Part XXXIII
The Wrangler® jeans with the iconic patch have long been worn as work wear by guys in rural areas, but in particular by guys living in rural areas designated as ranching rather than farming. They are part of a larger “cowboy dress” that also includes leather cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and a tapered western shirt that fits snug to the chest with pearl snaps instead of buttons. Interestingly, over the years, the popularity of most of these items has gradually declined in recent years, as more general work shirts gradually replaced the form-fitting ones with the pearl snaps, wide-brimmed cowboy hats got replaced with wide-brimmed baseball style caps with an appropriate farm-related logo, and round-toe work books with low heels replaced the narrow-toed boots with the higher tapered heels favored by “real” cowboys (who actually own a horse).
But, the one item that stays is the patch-logo wrangler jean—the jean associated with the so-called Wrangler butt look. Do a Google image search on “wrangler butt” and you will get a good idea of what exactly this entails. The tailoring of the jean fits snuggly to and really emphasizes the glutes of the cowboy and is nearly a trademark in itself. In addition, the jean tapers sharply through the guy’s thighs, which are also emphasized in the look, but then from the knee downward the jeans have only a slight taper. Wrangler sells two versions, the regular (937) cut and the more form-fitting (936), but guys looking for a better Wrangler butt fit squeezing themselves into the 936 version.
Both versions are also sold made of rigid unwashed denim as opposed to the prewashed versions, for guys wanting to shrink the jeans to fit their specific body. The whole idea is that the normal work of the cowboy accompanied by regular washings will create a jean with body-conforming wear patterns.
I’m not certain where the term “Wrangler butt” originated but it is now widely used as slang (usually by women) for a young ranch hand who lives on a ranch with cattle and horses and lives the life of a “real” cowboy who works with cattle and perhaps rides a horse regularly as well. It is something of a female term of endearment that also happens to apply to the fit of the jeans! Of course, at professional rodeos the Wrangler butts are everywhere, and this is part of the appeal of that sport to young women, who go to such events as much to see the Wrangler butts as to watch the competitions!
With a properly-fitting Wrangler butt fit, the jeans will not only fit snug to the glutes, but the center rear seam of the jeans will cinch up between the gluts, almost like the cord of a thong back.
https://rugby.blogberth.com/2018/09/...glers-ought-t/
If you wander into any Walmart, you will find many jeans with the Wrangler brand name. But you will only find those with the iconic large Wrangler right pocket patch on what are called in some circles the “real” Wranglers. For a lot of young guys growing up in the country, getting one’s first pair of real Wrangler jeans is something of a male rite of passage of sorts, with the realization that many females their age might also take note of them and their bodies.
Whatever else has happened in the design and cut of jeans over the past 50 or more years from the 1960s onward, the Wrangler-butt jeans for the real cowboys have stayed nearly constant in design cut and fit. Today I could purchase almost an exact copy of the same jean that was readily available in the 1960s and before.
To be continued…