Hidden Figures: Ann Lowe #BlackHERstoryMonth 23/29 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Ann Lowe #BlackHERstoryMonth 23/29

Ann Lowe was born in in 1898 in Clayton, Alabama. In 1912, she married Lee Cohen, and had a son, Arthur Lee, but the marriage did not work, as her husband wanted her to give up working as a seamstress and, in her own words, be a “real wife, and not one who jumped up all hours to design sketches.” Lowe left him, and in 1917, she and her son moved to New York City, where she enrolled at S.T. Taylor Design School. As the school was segregated, Lowe was required to attend classes in a room alone. She graduated in 1919, and then moved to Tampa, Florida. The following year, she opened her first dress salon in 1920, naming it “Annie Cohen.” In 1928, Lowe returned to New York City and worked on commission for stores such as Henri Bendel, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Since she worked as a consultant for stores, her name was not on her creations, and in 1950, Lowe quit doing store commissions and opened a second salon, Ann Lowe's Gowns, in New York City on Lexington Avenue. Over the course of her career, Lowe created designs for several generations of such high society families as the Rockefellers, the Lodges, the Du Ponts, the Posts and the Biddles. In 1953, she was hired to design a wedding dress for future First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier, along with the bridesmaids dresses for her September wedding to then-Senator John F. Kennedy. While the Bouvier-Kennedy wedding was a highly publicized event, Lowe did not receive public credit for her work. Despite the high quality of her work, Lowe often found herself not making a profit after paying her workers and paying for materials, and despite receiving the Couturier of the Year award in 1961, she lost her salon in New York City in 1962 after failing to pay taxes. That same year, her right eye was removed due to glaucoma; soon after, she developed cataract in her left eye, as well. Luckily, her left eye was saved after surgery, and after several years of recuperating she opened a new store, Ann Lowe Originals, in 1968. She retired in 1972. In the last few years of her life, Lowe in Queens, and she died February 25, 1981, at the age of 83. A collection of five of Ann Lowe's designs are held on display at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Three are on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Several others were included in an exhibition on black fashion at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan in December 2016. #HiddenFigures #AnnLowe ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: Something to Prove: A Biography of Ann Lowe America's Forgotten Designer: With Black and White Photographs (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Something-Prove-Biography-Forgotten-Photographs/dp/1532981333 'Ann Lowe: Black Fashion Designer Who Created Jacqueline Kennedy’s Wedding Dress (PHOTOS):' https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ann-lowe-black-fashion-designer-jacqueline-kennedy-wedding-dress_n_2624316 'ANN LOWE, 82, DESIGNED GOWNS FOR EXCLUSIVE CLIENTELE IN SOCIETY:' https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/01/obituaries/ann-lowe-82-designed-gowns-for-exclusive-clientele-in-society.html ANN COLE LOWE (1898-1981): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lowe-ann-cole-1898-1981/ Harlem’s Ann Lowe The Fashion Designer To First Ladies: https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/harlems-ann-lowe-fashion-designer-first-ladies/ 'Society’s Stylish Secret: Designer Ann Lowe Was a Fashion Force Few Knew (Until Now):' https://theglowup.theroot.com/societys-stylish-secret-designer-ann-lowe-was-a-fashio-1823499194 'Sewing for joy - Ann Lowe:' https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/lowe 'Ann Lowe Is The Little-Known Black Couturier Who Designed Jackie Kennedy's Iconic Wedding Dress:' https://www.elle.com/fashion/a29019843/jackie-kennedy-wedding-dress-designer-ann-lowe/