Another Iconic Nudie Piece for Elvis

Well, when I was looking for a photo of the Clambake "Millionaire Suit" worn by Elvis -- I found this!!! Another iconic Nudie piece made for Elvis just sold for $13,000. Quite a bargain, considering the provenance. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

http://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/LotDetail.aspx?lotid=3437

This black leather "Cafe Racer" jacket made for Elvis by Nudie, fit him like a glove. And as a bonus the lucky high bidder received one of Elvis' mini cigars in the pocket. Elvis loved his palomino Tennessee Walking Horses, and this photo of him wearing the jacket and riding is so "Elvis at Graceland." When I visited Graceland in 2004 one of his horses was still alive and hobbling around (do the math, the horse was nearly 30 years old) the back 40.

Elvis would have been really, really old now

Yes, we are right in the middle of Elvis week in Memphis, leading up the anniversary of his death in 1977.



The famous "Clambake" Nudie Suit Elvis wore in this flick (cream with black signature Nudie "frankenstein football stitching") sold last year for over $100,000.

If anyone out there knows who bought it, let me know.

The West Coast Woodstock

This weekend is the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock. I happened to grow up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we had a little Woodstock of our own on the left coast . . . which, well . . . admittedly didn't turn out so well. It was called "Altamont" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altamont_Free_Concert, and although I didn't attend as I was too young and busy watching "the Partridge Family", "the Monkees", and "the Brady Bunch", my older radical leftist liberal sister did.

Altamont was a barren, windy, hilly place out east of the Bay Area on the way between the Livermore valley and Tracy, and to this day is a barren, windy, hilly place out east of the Bay Area on the way between the Livermore valley and Tracy. Considering the growth that has occurred in the last 40 years this description is telling of the general bleakness of the spot. Add Hell's Angels and drug riddled Rock musicians and fans to the equation and well, I think you know the solution.

Woodstock had its share of Nudie wearing artists - Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, the Grateful Dead -- and Altamont had a few as well, the Stones, Gram Parsons and Gram Parsons.

If you are a Gram Parsons fan you know exactly where I am going with this post, and if you are not, then what the hell are you doing reading this? My point is, if you don't know the story, then educate yourself. Here, let me help you.

George Jones Sings "White Lightning"

Hey, mosey on over to my Redneckonomics blog at http://redneckonomics.blogspot.com/
for another topical George Jones post. Here we are honoring the possum singing White Lightning is a marvelous red Nudie Suit.

Hank Thompson's Hat Defies Gravity

Hank Thompson always looked swell in Nudie, but what really amazed me was the way he could balance his hat way on the back of his head. Makes you want to hoist a Falstaff and salute his ingenious way of wearing a cowboy hat, and still showing off his coif!

In later years that hat finally left his head, and he compensated with every more elaborate Nudie Suits. Drink in the deep, dark lyrics to this Hank Thompson penned classic, and enjoy how the rhinestones on his Nudie Suit catch the light, even in black and white they put on quite a show.

Webb Pierce's Signature Nudie Suit

I'm rather partial to this Nudie Suit -- it hangs in my closet. Yep, I own Webb Pierce's signature spider web Nudie Suit.

Nudies for the Ladies

A curious thing about Nudie's business is that 90 % of his flashy rhinestone Nudie Suits were made for men. I guess you could chalk this up to the "peacock" effect, and I will present Nudie's literal peacock suits in another blog.

Nudie began his career as a shopkeeper and designer with "Nudies for the Ladies" off Times Square in the 1930's. He made outfits for the girls in the chorus, vaudeville and burlesque queens . . . i.e. the strippers of the day.

His brother sold ligerie and Nudie fell in love with rhinestones, so the stage was set for Nudie's later work in Hollywood -- when he married rhinestones with his love of the American West, it's myths, legends, and clothing.

But, in the beginning it was "Nudies for the Ladies". Ladies always loved Nudie and his creations, but the men seemed to steal the show for most of his life.

Still, some lovely talented creatures lit up the stage and screen in Nudie Suits and dresses. Here is Goldie Hill (who later married Carl Smith, years after he divorced June Carter) in a fetching Nudie number. This tailored suit with heart piping was one of Nudie's very popular designs in the early 1950's, and really shows of Nudie's skill in fitting and accentuating the human form. Goldie was a great customer and also had the rhinestoned dress made in many colors. Enjoy.