The Last Days of Katy K

By Steel Trap on May 14, 2015

Ten or more years ago, this was the only school for cool. Now, it's a high rent district forcing pioneers like Katy out of 12 South Nashville.

18 years ago, this was the only school for cool. The steadily increasing high-rent district is forcing pioneers like Katy out of 12 South Nashville.

The performers of Music City Burlesque conducted their very last bikini car wash at Katy K’s Designs (aka Ranch Dressing) this past Sunday, the proceeds of which benefitted Katy as she transitions to a new chapter in her life. While the bespoke designs of clothier Katy K are legendary, the MCB bikini car wash also became so in its own right.

MusicCityBurlesque performers pose with pioneer proprietor Katy K (2nd from left) on Mother’s Day 2015 during the last burlesque BikiniCarWash in what had been a seven year tradition.

Since 2008, luscious luminaries such as Lux-O-Matic, Freya West, Shan De Leers, Truvy Trollop, Kinetic Kristen, BeBe McQueen, Kicky LaRue, Leela Sophina, Bettie B. Cupp, Lollipop Lehman, Frankie Apple, Rose Hips and Bella D. Ball have all graced the front parking lot of this hallowed hall. Proceeds from each car wash went to various local charities, and as the MCB motto goes, they were “Saving the world one pastie at a time!”

Clothing designer Katy K opened her doors in Nashville in 1997 after leaving an amazing life behind as a prominent fashion designer during the disco, punk and new wave eras in New York. Her designs there in Manhattan appeared in early MTV videos for Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper and NKOTB and were featured in fashion shows at the now notorious night clubs Studio 54, CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City.

At that time, the neighborhood of 12th South was a less than desirable one. Low rent housing kept any sort of gentrification at bay for decades. Several blocks west of the “safety line” known as Belmont Boulevard, Katy K was a true pioneer when she began to set up a shop to unite country couture with the burgeoning counterculture boiling over from the college and music scenes in the neighboring Hillsboro Village. Nestled between Vanderbilt, Belmont and David Lipscomb universities, Hillsboro Village reached the height of popularity as Nashville’s social scene sometime around 2005, and desirability forced people to seek out nearby neighborhoods such as 12 South, which, with anchors such as Mafioso’s Pizzeria, Halcyon Bicycle Shop and Katy Ks, soon saw revitalization much akin to the one enjoyed by the village for 20 years.

Katy K and the girls of Closet Case

Unfortunately, this continued growth means the very people who made it cool can’t afford to exist in the neighborhood as residents or proprietors. In fact, most of the crowd moved to Nashville’s East Side, a popular haven for entrepreneurial hipsters which is unfortunately suffering the same fate. It’s the same old story you hear all over the country, only we at the Brophisticate have caught it just before sun completely sets on this particular horizon.

Rockabilly, country, bluegrass, gospel, punk, cowpunk, and rock ‘n’ roll all had a home here, and several celebrities—including Dolly Parton—have been longtime fans and patrons. Come celebrate the trailblazing cultural legacy and celebrate the small business that is Katy K’s Designs this Sunday, at the Katy K + Closet Case Vintage Clothing Party at 2407 12th Ave South in Nashville, Tennessee, from 3:00 – 7:00pm, featuring the girls of Music City Burlesque, The Mexican Elvis: El Vez and,of course, Nashville’s mother of burlesque, Katy K herself.