Lena Horne
Lena Horne is once, twice, three times a lady, the last of her kind as far as I am concerned. Ultra fem in every sense of the word. She'll be missed. She was a woman that possessed a softness, but also strength, style, and a reserved sex appeal. Lena Horne and women of her generation cannot be duplicated.
Typically, a woman's fashion foundation influences her fashion identity. What were the social norms and etiquette in Horne's generation? Lena Horne was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in June 30, 1917. She entered the world as America entered World War I.
Style bridged the gap between rigid formality, and the Edwardian-belle epoch periods- long narrow lines, Chantilly lace, hemlines were ankle length, satin charmeuse, bonnets with ostrich feathers.
Manhattan emerged as the world's financial center, the middle class flowered, women suffragist gained the right to vote, moral norms began to shift, Americans experienced the start of the depression, thirty- six black American are known to have been lynched in 1917, and racial etiquette was dictated by Jim Crow laws. Thousands of African American women marched down Manhattan's fifth Ave. July 28, 1917 protesting, lynching race riots, and the denial of rights, and they accomplished this all while wearing oose buckled pumps.
By far women of my generation have had a much easier a time of it, yet we suffer a loss of overt sophisticated femininity, we save it for special occasions, like weddings. It is kept alive only by drag queens, and a few designers- Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Oscar de la Renta.
We seem to be merging with that of men in etiquette. Fashion is somewhat androgynous- strong male influence and minimal feminine. Sexual ambiguity is dominant.
Lost are the social and style mores of the epoch of women's fashion that exemplified femininity, the 40s an era that successfully merged femininity and practicality. Many fashion historians argue that during the 1940s women's fashion began to lose it softness; I beg to differ, emphasized were padded shoulders which created the appearance of narrow waist lines.
It was an era when women never left the home without face powder that was lighter than normal skin lending a rosy hue, rouge with pink or fuchsia undertones, pink nails, and lips that were full and soft in shades of red. Today women never leave the house without their mobile phones, condoms, mints, and taking the pill.
I urge you to revisit the Lena Horne in you. In the Chanel Spring 2010 RTW line created by Karl Lagerfeld, he channels aspects of modern femininity. Featured were tweed jackets, with padded shoulders, laced billowy skirts, cinched waists, and floral prints.
Diane Von Furstenberg featured oversized bows worn in hair. The collection was a happy mix of florals, and vivid colors like banana yellow and Mediterranean blue, and a bit of graphic animal prints. Also featured was a one-shoulder tropical look.
Take a creative step backwards visiting the fashion contributions of our foremothers.
Monica Staton is owner of Body Language - http://www.monicasbodylanguage.com. My philosophy involves being emotionally excited about fitness and fashion.
I help to minimize figure flaws, conceal them, or both. I am a skilled personal trainer, and style consultant; I bring a high level of enthusiasm to both disciplines. I have studied fashion design at Columbia College Chicago, and I am an Ace Certified Personal Trainer specializing in strength training. I currently write a monthly news-letter "Form follows Fashion," which specifically relates to physical fitness, and fashion well-being.
I am flexible, fashionable, open, receptive, intuitive about my client's physical needs, and personal tastes.
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