Livestock Present Ring Clothes Developments and Custom | Farm Exhibits, County Festivals, Occasions and Conventions

Fair show rings have been punctuated with more color than usual the past couple years, with showmen dawning Hawaiian and other brightly colored button-downs to accompany their sheep, goat, pig or steer in the ring.

Some dairy showers have even strayed from the traditional all-white appearance, opting for dark pants or jeans in place of white denim or work pants.

Fair fashion trends just like anything else, and as long as outfits fit within event requirements and showing principles, unique clothing choices offer a chance for individuality.

“The basic idea is it’s a neat presentation,” said Kirsten Dubbs, a 4-H educator on the state program team. “The clothing is appropriate for what you’re doing physically, and it’s designed to be safe.”

For larger livestock, that includes jeans, boots or hard sole shoes, and either a long or short-sleeved shirt, depending on the event’s rules, Dubbs said. Some fairs give out shirts to wear while others ask for FFA or 4-H shirts, when applicable.

For small animals, like rabbits and poultry, showmen are required to wear long-sleeved shirts because of the animal’s proximity to the body and the risk of claw damage to skin, Dubbs said.

And for equine, each event, discipline and class can have different requirements for clothing and tack, Dubbs said. These are based in safety, functionality and history.

Likewise, dairy clothing, being all white, is based in history, dating back over 100 years, said Toni Stuetz, 4-H educator in Chester County. The look emulates that of a milkman’s uniform while representing the purity of the milk product.

Despite regulations, there’s still room for personalization.

Rabbit showmen often don branded aprons, and poultry owners sometimes have lab coats, Dubbs said.

Dairy showmen might own embroidered white shirts for when they’re permissible. The variance in all-white has been a result of showmen pushback, since all white is hard to keep clean and finding white pants to buy can be challenging, Stuetz said.

For everyone else, outside of equine, there’s a lot of room for variance.

“A collared shirt is very broad,” said Emily Summey, owner of Stockyard Style, a Western wear and farm workshop in Grantville, Pennsylvania.

Summey’s entrepreneurial spirit was born in Texas. A Texas A&M alumnus, she stuck around post-graduation and learned to make jewelry from some locals.

When she moved back to Pennsylvania, she continued the business.

“(Friends from Texas) were like, ‘Hey, you should try to make jewelry and sell some other stuff in Pennsylvania, see if they like our Texas style,’” Summey said.

She found out people did — but a few years behind people out West.

“It does still take quite a bit of time for the styles that are popular at the majors out West to make their way to the Northeast,” she said.

For example, Pennsylvania was two years behind the bell-bottom trend, Summey said, but that’s on its way out now.

Bling belts, large nugget jewelry and straight-cut jeans are other previous trends that Summey has seen since going into business.

This year is shaping up to see a return to more traditional Western fashion, Summey said.

Women are favoring trouser jeans — which are a wider boot cut — and more muted shirts, often selecting a small stripe pattern. Men, on the other hand, have been favoring more plaids and checker patterns, once again.

Summey is also seeing more men wearing cowboy hats, when permissible.

In general, Summey finds that cattle showmen lead Northeastern trends. Those showmen tend to travel more, getting increased exposure to majors’ style, she said.

Social media platforms like TikTok have also shortened fashion cycles, Summey said. With individuals having larger networks to voice their opinions, showmen are hearing more and reacting faster.

But a large wardrobe is not a requirement for showing, Dubbs reminded.

“Nice jeans, boots, a belt and whatever type of very traditional button-down shirt, that’s always going to be an appropriate choice for most species,” Dubbs said.

In addition to educating members on topics of interest, 4-H emphasizes “life-skill development,” Dubbs said. Part of that includes professional presentation.

Showing and outfits selected help demonstrate this principle, Dubbs said.

“Read the room. Know what the situation is. Know how you need to present yourself. Are you cleaning your animal’s pen out at the fair today? Or are you going into the show ring? Or are you going into a job or scholarship interview?” Dubbs said. “How do you present yourself differently in all of those situations?”