For years, America has loved the ride 'em, rope 'em fun of cowboys and the rodeo.

Now, fashion-conscious Americans have corralled the rodeo-western look, right down to the silver spurs on a fancy pair of boots.

Former president George Bush is a devotee of the country-and-western garb, and his friend and former lieutenant, James Baker, often turned up at formal dinners in cowboy boots and Stetson.

Not to be outdone, President Bill Clinton and his cohort, Vice President Al Gore, also occasionally appear in western attire.

All of a sudden, country-and-western wear is the vogue, as popular with the city cosmopolitan crowd as with rural folks.

Country-western clothing wear is nothing new, but over the past two years, along with country dancing and country music, western clothing has soared in popularity.

The western theme of snug jeans, cowboy boots, brightly colored shirts and "Howdy, M'am" hats even replaced sequins and suits at many Christmas parties during the past year.

"The western wear market has always been there," said Harry Rediger, manager of JCPenney, at West Park Mall. "But sales have had a couple of peak periods and this is one of them."

The first peak period for "cowboy" clothes came in 1980, with the release of the film, "Urban Cowboy," featuring John Travolta and Debra Winger. At that time, it was the more glitzy western look.

Western styles really came into being during the late 1930s, when Tom Mix, the cowboy actor, emerged with his high-heeled boots, bib shirts and high-crowned, wide-brimmed hats. When Mix died in a car wreck in 1940, western style drifted, and was soon interrupted a number of years by World War II as America's young men switched to olive drab and combat boots.

This time around, people in the western-wear markets credit the western fever to Garth Brooks, Clint Black, and Billy Ray Cyrus, country-western singers who have taken the country by storm.

"The music and the new line dancing have been instrumental in the latest craze," said Kevin Davied of Circle S. Saddle Co., a country and western wear store near the intersection of Route K and Highway 25 at Gordonville.

With the new popularity in country music, many discos across the country have converted to dance halls catering to the 'achy-breaky" sound, and two-step and line dancing.

"Western wear has been growing in popularity the past two years," agreed Sarah Graham of Bob's Shoe Services in Cape Girardeau, which specializes in western boots, shirts and jeans. "We've noticed a big increase in sales, especially by women.

"Country dancing and country music has never been more popular than it is now," she added. "Country and line dancing classes are popular everywhere."

One western wear manufacturer estimates that western clothing now holds a 5 to 7 percent share of the nation's huge garment industry.

Western wear people say there are two kinds of wearers of western clothing -- core and crossover. The core group consists of those honest-to-goodness cowboys or ranchers. Crossover customers are those who don't necessarily have a farming or ranching background, but enjoy wearing Western clothing because of its quality, fit and the way it looks.

Western wear clothing is not cheap.

Jeans may be the least costly item in the well-dressed western wear enthusiast's wardrobe.

"You can find jeans for as little as $20," said Davied. "A pair of denim jeans will suffice.'

The western wear boot market seems to center around what is called the "roper" style, with low heels, round toe and short top.

"We started noticing a big increase in sales of the roper boots about two years ago," said Graham. "But a few people are still buying the higher heels and narrow-toe boots."

People can select a number of materials for their boots -- lizard, buffalo, cowhide, calfskin, alligator, snake, and even ostrich.

"Lizard skin boots have been pretty popular here," said Graham. "Prices for these range anywhere from $125 to $350."

These higher priced boots have leather soles, wooden stacked heels, wooden pegs and better all around workmanship, noted Graham.

Lower priced boots, with rubber soles and heels, are also available.

"Some customers spend hundreds of dollars on custom-made footwear," said Graham. "But, most prefer the regular cowhide boots with pointed soles."

The hat market is just as varied.

"We have more than 500 western hats here," said Davied. "They range in prices from $20 to $1,000."

That includes the famous Stetson brand made in Missouri and the Resistol line made in Texas.

"Most hats are made of wool, or beaver and rabbit hair mixed," said Davied. "The beaver hats are graded by Xs."

He explained.

"A hat with only one X appearing inside the band is a cheaper hat," he said. "The beaver hats range from the one X to 100 Xs, which put you in the high-price range."

"We'll sell a couple of the $1,000 hats a year," he said. "But a good hat can be purchased for $125 to $200."

Black is the favorite color for hats and boots.

You can figure on about $500 for a well-dressed western look, said Davied.

A sampling:

Jeans, $20 to $30.

Hat, $125.

Boots, $200.

Shirt, $50.

Belt, $50.

Bolo tie, $30 to $50.

Belt buckle, $30.

"We opened here a couple of years ago," said Davied. "We sell every phase of western wear from clothes, boots, hats to accessories."

Colorful shirts with wide, vertical stripes are hot, agree retailers. Earth tones and jewel tones are popular too.

A complete line of western wear is available at JCPenney here.

"We opened a special western division in our store two years ago," said Rediger. "When the western wear craze hit, it hit big. There has been a letup in recent weeks, but western wear still continues to sell."

Western attire is also available from a special "Western Wear" catalog published by JCPenney.

And, the country-western beat goes on.