02/09/2026
Etiquette in Black History
👠🪡💄Eunice Johnson- The Ambassador of Beauty (1916-2010)
Eunice Johnson, a fashion icon, wife, and mother, made her mark in the world of publishing, fashion, and cosmetics. She graduated with a degree in sociology from Talladega College in 1938. During college, Johnson joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and met her future husband, John H. Johnson, in 1940 while attending Loyola University- Chicago. Together, they built the largest black-owned publishing company in history.
They started Ebony magazine in 1945 and Jet magazine in 1951. At its peak, Ebony and Jet enjoyed a circulation of over 1.25 million subscribers. This was during a time when there was no social media or even email. The Johnsons worked to paint a beautiful and sophisticated view of Black people for the world.
Mrs. Johnson's next endeavor would catapult her from publisher to "fashion icon" and etiquette extraordinaire. She was asked to coordinate a charity fashion show for a hospital, hence came the Ebony Fashion Fair show launching in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1958.
In 1973, after coordinating more than 2,000 shows in 180 cities including the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean for 15 years (I, owner of Impressum Etiquette, Jordan Riles, won 2008 Miss Ebony Fashion Fair raising over $10,000 in scholarship funds,) Mrs. Johnson began her makeup quest creating foundation colors to match the skin for women of color more closely. Fashion Fair Cosmetics line was produced and distributed and can still be found on store shelves today.
