Melkia Lynita Styles: Black is Beautiful

Yesterday evening, I had the opportunity to attend Macy's Black History Month "Eras of Black Style" event in Washington, DC.

The event saluting ten decades of culture-defining African American Style was educational, classy, fun, and very engaging. The "in conversation" discussion facilitated by DC Fox 5's Allison Seymour which featured journalist and style expert Constance White and supermodel Beverly Johnson was enlightening and thought provoking. Conversations around race, cultural appreciation, diversity and the lack of diversity and inclusion and or the small representation of a group of people in the fashion industry, are everyday conversations that must take place to bring about change.

The reality is the world is changing and what we see on the runways and in lookbooks aren't reality. Everyone doesn't look the same, everyone isn't the same size, everyone isn't from the same race, thus we should be able to see fair representation of the world during fashion week and every week. We aren't there yet, but I'm hopeful that we will continue to see diversity and inclusion gaps becoming smaller. And I'm even more hopeful that the decision business leaders make to ensure they have a diverse workforce of qualified individuals is part of their everyday mindset and not just when they are exposed in the media for not considering or having a diverse team.

I love this skirt H&M. You can do so much with it, pair it with a tee shirt, without the belt, and a pair of flats (like this Nine West Speakup Pointy Toe Flat )

There were many takeaways from this discussion. Constance describing black style as love, self expression, swag, and glamour. Beverly words were even as powerful when she said "we are the everyday influences; people look to see what we are wearing (hair, bodies, etc.)". Talk about truly accepting and embracing who you are as you unleash yourself daily!! Gives you something to think about and strive for - no matter your race.

Talking to Constance about her latest book "The Queens and Kings of Style" and the work she's done and continue to do in the fashion industry. (behind me is one of the event's beautiful models)