In my most recent FASHION FRIDAY/CINEMA COFFEE video chat over at the Coffee House (my YouTube Channel SUBCRIBE HERE), I did a personal story on my grand (on my dad's side) Aunt Bettye Lightsy.
In the discussion (watch in full below), I told the coffee talk group that I'd turn that video into a CINEMA COFFEE write-up piece ... This is that piece.
In the discussion (watch in full below), I told the coffee talk group that I'd turn that video into a CINEMA COFFEE write-up piece ... This is that piece.
Born in 1924, Elizabeth Everett Lightsy, who would go on to have a variation of ways her name was spelled for publication, from Bettie to Betty, from Lightsey to Betty E. Lightsy ... For us, is just Bettye Lightsy. I've come to personally believe these variations to spelling her name in publications were, at times, the fault of the writer/editor of the story written of the time on my Aunt Bettye (always labeled as "Bettye" (and rightfully so) on the back of any publication/publicity stills we have (and there are *many*) of her, with her personal stamp "BETTYE LIGHTSY" of approval to confirm this.)
But why would there be any publications, write-ups, press, or attention paid to my aunt in the first place?? ... Bettye Lightsy, a veteran model herself, was the founder/owner/director of Crest Models Studio or sometimes known and credited as Crest Finishing School or Crest Modelling School ... One of the first Blacks to have her own modeling school in the 11940s and *the* first in Chicago:
As well as ...
Through this trailblazing venture, my aunt was able to blaze through doors not normally open to Blacks at the time. Through her modeling agency, she was able to travel across Europe ... all over the world. Most notably: The fashion capital of the world ... Paris! Also, London, Italy, Jamaica, and Denmark, all throughout the 50's on through to her death in the 70s.
She'd make her first trip abroad in 1953, upon the Queen Mary, where she was given a Bon Voyage party prior, hosted by Lawrence Moorhead, and his wife, at their home. A year, to my eye and research, was a turning point in my aunt's career. More on that in a moment.
She'd make her first trip abroad in 1953, upon the Queen Mary, where she was given a Bon Voyage party prior, hosted by Lawrence Moorhead, and his wife, at their home. A year, to my eye and research, was a turning point in my aunt's career. More on that in a moment.
My aunt came at a time when it was essential to have a platform for Black women, Black girls, to have a voice, a profile, a setting to allow them the opportunity, the chance, the platform to be seen. At a time when, as stated in "Modern Living, What Makes a Good Model?" "only 2,000 Negro girls have successfully entered the field" (a term used at the time in reference to Blacks, as this was 1950s) and where only less than one percent would succeed.
Crest Models Studio, directed by my aunt, provided modeling course that lasted six months at $125, which included your "how to's":
Crest Models Studio, directed by my aunt, provided modeling course that lasted six months at $125, which included your "how to's":
Walk properly
Enter a room Use Make-up Diction Figure Control Hair styling Correct posture How to sit Etiquette Wardrobe care Dieting Exercising Pose for photographers ... And yes, there was graduation! |
As with a thread I started at the beginning of June (and currently, here in July, still threading) on my Twitter account (see Tweet here), highlighting Black pioneers in the entertainment field who are not as well known by some or most, are people I have spotlighted individually in the past for no other reason than because they were here, they made an impact, they opened doors. I.e. Zelda Wynn Valdes, who opened her own boutique in New York on Broadway in 1948 called "Zelda Wynn" before moving adjacent to Carnegie Hall in the 1950s. A designer (and trained musician) who dressed names such as Dorothy Dandridge, Josephine Baker, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, Ruby Dee, Diahann Carroll, Eartha Kitt, taught fashion designing classes to Harlem youth and became the President of the NY chapter of "National Association of Fashion and Accessories Designers" in 1949, which addressed discrimination and racial diversity in the fashion industry.
The same went with my Aunt Bettye's Crest Models Studio. Including charity work, as in 1951, donating her proceeds from Crest Models to the Urban League.
I found over time, some of the same Black trailblazers, and pioneers, in the entertainment industry I've mentioned in my thread and in the past, had an association with my Aunt Bettye directly.
I found over time, some of the same Black trailblazers, and pioneers, in the entertainment industry I've mentioned in my thread and in the past, had an association with my Aunt Bettye directly.
