Research Catalog
The birth of cool : style narratives of the African diaspora
- Title
- The birth of cool : style narratives of the African diaspora / Carol Tulloch.
- Author
- Tulloch, Carol
- Publication
- London : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
- Supplementary Content
- Cover image
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | Sc E 16-343 | Schomburg Center - Research & Reference |
Details
- Description
- xiii, 254 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of color plates : illustrations (some color); 24 cm
- Summary
- "It is broadly recognized that black style had a clear and profound influence on the history of dress in the twentieth century, with black culture and fashion having long been defined as 'cool'. Yet despite this high profile, in-depth explorations of the culture and history of style and dress in the African diaspora are a relatively recent area of enquiry. The Birth of Cool asserts that 'cool' is seen as an arbiter of presence, and relates how both iconic and 'ordinary' black individuals and groups have marked out their lives through the styling of their bodies. Focusing on counter- and sub-cultural contexts, this book investigates the role of dress in the creation and assertion of black identity. From the gardenia corsage worn by Billie Holiday to the work-wear of female African-Jamaican market traders, through to the home-dressmaking of black Britons in the 1960s, and the meaning of a polo-neck jumper as depicted in a 1934 self-portrait by African-American artist Malvin Gray Johnson, this study looks at the ways in which the diaspora experience is expressed through self-image. Spanning the late nineteenth century to the modern day, the book draws on ready-made and homemade fashion, photographs, paintings and films, published and unpublished biographies and letters from Britain, Jamaica, South Africa, and the United States to consider how personal style statements reflect issues of racial and cultural difference. The Birth of Cool is a powerful exploration of how style and dress both initiate and confirm change, and the ways in which they expresses identity and resistance in black culture"--
- Subjects
- Black people > Race identity
- Black people > Clothing
- Black people > Social life and customs
- African Americans > Clothing
- African Americans > Race identity
- DESIGN > Fashion
- African Americans > Social life and customs
- Fashion > Social aspects
- HISTORY > Africa > General
- Self-perception > Social aspects
- African diaspora
- Clothing and dress > Social aspects
- SOCIAL SCIENCE > Anthropology > Cultural
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-248) and index.
- Contents
- Introduction: This Time it's Personal -- Angel in the Market Place : The African-Jamaican Higgler, 1880-1907 -- "We Also Should Walk in the Newness of Life" : Individualised Harlem Styles of the 1930s -- "All of Me" : Billie Holiday -- "My Man Let Me Pull Your Coat to Something" : Malcolm X -- You Should Understand, it's a Freedom Thing : The Stoned Cherrie-Steve Biko T-shirt -- Here : The Haunting Joy of Being in England -- Coda.
- Call Number
- Sc E 16-343
- ISBN
- 9781859734650
- 1859734650
- 9781859734704
- 1859734707
- 9781474262866 (canceled/invalid)
- 9781474262873 (canceled/invalid)
- LCCN
- 2015025896
- OCLC
- 930462928
- Author
- Tulloch, Carol, author.
- Title
- The birth of cool : style narratives of the African diaspora / Carol Tulloch.
- Publisher
- London : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-248) and index.
- Connect to:
- Research Call Number
- Sc E 16-343