Down on the Corner: Best Of winner Maverick Fine Western Wear

A rhetorical question: is there a better time for the Western clothing industry? If fashion remains as popular as it is, there could be an entire generation of people looking at a button and wondering why it isn’t mother of pearl.

And we’d also say, if you’re in the Western apparel industry, there’s no better place to be than where Maverick Fine Western Wear is, the corner of North Main Street and E Exchange Avenue in the Fort Worth Stockyards – ground zero for true the West begins.

The 30-year-old Western clothing store is a beacon of Western style, observed by locals and envied by the throngs of national and international visitors who pass through the Stockyards to catch a glimpse of the Old West. Whether you’re looking for a custom cowboy hat, a nice pair of luxury boots or a nice piece of bling to accent your already sophisticated western look, this place is what we would call a ‘go-to’.

Gayle Hill opened the store in 1987, four years after the still-popular General Store opened across North Main Street. As she tells it, the tenant of the coveted corner unit that would eventually become Maverick had left the store, leaving her wondering about its potential.

“The landlord is my ex-husband, and I asked him if I could have that place to expand and do something else because the General Store is mostly gifts and souvenirs,” she says. “I wanted an opportunity to make women’s clothing, sportswear and jewelry.”

Hill would grant her wish and soon expand, knocking down the east wall of her store and taking over the former Maverick Social Club – hence the name. Hill says she had no intention of removing the social club’s long wooden bar that sat at the center of her new extension.

“I didn’t see any reason to destroy the beautiful bar,” Hill says. “So we have received a beer license, which allows us to sell not only beer, but also wine. This place also offers our customers a place to sit and relax while shopping. And the men especially like it.”

But Hill’s customers, including Eric Clapton and Pat Green, don’t visit her store for the beer. No sire, they come for the western clothes. Every day, Maverick carries everything from women’s western wear and jewelry to high-end cowboy boots, or ahem, cowgirl boots.

Another unique item that Maverick is proud of is one of only three custom cowboy hats in the Lone Star State. Inspired by a French design dating back to the 1840s, this device is used to trace the skull pattern of anyone looking to purchase a custom, high-quality cowboy hat. When this device is placed on a client’s head, it uses a series of pins to poke holes in a map that provides an exact outline of the head’s shape to scale. Imagine if a torture device from the Middle Ages became a hatter.

“To this day, there is no better way to get a custom fit, and it remains the best technology (or anti-technology) in hat making,” reads a promo card in the store.

Despite Maverick’s legendary inventory, unique space and phenomenal location, Hill says none of it would mean anything without the help of her staff, whom she treats like honest family.

“My real claim to fame is the people I’ve been able to work with, because they are the real reason why Maverick is what it is,” says Hill. “I want to take credit for finding this place, but I can’t take credit for the merchandise. I mean, sure, I like it a lot, and I go with them to oversee the purchases, but I’m not trying to be the final say. I feel like they’re more talented in that area and that’s really what has given us continued success.

maverickwesternwear.com