Before there was Naomi Campbell, there was Naomi Sims. She was the first black model to be featured on a cover of a mainstream magazine and her career helped pave the way for models like Pat Cleveland and Alva Chinn.
"Naomi was the first," said Halston. "She was the great ambassador for black people. She broke down all the social barriers."
Look how striking and beautiful she is in this photo (if you can imagine, she was turned down by many modeling agencies originally for being too dark skinned):
What I also love in this photo are her Elsa Peretti ivory flat ivory bangles. So I was thrilled to recently acquire for RARE vintage a similar flat ivory bangle. This wafer thin bangle can also be worn as a pendant.
c1970 Elsa Peretti Ivory Bangle available at RARE vintage.
Here is another fab photo of Naomi Sims wearing the bangles:
I think before Naomi Sims there was Billie Blair.
ReplyDeleteBillie Blair was at a lunch I went to at the Met Museum celebrating the models at the Versailles 73 show - such an amazing group of women!
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