The inspiration behind the old-timey atmosphere of Lady Luck Barbers in Evergreen was inspired by a casino and an old sign from a thrift store.  

Owner Brandi Holcomb fondly recalled family trips to Las Vegas and spending nights at the Lady Luck casino downtown. More recently she was perusing through a thrift store in Great Falls when she came across a picture of a pin-up model posed on the front of an airplane that coincidentally read: Lady Luck.  

“It all just came together,” Holcomb, who owns the business, said.  

The walk-in only barber shop located at 1005 E. Idaho St. is open Monday through Saturday to give haircuts, beard trims, hot towel shaves, scalp massages, waxing and coloring. The six-person team serves men, women and children.  

Holcomb has always admired the pin-up aesthetic consisting of red-lips and rosy cheeks that emerged during World War II, often used in military settings to boost soldier morale. 

But she and the rest of the all-female crew at Lady Luck Barbers also appreciate the style’s representation of women empowerment and challenging of societal beauty standards.  

“It was their way of pulling away from that while still maintaining their femininity,” said River Holcomb, Brandi’s daughter and a cosmetologist at the barber shop.  

The business’ slogan is “tired of being manhandled,” Brandi laughed, a nod to the male-dominated profession. 

The pin-up aesthetic is also adored by the shop’s customers, many of whom are older men and veterans. The building is wheelchair accessible.  

“That’s their era,” Brandi said. “We love the fact that a lot of the old-timer community people are coming in here because it’s what’s familiar.”   

Discounts are regularly offered to veterans, teachers and first responders, Brandi said. 

Customers are also turned away from the mirror while getting their hair cut, which is meant to invite socialization.    

BRANDI OPENED her business in May 2019 after completing barber school in Great Falls. While she is currently the only certified barber on the team, all are graduates of Criever’s Academy of Cosmetology in Kalispell and plan on becoming certified barbers.  

Brandi had no intention of opening her own business, but she had grown tired of cutting hair at large corporations and wanted the flexibility that a small shop provides.  

Evergreen provided the perfect environment. She was born and raised in the community and, likes that everybody knows everybody. When the building formerly owned by Montana Barbers went up for rent, she jumped on the opportunity.  

The entire staff grew up in Evergreen and appreciate the freedom and comfortability of working for a locally owned shop. While Brandi runs the building, each cosmetologist is privately contracted.  

“It’s like a family,” Brandi said about the other stylists, two of whom are her daughters. 

“We love our clients. We love what we do. We love coming to work,” she said.  

Traci Miskell is the newest addition to the team. She attended cosmetology school with River and joined Lady Luck Barbers roughly a month ago. Because most are mothers, herself included, Miskell likes that she can set her own schedule.  

“We’re a firm believer that family has to come before this,” Brandi said.  

Miskell got her start in hair care as a kid, cutting her grandfather’s hair with kitchen scissors.  

While she wanted to get into hair care after graduating high school, “my family said going to beauty school is not a real job,” Miskell said.  

So instead, she became a dental assistant. But after her grandfather died in 2020, Miskell walked away from her 20-year career to reconnect with her passion.  

“I decided at that point I was going to school to do what I wanted finally, and for grandpa,” she said. “So he’s up there watching me.” 

The positive impact haircuts have on her customers has kept her from looking back.   

“You’re still making somebody feel good as a dental assistant, but no one wants to be at the dentist,” Miskell said. “People generally are excited to get their hair cut because they’re going to look good after. They’re excited to be here, you’re excited to deliver and the conversations that you have with people, you can just learn a lot about someone in just that little bit of time.”  

While barbering was never Brandi’s original plan, she always valued conversation and connection. That's why she went to college for psychology alongside her daughter and business partner. But when health issues kept her from continuing school, she turned to hair care.  

“I still get to talk to people, it’s just not in the same way that I was going,” Brandi said. “I love what I do.”  

Brandi found that a haircut leaves people in a better mood, much like therapy does. Customers sometimes say they just need a trim as a pick-me-up after a rough day, she said.   

Minimal wait times also keep customers coming through the bright red door, said Thessa Clarke, Brandi’s eldest daughter who helped open the business. Walk-in only appointments also add a level of informality to a haircut that relieves stress.   

“They can just come in, sit down, and then go on with the rest of their day,” Clarke said.  

With minimal staff turnover, customers can also count on their preferred stylist being there, Brandi said.  

“We plan to be here for a long time,” she said.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].

    Lady Luck Barbers in Evergreen on Thursday, Nov. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Tucker Sprigg gets a haircut from Thessa Clarke at Lady Luck Barbers in Evergreen on Thursday, Nov. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Tucker Sprigg gets a haircut from Thessa Clarke at Lady Luck Barbers in Evergreen on Thursday, Nov. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider