Rhinestone Cowgirl

Say it’s 1970, you’re a rock star (or want to be one) with a love for Elvis and the west. You’ve booked a show at the Whiskey and now you need the ultimate outfit. Rhinestones, fringe, embroidery, lurex, you want to look like a rhinestone cowboy–so you’ve got to go to the Rodeo Tailors: Bobby Nudie and her husband Nudie Cohn.

Since the 1940’s the couple sold glitz. First G-strings to dancers in Manhattan, then they headed to Hollywood to suit famous performers like Elvis, John Wayne, Gene Autry, Cher, John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, Elton John, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis, Glenn Campbell, Hank Williams Sr., ZZ top, and Gram Parsons. After her husband passed away in 1984, Bobbie carried on the tradition until her death two years ago at age 92.

Her husband was the tailor behind the brand but, like most good women of the time, she kept it all together by helping to sew and design as well as business management–she also inspired the famous naked cowgirl logo when she appeared at her husband’s door one night clad in only a cowboy hat and boots. She kept that high, effervescent and fun spirit her whole life and dressed like a super star.

See more: Style Icons: Female Designers

Posted on July 28, 2008