RULE OF THREES: SELECTING STAPLES

The ‘rule of three’ is a pretty comfortable concept for most of us. It’s a nice round odd number, it’s balanced, and it applies to a lot of different things. It works in comedy, in writing, in home décor. (See what I did there?)

Well, this ‘rule of three’ isn’t as complex as all that, but it is as reliable!

“If I reach or wish for something three or more times when styling a photoshoot, we make one!” Cheryl laughed. “Sometimes it’s vintage piece that I have in my hoard, or sometimes it’s a piece in my mind that I think, ‘I wish I had a [blank] to go under this jacket or with this skirt’ or whatever it is. And if I catch myself thinking that at least three times in styling a photoshoot, that says to me, ‘ya know what? This collection clearly needs one of those.’ And then I go to my team and get them on it, and then I go to production and beg and plead and Hedy says a couple of cuss words and then boom! We have a Henley!”

If you recall, that’s precisely how the Bryce Henley came to be.

“We made that little guy in a bind for Cowpoke U and here we are a year later, still styling it and selling it nearly every day!” Cheryl said. “That really was a piece I pushed for that’s paid off. We have it in the chambray and in the dust colorway now, and both work perfectly with the Chisholm Trail collection. If you don’t have one, get one – I promise as we roll into fall, you’re gonna wear and pair that baby more than you imagine.”

And it was a similar story for one of this season’s surprise favorites, the McCoy Top.

“The McCoy Top is my take on a vintage pearl snap I had in my hoard for who knows how long,” Cheryl said. “I had one that I kept throwing in with looks when I was preparing for the Chisholm Trail shoot, and it dawned on me, ‘This collection’s gotta have one to feel complete.’ It’s just a little tiny check gingham pearl snap, so it feels so classic country, but it’s in shades of brown, so it’s a neutral that doesn’t feel dull. It’s like an ‘upscale everyman’ kind of top. And it goes with everything.”

Now the Tate Top, on the other hand, was a more deliberate design for the Chisholm Trail collection, but it belongs in this conversation because it’s the same sort of staple – and we had to round our three, right?!

“The Tate Top was part of the collection from the beginning,” Cheryl said. “It wasn’t a wish list item down the road, but it was an absolute must for me in this collection – and it should be for you, too. If you follow any trend reports, or even flip through magazines, you’ve already seen that the versatile button down is everywhere. It’s a top, it’s a jacket, you can wear it around your waist – that whole look is back. And a solid corduroy with contrasting pearl snaps is it, one-hundred percent.”