American Cowgirls of the 1940s

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

This post is the result of LIFE magazine archives of mostly unpublished photographs of cowgirls deemed not good enough to share. These snaps are a melange of photo stories by LIFE photographers, Nina Leen, Peter Stackpole and Cornell Capa between 1947-48 at the University of Arizona Rodeo and the opening of the Flying L Ranch in Texas, which included a celebratory cowgirl fashion event.