From work boots to fancy hats, from blue jeans to hand-tooled leather, Western wear tells stories of labor, ingenuity, personal style, and life in the American West. Meet the Tucson makers who stitch, shape, fit, repair, and carry these traditions forward.
What’s Happening in This Tent?
- THE ART OF LEATHER STITCHING
- Watch skilled hands at work. Try a few stitches and discover how leather goods are made to last.
- BOOTS MADE FOR YOUR FEET
- Meet master bootmaker Nat Garcia for a boot-fitting consultation. Discover how custom boots are measured, shaped, and built.
- TOOLS & TALK OF THE BOOTMAKER
- What’s a last? A pedograph? Explore the specialized tools, techniques, and language of bootmaking.
- HATS OFF! SHAPING & REPAIR
- Watch Western hats take shape, learn how worn hats get a second life, and discover how different creases and brims create distinctive looks.
- FIND YOUR HAT STYLE
- Try on different Western hat styles and see what suits you.
- THE ANATOMY OF BLUE JEANS
- Join Tucson’s Patriot Jeans to explore the architecture of denim: rivets, seams, pockets, stitching, and the details that make a good pair of jeans.
- DRESSED FOR WORK. DRESSED TO IMPRESS.
- Hear stories of cowboy fashion, from everyday ranch clothes to fancy embroidered shirts, silver buckles, and Saturday-night finery.
Words of the Trade
BLOCK — A wooden form used to give a hat its distinctive crown shape.
CREASE — The indentation shaped into the crown. Cattleman, pinch-front, and telescope are popular styles.
FLANGE — A specially shaped form used to create the curve and contour of a hat brim.
Arizona Hatters
Established in 1935, Arizona’s oldest continuously operating hat shop is owned by Mark and Anne Contento. Master hatter Max Larkin, who apprenticed under longtime hat expert Chuong Trinh, carries forward the art of shaping, restoring, and custom-making hats. Their work keeps an increasingly rare occupation alive.
LAST — A foot-shaped form around which a boot is constructed, determining its shape and fit.
PEDOGRAPH — A device that records the footprint and pressure distribution of a foot to guide custom fitting.
SKIVING — The technique of thinning leather edges sopieces can be joined smoothly without bulky seams.
Stewart Boot
Founded in 1940, Stewart Boot became a Tucson institution under longtime owner Victor Borg, who took over in 1970. Today, under the leadership of master bootmaker Nat Garcia, the tradition continues: handcrafted boots, meticulous measurements, and a remarkable understanding of the human foot. Every pair reflects knowledge acquired through years of practice.
RIVET — A small metal fastener that reinforces pockets and other stress points, helping jeans withstand hard wear.
YOKE — The V-shaped panel below the back
waistband that helps jeans fit the curves of the body.
BARTACK — A compact row of reinforcing stitches that strengthens belt loops, pocket openings, and other high-stress areas.
Patriot Jean Co.
Founded in Tucson by Army veteran Patrick Mate, Patriot Jean Co. champions American manufacturing, from domestically grown cotton to the final rivet and stitch. Its jeans celebrate durability, thoughtful design, and the workers behind everyday clothing.