White bell bottom pants worn on Soul Train by dancer Edith Lynn Pickens: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

These white bell bottom pants were worn as part of a costume, with a blue and floral print halter top and a blue leather belt, by dancer Edith Lynn Pickens on the television show "Soul Train" in the 1970s.

The white bell-bottom pants have a flat front, a concealed zipper fly and a tab closure with metal hook and eye. The 33-inch waistband is 1-3/8 inches wide and has three (3) belt loops on the recto and two (2) on the verso. There are horizontal, seamed inset pockets at both hips and one small inset pocket at the proper right front, underneath the belt loop. The pants have a wide leg, tapering out to a width of 22 inches at the bottom. Each pant leg is trimmed with a 1-5/8 inch cuff that is secured with stitching at each seam and a dart in the center of each side. On the verso, there are two (2) darts at the waistband, and two (2) flap pockets with no fasteners. Fragments remain of a manufacturer's label that was sewn into the interior waistband of the pants but has been cut out.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1970s
• Manufactured by: Unidentified
• Worn by: Edith Lynn Pickens, American
• Subject of: Soul Train, American, 1971 - 2006
• Type: trousers
• Medium: cotton and spandex
• Dimensions: H x W x D (On form): 40 3/8 × 13 1/2 × 9 in. (102.6 × 34.3 × 22.9 cm)
• Place used: Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Television
• Topic: Variety shows (Television)
• Object number: 2015.17.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Edith Lynn Pickens
• 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.