Brown and black costume worn on Soul Train by dancer Johnette "Suki" Dodson: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This costume was worn by dancer Johnette “Suki” Dodson on the television show Soul Train in the early 2000s. The outfit is comprised of two (2) pieces, a hand-decorated bra (.1) and a handmade skirt (.2).

The bra (.1) is a hand-decorated black store-bought bra with heavily padded cups, adjustable straps, and a hook-and-eye back closure. Each bra cup is covered with a panel of light brown, cream, and dark brown striped heavy weight wool and synthetic blend fabric. Short, light brown looped fringe is adhered along the top edge of each cup. Long black fringe is adhered along the bottom of each cup. There are no labels in the bra.

The mini-skirt (.2) is made from two panels of the same brown striped wool and synthetic blend fabric as is used to cover the bra cups. The front and back of the skirt are not seamed on the sides, but are instead tied with dark brown leather at the top and left open below. The same long black fringe that is used on the bottom of the bra is also used along the bottom of the front and back of the skirt. A large rectangular slit is placed at the proper left front and back sides, probably for attaching a belt or other adjustable fastening system to keep the skirt on the waist.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2001-2004
• Created by: Johnette Dodson, American
• Worn by: Johnette Dodson, American
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Soul Train, American, 1971 - 2006
• Type: brassieres
• Type: miniskirts
• Medium: bra: wool and synthetic blend cloth, synthetic fiber, fringe, elastic, metal, and adhesive;
• Medium: skirt: wool and synthetic blend cloth, fringe, leather, and adhesive
• Dimensions: H x W x D (.1 flat): 11 1/2 × 26 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (29.2 × 67.9 × 3.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (.1 on form): 14 × 11 × 10 in. (35.6 × 27.9 × 25.4 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (.2 flat): 14 1/4 × 15 1/2 × 1 in. (36.2 × 39.4 × 2.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (.2 on form): 15 × 15 × 9 in. (38.1 × 38.1 × 22.9 cm)
• Place used: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Popular music
• Object number: 2014.227.3.1-.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Johnette Dodson known by her stage name "Suki"
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.