Like most of the thousands of cowgirls that attend the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo every year, the bright lights, the livestock, concerts and thrills were a tradition for Jessica Mooney. Even in the most distant thought, Mooney never imagined designing and buying for the place she loved so much was something possible in her career.
“Growing up coming to the Rodeo, it never occurred to me that I could work for the Rodeo,” Jessica Mooney, Director of Merchandise, said. “So now, being on this side of actually getting to work for the organization, this is a very big deal for me, and I absolutely love my job.”
A Baytown native, who would go on to graduate with a fashion merchandising degree from the University of North Texas, fashion was no passion learned, rather a sort of “sixth sense”. Be it dressing to the nines for a living room soiree, sneaking into her mom’s closet as a child or earning the inevitable title of best dressed in high school, Mooney was destined to succeed in the fashion-verse.
“Clothes are my thing, since I was little,” Mooney said. “We would play dress up constantly and my mom always told me I would change my outfit three times a day. I will be the little old lady who like dies in her shoe or purse. This is just who I am.”
Mooney pictured at 3 years old
With decades of experiences as both a buyer and a seller, Mooney joined the Rodeo in 2023 with a vision to renew the organization on the merchandise front. And as Mooney agrees: to be a good designer, you have to be a good shopper – not only to know style but to understand the mindset of customers. Explaining her method of seeking new merchandise ideas thrives by not only being a perpetual shopper but also in what she describes as her “closet cloud” or sorts – or her digital closet of ideas.
“I have an inspiration PowerPoint deck for myself, and I dump all kinds of pictures in there,” Mooney described. “It’s pictures galore, art ideas and fonts that I like. It could be totally random and then I make an actual assortment deck. As I’m developing the item, I use different elements I put in there to create. From there, I start working with vendors, using this as a great reference for each detail, telling them ‘I like this font, this color shirt, but I needed this cut because this is for my 40- to 65-year-old woman to wear.’”
In 2024, the Rodeo’s merchandise entered a new era, trying something that Rodeo-lovers hadn’t seen before. Mooney said her vision was to transform shopping at the Rodeo into something that fused your favorite store, western fashion, and the Rodeo’s beloved brand.
“I wanted things that people can wear and use in their real life,” Mooney said “That’s why we really into clothing like men’s polos and denim for women. Plus, people are always looking for giftable items. From ornaments to the little plates and a wine decanter, and everything in between.”
The creative fun happens year-round, launching new items for each season but it’s when the crowds come in thousands those 20 days of March that Mooney really straps on her boots. You’ll catch her in a merchandise store fixing, folding, and perfecting.
Mooney pictured styling products at a 2024 Rodeo store inside NRG Center
“I am boots on the ground, walking all of those stores,” Mooney said. “I might plug in my laptop in here, but I am never sitting in my office. I am very hands on and engaged, and I really, really care about the look of our stores. People shop with their eyes first.”
Beyond the rack, Mooney said her passion lies at home – with her family. A proud aunt of five, Mooney said they are her favorite and best hobby, and often times a great source of inspiration for her work.
Mooney pictured with her nieces and nephews
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo merchandise can be purchased year-round online, click here to shop.
The 2025 Rodeo is scheduled for March 4 – 23. The 2025 World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, presented by Cotton Holdings, is scheduled for Feb. 27 – March 1. For more information, visit rodeohouston.com or the RODEOHOUSTON app and follow @RODEOHOUSTON online via Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and YouTube for all the latest news.