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Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion

A look back at how we've always shined in every shade!
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
@queennyakimofficial Instagram/Essie Nakan
By Avon Dorsey ·
This season, the fashion industry forecasted bold, neon-hue colors as the next big trend. As expected, the masses followed suit and the idea trickled down from the retailers to the streets.
Funny enough, we didn’t need the powers-that-be to tell us that wearing bright colors is ‘a thing.’ In fact, Black women have always rocked phenomenal outfits that incorporate our favorite bursts of color. Get Tickets To The 2018 ESSENCE Street Style Block Party! From Betty Davis to Coretta Scott King, Erykah Badu to Patti Labelle,our stylish ladies have always shined in every shade. Scroll through for a look back at the evolution of Black women rocking bold colors in fashion and then be sure to grab your tickets to join us as we celebrate all things Black fashion, beauty and style at the 2018 ESSENCE Street Style Festival!
01
Give us a bold color and we’ll give you a look you won’t forget
Like Solange in this stunning, mustard yellow, symmetrical dress, there’s no color we don’t rock well.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
02
Slaying in every shade
ESSENCE cover girls Jada Pinkett-Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish give us a colorful rainbow of jewel-tone dresses — once again demonstrating how melanin is the perfect compliment to a fiery, bold color scheme.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
03
An iconic combination
From Lena Horne in this perfectly plum number, Rosa Parks in a blush pink ensemble, to the pop of color radiating from Susan L. Taylor’s jewelry, our queens going bright and bold on the mainstream scene has been a tradition for decades.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
04
A Colorful Melody
Taking the trend from the runway, to the stage, to music videos, Erykah Badu and her “bag ladies” gave us candy-dipped flava.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
05
Go Green Or Go Home
We can even pull off bold colors from head to toe, as seen with Issa Rae’s citrus lime pantsuit that turned all the heads!
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
06
The Bold and the Beautiful
Tyra Banks stunned in this lemon flavored number, reminding the world that pairing bold colors with naturally textured hair can result in the chicest of looks.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
07
Colorblocking 101
Stunning actress Dorothy Dandridge gave us Earth Mother ‘muted jewel tones’ for this 1951 film poster.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
08
Politically Fabulous
Civl Rights icon Coretta Scott King was never afraid to add a little color to any political space. She had us swooning in red….and a hint of blue…at this 2005 gala.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
09
Lady Slays The Blues
The Festival scene is our fashion playground and supermodel Chanel Iman’s ‘baby blue’ dress was a hit for Coachella 2018.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
10
Bey Fearless. Bey Colorful.
Beyoncé’s gloriously melanated Coachella performance was made that more epic with this neon-hued pink crop top.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
11
Dreaming In Color
Songstress Betty Davis was a technicolor dream in this 1969 photoshoot.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
12
50 Shades of Slay
In our ESSENCE July 1992 issue, we painted the town in multi-colors of street style!
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
13
Shine Bright Like A Diamond
Sharam Diniz gives us Ankara-print glam vibes with violet ruffle details—we stan a bold, colorful queen!
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
14
The Best To Ever Do It
Sudanese model Nyakim and this breathtaking photo perfectly sum up the history of Black women rocking bold colors in high fashion: nobody does it better.
Style Starters: Celebrating The Beauty Of Black Women Rocking Bold Colors In High Fashion
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