It was December my senior year of university. I’d studied International Relations and had no real idea of what I wanted to do with my life. With a world full of options yet no concrete path, where do you go?
Luckily, my study abroad friends told me about their jobs teaching in Madrid. I applied to teach the following school year, thinking when else would I have this opportunity. One year turned to three, and Madrid stole my heart.
Since that decision to teach in Madrid, I’ve bounced back and forth between my hometown, Fort Worth, and my heart, Madrid, splitting my time between the two, forever thankful to American Airlines for direct flights.
When I started designing belts, I knew that I wanted to bridge the gap between a western belt that would feel at home at the Stockyards but could also be worn on the city streets of Madrid. Being able to style our belts for different occasions and with different outfits was a priority in the design process. Each belt design was ‘stress tested’ in both continents.
The hardest part of the design process wasn't the leather or the buckle shape — it was making a bold western silhouette sit quietly next to a European wardrobe. Too clean, and it loses its Texas nerve. Too loud, and it reads costume-y on a Madrid street. Finding that line is the whole job.
That's the test every Texas Sun belt has to pass now — not just the Signature Longhorn, not just one design. Comfortable at a rodeo, comfortable on a Madrid sidewalk. If a buckle can't do both, it doesn't leave the workshop.
Distinct by design — every single time.
0 comments