Style Icon of the Week: Diahann Carroll

Style Icon of the Week: Diahann Carroll

I grew up watching Diahann Carroll on Dynasty as the always fabulous and deliciously catty Dominique Deveraux (the half sister of Blake Carrington-yes I remember) .

As a young girl, I looked at this beautiful woman in awe.  Her make up was always fabulous and her clothes were always...luxurious.  As a child, she was my first  glamorous style icon.  (I still mimic her style at times!)

Diahann Carroll represented to me the image of a powerful, strong, yet achingly beautiful Black Woman, which until that point I had not seen. (yes Dynasty was a soap opera, however, a lot of Black Women especially up until that point were usually type cast as less desirable types.)

Today at 77, Diahann is still going strong and as beautiful as ever!

At Lena Hornes Home Funeral

 From Diahann Carrolls Official Website :"Diahann Carroll is the consummate entertainer.  So varied and dynamic are her gifts that she continually astounds fans and critics alike with her versatility and magnetism.  She is one of America's major performing talents appearing in nightclubs, the Broadway stage, a Las Vegas headliner, in motion pictures and television.  Diahann Carroll is a Tony Award winner, an Emmy and Grammy nominee, a Golden Globe winner and a Best Actress Oscar nominee.

Always elegant!

     In April 2006, she debuted her new cabaret show at Feinstein's, New York's prime venue, to sell-out audiences receiving overwhelming reviews.  Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote, "Diahann Carroll is historic.  Experience it while you can.  Her opening number, "Come Rain or Come Shine" erupts out of her like an emotional volcano.  From here on, the lava never stops flowing.  The forceful dramatic immediacy of her performance of "As if We Never Said Goodbye", is second to none.  Throughout the show Ms. Carroll demonstrates her A-to-Z range as a singing actress.  A rip-roaring version of the Sophie Tucker showstopper "Some of These Days" is matched in commitment by its quiet opposite, the break-up song "Where Do I Start?".  The New York Post said "Looking impossibly beautiful for her 70 years, and dressed and coiffed in a manner that would make Norma Desmond (whom she played "Sunset Boulevard") proud, she delivers in a strong voice remarkably unaffected by age, a well-chosen mixture of standards, pop ballads and songs associated with her stage career".

     Her television nominations go back to 1963, and in 1968 Diahann Carroll become the first black actress in television history to star in her own series, "Julia" for NBC, which soared to the top of the Nielsen ratings and received an Emmy nomination in its first year on the air.

Another foulard!

    In 1989 she was nominated for an Emmy Award for the successful NBC-TV series, "A Different World", as outstanding actress in a comedy series.  In 1984 Diahann Carroll become the first black actress to star in the award-winning night-time series "Dynasty", which is still in syndication around the world.

     She had a recurring role in Showtime's hit series "Soul Food", playing the outspoken 'Aunt Ruthie', for which she was nominated twice for a NAACP Image Award.  She guest starred in Lifetime TV's "Strong Medicine" and in NBC-TV's "WHOOPI", playing Whoopi Goldberg's mother.  In 2004 she starred on stage in the musical "Bubbling Brown Sugar" receiving critical acclaim.

     In October of 1995 she starred on stage as 'Norma Desmond' in the Toronto premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical "Sunset Boulevard", staged by director Trevor Nunn and the show's entire original creative team.  Hailed by the press as "the ultimate Norma Desmond", Diahann Carroll played to sell-out crowds and her Canadian cast recording outsold all other recordings of the show.

     Diahann made her Broadway stage debut starring in Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's "House of Flowers" and after seeing her in this production, Richard Rodgers created the Broadway production "No Strings" as a starring vehicle for Miss Carroll, for which she won the Tony Award.  She also starred on Broadway in the award-winning play "Agnes of God".

With JFK

     Her film work includes "Claudine", for which she received a 1974 Best Actress Academy Award nomination, "Carmen Jones", "Paris Blues", "Porgy & Bess", "Hurry Sundown", "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and "Eve's Bayou".

     She is an award-winning actress, a successful entrepreneur, a devoted humanitarian ... indeed Diahann Carroll is a legend."

Indeed she is!

With Brando

Always elegant!  That fur, blouse and skirt are to die for!

Continue Reading

Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada and Why Kreayshawn is an Assault on Hip Hop

Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada and Why Kreayshawn is an Assault on Hip Hop

Crunk Feminist Collective did and excellent piece about Kreayshawn (check them out here) and how her whole image and style (and more importantly music) are an assault on Black Women. (Which I agree wholeheartedly) SO I will leave that topic alone...I will also forget (temporarily) that her sister (which will remain nameless because I do not want to give her any "shine" nor any more publicity) says the n-word more than members of a Ku Klux Klan leader (or more than you would hear at a Tea Party rally, for that matter). I'll forget about that and focus on her style. After all, this is a fashion blog...is it not?

To the left is Kreayshawn's outfit in her Gucci, Gucci song. At first glance, the outfit is cute. Similar to an urban Madonna circa "Borderline", okay, no problem. A lot of kids I see in the metro DC area are (and have been) dressing like this (for a while now) However, reading the blogs whether they be music or fashion oriented, they tout her as the urban Lady Gaga! "Her style is unique", "she's so fashionable", one blog gushed. Really, is she? What makes her style so unique? As a Black woman who was born in the early eighties, I remember my sister and her friends dressing similarly (in the 80's!). Her haircut? Very MC Lyte, and Pepa'ish (from Salt N Pepa) Matter of fact, artists ranging from hip hop to punk have been expressing a similar style of clothes for a good 4 or 5 years now.

My point (or question) is why when a white person imitates "Black urban fashion" that they are the pinnacle of fashion, worthy of a million dollar Def Jam deal, when Black people who dress themselves like that everyday~are largely ignored and ridiculed by society at large for their style of dress? I remember non urban fashionistas ridiculing Pepa for her asymmetrical cut, and I promise you the Source or any other fashion mag wasn't beating down MC Lyte's door to add her to their covers. And while the everyday Black Woman in inner cities and suburbs were the originators of this fashion, they get absolutely no credit for it, much less a record deal, a magazine cover or even a blog shout out!

Maybe my opinions run deeper than just style. I will admit that. But let's call it what it is, a white girl imitating Black culture (which is not new, mind you). She is not extremely fashionable. To me, fashion is supposed to be creative and ORIGINAL! How you rock your Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada is what makes you fashionable...not looking at the runways or what MC Lyte, Salt and Pepa and every other African American woman wears or styles their hair and copy it piece for piece, strand for strand.

Besides Kreayshawn being a mediocre rapper, with an ignorant "sister" who uses the n-word profusely, she is an assault on hip hop lovers, especially Black Women whom love hip hop. She copies our swag, our demeanor, our hair which we are ridiculed for (and called nappy headed hoes by radio hosts who still earn a living, somehow) however, when she does it (or any other white person), she is considered the pinnacle of style. Do you see the hypocrisy? When did not being yourself and a copy cat become cool?

Continue Reading