Velvet Outlaw is a queer owned brand focused on sustainability and fringe! We upcycle clothing and rework each piece by adding applique, fringe and/or rhinestones. We are a two person team and recently expanded the Velvet Outlaw brand to include Velvet OutPaws - our pet bandana line!

Starting in a home attic in 2022 surrounded by rhinestones, vintage suits, and a record player, I set out to bring Velvet Outlaw to the Louisville, Kentucky community not knowing the growth Velvet Outlaw would have. After quickly outgrowing my home studio, I knew that it was time to begin to look for a physical store. In 2023, we moved to Mellwood Art Center, a space to truly call our first home!

As I look down the road for Velvet Outlaw, I plan to expand more on the history of country music, - its true roots -, the history of Nudie Suits (aka Rhinestone Suits), and exploring new versions of these classic suits for all body types. Rhinestone suits come with a heavy history. It’s important to never forget that, and to have reverence and humility when acknowledging the spaces and cultures these came from. Velvet Outlaw is my expression of honoring those traditions.

Rhinestone suits are rooted in both Mexican & Jewish cultures. Some people know them as Nudie Suits, named after Nudie Cohn who immigrated to the US after escaping Ukraine. Like many other Jewish immigrants he began working in the textile business and made everything from bejeweled g-strings to the rhinestone suits we know of today.

Another Jewish man, Rodeo Ben, immigrated from Poland and began his work on rhinestones suits in Philadelphia. At the same time, another dynamic designer, Nathan Turk, and his wife, Bessie, were on the west coast in LA making rhinestone suits. They all used old world Eastern European textile techniques that they learned in their Jewish communities.

Mexican tailor Manuel Cuevas was the head tailor at Nudies in the 60s & 70s and began to incorporate Mexican and Native American patterns in the designs. These rhinestone country suits also get their roots from Charro suits that trace their origins back to 15th century Spain and are most commonly recognized today in traditional mariachi and as a cultural icon of Mexico.