Stop Appropriating Swag/Wear Black Lipstick
This evening I attended a talk at the Apollo on Black women, style and politics. It brought up a lot of poignant aspects of fashion and style both in the past as well as the present with ideas to make the future better. The panel for the discussion was made up of amazing women: Tanisha C. Ford, Nichelle Gainer, and Janel Martinez, all moderated by Salamishah Tillet (my professor for this last semester in case you were wondering).
One of the major themes was erasure. The fact that Black women are emulated in all sorts of fashion trends, styles and aesthetics, while we are rarely, if ever credited. Where are the receipts? Well, they're everywhere. One on a major platform that took place last year was the inspiration behind Lupita Nyong'o's conical 'do at the Met Gala last year. The general public attributed the style to Audrey Hepburn but Black twitter, and Nyong'o herself, quickly corrected them as the style was an homage to Nina Simone. This is one of a myriad of public and private erasures of the style of Black women.
Another topic discussed was the ways Black women learn their style. Not all of us have the means to purchase distressed Rag and Bone jeans or a prim Chanel suit or an electric blue $2145 Balenciaga bag that strangely resembles the $1 ones at IKEA... (if you know about this, you need to see this). You work with what you have and take inspiration where you can find it and then 2, 3, 6 months later, you see a celebrity wearing a $750 version and you wonder why the didn't just ask you about it instead of recommending the public "check out this new style". Inspiration for these styles can come from literally anywhere. As the panelists we're discussing when they first got inspired by black female style, I started thinking about where I pull inspiration from and what and whose styles shaped and continue to shape how I attire myself now. Female family members were every one of the four panelists answer and mine follows suit. My mother will always be a style maven to me. Her style progression has taken wing since her youth and she's gone so far as to bequeath her vintage 70s and 80s blazers to me. She and my father both always told me to make sure I looked nice. They value nice clothing and arriving to their desired destinations looking as though they thought about it beforehand. And yes, while I do also pull inspiration from my beautiful friends and Instagram and people I see on the street, my mother specifically continues to inspire and coax me to try things I might not otherwise try. I'm blessed to have her.
One panelist, Tanisha C. Ford said, "Black people have never been able to move through the world without thinking about what we're wearing," and I feel this to be so incredibly true. In trying new things you have to be willing to step out of the box and wear things people don't expect you to. When you walk into a room as a stylishly dressed Black woman, own it. Own everything about it. Being Black. Being a woman. Being stylish. Being unexpected. The fascination and surprised reactions that come with, for example, donning black lipstick never cease to amaze me. Personally, I find it entertaining. Mostly because I always put on lipstick then completely forget I have it on and wonder why people are peering at my face and my lips, their eyes slightly widened with curiosity and a little wonder.
This leads to another important aspect of Black women and style, that of a spirit of innovation, creativity, and transgression of the original designs NOT made for black women. Who do you really think they had in mind when black lipstick was created? Pale white girls who's lips would stand out in stark contrast to the coal hues they shaded their lips with. Now think about how much more surprising it is when you see a Black girl walking down the trees wearing it. It instantaneously elevates any look while transgressing the original "audience" the look was created for. Black women are some of the most stylishly inclined, creative forces the fashion industry over-appropriates and under-utilizes. If only credit would be given where credit was due.
So if you want to wear black lipstick, you go ahead and wear black lipstick. Daily, if you so desire. If you want to wear a jumpsuit that was designed for a girl with no hips which is not something that describes your body shape, honey you rock that jumpsuit and transform perceptions about what black women can wear (everything) and cannot wear (nothing). It's your world. In closing, key takeaways from this fabulously black and stylish evening are as follows:
One of the major themes was erasure. The fact that Black women are emulated in all sorts of fashion trends, styles and aesthetics, while we are rarely, if ever credited. Where are the receipts? Well, they're everywhere. One on a major platform that took place last year was the inspiration behind Lupita Nyong'o's conical 'do at the Met Gala last year. The general public attributed the style to Audrey Hepburn but Black twitter, and Nyong'o herself, quickly corrected them as the style was an homage to Nina Simone. This is one of a myriad of public and private erasures of the style of Black women.
Another topic discussed was the ways Black women learn their style. Not all of us have the means to purchase distressed Rag and Bone jeans or a prim Chanel suit or an electric blue $2145 Balenciaga bag that strangely resembles the $1 ones at IKEA... (if you know about this, you need to see this). You work with what you have and take inspiration where you can find it and then 2, 3, 6 months later, you see a celebrity wearing a $750 version and you wonder why the didn't just ask you about it instead of recommending the public "check out this new style". Inspiration for these styles can come from literally anywhere. As the panelists we're discussing when they first got inspired by black female style, I started thinking about where I pull inspiration from and what and whose styles shaped and continue to shape how I attire myself now. Female family members were every one of the four panelists answer and mine follows suit. My mother will always be a style maven to me. Her style progression has taken wing since her youth and she's gone so far as to bequeath her vintage 70s and 80s blazers to me. She and my father both always told me to make sure I looked nice. They value nice clothing and arriving to their desired destinations looking as though they thought about it beforehand. And yes, while I do also pull inspiration from my beautiful friends and Instagram and people I see on the street, my mother specifically continues to inspire and coax me to try things I might not otherwise try. I'm blessed to have her.
One panelist, Tanisha C. Ford said, "Black people have never been able to move through the world without thinking about what we're wearing," and I feel this to be so incredibly true. In trying new things you have to be willing to step out of the box and wear things people don't expect you to. When you walk into a room as a stylishly dressed Black woman, own it. Own everything about it. Being Black. Being a woman. Being stylish. Being unexpected. The fascination and surprised reactions that come with, for example, donning black lipstick never cease to amaze me. Personally, I find it entertaining. Mostly because I always put on lipstick then completely forget I have it on and wonder why people are peering at my face and my lips, their eyes slightly widened with curiosity and a little wonder.
This leads to another important aspect of Black women and style, that of a spirit of innovation, creativity, and transgression of the original designs NOT made for black women. Who do you really think they had in mind when black lipstick was created? Pale white girls who's lips would stand out in stark contrast to the coal hues they shaded their lips with. Now think about how much more surprising it is when you see a Black girl walking down the trees wearing it. It instantaneously elevates any look while transgressing the original "audience" the look was created for. Black women are some of the most stylishly inclined, creative forces the fashion industry over-appropriates and under-utilizes. If only credit would be given where credit was due.
So if you want to wear black lipstick, you go ahead and wear black lipstick. Daily, if you so desire. If you want to wear a jumpsuit that was designed for a girl with no hips which is not something that describes your body shape, honey you rock that jumpsuit and transform perceptions about what black women can wear (everything) and cannot wear (nothing). It's your world. In closing, key takeaways from this fabulously black and stylish evening are as follows:
- Know your sources. Know where your clothes come from and what happens to them when they're discarded
- Do not appropriate. Respect the culture behind the clothes at all costs and call out those who steal ideas. Give credit where credit is due
- Don't be afraid to try new hinge just because you don't think they were "meant for you". So what if they weren't. Wear them anyway
- Stay stylish
- Stay inspired
- Stay unconventional
- Stay creative
- Stay unapologetic
- Stay Black
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