Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats

Format: Hardcover Language: English ISBN: 0385500866 ISBN13: 9780385500869 Release Date: October 2000 Publisher: Doubleday Books Length: 224 Pages Weight: 1.40 lbs. Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.9" x 8.3" An acclaimed photographer and award-winning journalist provide an intimate look at black women who would rather attend church naked than hatless. For countless black women, a church hat, flamboyant as it may be, is no mere fashion accessory; it's a cherished African American custom, one observed with boundless passion. A woman's hat speaks long before its wearer utters a word. It's what Deirdre Guion calls "hattitude... there's a little more strut in your carriage when you wear a nice hat. There's something special about you." If a hat says a lot about a person, it says even more about a people--the customs they observe, the symbols they prize, and the fashions they fancy. Photographer Michael Cunningham beautifully captures the self-expressions of women of all ages--