AUDACIOUS DESIGN The couture of Carole McClellan
by Lori Williams
At 14, Carole McClellan walked into the iconic Twin Falls store, The Leatherman—it was the early ‘70s—and was immediately enticed by a $120 leather blazer she couldn’t afford. So, she decided to make her own with a Betsy Johnson pattern, using split cowhide she’d found at Koppel’s Browzeville, a nearby surplus store. When she brought the jacket back into The Leatherman to inquire if the owner, Micky Joelson, could set snaps, he was so impressed by the talent he offered her an apprenticeship. Her deerskin bib shirts became one of their best sellers. Never underestimate the influence of 4-H on a Magic Valley farm girl. Says McClellan, “Every good farm girl learned to cook and sew.”
“Every good farm girl learned to cook and sew.” —Carole McClellan
From a young age, McClellan knew she wanted to design rock and roll clothing and was just rebel enough to ignore all the naysayers. When she wasn’t helping cultivate beans and sugar beets, she would make and wear her flamboyant clothes, win 4-H Awards, and fuel the designs and dreams inside her head, cued not from Vogue but from vinyl album covers. “Living alongside my mother’s all-encompassing tasteful creativity also helped me realize I had a God-given talent, and if I practiced audacity, it would open doors to experience the world and a lifestyle that was truly open to divine intervention,” says McClellan. 86
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PHOTO BY ROSEMARY WRIGHT