Dorothea Towles " The making of a legend"

Before Pat Cleland, Naomi Campbell or Iman Their was the lovely Parisian African American model Dorothea Trowles her life story reads like an exciting fairy tale and her beauty exquisite. I first stumbled upon her name while cleaning a elderly neighbors home Mr. Boynton here in Brooklyn, New York he had old copies of Jet magazines laying around the house very casually I might add. Imagine my surprise when my ex and I were looking and I noticed the date and it was a 1950 something issue and in the usual Jet magazine layout among other pictures was a picture of Ms. Towles- Church . I took a picture of the cover I dont think cell phones had camereas then this was in the mid 1990s Mr. Boynton wasnt keen on letting kids take his prize posessions and I posted on the now defunct danger web site. A then popular website for the cellular phone known as the Sidekick. During the closing of the official "Black History month" I am choosing to celebrate with you her beauty. She was the consumate professional often seen on Diors and Balmains runway which to this day is the signature look of the 1950's ( Think New look 1947 created by Christian Dior") enjoy her shadow on these pages with a bio from wikepedia....

Early life Church was born in Texarkana, Texas. She was the seventh of eight children in a farming family. She attended Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, where she majored in biology. After her mother's death, a wealthy uncle invited her to move into his house in Los Angeles. She transferred to the University of Southern California, where she received a master's degree in education. Church is of African American descent. [edit] Modeling career Church initially considered an acting career, but was discouraged by the lack of roles for black actors. She enrolled in the Dorothy Farrier Charm and Modeling School in Los Angeles. She found work modeling for magazines with a black readership and in fashion shows on the West Coast. Her sister, Lois Towles, sang in the Fisk University concert choir during its European tour in 1949. Church scheduled a two-month vacation in Paris that coincided with the Fisk choir's concert schedule. While in Paris, Church decided to try out for some modeling assignments. Christian Dior hired her on the spot to replace one of his regular models who was out on vacation.[1] Church found Paris so inviting that she decided to stay in France. She told her husband, a wealthy dentist several years her senior, that she wouldn't be returning to California. Church also designed her own gowns with samples she bought from Paris designers using her model's discount. In 1954 she returned to the United States and began a tour of black colleges, showcasing her couture line. Her fashion shows served as fund-raisers for Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority for black women. She later signed as a model with the Grace del Marco agency in New York City. Shortly after moving to New York she met Thomas Church, an immigration lawyer. They married in 1963 and had one son. They remained married until Thomas Church's death in 2000. [edit] Racial Barriers Church was revered in France during the five years she modeled in Paris. Church recalled her experience in Paris of the early 1950s in a 2004 interview for Women's Wear Daily: "For once I was not considered black, African American or Negro. I was just an American." The French fashion establishment "treated you like a queen," she said.[citation needed] In her 1998 book Black and Beautiful, author Barbara Summers quotes Church about her celebrity status in Paris at the beginning of the 1950s: "I got invited out all the time. I was the only black model in Europe and I just thought I was an international person." Church was not totally immune to prejudice in Paris, however. Pierre Balmain would not allow her to borrow his designs for an Ebony Magazine shoot out of concern Balmain's white clientele would be offended.[citation needed] [edit] Death Church died at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. Her death was attributed to heart and kidney disease.