Style Icon of the Week: Brooklyns' Own Ms. Lena Horne

Style Icon of the Week: Brooklyns' Own Ms. Lena Horne

It's been two years since Ms. Lena Horne passed away, but her image, style and grace have yet faded from our memory.

Born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, NY (Bed-Stuy), she would grow to become a famous actress, singer and civil rights activist.

Lena Horne was raised by her mother, an actress, and then by her grandmother, Cora Calhoun Horne, who took Lena to the NAACP, the Urban League and the Ethical Culture Society, all centers in that time of activism. Cora Calhoun Horne sent Lena to the Ethical Culture school in New York.

At age 16 Lena began working at Harlem's Cotton Club, first as a dancer, then in the chorus and later as a solo singer.  Lena then went on to work as a dancer and singer for Noble Sissles's orchestra, gaining popularity with both black and white audiences, though in keeping with the racial status quo of the '30s, she was denied entrance to all-white facilities and hotels in most of the cities where she headlined on stage. Following her film in The Duke is Tops (1939), Lena was signed as a specialty performer by MGM Studios.

In most of her film appearances, Lena would sing in a sequence separate from the plot line and her white costars, so that her scenes could be edited out when shown in certain Southern theatres. She managed to survive on these terms and even won leading roles in two major-studio feature films, Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Stormy Weather (1943) - both of which had all-black casts. Hollywood's attitude towards African-Americans in the '40s was slightly better than in the '30s, but producers still treaded very slowly and cautiously: Lena was allowed romantic interests in her two starring films, but her leading men were middle-aged comedians and dancers like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Dooley Wilson, and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. Additionally, Lena was allowed to be sexy but not too sexy, her most erotic scene in Cabin in the Sky, wherein she was discreetly "nude" in a bubble bath (the bubbles providing censor-proof camouflage) was removed from the film, not to be seen in public until shown in the 1994 compilation That's Still Entertainment.

 Lena's career suffered in the '50s, when she had difficulty securing TV work not only because of her race but also because of her friendship with Paul Robeson, the famed black singer who'd embraced Communism. Eventually talent won out over ideology, and Lena starred on Broadway in Jamaka in 1957, following this personal triumph with numerous media and live performances. In 1969, Horne returned to films in Death of a Gunfighter. Still beautiful and in terrific voice, Horne went strong into the '90s, attaining the rare status of Living Legend.

She died in 2010 at the age of 92.

At 90, she gave us younger women a run for our money!

Besides being a legendary performer and activist, Lena also was a style icon. Lena wore outfits and gowns that accentuated her small waist and shapely legs.  Her makeup was subtle, yet beautiful and she chose accessories that added pizzaz to the piece not overwhelmed them.


The beautiful Ms. Lena Horne was a true star. She had grace and style...and a look that was undeniably her own.

Foulards!

Beautiful makeup!

Beyonce wears this same silhouette often!

Her gloves are to die for!