During this year’s Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, stylist Whitney Would emerged as a leading local voice in Western fashion. Visit Fort Worth tapped her to create original video and social content that showed how the look is actually worn on the ground, not styled for a campaign. Through video interviews with rodeo fans and editorial-style outfit boards, Would captured the individuality and confidence that define fashion at the rodeo.

“People were getting dressed up to the nines,” she tells PaperCity Fort Worth. “They were excited to show off. In Fort Worth, it’s done in a way you don’t see anywhere else. That classic Western look is deep-rooted here.”

Since focusing her career on styling and fashion content two years ago, Would has grown a creative side project into a full-time career helping clients blend vintage and newer pieces into confident, expressive outfits. Visit Fort Worth’s Kimber Foster says her team met Would in New York City last summer.

“We’d invited Laura Simmons of Studio 74 Vintage to create a pop-up western shopping experience, and she asked Whitney to accompany her,” says Foster, who heads marketing and communication for Visit Fort Worth. “At the event, we got to know Whitney and discussed the role fashion plays in elevating Fort Worth’s image and dreamt up various collaborations. With Vogue touting Fort Worth as the ‘Birthplace of Cowboy Cool’ and the New York Times recognizing M.L. Leddy’s as one of the top 50 clothing stores in the U.S .last year, the timing was perfect.”

Whitney Would’s Nontraditional Path Into Western Fashion

For much of her early adulthood, Would saw her future in the construction industry. Her father owned a construction company, and her husband, coincidentally, came from a similar background. It paid the bills, she says, but it wasn’t her passion. To nurture her creative side, she started her Instagram page (@Whitneywould), where she shared things she would and wouldn’t recommend.

“I had a friend reach out to me and ask, ‘What should I wear to this concert?’ ” she notes. “I sent her links with suggestions. She wasn’t sure that the pieces would look good together, so I created a little graphic for her. She bought all the outfits I recommended. I remember thinking, ‘OK, this is kind of fun.’ ”

What started as a hobby quickly grew into a full-time career, with Would advising clients on outfit pairings and wardrobe updates. From the beginning, she championed vintage, which she says brings an individuality that off-the-rack pieces simply don’t offer.

As brands began hiring her to style photoshoot campaigns, Would’s lack of a formal fashion background initially left her grappling with imposter syndrome, although the heartfelt gratitude of her clients and companies that benefit from her recommendations helped quiet those doubts. At a recent visit to IOTA, a modern vintage clothing store, the owner greeted Would with an open bottle of sparkling wine. The Western stylist’s Instagram posts had drawn lines of customers.

“I got emotional and teary-eyed because I realized I was having a positive impact on someone else’s business,” Would says.

Local Fashion Favorites and a Luxury Hotel Pop-Up

Whitney Would regularly points followers toward Fort Worth-area businesses she personally shops with and trusts, including Studio 74 Vintage and IOTA for vintage finds, Esther Penn for everyday staples, City Boots for Western footwear, and Maverick in the Stockyards for hats and accessories.

Two years into building her homegrown business, Would credits her success to transparency and staying independent from brand buyouts. If something doesn’t align with her personal style, it won’t appear on her outfit boards or social feeds. That credibility has opened new doors, including an invitation from the team at Hotel Saint Augustine to host a pop-up featuring her curated vintage selections. That event will run Monday, March 16, through the 23rd and coincides with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Visit Fort Worth’s Foster says tourists come to the Stockyards and other parts of the city specifically to shop for Western wear. The recent collaboration between Visit Fort Worth and Whitney Would generated nearly four million views.

“We are thrilled with these results and look forward to showcasing Fort Worth’s fashion scene in future posts,” Would says.