Quiet Quality in the Oil PatchDecember 19, 2025 Having been born and raised in the oil patch, I can tell you a lot from experience. Booms and busts are the nature of the game, and having lived through two of them, I
know how the folks react and even better - how they dress.
Landman, the new series on Paramount, is all about oil exploration in West Texas's Permian Basin, which is still producing oil after all these decades of drilling. But of course, the most interesting things to me are the fashions, and they do not
disappoint. And Landman pretty much gets it right for the closer-to-the-ground characters, but the quiet quality is really few and far between in the oil patch.
I finished my internship with my mentor the end of the 70's during the major boom in my part of the country. The local dress boutique for high-end clothing was a major outlet for Bill Blass and Calvin Klein. Anytime the owner of the store called, these designers were on a plane to our town. While
most of my contemporaries were spending $10,000/month, I was spending a fraction of that amount, and I could get the fabric from New York that the designers were using. At one point I remember going to a fund-raising event, and Bill Blass was there. When I showed up in one of his pieces, he looked at me, and finally I said, yeah, I got the fabric from New York, and this isn't how you did it! He was really elated, cause it meant he wasn't losing his mind!
Another
time, Issac Mizrahi came for an event, and here we were in the middle of a room, with him there and no one had the guts to go up and say hi, so I did. I introduced myself as a minor little designer, and he complimented me on my clothing, which meant the world to me. Then he said, "Daaaahling. There is noooo such thing as a liiiiiitle designer! We designers are all major!" So we chatted for a while, and caused a huge storm, cause people were sure that we were trading
insider information, and he loved being a little scandalous in the oil patch!
But one thing is for sure. The quiet quality dresser during the boom was very few and far between. Sure, there were a few who were very calm in their dressing, but you hardly saw them for all the glitz and bling of the "oilies." Being in the energy belt, we have small oil companies and large oil companies. We put them in 3 categories - the two big giants (Devon and Chesapeake), the
mid-size (Continental is the most famous), and the family-size operations. There are a plethora of family operations that operate in our state and maybe a neighboring state, but that's about it. This last group probably had the quietest quality people. But the mid-size companies really had the most glitz and bling. When they hit it big-time, they were phenomenal. And they loved to have very nice things, and I kept up toe-to-toe with these people, but at a fraction
of the cost. I even did a few for friends. But mostly I was dressing myself in ball gowns, beaded jackets that would put your eyes out, they were so bright, Armani became "Mani, mani, mani!!!!"
And in the oil patch, after the boom comes the bust. Things went from ultra-high to ultra-low. What was worth $100 in 1980 was worth $10 in 1982. The bottom fell out. And I decided I needed to do something to make money. I had a choice between being
an office manager, which is what I had done before I got married, and doing what I loved. I had studied under my mentor, mostly cause I thought I would be sewing and creating for the rest of my life and dreaming up projects for myself. But the truth is that I was coming up against a huge barrier. I really didn't like going to all these fund-raisers. What I liked was dressing people for those balls and fancy events. The idea of sewing for clients became even more fun.
Getting paid and NOT having to go to the boring event was how I could keep sewing without running out of dresses to sew.
The first thing that happened was that my family told me I had lost my mind. But I went ahead and started doing a few things. Then at a baby shower event, a grande dame lady (who had a particularly loud voice) from across the room asked, "Claire, would you make my daughter's debutante dress?" I, of course, agreed while everyone in the room
was hushed, because the idea of having a dress made for their daughters, and particularly because I charged just under what the dress shops were charging, was like something they had never heard of before and was worth it. The first year I had one deb dress, the following year I had 5, and after that I would do about half of the debs for the year, MUCH to the chagrin of the local dress shops who were struggling to make it. They all poo-poo-ed me, saying, "Who wants a dress that's
home-made?" Well, mine weren't "home-made." They were designed for the client and included no-cost alterations.
By the time we were knee-deep in the bust, I was full of clients and usually scheduled about 1 year in advance. Hence, one of the things I learned was that during economic upheavals, it is a particularly great time to start a new business, because consumers are already keyed into looking for new places to shop to save a buck! I learned a lot about the oil patch during the late 70's and 80's, and one thing that I admire the stamina and guts of these oil people. Oilmen live and work in a
dangerously unsafe environment in their oil exploration. And that's not only the physical risks but also the emotional, financial, and economic risks. They almost have to be. As explained to me in the 1980s (nearly 40 years ago), every time you drill a well, it costs $1M. (Probably today that cost is around $10M - $15M.) So take a pie, and in the pie you have one small pea. Each time you poke a hole in the crust to find the pea, it costs $10M -
$15M, and yes, you might hit on the first, second, or even third try, but the odds aren't with you. You can easily spend billions sticking that pie and still haven't hit that pea. Doesn't mean that pea isn't there; it just means that after billions of dollars, you haven't found it!
So when Landman comes along, and one of the wives of the largest independent oil drilling company in West Texas shows up, Hollywood is convinced she dresses quietly. So they go to
Instagram and search for "quiet quality," and here's what that turns up. (These are a smidgen blurry, because Paramount doesn't allow graphics of their series, particularly Demi Moore, who plays Tammy Miller, the recent widow of the largest independent driller in West Texas.) But you can get the idea.
This is her, I'm serious and taking over my husband's company, and you'd better come with me, or you'll be sorry look! It's a business look, with a bit of flair, not in black, but in white. In this shot, if she's wearing jewelry, it's hidden so all
the attention is on what she's saying, not on what she's wearing. Interesting look for the Hollywood strong executive.
