Culture

The Most Stylish Black Women of All Time

Timeless

From Josephine Baker to Michelle Obama, these black women were--and are--style leaders, and inspirations.    

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Cornelius Poppe/AFP/Getty
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AF archive/Alamy
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Smithsonian Institute
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With her husband Martin Luther King.

AFP/Getty
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Daily Mail/Rex/Alamy
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Fred Ramage/Keystone Features/Getty
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With her husband and David Cameron, the British PM, and his wife Samantha

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
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Cornelius Poppe/AFP/Getty
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Performing during the Diamond Jubilee concert in front of Buckingham Palace in London on June 4, 2012.

David Moir/Reuters
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With Bill Clinton at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel in Chicago, 2005.

Jeff Roberson/AP
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At the Folies Bergère, Paris.

Glasshouse Images/Alamy
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Anthony Barboza/Getty
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At the Golden Globe Awards, January 12, 2014.

© Mario Anzuoni / Reuters
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With her client, Air Force veteran James Meredith.

Afro Newspaper/Gado/Getty

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