A look into the dazzling LSU Golden Girls and Tiger Girls
The shimmer of a completely bedazzled cargo pant. The way the color white contrasts with the grass of a football field. The subtle nods to Louisiana iconography. When it comes to the costumes that outfit LSU’s Golden Girls and Tiger Girls, intentionality is always at their rhinestoned cores. And it all starts with their creators.
In recent years, the two dance teams have increasingly turned to fellow Tigers for the development and creation of their iconic looks. There was the 2018 redesign of the Golden Girls’ uniforms by former Golden Girl and New Orleans fashion designer Suzanne Perron St. Paul. And in 2024, the Tiger Girls started their partnership with LSU alum Jaime Glas Odom, aka the Queen of Sparkles, with costumes for that year’s UDA National Championship-winning performance.
“Costumes are the first things people see,” Tiger Girls head coach Kandace Hale says. “They have to flow without being too distracting, and getting them right takes a lot of trial and error.”
LSU’s dance teams—and their memorable costumes—trace their origins back to the establishment of the Golden Girls’ predecessor, the Ballet Corps, in 1959. In 1965, the team pivoted to the name that is known and loved today, thanks to the moniker “the glittering girls of gold.” In the years since, the Golden Girls’ uniforms have seen many iterations. From sparkling gold skirts paired with heeled boots to sequined leg warmers and statement shoulder pads, styles have changed with the times.
The same can be said for the Tiger Girls, with the team entering its 29th season this year. However, while some trends might be well past their prime, this lengthy history serves as inspiration and an invaluable resource whenever new uniforms or costumes are created.
Good as Gold
“We hadn’t done a uniform redesign in many years, and we knew we were ready for something new,” Golden Girls head coach Blair Guillaume says of the 2018 redesign. “But we also knew we wanted to keep with tradition.”
St. Paul was the first and only choice, according to Guillaume, when it came to the reimagining of the Golden Girls’ uniforms. “We didn’t even think of anyone else,” Guillaume says. St. Paul served as a member of the dance team in the late 1980s and early 1990s, prior to launching her fashion design career through work with renowned brands like Carolina Herrera, Anna Sui and Vera Wang. Back in Louisiana and now under her own name, St. Paul was approached first by fellow Golden Girls alum Kim Dodd in 2018 for the project.
“I was really excited,” St. Paul says, and she was especially eager to make changes to features like painful sequin placement. “I knew I wanted a lot of gold, but I also knew the uniforms needed to stay white.”
Noticing the impact of white versus gold the first time she sat opposite the band at an LSU home game, St. Paul says she couldn’t deny that while gold was the more logical choice given the team’s name, white is more striking.
“I also knew we had to have a fleur-de-lis, but I wanted one that was just for them,” St. Paul says, noting that the imagery had become a Golden Girls staple over the previous decade. “Something that felt unique and different.”
Working from Guillaume’s request of updated stones and a timeless leotard look, St. Paul spent months perfecting the design with the help of her team and even her parents. Stretching fabrics and working out the best materials for 10-hour wears in extreme heat, the process was all about the little details, down to the hand placement of each rhinestone.
When the Golden Girls finally took the field for their first game of the 2018 season at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, St. Paul says she “about fell over” when she spotted her uniform design on the big screen while watching the game at home with friends and family.
“That first year, it was a lot of work by hand and a huge amount of time that went into each one,” St. Paul recalls, adding that now the team’s uniforms are produced by Baton Rouge-based Jen5 Designs. “It was so special to see them on the field for that first game, and it’s still fun to see little girls wearing their own versions now.”
Dancing Queen
While Queen of Sparkles Jaime Glas Odom is not a former member of the Tiger Girls, her love for LSU runs deep. Named as one of this year’s Distinguished Alumni, Odom is not just an LSU graduate but a dedicated member of the LSU community, working with various departments for the betterment of the university and its programs. This love for the school, paired with her status as a popular designer specializing in the type of sparkling creations that seem made for the floor of a dance competition, made Odom an obvious choice for a collaboration with the Tiger Girls.
“Jaime had just done something with athletics, maybe a blinged-out jacket for someone, and it made us think to reach out to her,” Hale says, noting that she had been working on the team’s Michael Jackson-themed “Smooth Criminal” costumes with little luck. “She was immediately in, and from the very beginning, we knew it was the perfect fit.”
With what Hale says is one of the most diverse collegiate dance teams, finding a costume that fits every member perfectly is no small feat. Through a three to four-month process, Hale and Odom work together to perfect a vision. Starting with a Canva inspiration board created by Hale and her team, the costumes slowly come to life, with special attention paid to the needs of the dancers and to each movement in a given routine’s choreography.
“We do a lot of filming throughout the process,” Hale says. “We always dance in the costumes when we get them because it is really important how they move. You want to be able to see all of the moves and choreography—it has to be visual.”
It’s not always functionality that wins out, though. For example, the Kendrick Lamar-themed costumes from last year’s UDA competition featured multiple layers and 6½-lb. cargo pants. “Most of the stuff Jaime makes for us is actual stones, not sequins,” Hale says. “It gets heavy.”
But according to Hale, it’s worth all the extra practice and her own loss of sleep as she pores over each tiny detail.
“Our choreographers say they always feel bad for the other teams because we are the best dressed,” Hale says with a laugh. “Jaime is such a fan of us, and we’re huge fans of her. It’s such an honor to be able to work with her.”
One for the Books
Long after a football season’s conclusion or the trophy ceremony of a competition, the creations of these local designers will stand as a testament to the commitment and love of the alumni who brought them to life. With each new season, costume and uniform, these alumni, coaches and teams are adding their own chapters to the rich history of LSU and establishing a legacy that will shape the way LSU’s dance teams continue into the future. They are creating the source material for the next generation of Tigers, and they are safeguarding the traditions that make LSU great.
This article was originally published in 225 Magazine’s 2026 Tiger Pride edition.
