This ain’t Texas, but could western wear be the next big trend?

Let's get one thing straight: I’m not a country girl. I’ll listen to every genre of music, with a slight preference for R&B, but country hasn’t really stuck to me just yet. What I am, though, is a Beyoncé girl, and with her newly announced country album coming out March 29, I may now be on the hunt for some classic cowboy boots.

When Beyoncé released her seventh studio album, Renaissance, in the summer of 2022, her shiny, futuristic styling was undoubtedly the start of a metallic revolution in the fashion world. Fashion site Nasty Gal found that Google searches for items like silver corsets or bodysuits had risen by 669% and 426% since the first night she began her tour for the album. Similar to when people dressed in Barbiecore and neutral-toned suits to watch the cultural phenomenon Barbenheimer, the Renaissance tour had fans dressed in silver from head-to-toe. The Renaissance fit had become so distinct, it even led to this hilarious Thanksgiving post on X, formally known as Twitter:

Itszaeok/ Via X.com

With the fashion moment that the dancehall and house-inspired Renaissance era caused, one could only imagine what was to come when the Grammy-award-winning artist announced her country album and dropped two banjo-heavy tracks during the 58th Superbowl. Her voluminous hair at the annual football game has alreazy buzzed some discussion, with TikTok user Yesenia calling it “big country hair” and amassing over 200 thousand likes for her hair tutorial.

On the cover art for her two new singles the singer sports a black cowboy hat and a western-style shirt with studded details on the collar and shoulders. Specifically in the now viral track and video for “Texas Hold’Em”, she can be seen wearing dark brown belts with gold detailing. There’s no denying the cowboy influences on her clothing in this era, with such items being staples you’d be able to find in a western clothing store, like Portobello Road’s “Jessie Western”.

“Jessie Western” on Portobello Road, London, sells western wear staples. Mollie Hib Cowboy hats for sale at “Jessie Western”, similar to the black cowboy hat in Beyoncé’s newest cover arts. Mollie Hib

Whether the style will reach the mainstream and fast fashion is still too early to say, but with the growing number of TikToks and Instagram Reels for the “Texas Hold’Em” dance challenge by dancers Matt Mccall and Dexter Mayfield, the amount of people getting out their cowboy hats, boots, and chunky belts for the videos feels akin to a small-scale Renaissance effect already. According to popular trend tracker Instagram account and website Data But Make it Fashion, the average popularity of cowboy hats rose by 19% after Beyoncés surprise country tracks.

Western-style embellished, chunky belts for sale at “Jessie Western”. Mollie Hib

Will I be going out to my next brunch date donning a cowboy hat? It’s highly unlikely. I’m also not much of a hat person anyway. But what I can see happening is people wearing more subdued nods to western fashion, such as statement belts, fringe jackets, and bootcut jeans, all of which were seen at the recent Chloé Fall/Winter 2024-25 show. But as we inch closer to the release of Queen Bey’s album, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Beyhive already had some western wear ready to go.