Buzzing for BeyHive homecoming mums
“Beyoncé asked us to go to homecoming, and we understood the assignment.”
Wherever Beyoncé goes on her Cowboy Carter Tour, her audiences know exactly how to pick up her vision of the urban cowboy and wrap themselves in it. Leather. Chaps. Cowboy hats. Denim. Sparkle. Skin. Sashes. Fringe. This was especially true in her hometown of Houston, Texas.
I’m a mumologist, which is a word I made up to describe my ongoing research into the history and heritage of homecoming mums in Texas. So, as I scrolled through a recent Vogue photo essay about the fans at her Houston shows in June, I could hardly wait to see the homecoming mums that were promised in the article’s opening paragraphs:
Act II: Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé
“Whenever Beyoncé performs in her native Houston, her return creates a rippling homecoming effect across the city…
The scene outside of NRG Stadium over the weekend for the two-night run of Cowboy Carter shows was nothing short of a pep rally. Texas-sized chrysanthemum corsages were on parade, embellished with ribbons and decorative spirit trinkets, pinned at the shoulder (down South, we call them mums). Red, white, and blue silk sashes sliced through crowds, too, customized to riff on the Grammy Award-winning (Best Country Album, anyone?) record cover. And because June 28 serendipitously doubled as International LGBTQI+ Pride Day, a gulf of self-described queens rounded out this metaphoric homecoming court…”
— Vogue, "BeyHive Couture: Vogue Captures Street Style Looks at the Cowboy Carter Show in Houston”, June 30, 2025
As I scrolled through Vogue’s photo essay, it was love at first sight, not just with the drip but the Beyonfidence of the fans. As you look into their eyes looking into the camera, you can practically hear them say, “Beyoncé asked us to go to homecoming, and we understood the assignment.”
Eventually, I arrived at the photo, below, of a fan named Anna. My first mum spotting.
Photo of Anna Barzin in Vogue, "BeyHive Couture: Vogue Captures Street Style Looks at the Cowboy Carter Show in Houston”, June 30, 2025
Besides tossing Anna a chef’s kiss for her fit, I smiled at the photographer’s storytelling skill. What a clever way to introduce the idea of a homecoming mum by sneaking up behind one. The anticipation hit me right away. I couldn’t wait to see her turn around in all her joyful, be-mummed glory.
Before I tell you about the rest of the Vogue article, let’s stay with this photograph for a minute.
Anna and her mum are on their way into NRG Stadium—where the Houston Texans play football—to see her home team on homecoming night. Anna is head-to-toe ready. She isn’t just an audience member. She’s a superfan. She can’t wait to sing and dance and cheer and post Reels and quite possibly have the actual time of her life.
Feel the anticipation.
Tomorrow she won’t be able to stop talking about it with her friends and family.
Feel the joy!
This is what a high school homecoming in Texas is like for the superfans, and the mums have a lot to do with it.
Mums create anticipation. Mums deliver joy.
The anticipation begins at the first thought of homecoming. If you’re a superfan, you’re involved in your school in some way, such as cheerleading, marching band, student government, sports, or a school club. You’re already plugged in to the energy and build-up to the big day.
As soon as you can, you’ll figure out if you’re going to make a mum yourself (probably with your mom’s help), or buy one (probably with your mom’s help), or receive one as a gift (probably with someone else’s mom’s help). What kind of mum do I want? What will my mum will look like in the end? What am I wearing with my mum? You’ll compare notes with your friends. You’ll make plans. You’ll imagine the big day. What will homecoming be like as the mums take over my school, the pep rally, the parade, and the game?
The day after homecoming, you won’t be able to stop talking about it with your friends and family. You’ll find the perfect spot in your room to display your mum, a keepsake of your first or second or (insert crying emoji) final homecoming ever.
Anticipation. Joy. Anticipation. Joy. Anticipation. Joy.
OK, now back to the article. My anticipation grew as I continued to scroll. Scroll, scroll, scroll.
All in all, there are 28 photos included in Vogue’s online photo essay. Turns out, the photograph of Anna’s back is the only one that includes even a sliver of a homecoming mum.
Listen, I know Vogue didn’t travel to Houston to take photos of homecoming mums. But if you start a feature article with “Whenever Beyoncé performs in her native Houston, her return creates a rippling homecoming effect across the city…” and include phrases like “Texas-sized chrysanthemum corsages…on parade”, “pep rally”, and “homecoming court”, please let me make eye contact with at least one of those mums.
At least Anna understood the assignment.
While I can’t show you Anna’s mum, I asked some Texas-based mum-makers if they’ve made any BeyHive mums this year. Of course they have. Here are six, created specifically for the Cowboy Carter show in Houston, by Rhonda N., Leatha S. of Mumstar, and Jamie G-P.
Did you wear a homecoming mum to a Cowboy Carter show? Or to your homecoming? I’d love to share a photo of it here! Contact me.
