Patsy Cline's Costume: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Made for country music star Patsy Cline by her mother, this Western-style performance outfit features record-shaped patches stitched with the titles of Cline's records. Cline began singing with gospel and country bands as a teenager in Virginia. With her 1957 breakout hit "Walkin' after Midnight," she became the first female country vocalist to cross over to the pop charts. In 1960, Cline achieved her childhood dream of joining the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Three years later, she died in a plane crash.

ink colored western-style shirt with black piping and adorned with hot pink rhinestones and black wool 'record discs' hand-stitched with the names of Patsy Cline's hit songs including "Come On In" [left shoulder], "Poor Man's Roses" [right shoulder], "Walking After Midnight" [back], "Stop the Worlds" [left leg]. and "Yes I Understand" [right leg]. This shirt was part of an outfit worn by Patsy Cline and made by her mother, Hilda Hensley.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: ca 1958
• user: Cline, Patsy
• maker: Hensley, Hilda
• Object Name: shirt
• Physical Description: fabric (overall material)
• Physical Description: rhinestones (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 22 1/2 in x 19 in; 57.15 cm x 48.26 cm
• place made: United States: Virginia, Winchester
• ID Number: 2004.0008.01
• accession number: 2004.0008
• catalog number: 2004.0008.01
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.