Calgary Stampede Queen, Princesses surprised as new custom parade outfits unveiled

It’s reminiscent of something that Annie Oakley in the 1950 film Annie Get Your Gun would wear: a white skirt and jacket with fringe galore, featuring red roses and crystal gems.

That wasn’t the inspiration, though, behind the 2019 Calgary Stampede parade boots and leathers.

The idea for the look came to designer Janine Stabner in a dream.

“I woke up and I went directly to my pad of paper: it was Alberta roses,” she said.

“There’s a cluster of three flowers. One flower is larger and that would represent the queen, and the two smaller ones are the princesses,” Stabner explained. “There’s also buds coming out of these clusters, and that represents the growth that they do each year in the program.”

This year’s Stampede Queen Carly Heath and Princesses Keily Stewart and Courtney Dingreville picked up their outfits on Monday at the Alberta Boot Company.

Stabner, the owner of Janine’s Custom Creations, has been designing for Stampede Royalty since 2009.

“I get goosebumps and I get butterflies because I’m nervous that they’re going to like it,” Stabner said.

It was clear that the women did, as they shrieked, covered their smiles and called the pieces stunning over and over.

Creating custom

The three outfits have 900 applique pieces — leaves, petals and buds — that are made of lambskin.

“It took me 38 hours over three days just to cut out the applique pieces,” Stabner said.

She hand-cut the fringe with a ruler and rotary blade, then slid on silver-foiled beads.

“I like the fringe to be really thin so that it just looks very elegant,” she added.

Then, there are Swarovski crystals that give “the white a glimmer when they’re in the sunlight,” Stabner said.

The designer said she loves working with angular cuts and raw edges — it “complements a woman’s body.”

“These three outfits took me a month, and I was working long days, like 12-hour days,” Stabner said.

“A lot of love… a lot of hours go into it but I enjoy it. I love it!”

Ben Gerwing and Carol McPherson of the Alberta Boot Co. designed the ladies’ boots.