Cowboy hats. Ropers. Red “Make America Great Again” baseball caps at every turn. Sequins, sequins, sequins.
The midterm convention at American Airlines Center this week is not just a fundraising rally meant to energize the Republican party. It’s also a GOP fashion show, with Texas style and Trump-branded merchandise on full display.
Texas State Rep. Keresa Richardson listens to Rep. Brandon Gill speak during the Republican convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Blake Marnell, of California, cheers while President Donald Trump speaks during the Republican convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
A shirt depicting President Donald Trump as a cowboy is seen for sale during the Republican convention at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Republican convention attendees hold hands during the convocation prayer at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
A crowd on the convention floor cheers during Republican convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Daisy Luna of Troy Texas shows her Trump buttons before the Republican convention at American Airlines Center, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
From head to toe, Republicans donned patriotic apparel, politically suitable pantsuits and western ensembles as they descended upon Dallas. While the rally-style event was unique, the fashion followed a simple formula — Texas-sized hats, Trump merch, red, white and sequins.
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Outside the convention, merchants sold Trump-branded clothing, heavily sequined and emblazoned with “Golden Age,” “Make Texas Great Again” and the American flag. Shirts celebrating America’s 250th birthday and bejeweled purses, pistols and pill boxes filled tables steps from the heavily secured AAC.
Inside the convention hall, Brent Regan and Machele Hamilton, attendees from Idaho, wore red embroidered vests. They have both attended conventions before.
“Everybody associates potatoes with Idaho, so we don’t want to all look like potatoes,” Hamilton said, also sporting a bright-red manicure and pedicure.
They trade pins with other conventioneers and have collected several over the years — a potato pin, a glimmering pin for America’s 250th birthday and a nametag shaped like the state of Idaho.
Related: MAGA hats and gun purses: See the souvenirs from Dallas’ Republican convention
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A man walked the halls of the AAC in a suit printed with red bricks — a nod to Trump’s border wall. Trump was as much an event speaker as a brand name, splashed on T-shirts, baseball hats and purses.
Christine Rezvanian wore a bright red dress, a small golden Dior purse and Amina Muaddi pumps adorned with blue sequins as she made her way into the AAC Wednesday. She is a member of Moms for Liberty in Palm Beach, Fla., a group she said supports parental rights.
“We’re super excited to be here and support the Republican agenda,” she said. “We love everything that’s happening under President Trump.”
Thelma Louise of Austin attended the convention as a content creator. She wore a black cowboy hat, Tecovas boots and a leopard print top.
“I’ll be looking good tomorrow, too,” she said on the first day of the convention. “I just want to … show the rest of the country we got a lot of style here in Texas.”
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Republican supporter Roger Phillips uses his hat to shield the direct sun while waiting in a long line as thousands of general admission ticket holders assembled at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie to park and depart, after receiving their credentials, to be transported via buses to the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas to attend the first night of the Republican Convention. Photos were taken at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, on September 9, 2026.
Steve Hamm/The Dallas Morning News
Louise, a former Democrat, said she also wanted to show that Republicans can be stylish.
“Sometimes we get a bad rap for fashion,” she said. She hopes sharing the convention with followers on TikTok gives people a more personal, up-close look at the political event.
Sylvia Spivey, a precinct chair in Houston, added personal details to her convention outfit. She thrifted a white men’s shirt and altered it with frilly sleeves emblazoned with the word “Republican.” She donned handmade red, white and blue bracelets, GOP-branded sneakers, sparkly elephant earrings and a big flower on her hat that she knitted on her way to Dallas.
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“It lets everyone else know who you are,” she said of her exuberant fashion.