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How Black Women Invented Glamour

Before there was the Met Gala, these women redefined fashion.

Shae O.

May 6

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This year, the Met Gala drew inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s Slaves to Fashion, a brilliant study of Black dandyism—how style became both armor and art in the lives of Black creatives.

But as celebrities floated up the museum steps in florals, gloves, and high drama, I couldn't stop thinking:

Black women didn’t just participate in this aesthetic tradition. They built it.

And far too many of their names are still left out of the story.

Hi—I’m Shae, a historian and Harvard PhD candidate. Last year, I created the 100 Historic Black Women You Should Know By Election Day series to recover these stories and make them impossible to ignore. But today, I want to take you behind the scenes of fashion history—with a lens the Met Gala rarely centers:

What if the true architects of Black dandyism never got an invitation to the Met—but showed up anyway, every day, in the way they moved through the world?

Let’s walk back down that blue carpet, this time with a different guest list.

1. Ann Lowe – The Hidden Designer Behind American Royalty
Before "quiet luxury" was a trend, it was survival for Ann Lowe. A Black woman born in Alabama in 1898, Lowe designed the most important gown in American history—Jackie Kennedy's wedding dress. She was erased from the story almost instantly. But her insistence on craftsmanship, lineage, and silhouette makes her a spiritual godmother to every Met Gala moment with a hint of legacy.
Ann Lowe didn’t need a theme. She was the blueprint.

2. Elizabeth Keckley – From Enslavement to White House Couturière
Born enslaved, Keckley bought her freedom and became Mary Todd Lincoln’s personal dressmaker and confidante. Her memoir detailed her life and labor in a world where Black women’s fashioning skills were currency. Her high Victorian style—pleated gowns, voluminous skirts, rich satins—predates today’s gala gowns by more than a century.
Imagine what she would have made of the Met carpet… and who she would have dressed.

3. Madame Sara Spencer Washington – Beauty Empire Builder
In the 1920s, this millionaire founder of Apex Beauty Products built a haircare empire, trained thousands of Black beauticians, and hosted high-style graduations in custom gowns and capes. Her aesthetic philosophy was grounded in pride and self-determination, not spectacle.
Washington knew glamour wasn’t frivolous. It was strategic.

4. Zelda Wynn Valdes – Glamour With Intent
She designed for Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt—and created the original Playboy Bunny costume. But her full-skirted gowns, cinched waists, and fearless use of color pushed against white-centered ideas of elegance. Her work laid the visual groundwork for the kind of joyful extravagance we now see celebrated at the Met.
If you saw curves on the carpet this year, thank Zelda.

If this perspective resonates with you, I invite you to explore this video I just dropped.

No Longer Footnotes

No Longer Footnotes is my new digital workbook sharing the wisdom and insights of historic black women for modern audiences. With this workbook, you’ll be able to apply the life lessons of historic black women such as:

how to deal with betrayal
pursuing joy in the midst of chaos
how to take a stand when the majority are going with the flow.

Pre-Order Now

With care,

Shae

Shae the Historian is a free newsletter created to make historical knowledge as accessible as possible. Therefore, I do not have paid subscriptions turned on. To support this publication and my work, consider buying me a coffee using the link below. Otherwise, sharing this with someone costs nothing!

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