The Way We Wore

In The Way We Wore: Black Style Then, Michael McCollom chronicles African-Americans fashion from the 1940s through today. Featuring snapshots of over 150 black men and women's most unforgettable "style moments", the book includes personal photographs taken from the author's own family and circle of friends including Oprah Winfrey, James Baldwin, Iman, Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Tracy Reese, Patrick Kelly, Kimora Lee, Bobby Short, Bethann Hardison, and Portia LaBeija, among countless others. From brides glowing in white dresses to bachelors in bell-bottoms, these photographs encompass the tremendous variety of fashions begun by the African-American community and guided international fashion culture. Some outfits are dynamic and outrageous--elaborate hairstyles and chunky shoes, enormous earrings and funky glasses--yet their wearers' vitality and pride leap from the page. Other styles are striking in their elegance and composure. World War II servicemen in their uniforms, women in haute couture gowns, children dressed for Sunday morning church service; gorgeous shots like these transcend fads, engendering the book with a sense of heritage and history befitting the legacy of African-American style and culture. The Way We Wore is both a marvelous journey from Harlem Renaissance to Hip-Hop, the celebration of the innovative and captivating history of African-American fashion over the past century.