- Created by
- Jacobs, Bernard G., American
- Manufactured by
- Custo Barcelona, founded 1980
- Worn by
- Bailey, Philip, American, born 1951
- Johnson, Ralph, American, born 1951
- Subject of
- Earth, Wind & Fire, American, founded 1969
- Date
- 2004-2013
- Medium
- cotton and rhinestones
- Dimensions
- H x W (flat): 30 1/2 × 19 1/2 in. (77.5 × 49.5 cm)
- Description
- Sleevless printed crewneck cotton shirt customized by Bernard G. Jacobs and worn by Phlip Bailey, vocalist for Earth, Wind, & Fire, and by Ralph Johnson, percussionist for Earth, Wind & Fire. The front of the shirt has a printed design in lime green and black of a man with a goatee, sideburns, and an Afro hair style wearing oversized square lens sunglasses and chain link necklaces. Round green rhinestones are attached to the shirt, primarily within the sunglasses frames and the chain necklaces, with some sporadically placed in the man's hair and one (1) on his proper left cheek as a beauty mark. Green rhinestones are also attached around the neck and sleeve openings on the front and the back. The back of the shirt has a printed design of a colorful beach scene with a female hula dancer, palm trees, and flowers. The woman is in the lower proper right corner and she is wearing a yellow skirt and a pink flower in her hair. She is seen from the back with her arms outstretched above her head. Rhinestones are attached throughout the scene with the color of the stone matching the color of the design below it, and a band of clear rhinestones across the hips of the woman. The neck and arm openings of the shirt are trimmed in a green, yellow, black, and gray striped cotton, with the edges of the arm openings left unfinished so that the fabric rolls inward. The shirt has two (2) tags sewn at the interior center back neck. The top tag is a small clear tag with red & blue text that reads "custo / BARCELONA". Underneath is a white tag with black text. The front reads "THE DESIGN OF / THIS GARMENT / HAS COPYRIGHT / PROTECTION / 100% COTTON / 100% COTON / MADE IN THAILAND / FABRIQUE EN THAILANDE / 2". The back has care instructions and text that reads "BLUE TOWER / BARCELONA / SPAIN / B-61517496".
- Classification
- Clothing - Costume
- Type
- shirts
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Costume Designer Bernard G. Jacobs
- Object number
- 2015.147.4.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




