Nudie Cohn: The Tailor of Cowboys and West Coast Celebrities

Nudie Cohn: The Tailor of Cowboys and West Coast Celebrities

June 1959, Hollywood Boulevard. A man steps out of a custom cream-colored Cadillac Eldorado, adorned with buffalo horns on the bumper, rifles, and horseshoes on the doors. On his feet, custom-made cowboy boots—mismatched, a nod to his humble beginnings. This man is a tailor—a tailor for cowboys and stars.

Born in 1902 in Kyiv, Ukraine, under the name Nuta Kotlyarenko, he came from a modest family—his father was a shoemaker, and his mother raised geese. From a young age, Nuta developed a passion for tailoring. He worked various odd jobs, from shoe shiner to traveling boxer, before settling in Mankato, Minnesota. There, he met Bobbie Kruger, who would become his wife in 1934. The couple later moved to New York, where they opened a shop specializing in women’s undergarments. Nudie’s career began with crafting G-strings for burlesque dancers before he climbed the ranks to become the legendary "Rhinestone Cowboy."

The Rise of the "Western Bling" 

In the 1940s, Nudie and Bobbie moved to California and started making clothes from their garage. After a costly surgery left him financially ruined, Nudie took one final gamble—designing outfits for celebrities.

In 1947, he offered to create a custom suit for Tex Williams, a broke country singer. To finance the project, they sold Tex’s horse and bought a sewing machine. This marked the beginning of Nudie’s reputation in the world of Western fashion. Artists like Spade Cooley, Cliffie Stone, and Lefty Frizzell also gave him a chance, propelling his career forward. With growing demand, Nudie and Bobbie opened a boutique, founding "Nudie’s of Hollywood" in North Hollywood, specializing in flamboyant Western attire, which was all the rage at the time.

His suits were known for their lavish use of rhinestones and intricate embroidery, setting a new standard for country style. Moving beyond Wrangler denim uniforms, Nudie’s designs featured unique, hand-stitched embellishments inspired by Native American and Mexican folk art traditions.

Stars Dressed in Rhinestone

"Real men wear rhinestone," Nudie once said. In 1957, Nudie designed the iconic $10,000 gold lamé suit worn by Elvis Presley on the cover of the album 50,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong. This cemented his reputation as the go-to tailor for music and film legends, including Hank Williams, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, John Wayne, Gene Autry, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, Cher, Elton John, and many more.

A Nudie's sketch for the Johnny Cash shirt

Johnny Cash wearing the bicentennial stage by Nudie

On the left, Nudie and Elvis and on the right the cover of 1959 album, 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong.

By 1963, his workshop moved to Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, rebranded as Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors. His creations became emblematic of Hollywood’s Western style. Among his masterpieces were Hank Williams' white suit with embroidered musical notes and Robert Redford’s unforgettable outfit in The Electric Horseman (1979). 

Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors Shop

Hank Williams' Nudie white suit and Robert Redford suit in The Electric Horseman

Gram Parsons famously wore Nudie’s marijuana-leaf-embroidered suit, one of his most iconic designs. The model that Cohn sewed for Parsons was unlike any other. Visible inside one lapel is the embroidered figure of a voluptuous naked woman. The green leaves featured prominently in the design on the front of the jacket are a marijuana plant, and the red-petaled flowers above them are poppies, the natural source of morphine, opium, and heroin—this same morphine that killed him by overdose at the age of 26. 

Gram Parsons photographed in a Nudie suit on January 1, 1969

Keith Richards wearing his Nudie Suit

Nudie Cohn wasn’t just a tailor—he was a walking embodiment of his own aesthetic. Always dressed in extravagant, rhinestone-studded suits and cowboy hats adorned with sparkling gems, he lived his brand. Nudie Cohn passed away in 1984 at the age of 81. Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors continued under the management of Bobbie and their granddaughter Jamie until 1994. Nudie Cohn didn’t just dress stars—he defined an era. A pioneer of Western bling, he proved that fashion could be a spectacle in its own right. More than just a tailor, he was an artist, a visionary, and above all, a legend.