Sometimes a post idea for Darkjive happens organically: the intersection of various occurrences in my life make it clear that I MUST post about something in particular.

In this case, “Mahogany” started out as a request from a reader who thought that, because it was primarily shot here in Chicago, the lack of a post was a glaring omission on my part.

Additionally, a certain co-worker has referred to me as Miss Ross (a Mahogany reference) for years, because of my borderline-theatrical vintage fashion sense.

I also just recently got past my disdain for the “Theme from Mahogany” so that I could view the film for the first time in its entirety. Alas, the time has come…

Ultimately, this is a cult movie in the truest sense of the word. Watch it for the fashion, for the shots of Chicago in the 70s, for the classic rags to riches tale… or even simply for the dialogue. “Mahogany” is the story of Tracy, a shop girl from Bronzeville who takes classes at a Fashion Design school at night and dreams of making it as a designer… even as she climbs the ladder of success as an unlikely model. Starring Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams, it’s also a sadly flawed tale of conflicting motivations and hard-won love.

A wonderful taste of “Making It” seventies-style… but at what cost? Losing love? Identity? Or maybe, can she have it all?

Click to view slideshow.

Today, it’s a question of whether your pants are sagging or not (as far as I’m concerned).

In the Sixties, on the South Side of Chicago, the male clothing signifier was whether you were a Gouster or an Ivy Leaguer.

A former co-worker who I guess would be classified as a Gouster now, but was an Ivy Leaguer then, told me:

Basically, Gousters dressed like old school gangsters (by this he meant O.O.G., like Thirties-Forties-Fifties era), and Ivy Leaguers dressed preppy.  Gousters were considered to be kinda like hoods, whereas Ivy Leaguers at least looked like they kept their noses clean.

This conversation started when I un-covered a record from about 1964 called “The Gouster” by a local group called the Five-Du Tones.

I found a really nice blog post from Wild-Child where she waxes poetic about the styles:

“I recently encountered an old friend who lived in the neighborhood back in the day. He lived on 35th Street and I lived on 31st. We were from the same neighborhood and attended the same high school. He was the coolest guy in history. Not only was he fine, he could DANCE. His fashion identity was Gouster style. I can still smell the Jade East.

Time had done him wrong and it started me wondering what time had done to me. I thought back on those days when we were young and would go anywhere to attend a dance. If a guy could Bop, he was king of the night.

Whether he was your lover, your good friend, or kind of like a play brother, back in those days, boys had one of two popular fashion styles, Gouster or Ivy League. An Ivy Leaguer was a collegiate wannabe, a 60’s version of J. Crew with just a touch of swagger. His style was straight-legged pants, sometimes with a belt buckle in back; a buttoned-down collar shirt; and tinted glasses.

Ivy Leaguers shopped at Brooks Brothers where they specialized in starched, buttoned-down shirts with French cuffs and cufflinks. The Ivy Leaguer would complete the look with a V-Neck, wool blend sweater thrown over the shirt to give us girls a thrill.

A Gouster’s style was dress-casual. He wore lose fitting, almost baggy clothes. His fine wool, alpaca and mohair sweater had three buttons at the neck, with a lazy, turned down collar. Pants with two pleats at the waist left a little room in the leg so that a Gouster could pimp. He usually pimped on down to Smokey Joe’s Fashion House to buy more fabulous outfits. As I said earlier, Gousters favored Jade East, while Ivy Leaguers spruced up with Aramis.

Girls were just beginning to wear pants, and many of us still wore mini-skirts and dresses to dances in order to show off our legs. Girls shopped at Brooks Brothers to show their allegiance to an Ivy Leaguer if that was who they were dating at the time. Sometimes we’d wear the sherbet colored, buttoned-down shirts, with plaid, pleated mini-skirts, matching knee socks, and suede, lace-up shoes called “Bucks”.

If we were dating a Gouster we’d wear cardigan sweaters that buttoned down the back and tight skirts, with pearl earrings and pearl necklaces. We’d finish that look with nylon stockings and Cha-cha boots.

Today, I couldn’t tell if my friend was Ivy League or Gouster. He just looked comfortable. But every once in a while, I see a brother my age with a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ and I know right away which one he is.”

The line is designed by Shari Neal, who explained to Afrobella:

http://www.wearbonbonvie.com/

You know you love it. Or else, you don’t care.   This t-shirt, featuring a trio of apathetic bears modeled after the iconic Care Bears is available from Chicago’s own Threadless, by artist Alex Solis.

