This black-and-gold saloon girl costume appeared on screen several times over the course of four years.

Its earliest documented appearance came in 1964, when Barbara Eden wore it as Goldie Rogers during the seventh season of the CBS series Rawhide. The following year, CBS recycled the costume for the tenth season of Gunsmoke, where it was worn by Elizabeth MacRae as April Clomely.

In 1966, the outfit made its first appearance in color in MGM’s Elvis Presley film Frankie and Johnny, with Sue Ane Langdon wearing it as Mitzi. Its final known screen appearance came a year later in the CBS series The Wild Wild West, where Arlene Martel wore it as Erika.

Years later, the costume was sold by Hollywood Movie Costumes and subsequently by Movie Arcade, which described the piece as follows:

This Black and Gold Sequined Showgirl/Saloon/Dancehall Top with whalebones was worn in a variety of Hollywood Musicals by different dancers/actresses in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Does up at the back with hooks and eyes and is in good condition. Some damage to the frill around the bodice due to age. It has both a Warner Bros Label and a Western Costume Label sewn inside.

That description raises an intriguing question: where did the costume actually originate?

I took a closer look at the labels but was unable to match the Warner Original label to any known Warner Bros. costume labels. It does, however, bear a striking resemblance to labels used by the Warner Brothers Corset Company during the 1950s. If so, it is possible that the corset was purchased separately and incorporated into the finished saloon girl costume.

That still leaves the larger mystery. It seems unlikely that the costume was originally created for Rawhide. Given the Western Costume label, it was almost certainly made for an earlier production. The production number may point to the 1935 film The Eagle’s Brood, though a cursory review of that film failed to reveal the costume. Furthermore, a 1935 production date does not appear to correspond with the apparent era of the Warner Original label, making that attribution even more uncertain.

For now, its true origin remains unknown.

Much of the discussion above is based on photographs, production numbers, auction listings, surviving labels, and other available evidence. Recycled Movie Costumes does not claim to have every answer, and when definitive documentation no longer exists, educated theories are sometimes the closest we can come to understanding where a costume began its journey.

If you have any information on this costume, please do let us know!