What Would Make Your List?

Texas has embraced and nurtured an attitude and style all its own from the very beginning. Not surprisingly, when it comes to fashion, design, and tastemakers, natives of the Lone Star state make an impact. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite style icons to highlight in our edition that celebrates everything Texas.

Tom Ford

When it comes to world-renowned fashion designers, many would agree that Austin-born Tom Ford is the most notable native Texan. As Gucci’s prodigy creative director, he was instrumental in increasing the company’s annual sales from $230 million to $3 billion. In 2004, Ford started his own label and has dressed countless top-tier celebrities and social luminaries. Jay-Z even dedicated entire song to his namesake. In addition to fashion design, Ford is a film actor, producer, and director. Pretty impressive for a kid who spent much of his childhood on his grandparents’ ranch in Brownwood, Texas.

Neiman Marcus

If you’re wondering, “Can a department store really be considered a style icon?” then you may not know the history of Neiman Marcus, one of the greatest long-standing luxury chains in U.S. retail history. In 1907 Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Neiman, and her husband, Al, opened a store in Dallas that sold fine women’s clothing and extravagant merchandise. Soon, glamorous movie stars, wealthy New Yorkers, and even well-heeled Europeans were making special trips to Dallas just to shop at Neiman Marcus. Over the decades the ownership has evolved, but the impeccable Neiman Marcus brand and reputation remains a testament to the idea that “service and quality never go out of style.”

Jerry Hall

If you came of age in the 70s and 80s, you grew used to seeing supermodel Jerry Hall’s iconic face on the covers of Vogue and in the media with the likes of rocker Bryan Ferry and of course, Mick Jagger, with whom she has four children. The statuesque, six-foot-tall blonde from Gonzalez, Texas pulled off the vibe of the times with seemingly effortless style. Now, at age 62, she’s married to media mogul Rupert Murdoch and is still turning heads.

Lucchese Boot Company

For longer than many of us have been alive, Lucchese has been the go-to bootmaker for A-list actors and musicians, athletes, and U.S. Presidents, as well as regular folks from around the world. It began when Salvatore and Joseph Lucchese set up a boot making shop in San Antonio at Fort Sam Houston in 1883, and the rest is history. In 1986 the operations moved to El Paso, and today, the brand continues to flourish, using time-honored craftsmanship techniques to create handmade boots of unrivaled quality, fit, comfort, and style.

Lela Rose

Texas continues to inspire its inhabitants, from the Big D to Magnolia City, and everywhere in between. Creativity and talent abound, with many state natives making a huge splash in the fashion world today. Lela Rose is just one example. It’s said that her “aesthetic of adding whimsy to elegance through brilliant color and handcrafted details has brought a fresh point of view to modern American fashion.” Of course a Texan might say she’s as bright as a new penny and running with the big dogs now.