Annies Got Their Guns – a Day at the Carson City Rendezvous

After our ride on the stagecoach, which was crazy and fun.  We got the last ride of the day, too

Yesterday, my lovely mother and I dressed up all perdy-like, in our best town shirts and clean skirts, and went to the Rendezvous in Carson City, an event that celebrates the history of the West, with Civil War reenactments, mountain man encampments, Native American dance demonstrations, and even a fully restored, red and yellow stagecoach with four matching paint horses in hand.

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No gentle walking, they had this stage FLYIN’ around the field.

Both my mom and I are totally in love with the fashions and histories of the women who came west.  Long ago, she gave me a book, Cowgirls: Women of the Wild West, then borrowed it so much from me, I finally gave her a copy for Christmas last year.  It’s a fan-TASTIC resource for western wear from the 1860s through the 1930s.

An example from Cowgirls: Women of the Wild West.  The book is choc full of amazing artwork and photographs.

Both our costumes are from this book.  Mom is wearing a split skirt (Truly Victorian TV299), paired with a basic, blousy praire shirt made of muslin, and a belt at the waist.  She wore cowboy boots, a silk wild rag (her neckerchief), and a historically styled large straw hat from about the 1910s-20s.

Mom’s costume.  Doesn’t she look awesome?

I went a little earlier in style, and wore an a-line khaki skirt (actually belonged as “normal clothing” to my mom, in the 80s, lol), a calico prairie shirt, yellow figured wild rag, and Victorian style lace up boots.  An oversized hat on a big head of hair completed the look.

My costume.  We just took photos with the muzzle loader.  It was too heavy to take to the fair.

The weather was gorgeous.  We met up with Debbie and Oscar, who are getting married today :-), rode the stagecoach (that was wild!), perused the sutlers tents, witnessed a skirmish between the North and South on the battlefield…had lemonade and taquitos (so period, I know).  It was lovely!

Debbie and Oscar, gettin’ hitched today!