Ann Lowe’s fictionalized biography by Piper Huguley traces her rise from a cabin in Clayton, Alabama to own couture shop, Ann Lowe’s Originals, on Lexington Ave in NYC. Along the way, she designed Jacquline Kennedy’s wedding dress. Her Grandma Georgia was a slave, so this was quite an accomplishment against the odds. She navigated the racist world of Jim Crow with the aid of a few white women and her work ethic and talent. A positive story of race relations in the mid-20th century.
Annie was raised by her mother and grandmother. Both were dressmakers for white clients. They were good and made dresses for the First Lady of Alabama. However, Annie's adult life started on the wrong foot, when 12-year-old Annie married a man “nearly three times” her age. He was abusive and exploitative. Fortunately, Mrs. Lee, the wife of a citrus magnate, rescued her and took her to Tampa where she thrived. Annie and her infant Arthur lived in Mrs. Lee’s home. Mrs. Lee sent her to a design school in NYC.
The design school did not want to accept an African American. They put her in a room where she could hear the lecture on the other side of a coat closet and glimpse at the blackboard. Nonetheless, she excelled and graduated early.
That was the story of Ann Lowe. Appreciation for her skills and snubs because she was African American. A balanced presentation of Jim Crow America versus a very talented Ann Lowe and a few helpful rich white ladies.
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