With the Reba McEntire concert and the Cyclone Stampede Rodeo coming to Ames this weekend, some students may be wondering what the well-dressed cowboys and cowgirls will be wearing out on the town.

Al Finch, owner of Al’s Boots and Saddlery of Ames, said the name of the game is shirts in fall colors and “prewashed, prewashed, prewashed” when it comes to jeans.

Kurt Krumwiede, assistant manager of RCC at the North Grand Mall, agreed — to a point. “The wild colors and neons are starting to be toned down,” Krumwiede said, “but there’s always a few people that want flash.”

Todd Finch, sales manager at Al’s Boots and Saddlery, said: “For the authentic cowboy, we’re starting to go back to the proper banded-collar shirts with a vest. They were reinvented by the recent movies Tombstone and Wyatt Earp and I like them because they can go from casual to really dressy fast.”

Krumwiede added that the cloth vests and shirts can be worn in place of a western suit.

Todd Finch said the most popular jeans are made of a heavier denim and prewashed to give a more relaxed fit and a softer feel. “People don’t want jeans that stand up by themselves anymore,” he said.

Krumwiede said he reason colors are becoming more muted is that there is more “crossover” into western wear by the mainstream culture.

“They want to try boots and hats and a few pairs of jeans but they don’t want to stick out in a crowd,” Krumwiede said. Cowboy hats are also less overpowering this season, according to Krumweide, although shapes tend to be regional. Ames buyers are shaping their hat brims level in the front and back with the sides rolled up, a style Finch said was influenced largely by country music superstar Alan Jackson.

The Finches agreed that ball caps are the hottest things in head wear this season. “We’re seeing a new breed of hat wearer,” Al Finch said.

Of course, no western outfit is complete without a good pair of boots. Krumwiede said, “Blacks and browns are still the most dominant colors in boots.”

He said people want a boot that is “low care and low shine.”

Krumwiede added: “The Rodeo Boot from Olathe with its double sole and double leather over the top is getting very popular because of its durability.”

Todd Finch said the hottest thing he’s seen in boots this fall is the Comfort Fit, made of tanned bison leather with a thick, cushioned sole from the Tony Lama Red Line.

If there is one hard-and-fast rule in western wear, it’s “No high-water pants,” Al Finch said. “If your jeans don’t stack, don’t bother leaving the house.”