9/09 Vogue: Beverly Johnson Takes a Trip Down Memory Lane

In the new issue of Vogue, former top model Beverly Johnson recounts her experience as American Vogue's first black covergirl.

i-D September 2009 : Arlenis, Chanel, Jourdan, Sessilee by Emma Summerton

s: TFS

I love this cover and wonder if this was the shoot Chanel Iman twittered about awhile back. They look like Robert Palmer girls sans instruments.

What struck me about the image at first was that their skin wasn't bleached out with lighting effects. I think the bright makeup and background color are all the contrast that was needed.

What say you?

Where Did All My Free Time Go?

As of last Friday, I have a new employer and it turns out that he hates when I'm on the computer instead of paying attention to him. We're both healthy and happy and doing well at home :)

There probably won't be much activity on the blog until we are settled into a new routine. In the meantime, I invite you to read the blogs linked on the right hand side of this page. Thanks for reading!

Brigitte

Harper's Bazaar - 9/09 - Naomi Photographed by Jean-Paul Goude

Fresh off the heels of the commentary surrounding the Jean-Paul Goude homage (featuring Amber Rose) in Complex magazine comes this editorial by the photographer himself in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar. Goude makes no bones about his very narrow view of black women and "jungle fever" so I guess a spread featuring Naomi dressed in skins, jump roping with monkeys and running with a cheetah isn't exactly a surprise but it sure is disappointing.

source

RIP Naomi Sims (March 30, 1949 - August 1, 2009)

Naomi Sims, arguably the first black "supermodel" and businesswoman passed away from cancer on Saturday at her home in New Jersey. If ever there was a self-made woman, Naomi was it. She overcame a difficult childhood which included the divorce of her parents, an absentee father, and several stints in foster care to become on of the most recognizable black women in the 1960s and 70s. Undeterred by agencies and designers that refused to hire the beauty, she forced down doors in the fashion industry. She sent photos of herself to dozens and dozens of ad agencies and created demand for herself. After she gave up modeling, she had a successful career producing a line of wigs, writing books, and even launching her own skincare line (which was incidentally, the first that I ever purchased from Nordstroms right before I left home for college.) She is survived by her son.

NYT Obit

Fern Mitchell Biography on Ms. Sims