Jenna Stocker has a splendid piece on Substack about the gonzo Western wear popularized by Polish immigrants “Rodeo Ben” Lichtenstein and Nathan Turk — the former in New York, the latter in California.
Stocker writes:
The Cosmic Americana American Dream. Addicted to the synergy of excess and success. All that glitters in the eyes of dream chasers and shit talkers and take-no-prisoners scrappers who wake up each day teetering on the precipice between fame and the ash heap of back-alley history. America is home to some of the greatest innovators and go-getters, self-made men, and Fate’s sacrificial suicides. The greatest of them all have stories that endear themselves to the very soul that makes America what it is — and still is if one takes the time to sort through the maddening, increasingly complicated layers of societal rules. “It’s better to be looked over than to be overlooked,” the famous quote from Nudie Cohn, creator of the Nudie suit, clothier to cowboys and rodeo competitors, designer to the men and women who shaped popular culture and formed modern Americana into the stuff of legends. His story and those of his contemporaries and their heirs elevate the American Tale into one of sparkling mysticism and rhinestone glory.
Rodeo Ben, Nudie Cohn, Nathan Turk, Manuel Cuevas, Jaime Castaneda, with their impeccable talent for combining artistry and skill, made the icons — first of country western then imbued through nearly every genre of Americana — shine brighter.
You can read the rest here.
Glam cowboy culture is especially dear to me because of an art exhibit in Sheboygan’s fabulous John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC). There, one could visit the home of Mississippi’s Loy Bowlin — the self-proclaimed “Original Rhinestone Cowboy.” After Bowlin’s death, the shimmering property was disassembled in the swamps, transported north, and reassembled within the JMKAC. Every surface of the home was bedecked in rhinestones — so much so that guests would have to wear eye protection to tour the place. As schoolboys we would dare one another to take off the glasses and look up at the ceiling until some glitter fell in. Unsurprisingly, we were dismissed from the display.
Please feel free to check the house out for yourself below.
(Note: It’s interactive. You can look around by clicking and dragging the screen after hitting “Play.”)
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