First off, welcome back! And second, HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH! We hope February has been treating all of you very well, but before this month comes to an end, I wanted to give a little recognition to the African American women who did everything before us. If you’re ‘just a girl’ like us (Siri play “Just a girl” by "No Doubt”), then you're more than likely interested in all the things pertaining to beauty, starting all the way up from hair care, down to finding the perfect color for your pedicure. In this post, we are going to go over a little history that you may have or may have not known about the contribution Black women have made towards the beauty and fashion industry.
For starters, we have to begin with Madam C.J. Walker, who was born in 1867 and whose birth name was Sarah Breedlove. It is known that Madam C.J. Walker was the first African American self-made millionaire who customized a hair care line dedicated to other African American women. This resulted when Madam C.J. Walker herself came across issues dealing with her own hair. Like other women back then, Walker started to experience hair loss, which could’ve been due to stress, the harsh soaps that were used back then, and amongst other things. Madam C.J. Walker took the time to educate herself on what would be beneficial not only to her but other black women as well. Walker came up with a line of hair products that consisted of a hair grower, shampoo, glossine, and hot combs. Madam C.J. Walker took pride in the health of her hair and appearance and wanted to create products that made black women not only look but feel their best.
Now, is this a safe space? (Most definitely is!) but growing up I wanted to be a playboy bunny. Remember this is a safe space so no judging! But after seeing Elle Woods in that iconic pink playboy bunny costume only fueled my desire even more. I mean the fitted corset, the sexy pantyhose, the innocent bunny ears, and the bowtie and cuffs oozed sex appeal. I knew I wanted to recreate this look one day, but what I didn’t know at first was that the playboy costume was created and designed by Zelda Wynn Valdes. Zelda Wynn Valdes was born in 1905 in Pennsylvania, and soon later Zelda would be the first African American designer to open her own boutique and the first African American owned business on Broadway in New York City. Zelda Wynn Valdes designed outfits for many influential black women like Eartha Kitt, Dorthy Danridge, and Josephine Baker to just name a few. During the 1960’s Zelda was commissioned by Hugh Heifner the founder of the Playboy magazine to create a uniform for the waitresses, thus the playboy bunny attire was born. Zelda became a trailblazer and made her pieces very fitted to show each woman unique curves and body type and wanted the women wearing her designs to feel confident and beautiful.
Last, but definitely not least we have to acknowledge Fashion Fair, founded in 1973 by Eunice Johnson. Eunice Johnson was born in 1916 in Alabama. Now, I know some of you are probably familiar with Ebony magazine, if not, Ebony magazine was founded by Eunice Johnson's husband John H. Jonhson, in which Eunice came up with naming the magazine ‘Ebony’ after the dark wood. With an already known name and with two successful magazines under her belt, Eunice assisted in producing a fashion show to fund money for a hospital in New Orleans. Many beautiful African American models graced the runway showcasing many different designers. However, Eunice noticed how difficult it was to match the makeup towards the darker models and how challenging it was to even find makeup that would even compliment their skin.
Eunice admitted that she typically had to mix other makeup products together to match the various skin tones the models presented, as the makeup was pretty uniform. With experiencing these mishaps Eunice had the idea to start Fashion Fair Cosmetics, where African American women can have the experience of buying makeup cosmetics that will be flattering and suitable for their skin tone. Fashion Fair Cosmetics began to set the trend and the tone for all makeup brands to follow suit and be more inclusive.
Sidenote when doing research about Fashion Fair it reminded me about Fenty Beauty by Rihanna (Sis where's the album??). When Fenty was first released and showcased the various amounts of shades and proved how inclusive makeup brands could be, other makeup brands started scrambling!
Nonetheless, there are so many more black women that have done a lot for the beauty and fashion community and left so many doors open for women who look like them to follow suit. So, for that we thank them, and we thank those who have a vision and have ideas who want to contribute so much more to the industry.
Again, HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH! And finish February with a bang!