Eunice Johnson (1916-2010), widow of Ebony/Jet Publisher John H. Johnson, was more than Black Media’s First Lady.  As Creator and Director of the Ebony Fashion Fair (an all black roadshow of haute couture), she paved the way for generations of black models from Beverly Johnson and Naomi Sims to Naomi Campbell.  In fact, Richard Roundtree (“Shaft”) was a Fashion Fair model before he was kicking tail on the big screen. 

In the show, which was started in 1961, she included some of the most fashion forward designers, including Yves Saint Laurent (pictured with Mrs. Johnson, above).  In a time when Chicago was in many ways the hub of culture and information that bound the Black Community together (i.e., the nationally recognized Chicago Defender, Ebony, Jet, and a world renowned music and arts scene), Mrs. Johnson took her Fashion Crusade to the streets in towns both near and remote.  Accordingly, sewing machines buzzed each season, inspired by the roadshow of dreams.  Her shows, as well as so many of those classic Ebony Magazine fashion layouts, presented our people as we were (and still are) striving to be: free and uplifted. Strutting. Gliding.

As if that weren’t enough, Ebony Fashion Fair, which grew into the world’s largest traveling fashion show,  annually encompasses a nearly 180-city tour of the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.  It has raised more than $55 million for various charities.

And it keeps us dreaming.  To me, that is her legacy.  She brought the dream to our door.

Jive on!

I know a lot of the Darkjive faithful are also among the analog faithful (some, if only in spirit).  The clicks and pops old records afford make our hearts skip a beat (even recreated on digitized copies).  Well, get ready for a digital wolf in warm, somewhat fuzzy sheep’s clothing: 45iPodcases.com.  Their tagline even heralds ”Digital meets analog” (very, very literally).

Very clever, I say.  Using old vinyl, labels and all (and old cassette tapes for iPod nanos) their collision of chips and skips is definitely a statement maker.  As a 45 collector, I hope they use records that are unplayable (no reason for the babies to suffer). 

And speaking of a new birth of wax, both iTunes and Amazon are  selling digital 45s!

Apple’s iTunes Music Store is taking digital music back into the groove, offering two-song packages known as ”Digital 45s“: which feature an A-side and a B-side. For $1.50-$2.00, you can purchase a single along with a lesser-known track you might not already have (that can be difficult to find elsewhere on iTunes).  Great ideas never really die.  They just get remixed.

Jive on…

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I have seen of the magazine excites me; but there is a bit of controversy.  The magazine has been criticized because an African Lifestyle Magazine doesn’t aid the continent in its upliftment.  I disagree, if only because magazines give us something to dream about, views of a life we can all aspire to (if we so choose), or maybe even a degree of escapism.  All the better if those people look like us, and the aesthetic is one that we can relate to.  Arise Magazine, to me, serves to bring balance to the butter cookie-cutter world of fashion and lifestyle magazines.  I like gingerbread, myself.  

Also, some folks feel as though the cover price (something like $12 per issue in the US, and 59 British Pounds, or about $90 per year) is overly prohibitive, effectively pricing out many (including me, honestly).  But I can dream…

Here’s some KNOCKOUT sample images:

Supermodels Naomi Campbell, Alek Wek & Liya Kebebe dressed by Nigerian designers, Deola Sagoe, Fati Asibelua of MOMO Couture, Lanre DaSilva Ajayi of LDA.

Alek Wek In Deola Sagoe

Naomi Campbell in Deola Sagoe

Liya in Deola Sagoe

for more about Arise, click here

above, excerpted from naomisims.com

Naomi is a Darkjive icon.  It’s not just her outward beauty that we admire.  It’s that strut, that palpable pride: “Black is Beautiful” personified.  Jive on.

 UPDATE: Naomi Sims died of cancer Saturday, August 1, 2009.  I am so glad that I spoke of her glory while she still walked among us.  She was more than a magazine clipping I posted on my wall in high school.  She was, and is an icon of regality in the truest definition.

From the good Folks at Chicago Public Radio:

Do you listen to public radio podcasts and streaming more than you listen on the actual radio? Buy a shirt to support it! We want to see how many t-shirts we can sell in support of WBEZ online radio – without saying a word about it on our actual airwaves. We are only talking about this online. If you have an extra $20, please buy a shirt – and definitely pass this around to your friends! Let’s see how far we can take this! Check it out…

NOTE: this push is for a limited time.  And I am VERY tempted….

update: This promotion is officially over… and it’s unclear whether the shirt will ever be sold in their regular online store.

puma.com