From Vera Green, Cordie King (who was once engaged to Sammy Davis, Jr.), Vivian Prior, Mahalia Jackson, Jesse Owens (in photo), Pauline Green, Johnny Desmond, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Louis Jordan, The Nicholas Brothers (we have a family pride smile about that one), Billy Daniels, who was indeed a special guest of my aunt's at a fashion show in 1952, where he sang "That Old Black Magic." A song, written by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Harold Arlen (music), that I most identify with Louis Prima, but is the song Billy Daniels is most known for!
Billy himself is credited as being one of the first Black performers to have his own radio show (as with singer Maxine Sullivan and her husband, musician John Kirby, credited as being one of the first, at times sourced as being "the first," Blacks to have their own radio show "Flow Gently, Sweet Rhythm," in the 1940s), Billy was also one of the first Black performers to have his own television show (as with Hazel Scott, too, in the 1950s) as well. Other names include Ernie Banks and Maria Cole (Nat King Cole's wife), too a special guest of my aunt's at her December 1952 fashion show at the Bandbox (times captioned as the Band Box), in Chicago, where my aunt would hold quite a few fashion shows and events, and on this particular night, mentioned in the society pages as "wearing a $6,000 mink coat ..." *cue Eartha Kitt* "Cadillac cars, mink coats ... C'est Si Bon!" on a night where they had a parade of 50 models (all Crest) showcasing Fall/Winter wear. And out of the relics from my aunt's mementos I shared in the final BETTYE: THE MINISERIES video is a signed photo of John "Bubble" Sublett to my aunt. The two both from Louisville, KY (as with both sides of my family) would correspond and keep up with one another over the years. |
To watch
bettye: the miniseries:
But, as I mentioned earlier, it was 1953 when things really seemed to hit a peak or a turning point for my aunt. Her institution, her reputation, had developed in a way that expanded her platform further. From broadcasting on Chicago's pioneering broadcasting station WBKB to traveling overseas and would continue to do so over the next two decades.
Amongst the names aforementioned and that I've highlighted in the past on social media, Sara Lou Harris, is one of those names. A pioneer in the field of Black models, being the first Black model to be featured in a national poster campaign in the 1940s for Lucky Strikes, the first Black model featured in the NY Buyers Fashion Show as part of the "Brandford Lovelies," signed to the "Brandford Modeling Agency," she too worked with my aunt, modeling in a fall fashion show in 1954, wearing an Asian influenced piece.
One of many influences my aunt would bring back with her during her time overseas and aboard, was so that "we" could get a first-hand look at what was new, what was in vogue, and what was couture. To know the trends and the styles first-hand, during the time, at the time, in such a quick-paced industry. Even today.
One of many influences my aunt would bring back with her during her time overseas and aboard, was so that "we" could get a first-hand look at what was new, what was in vogue, and what was couture. To know the trends and the styles first-hand, during the time, at the time, in such a quick-paced industry. Even today.
Though I never met my aunt in person, only through photos and stories (she passed away before I was ever born), seeing, learning, and researching her life connects her to me even stronger than the family ties we already have in lineage.
Two of my favorite photos of my aunt are her standing in front of Jacques Fath and another in front of Jacques Griffe (above photos) while in Paris. And one of my favorite pieces on her is from "The New York Age," in the "New York is My Beat" section from 1955 by Alan McMillian, a Black newspaper publication that ran between the window of 1887-1953 (though some source it as ending in 1960), by Blacks, co-founded by former slave Timothy Thomas Fortune, under the headline in an article written about my aunt titled GUYS AND DOLLS! To know me, in real life or through social media, is to know my love affair with GUYS AND DOLLS (1955) (read my CINEMA COFFEE write-up here). The article mentions the results and on-goings of the "Miss Sepia" Contest of 1955, a contest my aunt would frequently sponsor, where the winner and she were off to Paris for two weeks, as was the prize of the contest this particular year.
The Miss Sepia Contest, a pageant dating back to 1931, at times referenced as The Miss Sepia International Contest, was a somewhat "answer" to The Miss America Contest, where Blacks, open to Black Canadians and Black Americans girls, could compete in their own contest, where they weren't "allowed" nor welcomed in The Miss America competition. A contest you can see my aunt sponsoring in several parades!
