A Supreme addition to my collection......

[DWSheffer]

As many of the membership may know from my previous posts, I love collecting Motown related memorabilia. Everything from records and ephemera to internal items from behind the scenes and the day to day operations of the Motown empire. I've always stated I'm lucky as I'm not far from Detroit and am in contact with record dealers and others who come upon Motown items. At any rate, it's very rare today when any personal items come up for sale related to a Motown performer.

I must say I jumped at the chance to acquire the hat worn by Cindy on "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Special" in late 1967 during the "Old Songs Medley". The hat had made it's way to Detroit after being purchased at a memorabilia auction in Las Vegas around 1990. The man I bought it from absolutely hated to part with it, but circumstances warranted the sale. The "International Costume Co." tag with CINDY written on it certainly proves the authenticity of the piece.

The very large hats were worn with the sequined, beaded and rhinestoned lacy leotard type dresses with the removable lower skirt section. Mary had recently acquired the one she wore on the show before her death which was found in France. The dresses were also provided for the show by the International Costume Company. I can't help but think Mary would have wanted to acquire the hat if she were still with us. At any rate, my plan is that it will eventually end up at the Motown Museum, along with some of my other memorabilia.

Valued forum member Laurent has still photos of the ladies wearing the hats in the TV show timeline on his wonderful website. They also appear in the concert program from 1968 "An Evening with Diana Ross and the Supremes" as the centerfold photo, so they are pretty well documented!

I just wanted to share my excitement with my fellow Supremes fans!
Darin

http://dianarosssupremes.free.fr/TV-...11%20Tennessee

[DWSheffer]

Here is the segment of the show featuring the hats:

[DWSheffer]

Here is the centerfold photo from the 1968 "An Evening With Diana Ross and the Supremes" concert program.

[carlo]

Wow!! What a find, Darrin. Thanks for sharing! Loved reading your post, along with the photos of the hat. Just goes to show that many of the pieces that we've assumed are gone forever, are out there somewhere. Congrats!

[sup_fan]

but no picture of YOU wearing it? hehehe


seriously - what a wonderful addition to your collection!!!

[dannyboy1968]

WOW!!! What a fantastic addition! I am not familiar with your collection, what other Supremes items do you have ? What happened to the other pieces of this costume.

[TheMotownManiac]

As many of the membership may know from my previous posts, I love collecting Motown related memorabilia. Everything from records and ephemera to internal items from behind the scenes and the day to day operations of the Motown empire. I've always stated I'm lucky as I'm not far from Detroit and am in contact with record dealers and others who come upon Motown items. At any rate, it's very rare today when any personal items come up for sale related to a Motown performer.

I must say I jumped at the chance to acquire the hat worn by Cindy on "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Special" in late 1967 during the "Old Songs Medley". The hat had made it's way to Detroit after being purchased at a memorabilia auction in Las Vegas around 1990. The man I bought it from absolutely hated to part with it, but circumstances warranted the sale. The "International Costume Co." tag with CINDY written on it certainly proves the authenticity of the piece.

The very large hats were worn with the sequined, beaded and rhinestoned lacy leotard type dresses with the removable lower skirt section. Mary had recently acquired the one she wore on the show before her death which was found in France. The dresses were also provided for the show by the International Costume Company. I can't help but think Mary would have wanted to acquire the hat if she were still with us. At any rate, my plan is that it will eventually end up at the Motown Museum, along with some of my other memorabilia.

Valued forum member Laurent has still photos of the ladies wearing the hats in the TV show timeline on his wonderful website. They also appear in the concert program from 1968 "An Evening with Diana Ross and the Supremes" as the centerfold photo, so they are pretty well documented!

I just wanted to share my excitement with my fellow Supremes fans!
Darin

http://dianarosssupremes.free.fr/TV-...11%20Tennessee

congratulations on your wonderful find! Would love to view your collection😘

[PeaceNHarmony]

Good for you; what a wonderful piece!

[kenneth]

Very cool indeed! Thanks for showing us! Please feel free to share more!

[thanxal]

As many of the membership may know from my previous posts, I love collecting Motown related memorabilia. Everything from records and ephemera to internal items from behind the scenes and the day to day operations of the Motown empire. I've always stated I'm lucky as I'm not far from Detroit and am in contact with record dealers and others who come upon Motown items. At any rate, it's very rare today when any personal items come up for sale related to a Motown performer.

I must say I jumped at the chance to acquire the hat worn by Cindy on "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Special" in late 1967 during the "Old Songs Medley". The hat had made it's way to Detroit after being purchased at a memorabilia auction in Las Vegas around 1990. The man I bought it from absolutely hated to part with it, but circumstances warranted the sale. The "International Costume Co." tag with CINDY written on it certainly proves the authenticity of the piece.

The very large hats were worn with the sequined, beaded and rhinestoned lacy leotard type dresses with the removable lower skirt section. Mary had recently acquired the one she wore on the show before her death which was found in France. The dresses were also provided for the show by the International Costume Company. I can't help but think Mary would have wanted to acquire the hat if she were still with us. At any rate, my plan is that it will eventually end up at the Motown Museum, along with some of my other memorabilia.

Valued forum member Laurent has still photos of the ladies wearing the hats in the TV show timeline on his wonderful website. They also appear in the concert program from 1968 "An Evening with Diana Ross and the Supremes" as the centerfold photo, so they are pretty well documented!

I just wanted to share my excitement with my fellow Supremes fans!
Darin

http://dianarosssupremes.free.fr/TV-...11%20Tennessee

Quite a feather in your cap!

[DWSheffer]

Thank you all for the nice comments!

Sup_fan, I was a bit concerned when the previous owner told me he had worn the hat as part of a pirate costume one Halloween! It certainly fits the look, lol. I can't imagine how many pins it took to hold these hats to their heads in this sequence, since they are worn on the side of the head, and especially with all the moving around. It must have been similar to having a sail on one's head!

I shared quite a bit of my collection in a thread on the main Motown forum during the early months of the pandemic when we were home with not much to do. I've added more to the collection since then, but you can view many other items in that thread to those who have asked to see more.
Darin

[after you]

Merry Christmas what a find

[marybrewster]

Darin it's lovely! What a rare find! I have to ask: have you tried it on, lol.

I recently came across something pretty special too; your thread prompted a thread of my own.

[DWSheffer]

Ha, no, I haven't actually! It sits on the side of the head so it needs pinned to remain in place.

I'll take a look at your addition.
Darin

[Boogiedown]

hats off to you! great score !

[Spreadinglove21]

If you don't have it already, you should try to track down Cindy Birdsong's fall wig from the Vegas Farewell show.

[Laurent]

Wow, what at treasure you have found ! It's great too know that rare pieces of the Supremes' history can still be found.
I'm sure Mary would have loved to know about this.
Thanks for sharing ! :-)