Duncan & Sons

Fourth-generation saddlery and outfitter curries favor with Roy, Dale and Trigger alike.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene

If a cowhand were to drift into Seattle, like some errant Cormac McCarthy hero, and hitch his palomino to the Duncan family establishment, he might feel he'd never left his small town on the Walla Walla plateau. This saddle repair and western wear shop in SoDo smells like a clean tack room. A tubby springer spaniel rouses to greet visitors, a television drones among stacks of paper in a crowded office and merchandise displays seem a little random. This is no rodeo-theme park, no "Pony Town," just solid goods presented without the fanfare.

The Goods

Beyond the bits and the whips, the "horse candy" and the spurs, the urban cowpokes hanker for classic Western wear. Panhandle Slim shirts (protected by plastic ponchos), Wrangler "slacks," suede chaps, bandannas, Stetsons, moccasins, and rows and rows of boots by Justin, Durango and Tony Lama. Nothing too fancy, mind you.