Bernard “Rodeo Ben” Lichtenstein was the first celebrity Western-wear designer. Born into a Jewish family in Poland in 1893, he immigrated to America with his parents and siblings when he was fourteen. They settled in Philadelphia, where Lichtenstein opened his Rodeo Ben storefront and tailoring shop in 1930.

Assisted by his son, Gerson—nicknamed “Rodeo Ben Jr.”—he was soon designing finely tailored outfits for rodeo performers such as trick-shot artist Mamie Francis, and silver-screen cowboys Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers.

Drumming up business through mail-order catalogs, which touted his creations as “the expression of perfection,” and personal appearances at rodeo arenas, Lichtenstein cultivated a coast-to-coast customer base that included country music acts. His top-notch reputation among rodeo champions led a dungaree manufacturer to commission a design for denim jeans specifically for use in rodeo competitions. Rodeo Ben designed what became Wrangler’s classic Original Cowboy Cut in 1947—a style that is now inextricably linked to the American cowboy and part of the uniform for countless country artists. He remarked, “As long as I make the right stuff in the East, they’ll buy it in the West.”