Putting bling on Western style shirts from Goodwill for 4H Fair

[CalicoKat]

Have you done this? My next trip is to the hobby store for bling and a bling applicator (bedazzler?)

 

BUT I'm wondering if there is a pattern for where to put it on so it's appealing.

 

I'm new to the western style clothing world. But I do understand the blingier the better.

 

Thanks!

[hillfarm]

Here is a link that shows some of the western show shirts. They get a lot less blingy toward the bottom of the page. But even the more extravagant ones can give you design ideas. For example, you could use a single line of bling and follow the outlines of a patch, without having to fill in the whole area with sequins. Or just hit the cuffs, collar, and a yoke seam line (whether or not your shirt actually has a yoke seam) with your bling.

 

From what I have seen, the heavy, dripping with bling stuff is seen more at western contest events, parades, and bigger shows for evening classes, while the (slightly) more sedate stuff with just a few lines of bling here and there is seen more in the regular western showmanship, horsemanship, pleasure, trail, etc. classes especially if they take place during the day. But check for trends in your locality, I assume there is some regional variation.

 

Waaay back when, when I was showing in western pleasure classes, I needed to color coordinate my hat but I didn't have a big budget to buy $300 Stetsons in a variety of colors. We found an inexpensive straw hat that fit me well and that I liked the lines of, bought several of those, and then spray painted (yes, you read that right - spray painted!) them in the colors I needed. The spray was a matte color and looked great on the hats - they looked custom dyed. Of course we removed all hat band decoration first, and then added whatever I wanted in its place. But they did look great and I did quite well at the shows back then.