Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Big And Blue: Big Tex's New Clothes Are Unveiled

Big Tex's new clothes were unveiled Tuesday morning at Fair Park.
State Fair of Texas
Big Tex's new clothes were unveiled Tuesday morning at Fair Park.

Big Tex has some new big duds. The State Fair of Texas on Tuesday morning unveiled new clothes for its iconic cowboy.

This year’s outfit features a dark blue shirt – a change from last year’s white outfit. The new shirt includes patches of red with white stars. 

Big Tex has his own special tailor: Dickies. The Fort Worth company has made Tex's clothes since 1997.

His shirt is 200 x 325 (an average man’s size is 16 x 32). His chest is 33 feet, 9 inches. His biceps are 10 feet, 9 inches.

The new Big Tex was unveiled last year after he was destroyed in 2012 in an electrical fire.

He’s now 55 feet tall. He wears size 96 boots that are 12 feet tall. And don’t forget the 95-gallon hat.

It typically takes Dickies workers two weeks to make the shirt, the fair says. The sun and rain give it a workout, so Dickies uses awning material with venting slits so the wind can blow through it.

The fair starts Sept. 26, one month from today. 

#BigTex 's new shirt for the @StateFairOfTX laid on the field of the @CottonBowlGame #Dickies pic.twitter.com/NyOLI9bvd1— Brandon Van Dyck (@brandonvandyck) August 26, 2014

Here's the 1st look. #bigtex #statefairoftx pic.twitter.com/pJ8aKgcjxo— State Fair of Texas (@StateFairOfTX) August 26, 2014

Can't get enough of Big Tex?

Explore our previous Big Tex stories:

Copyright 2014 KERA

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.