There are countless items in stock at Scott Colburn’s Western Wear in Livonia, but there will only ever be one Scott Colburn. Amid racks of pearl-snap shirts and shelves lined with cowboy boots in every imaginable color and style, Sarah Colburn helms the business her father founded back in 1951.
“He was known as a gentleman who always wore his bolo tie and jacket to work, and he was always aware of specialty areas and new things other people were doing,” she says. “He kept his eyes and ears open.”
That keen eye — and a famously entrepreneurial spirit — continues to define the Colburn family name. From selling bolo ties from the trunk of his car to bringing square dancing curriculum to Detroit public schools, the late great Scott Colburn has left his brand on the Motor City. As Sarah so aptly puts it: “He wasn’t shy.”
As western clothing styles continually cycle back into the mainstream, Sarah says she finds herself reintroducing boots and hats to new generations of cowfolk. The spacious, 12,000-square-foot Livonia shop remains a true destination for touring musicians, Gen Z fashion plates, and even (at least upon my visit) a burlesque dancer fond of the Western aesthetic. Recently, country music superstar George Strait performed at Ford Field, bringing in an influx of customers.
“We do a lot of parties, weddings. Post-COVID, shows like Yellowstone really helped make western wear popular again,” Sarah says. “Sometimes it’s music that brings western wear back into fashion. Sometimes it’s a big movie, like Urban Cowboy. Then it came back again in the early ’90s with Garth Brooks and the line dancing craze.”
Through economic downturns, recessions, and a global pandemic, Sarah says Western wear rarely wavers.
“We do well in recessions, you know. People stay close to home and go to the local joints instead. Everybody needs a pair of boots to go to the bar and line dance,” she adds.
Like her salesman father, Sarah can size up just about anyone and prescribe the proper sized cowboy hat. She explains the difference between a Kettleman crown and a pinch point with conversational ease. It makes sense; she’s been training since she was five years old.
“Dad cleaned out the coal bin in the basement of the house that we lived in Detroit. I remember people would come to the side door and go downstairs and do some shopping in our basement,” she says with a laugh.
Retracing her father’s dance steps
We turn to a wall of yellowing photographs, including a favorite of Mr. and Mrs. Colburn swept up in a full-skirted twirl. It would be easy to assume her father was a cowboy. But Sarah is quick to the draw: “He was a dancer, first and foremost.”
In fact, Colburn was hand-picked to instruct alongside Henry Ford's dance master, teaching the Fords the elegant technique of ballroom dancing.
“But WWII stopped that,” Sarah says. “Everyone had to go fight or start working in plants to make airplanes. After World War II, people just wanted a taste of normalcy with a dash of something fun.”
Scott Colburn recognized this desire, founding the Michigan Square Dance Leaders Association in 1949. At the time, the craze was called “pioneer dancing.” A red square dancing dress emblazoned with brilliant silver rick-rack, once worn by Sarah’s late mother, Marjorie, remains on display.
The beauty of the dance? Folks could learn the steps as they went. And many did, thanks to Colburn, who went on to become Michigan’s first-ever full-time square dance caller.
“That’s where my dad came in,” Sarah says. “He was selling square dance records and western ties out of his trunk. Oh, how I loved watching my parents get dressed up and ready to go, then they’d float out the door to the dances.”
Riding the waves of western fashion
In the ’50s, Colburn established his first retail store (outside of his own basement) on Grand River Avenue in Detroit. Supplying Western apparel alongside dance records and accessories, Scott Colburn Boots and Western Wear became the go-to stop for cowboy hats, western shirts, belts, and boots.
The store expanded into Farmington in the ’60s, adding equestrian tack to their inventory. Their promise to metro Detroit’s Western-at-heart community? “Scott Colburn Boots and Western Wear: offering everything but the horse!” That said, Sarah could tell you about the time a real life horse clip-clopped inside her father’s store.
“Every fifteen years or so, my dad would bring something else into the inventory,” she recalls. “From square dancing to western wear, then, in the ’60s, blue jeans. Me and my friends thought it was a pretty cool place to shop because you couldn’t get blue jeans everywhere back then.”
The store’s evolution continues to mirror changing trends in fashion. Today, Beyoncé’s hit album Cowboy Carter and the rise of country rappers has spawned a whole new wave of Pinterest outfit searches. Before that, bikers and underground rockers donned gleaming belt buckles and neckerchiefs.
In some ways, nothing’s changed. In 1978, when Scott built his new store at Eight Mile and Farmington Road in Livonia, urban cowboys couldn’t get enough of the fringe leather jackets and Frye boots that had already been adopted by the hippie set a decade earlier. From the counterculture to the rodeo, most everyone has strutted through Colburn’s at one time or another.
Adds Sarah, “My dad embraced the changing styles; he started wearing puka shells at one time. Grew even his hair long.”
Shoppers are welcome to check out the array of celebrity photos and memorabilia on display at the shop — evidence of America’s never ending love affair with Western vibes. Intriguing relics can be found all around the store, including an 1800s cash register; glossy photos signed by famous wrestlers, country music stars, and bull riders; century-old cast-iron cookware; an old leather saddle; and the remnants of Colburn’s colorful collection of presidential memorabilia.
In many ways, the man has lived on through this retail space. Colburn passed away peacefully in 2003 at the age of 85, surrounded by friends and family. Marjorie joined her dance partner in January 2024, at the astounding age of 103.
Dancing through the decades
Since the turn of the 21st century, Sarah has held the reins, preserving the Colburn family legacy in Michigan. It’s a big responsibility, preserving not only a historic business, but a time capsule of Detroit's rich country music scene. Everyone from local artists to Martha Jean “The Queen” to members of the MC5 have sauntered through.
It’s no wonder that the store has been known to host live music, or that Scott Colburn Boots and Western Wear is a proud sponsor of Howdy Fest, an summer country music festival bringing together country music lovers with alt-country crooners and the queer community.
“We sponsored the dance floor for Howdy Fest, in honor of my dad, and to preserve the history,” Sarah says. “It felt like the right thing to do.”
Sarah, whose title of “president” seems appropriate, handles it all: buying, managing, and selling, supported by a team of about eight dedicated employees. Customer service and financial responsibility were cornerstones of her dad’s business philosophy. He also believed in healthy competition.
“When department stores first started selling cowboy boots, and we had that competition come in, my dad always says, ‘Good. That mean’s western wear is popular,’” Sarah says.
That said, there is no real comparison when it comes to western wear in the Detroit area. The store continues to provide the latest cowboy and cowgirl fashions with a “howdy neighbor” attitude to match. Perhaps this is why so many people come back to this place, generations later.
“Every day, they hear stories like, ‘I’ve been coming here since the old store,’ ‘My dad used to bring me in; now I bring my kids,’ and ‘Scott used to wait on me,’” Sarah says. “For new customers, it’s usually, ‘Wow I’ve been driving by for years. I had no idea this place was so big and had so much cool stuff.’ Customers stop in the door just to smell the leather.”
Then there’s the three generations of metro Detroiters who learned to “do si do” and “promenade” thanks to Mr. Colburn’s square dancing influence on local schools. These folks never fail to make Sarah smile. She said it all comes back around to her dad’s knack for bringing people together on the dance floor: “He would have loved to see so many new young people learning to square dance.”
A record player sits atop a glass case showcasing Mr. Colburn’s well-worn cowboy hats and a few pairs of boots, made special, on account of his extra-wide feet.
Sarah drops the needle onto a dusty vinyl record, The Fundamentals of Square Dancing. In an instant, Scott Colburn Boots & Western Wear is filled with the plucky sounds of her childhood. “Right and a left, go around the track and swing your partner,” the enthusiastic, old-timey voice of square dance caller Bob Ruff croons.
Although it’s not her father’s voice calling out, it certainly could be. In some ways, Scott’s still calling the shots around here.
“I don’t think he knew how long the shop would continue, or how often he would still be mentioned,” Sarah says. “You know how many times a day someone says the name ‘Scott Colburn?’ Here we are, still saying his name.”
