Yellow bodysuit from a costume worn by Nona Hendryx
date: label: Date
content: 1981-1982
name: label: Designed by
content: Ronald Kolodzie, 1940 - 2010
label: Worn by
content: Nona Hendryx, American, born 1944
notes: label: Description
content: This costume was worn by Nona Hendryx in the music video for her solo single of "Love is Like an Itch in My Heart" in the early 1980s. The costume consists of a yellow hooded headpiece (.1), a yellow bodysuit with a wide black belt (.2ab), and gray jodhpurs with a black leather waistband (.3abc).
label: Description
content: Bodysuit (.a): The yellow bodysuit has high-cut leg openings, three-quarter length tapered sleeves, and a stand-up pointed collar. It is made of a yellow synthetic canvas fabric with quilted black leather shoulder pads that are decorated with convex silver rounded metal nail head studs. The front of the bodysuit is open, with the front sides joined together at the bottom of two long thin panels extending from each bottom front edge. These panels are sewn together and two metal snaps with painted yellow heads are attached at the end, which fasten to another long tail that extends from the bottom of the center back of the bodysuit. The leather panels on each shoulder are shaped with a diagonal line on the front and back, oriented from the collar to the bottom of the armhole, and a straight line following the seam line of the sleeve. The bodysuit is fully lined with black synthetic canvas fabric. This same fabric is used as backing for the leather shoulder pads. There is additional batting in the shoulders between the yellow facing and black lining fabrics. There are two (2) black leather belt loops, one at each side approximately two inches above the hem.
label: Description
content: b): The long black leather belt is two (2) inches wide and fastens with six (6) black metal snaps, in two rows of three, at each end. The belt is worn wrapped double around the bodysuit and fastened in the back, creating a obi-like appearance and a cinched waist silhouette.
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Costume
label: Topic
content: Costume design
label: Topic
content: Design
label: Topic
content: Disco (Music)
label: Topic
content: Funk (Music)
label: Topic
content: Rock and roll (Music)
label: Topic
content: Soul (Music)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Costume
label: Movement
content: Afrofuturism
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Nona Hendryx of Labelle
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2014.246.4.2ab
objectType: label: Type
content: main garments for the upper body
label: Type
content: belts (costume accessories)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: synthetic fiber, leather, metal, and batting
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D ((a) on form): 28 1/4 × 34 × 10 1/2 in. (71.8 × 86.4 × 26.7 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D ((a) flat): 32 × 25 1/4 × 4 1/4 in. (81.3 × 64.1 × 10.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D ((b) on form): 3 × 8 × 8 1/2 in. (7.6 × 20.3 × 21.6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D ((b) flat): 2 3/16 × 48 1/2 × 1/4 in. (5.6 × 123.2 × 0.6 cm)