I’d go to any number of bookstores and you’d see awesome books with Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and some of the great socialites like Babe Paley. I came up with the idea because I love coffee table books. I conceived Vintage Black Glamour in 20005 as the coffee table book that it would be.

Nichelle Gainer: I started the Tumblr site to generate interest for what I always knew would be a book. We caught up with Gainer to ask what the book and the vision were all about.ī: What gave you the idea for Vintage Black Glamour in the first place? In June, Essential World/Rocket 88 Books will publish her dream come true – a book that proves that style, fashion and sophistication are also a significant part of our history. There’s musician Valaida Snow in 1930s London, conducting a white orchestra in thrall to her Dandridge in the 1950s, striking a pose while her Russian instructor positions her foot Aretha Franklin backstage in Newark in 1969, eyeliner in one hand, fag in the other.Gainer’s intent was always to create a lavish coffee table book to showcase that history and that has come to pass. It begins with an 1891 picture of French horsewoman Selika Lazevski, and ends in 1981 with Sister Sledge. Vintage Black Glamour, a hefty, handsome new coffee-table book, is full of such stories, with photographs of those shunned by the spotlight, as well as idiosyncratic, unseen shots of those who weren’t. Gainer in concise biographies and sharp observations - that remind us of the urgency of this self-construction for these women. It resonates with stunning images, highlighting sumptuous clothes, meticulous makeup and hair, and seductive poses that establish these women as entertainment, business and fashion icons.īut it is the stories behind these photographs - provided by Ms.

The book demonstrates the complex ways celebrities construct themselves for the camera and, ultimately, for the public they want to attract. Vintage Black Glamour uses elegance as a tool for social commentary: By focusing the personal and professional accomplishments of her subjects, and providing plenty of context, Gainer has turned what could have easily been a bourgeois manifesto into a meaningful project.

Nichelle gainer