SUPERMODELS (again)



The Schomburg Library said it would get my materials by Wednesday, but I

had to meet with an accountant on Wednesday, the collection is closed on

Thursday, and I had to meet with a broker in Washington, DC on Friday

afternoon. I called Saturday (today) when they opened.

"We were going to send it back," I was told.

SEND IT BACK?

When I arrived, THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE ROOM! IN TWO

HOURS,

ONE OTHER RESEARCHER CAME IN! Obviously, it was an unusual request to keep

the two boxes on reserve for an entire week! The NYPL would be doing me a

great favor!!

Anyway....

SUPERFLY came out in 1972 and should possibly be considered as an

influence on the June 1972 Vogue "SUPER MODEL" article on Naomi Sims.

An advertisement sheet for "GENESIS 1974" on 20 September 1973 in

Chicago has a picture of Naomi Sims and "SUPER MODEL" under it. A brochure

for the program states that GENESIS 1974 "EXTENDS A HEARTY WELCOME TO MS.

NAOMI SIMS and MS. BARBARA JACKSON, America's SUPER MODELS."

In MULLINERY & WIG RESEARCH for 26 March 1975, page 1, cols. 1-2, under

her photo is "Naomi Sims: A Super-Profile. Naomi Sims has earned a

reputation far beyond that of a super-model to M&WR's interview of the

author, wig designer, researcher, and businesswoman in her N.Y.C. home, turn

to pgs. 4-5." The article there is titled "Naomi Sims: From Super-Model To

Super-Businesswoman."

Sims got her big break in 1967, when she appeared on the cover of

Fashions of the (NY) Times. She then went to Ford Models, but Eileen Ford

wouldn't even speak with her. An assistant suggested that Sims lose ten

pounds (she was already slim), and that Ford "had too many models of her

type."

In 1967, Ford had no black models at all.