Two of my favorite photos of my aunt are her standing in front of Jacques Fath and another in front of Jacques Griffe (above photos) while in Paris. And one of my favorite pieces on her is from "The New York Age," in the "New York is My Beat" section from 1955 by Alan McMillian, a Black newspaper publication that ran between the window of 1887-1953 (though some source it as ending in 1960), by Blacks, co-founded by former slave Timothy Thomas Fortune, under the headline in an article written about my aunt titled GUYS AND DOLLS! To know me, in real life or through social media, is to know my love affair with GUYS AND DOLLS (1955) (read my CINEMA COFFEE write-up here). The article mentions the results and on-goings of the "Miss Sepia" Contest of 1955, a contest my aunt would frequently sponsor, where the winner and she were off to Paris for two weeks, as was the prize of the contest this particular year.
The Miss Sepia Contest, a pageant dating back to 1931, at times referenced as The Miss Sepia International Contest, was a somewhat "answer" to The Miss America Contest, where Blacks, open to Black Canadians and Black Americans girls, could compete in their own contest, where they weren't "allowed" nor welcomed in The Miss America competition. A contest you can see my aunt sponsoring in several parades!
As in 1944 via "The Crisis" publication states:
|
The Sepia Miss America Committee of Boston, Massachusetts has launched plans for a nationwide series of contest to select outstanding Negro beauty in the country and crown her Miss Sepia America. The contest will continue through the fall." |
At only 52 years old, however, to me, an age that feels very young, considering the age length in today's time, my aunt passed away at the Provident Hospital in Chicago from a heart attack in 1976.
In spite of a short life, it was a full one. One I thought more people should know about. One I thought you should know about. So, enjoy the FASHION FRIDAY/CINEMA COFFEE video provided above, the photos included in it, and your coffee, with a coffee break on me. Until next time. À bientôt!
For my other CINEMA COFFEE blog pieces:
#ForMyMom Cinema Coffee ... | COFFEE CINEMA: Talking Streetcar | CINEMA COFFEE: "Et tu, Brute?" | CINEMA COFFEE: "La Chocolaterie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Milk? I loathe milk!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Elderberry Wine ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The choice I never had ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The smell of Mimosa" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Mighty like a Rose" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Don't cry on the rolls" | CINEMA COFFEE: "You're the first Kansas I ever met" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Everybody calls me Gracie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "What the devil are Belinskis?!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Hello friends and enemies." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Stop remindin' me of heaven." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Even Gatsby could happen" | CINEMA COFFEE: "I made a wish" | CINEMA COFFEE: Audie Murphy | CINEMA COFFEE: Put The Blame on Mame | CINEMA COFFEE: "Just Singleton." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Where I Come From, Nobody Knows" | Film Therapy: Coping through Cinema | CINEMA COFFEE: Socks fall down | CINEMA COFFEE: "The moon's reaching for me" | CINEMA COFFEE: The Horne: Luso World Cinema Blogathon | CINEMA COFFEE: Aunt Bettye Lightsy | CINEMA COFFEE: I never lose | CINEMA COFFEE: "I have a mother!" | CINEMA COFFEE: THE SIGN OF GEMINI | CINEMA COFFEE: Venus Rising | CINEMA COFFEE: Stan vs Geek | CINEMA COFFEE: "Positively the same dame"
#ForMyMom Cinema Coffee ... | COFFEE CINEMA: Talking Streetcar | CINEMA COFFEE: "Et tu, Brute?" | CINEMA COFFEE: "La Chocolaterie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Milk? I loathe milk!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Elderberry Wine ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The choice I never had ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The smell of Mimosa" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Mighty like a Rose" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Don't cry on the rolls" | CINEMA COFFEE: "You're the first Kansas I ever met" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Everybody calls me Gracie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "What the devil are Belinskis?!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Hello friends and enemies." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Stop remindin' me of heaven." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Even Gatsby could happen" | CINEMA COFFEE: "I made a wish" | CINEMA COFFEE: Audie Murphy | CINEMA COFFEE: Put The Blame on Mame | CINEMA COFFEE: "Just Singleton." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Where I Come From, Nobody Knows" | Film Therapy: Coping through Cinema | CINEMA COFFEE: Socks fall down | CINEMA COFFEE: "The moon's reaching for me" | CINEMA COFFEE: The Horne: Luso World Cinema Blogathon | CINEMA COFFEE: Aunt Bettye Lightsy | CINEMA COFFEE: I never lose | CINEMA COFFEE: "I have a mother!" | CINEMA COFFEE: THE SIGN OF GEMINI | CINEMA COFFEE: Venus Rising | CINEMA COFFEE: Stan vs Geek | CINEMA COFFEE: "Positively the same dame"