Saddle Up Like A Star In Cowboy Chic Style With GiddyUp Jane

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Where do you go in St. Louis to find upscale country western clothing and accessories? Six years ago Jane Lavey, a fan of all things country western, couldn't answer that question either. Starting with a few old cowboy buckles given to her by a coworker and a collection of antique jewelry she began creating her own glam buckles. Today those belt buckles are the backbone her upscale, country-western fashion and home goods business, GiddyUp Jane. Currently Lavey is selling her items online and at the Ladue boutique, Macs Designs (). Lavey said, "I wanted to be able to sort of spread my love of western living in St. Louis."

Her love of high western fashion isn't just being spread around St. Louis, it is also a hot item in the country music scene. Her belt buckles earned her a ticket into the gift rooms, (where celebs are invited to stock up on freebies) before the CMT Flameworthy Awards and the CMA Awards where she handed stars glammy fashion buckles for the ladies and vintage metal buckles for the guys. Since then celebs such as Rascal Flatts, Miranda Lambert, Jamie O'Neal, Dierks Bentley, and Buddy Jewel have been spotted wearing GiddyUp Jane buckles on TV and in magazines. "If they can wear your stuff they will, which is really fun. I mean can you imagine, you talk to a celebrity in the afternoon and then you turn on the TV show that night and there they are, in your item. I mean, screaming at the top of my lungs when they walk out in my item," Jane said.

Lavey handcrafts all of the belt buckles and earrings she sells in store and online using antique, flea-market and garage sale finds. "It's all re-purposed. I joke that I'm like the green cowboy." She also shops at Denver and western regional wholesale markets to find clothing, accessories, gifts and housewares for her shop, and is the only retailer in the city who carries Old Gringo boots.

In order to expand and offer more upscale ranch items, Lavey is in negotiations for her own boutique storefront in Ladue. She said she will know by the end of next week where GiddyUp Jane goods will land. GiddyUp Jane buckles have been requested in more gift rooms, but she has had to decline to focus on launching her store. She explained, "Sometimes you have to give away 50 to 100 pieces. So for me to figure out how to make 50 buckles quickly, I probably have 30 at any given time, is challenging."

GiddyUp Jane is gearing up for spring now, and Lavey said she expects country-western chic to take a cue from Taylor Swift with linen and light-weight dress paired with cowboy boots. She is also getting in some cute t-shirts and jackets for the modern city cowgirl. Lavey said, "The world has gotten casual and we may as well look hot while we're doing it."