The Birth of Cool: Style Narratives of the African Diaspora

Description

It is broadly recognized that black style had a clear and profound influence on the history of dress in the twentieth century, with black culture and fashion having long been defined as ‘cool’. Yet despite this high profile, in-depth explorations of the culture and history of style and dress in the African diaspora are a relatively recent area of enquiry. The Birth of Cool asserts that ‘cool’ is seen as an arbiter of presence, and relates how both iconic and ‘ordinary’ black individuals and groups have marked out their lives through the styling of their bodies. Focusing on counter- and sub-cultural contexts, this book investigates the role of dress in the creation and assertion of black identity. From the gardenia corsage worn by Billie Holiday to the work-wear of female African-Jamaican market traders, through to the home-dressmaking of black Britons in the 1960s, and the meaning of a polo-neck jumper as depicted in a 1934 self-portrait by African-American artist Malvin Gray Johnson, this study looks at the ways in which the diaspora experience is expressed through self-image. Spanning the late nineteenth century to the modern day, the book draws on ready-made and homemade fashion, photographs, paintings and films, published and unpublished biographies and letters from Britain, Jamaica, South Africa, and the United States to consider how personal style statements reflect issues of racial and cultural difference. The Birth of Cool is a powerful exploration of how style and dress both initiate and confirm change, and the ways in which they expresses identity and resistance in black culture. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS LIST OF PLATES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION This time it’s personal Cool: an aesthetic of presence across the African diaspora The mechanics of style narratives and the African diaspora: a methodology Style narratives and auto/biography 1 ANGEL IN THE MARKET PLACE: THE AFRICAN-JAMAICAN HIGGLER 1880–1907 The critical draw of the postcard “A Jamaica Lady” The critical possibilities of the postcard “A Jamaica Lady” “A Jamaica Lady”: portraiture, captions and “the intellectual space” of a postcard The emergence of the higgler African-Jamaican higgler style: a study through images Head-portage Headwear Garments Jewellery Furbelow Feet The apron of the African-Jamaican higgler: an accessory to freedom Aston W. Gardner Beasts of burden The styled African-Jamaican higgler: a graphic symbol of colonial discourse 2 “WE ALSO SHOULD WALK IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE”:1 INDIVIDUALIZED HARLEM STYLE OF THE 1930s The Harlem Renaissance: a retelling of newness Couple in Raccoon Coats, with a Cadillac, Taken on West 127th Street, Harlem, New York, 1932 Malvin Gray Johnson An alternative reading of Self-portrait: Myself at Work That sweater Stripes: a trope of meaning Malvin Gray Johnson: an underlined presence Malvin Gray Johnson: sincerely himself Summary: take two portraits about Harlem 3 “ALL OF ME”: BILLIE HOLIDAY Lady Sings the Blues: a sincere self Billie Holiday: a female dandy Billie Holiday: a collage in the making From Eleanora Harris to Billie Holiday: re-naming and self-creation Strange Fruit: a song, a corsage, an awakening Four colors white “Heroin Chic”(k) Beauty nonetheless Billie Holiday: night and day “It’s my hair; I paid for it” Billie Holiday: the classic Summary: existential resonance 4 “MY MAN, LET ME PULL YOUR COAT TO SOMETHING”1: MALCOLM X Epiphany Reading between the lines Talking pictures Dead man walking Summary: Malcolm X, graphically speaking 5 YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND, IT’S A FREEDOM THING: THE STONED CHERRIE–STEVEBIKO T-SHIRT The contributory components of the Stoned-Cherrie–Steve Biko T-shirt It’s a mystery: the fashioned T-shirt Multiple readings of the Stoned Cherrie–Steve Biko T-shirt An alternative reading: the Stoned Cherrie–Steve Biko T-shirt, the centered breath of freedom “Freedom is a road seldom travelled by the multitude” The style narrative of Steve Biko’s face on a T-shirt 6 HERE: THE HAUNTING JOY OF BEING IN ENGLAND Haunting perspectives Joy The archival fragment: a vein of history The academic value of Dr Beryl Gilroy’s letter The gift of a letter “I was ‘bookish,’ but still a heavy dresser”: the letter unpacked “Leaves in the Wind” Style as levitation Mrs Gloria Bennett Style-fashion-dress as “duppy conqueror” CODA NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Plates