thelma and Louise reject their past lives as they drive further away. As they cruise across the American southwest, they come into themselves. "Maybe I found my calling", Thelma says riding on a high after robbing a convenient store. As they have personal breakthroughs, they subconsciously realize they don't need all of that nonsense: head scarves, lipstick, ruffles, frills. All they need is the road and, ultimately, each other. This is the call of the wild. There's a scene after Louise loses her $6,000 in savings and she sits and pouts in the car. She tries to put on her lipstick to maybe feel better, to maybe make herself look more presentable. But as soon as she looks at herself in the mirror, she tosses the tube out the window. Forget it. "You gotta stop being so open, we're fugitives now, right? Let's start behaving like that." And dressing like one too: stolen denim shirts, dirty graphic tees, and all.
There's a lot of sharing garments in Thelma and Louise as well. Thelma wears Louise's denim jacket and her black bedazzled jacket. Louise wears bits of Thelma's ripped off sleeves as neck ties (not just an accessory but as a way to keep cool). The sisterhood of the traveling desert wear. I suppose most of what makes this edition of the Yeehaw Revolution special is the utility of these women's clothes and the bond Thelma and Louise share. Girl friends share clothes, especially when on the road and on the run. We can't worry about outfit changes and appearances. Throw on my jean jacket and let's go. Maybe that's really where the revolution is coming from: no need for dresses and skirts, they just get in the way. We still have a lot of work to do. Jeans are just better for slinging your leg over the side of a Cadillac, anyway.
