Miles of Style: Eunice W. Johnson and the Ebony Fashion Fair
by Lisa D Brathwaite (Author) Lynn Gaines (Illustrator)
A chic biography about Eunice W. Johnson who brought elegant and contemporary fashion to Black America through the annual EBONY Fashion Fair!
Eunice W. Johnson believed in the power of fashion and beauty to inspire people. After she and her husband, John H. Johnson, founded EBONY magazine, it quickly became the premiere lifestyle publication for mid-century Black readers. Among the many hats she wore, Eunice delighted in writing a fashion column describing the latest styles.
In 1958, Eunice launched a project that would change fashion forever--the EBONY Fashion Fair. In towns and cities across the United States, Black models walked the runway in the freshest trends that season and Black attendees got to see people who looked like them in bright colors and haute couture.
To make the Fashion Fair happen every year, Eunice negotiated with snobby fashion houses in Europe and navigated racism back home in the US, to acquire the most show-stopping styles for her show. Decades later, her name remains a watchword for glamour and elegance in the Black community. Winner of Lee & Low's New Voices award, Miles of Style celebrates a visionary who used her influence to showcase the strength and beauty of the Black community.
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Publishers Weekly
This fashion-forward chronicle of the life of entrepreneur Eunice W. Johnson (1916-2010) begins with her Selma, Ala., childhood in an elegant home, where "she grew up believing that beauty and dignity were things everyone should experience." Later, the gifted seamstress designed clothes for her father and won local sewing contests; eventually, alongside her husband, she published Ebony, a magazine "filled with articles... that celebrated Black life, culture, and achievements." In 1958, the Ebony Fashion Fair was established to raise money for a hospital by showing stylish clothing on Black models. Soon, Braithwaite writes, the event becomes a traveling fashion show that continues until 2009, crisscrossing an often inhospitable America and raising tens of millions to benefit varied causes, all under Johnson's direction. From fashion sketches to runway views, Gaines supplies digital illustrations with an elaborate fashion-plate feel. Back matter includes an author's note. Ages 6-11. (Feb.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
"Brathwaite's wonderfully researched picture-book biography introduces elementary audiences to the impressive life and achievements of Eunice W. Johnson, a pioneer of Black fashion and cofounder of EBONY magazine. . .Gaines fills the pages from top to bottom with color, pattern, and texture—well suited to the topic at hand." — Booklist
"[A] fashion-forward chronicle of the life of entrepreneur Eunice W. Johnson...From fashion sketches to runway views, Gaines supplies digital illustrations with an elaborate fashion-plate feel." — Publishers Weekly
Lisa D. Brathwaite is a purveyor of creative self-expression. She loves playing dress-up (still!), her family, finding herself in art spaces, and writing whatever suits her in a given moment. Miles of Style: Eunice W. Johnson and the EBONY Fashion Fair is her debut children's book. Lisa studied family and community development at the University of Maryland at College Park, graduating with a degree in Community Studies and a concentration in public policy and the Black community. She is a New Jersey native and has been designing her adult life in Atlanta, GA. Find out more at lisadbrathwaite.com.
Lynn Gaines loves creating characters, storytelling, and picture making. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, she spent her childhood drawing and making doll clothes--following in her mother's footsteps, as she was an artist and seamstress herself. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, Gaines has been illustrating for more than thirty years. When she's not working, she is looking for a beach, baking, sewing, or roller skating! She lives in Cleveland with her husband, Mel, and her two fur kids, Harry and Charlie.
African Americans
United States
20th century
Clothing and dress
Fashion
Clothing
Fashion designers
Women fashion designers
African American fashion designers
Johnson, Eunice Walker
Ebony (Chicago, Ill.)