My takeaway: It's a nice look, but it's still a little too showy for quiet quality. It's very close to what a sharp business-type widow would wear when she's taking over her late husband's business. But it's still a little showy for me.
This series of screenshots, is of her contemplating figuring out what's with the company. The accessories are in plain view, particularly that diamond - and yes, they do come that big, and yes, oil producers' wives would wear something like that. The
real catch here is the necklace and the blouse. The necklace is totally quiet quality and is not what an oil-producer's wife would wear. She would wear something more like this.
This is more what a "real" oilie would wear, and to make sure it had the big B (for Bulgari) so that everyone would know it cost about $30k! BTW, I would never wear diamonds to a business meeting, maybe a very slender gold Omega necklace, but nothing like this.
The necklace on Cami Miller (the recent widow) is, however, right on point for quiet quality, which was probably $20K, but a good copy of one would be here: Etsy.
This shot is the whole outfit. Notice the simplicity - white shirt and jeans. But the shirt is silk. Below you can see the translucent quality of the blouse, and a great shot of the jewelry. I'm also looking at the shoes. Plain
flats, probably in some expensive leather, and pointed toe.
Here's the jacket with this outfit, suede most likely and again very lux looking without being showy. My takeaway: This look is right on target for quiet quality. Maybe a little less bulk in the bracelet, but everything else is right on. The bracelet would look more like this and with a skyrocket price tag (click to go to the site so you can
get a couple of your own!!!!! Only joking!)
The shoes are perfect. The jacket is excellent. The blouse is exactly the subdued look that quiet quality people wear. That said, I'm pretty sure that Mrs. Devon or Mrs. Chesapeake (two large oil companies in my city), would wear this outfit if
they were taking over their hubby's business. So Landman gets aces on this outfit - appropriate and yes, very quiet quality!
Here's a nice contrast between business and quiet quality. You would think they would be the same. But professionals, particularly successful ones, don't have time to shop. So they are the very first to grab something that doesn't call attention to
themselves, and that includes wearing jewelry. Professional women's jewelry is more understated with a quiet, quality look.
My takeaway: Again, right on target with both outfits. If I were dressing a grande-dame type and a business type, this is precisely what I would choose for each.
And this is a nod to the accessories. A quiet quality wardrobe wouldn't be complete without a big bag, preferably Prada or Hermes. But what's even more quiet quality is what this character is wearing, no logo at all. Something like this, this, or this. Of course, these are made in China, and won't last long. That's why if you have the chance to make a bag that is well-made but much
less (like 90% less), get it. It's a staple accessory for the quiet, quality look. The ring and the bracelet complete the outfit.
My takeaway: I have hardly ever seen a photo of quite quality that doesn't include a luxury-looking big bag. It's a mainstay in the quiet quality wardrobe.
This is the quiet quality that goes to work, all in black, which means serious business, with strong jewelry accents.
My takeaway: The large jewelry looks pretentious and desperate. Maybe that's what
they intended; if so, they got the look right. Also, the low cut of the top is more for an evening than a business luncheon, unless the intention is for something more. Since the whole series isn't finished, I don't know what's up with all these characters, and so often in these series, it's not only confusing, but twist on twist on twist, which can get old fast. We'll see.
And this is the lunch with a flamboyant oil exploration investor and his lovely girl wearing a Chanel. The ribbon trim, buttons, and "pink" are a dead giveaway.
My takeaway: The investor
character is a HUGE player, IOW very wealthy and wants to show it off with his paramour wearing only the most expensive and exclusively designed clothing. So his girl/lover/mate/ whatever is dressed perfectly in expensive couture for daytime lunch. The Chanel dress would be from Chanel Couture (available only in large cities like New York, LA, Paris, London, Milan, Riyadh, Tokyo, and similar places). It would have cost tens of thousands (running about $4K for used or pre-owned) and would be eye-catching (strapless), because of its Chanel-ness.
The cartoon above makes my point about the difference between new money and old, quiet quality. If you look up some really old money, you can only find them in the paper three times: when they were born, when they got married, and when they died.
That's perfect for them cause they don't want to draw attention to themselves. If they give gifts to the community, many do, and they're given anonymously or very quietly, usually in memory of a great-grandfather or someone like that.
The new money will be searching for every media outlet they can get, and can't wait to spend that money, and spend a lot of it. The huge risk, emotional, physical, economic, financial, and in many other ways, is only appealing with
that massive influx of funds. There are a few families who have maintained generational wealth after hitting it big in oil, but they are the exception. Most oil wealth dies in one generation or even in one decade. But while they are spending their hard-earned wealth, they are generous, and it flows like water downhill. They are anything but quiet and can't wait to show it off.
The Lady Astor and Beyonce types in the cartoon display the difference in a cute,
humorous way, but only because it's so true. The only question to answer in the cartoon is which one does the taxi pick up? My bet is the Beyonce character - she would tip better. Old money doesn't tip well.
I want to see how they dress this character in the show's future. Still, she should lose some of her quietness because she's going to start running her recently departed hubby's business, so I suspect her garb will be more businesslike. Hopefully that
will be on the quiet quality side, cause that is who her character was to start with, and if they want to remain faithful to the character, that's what they should do.
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful time with your family. It's the start of a wonderful, blessed season, and I wish you all the enjoyment of the season.
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Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
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please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
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