Big Tex is back in his familiar spot at Fair Park, one week before the State Fair of Texas opens for its 140th year.
A crane lifted the 55-foot-tall cowboy into place Friday morning as preparations continued for the 2026 fair, which runs from September 25 through October 18.
This year’s Big Tex is also sporting a new wardrobe, including a redesigned shirt, hat, jeans, and boots.
Big Tex Gets New Western Look
Dickies dressed Big Tex from 1973 until this year. Cavender’s Boot City designed the new western-style shirt for 2026 and is Big Tex’s official western wear store.
The red pearl-snap shirt features navy and white accents. Fair officials said they will refresh portions of the shirt annually to mark fair themes, anniversaries, and other milestones.
Resistol, founded in Dallas and based in Garland, created Big Tex’s new 95-gallon cowboy hat. The brand’s first western hat debuted at the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park.
Levi’s supplied a new pair of 501 jeans. The State Fair said the jeans are size 434 by 240, required about 100 yards of denim, and weigh about 100 pounds.
New Boots Feature Texas Symbols
Big Tex’s new size-96 Lucchese boots were designed by 31-year-old Aaliyah McNeal, a Dallas native who now lives in Georgia and won the State Fair’s Big Tex Boot Design Contest earlier this year.
The design incorporates Texas imagery, including longhorns, bluebonnets, and pecan trees, along with red, white, and blue details inspired by the Texas flag.
State Fair Opens September 25
The 2026 State Fair of Texas, themed “Stars, Stripes, and Howdies,” will run for 24 days at Fair Park.
Among the new attractions this year are the “Stars of the Fair” drone show, Wacky Chad! stunt comedy show, new exhibits at the Hall of State, the “Mandela: The Official Exhibition” at the African American Museum, the “Texas in the Saddle” horse show, and daily fountain shows every half hour.
The fair will also feature nearly 100 musical acts across four stages, along with returning attractions, the Starlight Parade, pig races, and football games at the Cotton Bowl.
Big Tex will once again welcome visitors to Fair Park throughout the 2026 State Fair season.
