Naomi Sims and the Ivory Bangles by Elsa Peretti

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:

G is For G Spot and Gurley: Helen Gurley Brown

When I was what is now called a 'tween' I started reading Cosmopolitan.  And I was fascinated by all kinds of things a tween should not be fascinated with.  But somehow I felt my future as a fascinating and alluring creature, a femme fatale, irresistible to any man, was to found in the pages of Cosmo.

I won't tell you what kind of femme fatale I may have become from reading Cosmo or how the quest to find the legendary G Spot went - I am a married woman now after all - but Helen Gurley Brown made it all seem possible.  A great job, a great dinner and great sex.

Thank you HGB!!  I will miss seeing you on 57th Street.  You will be a Cosmo Girl Forever!

A few favorite Cosmo covers:

Look what a beauty Renee Russo was (and still is):

Christie Brinkley:

Naomi Sims looking beautiful:

Brooke Shields (my tween idol):

Christy Turlington: