Part 3: The Evolution of Homecoming Fashion
1966-67 Miss A&T Nannie Kearney Coronation
“Homecoming was more than a football game. It was a weekend to celebrate, show off your style and make unforgettable memories.” – Helen Duncan ‘73
The Glamour of Miss A&T, Mister A&T, and the Royal Court. Alumni wearing their class jackets, Aggie swag and the latest fashions. The sea of Blue and Gold worn head to toe as it fills the Truist Stadium and the city of Greensboro. Aggie fashions have certainly changed over a century, while always being one of the biggest attractions of “The Greatest Homecoming on Earth”.
During the first 40 years of homecoming, formal wear was the standard for all of the festivities. Each decade from the 1930s to the 1960s is distinguishable from one another by social trends and influences. Fashions for the first 10 years of Homecoming are under documented due to a lack of surviving photos. No known close-up images of crowds are known to exist until 1937.
The 1938 Homecoming season was highlighted in the inaugural Ayantee yearbook (1939), a pictorial bulletin, and surviving footage from the Jerald and Constance Marteena Home Movie Collections. In the silent footage we can see crowds of people in the World War Memorial Stadium stands dressed in what we would now call “Sunday Best.” We also see several young men with neckties wearing what appear to be Blue and Gold Beanies, and long processions of marching men and women wearing sweaters, two-piece suits. Scenes or even football coach Irvin Breaux can be seen with a fedora and matching two piece suits on the field.
The earliest Miss A&Ts were photographed each year for the Black Press beginning in 1933. Miss A&Ts was always dressed in the best women’s fashions. Margaret Tynes was photographed in a portrait wearing a fur stoll while holding her “Miss A&T 1939 – 1940” banner. Her royal court wore fashionable hats and two-piece suits. Rose Malloy Jenkins, a wartime queen has one of the most memorable Miss A&T portraits for her military inspired uniform and A&T sash. The Coronations and parades were gallant affairs tops haps.
1970 Miss A&T
Perfectly summarizing those earliest Homecomings attire is Dr. Velma Speight ‘53. “You dressed to kill. The women wore their heels, beautiful dresses and, if their families could afford them, furs draped across their shoulders. The men came in full suits and top hats. Everybody dressed — even the people along the streets selling food were dressed to impress. It was a standard.”
It is unmistakable how much the trends changed between 1968 to 1975 a period known as the Black Campus Movement. Also known as the 2nd phase of the Black Student Movement, Afros, Black Cultural Centers and the “Black is Beautiful” aesthetic, funk, disco, denim and much more changed the culture, studies and fashions of campuses nationwide. These changes made for arguably the most colorful Homecomings in history, with styles that still impact fashions to this day. Helen Duncan ‘73 recalls the fall 1969 Homecoming as “an entire weekend of excitement, tradition and fashion. We dressed! Leather, suede, bell-bottoms, halter tops and Afros were all in style for both men and women. Everybody wanted to look their best at the football game.”
These were also among the first Homecomings with known centralized themes. “Striving Towards Pan-Africanism” was the theme of 1970, followed by “Beyond Blackness: A Dimension for New Progress” the following year with Pan-African styles. Lillian Campbell, Miss A&T 1969-70 was the first queen to wear an Afro. The royal courts were robed in Kente cloth, beaded jewelry, and headwraps. Aggies were dressed increasingly in street styles along with disco styles that could move with the body while dancing at the “Cosmos” nightclub.
Interviewed for the A&T Register during the 1970 Homecoming game was Delores Mitchell, a freshman who commented “I couldn’t really watch the game because I didn’t want to miss any of the outfits.” Ms. Mitchell became Miss A&T 1973-74. A&T Register Journalist Cecilia Garrett posed an important question “…if the fashions were this good this year, what can we expect next year?” A visiting journalist to the 1972 game remarked that “every color” could be spotted in the 15,000 people crowd. The outfits ranged from “boldly imaginative” to “gaudy”, with only older alum still wearing “neckties and white shirts”.
Miss A&T, 1986-87
Ulysses Cozart Jr. ’77 who first came to Aggieland in fall of 1973 recalls that “Homecoming was a fashion show of its own. Alumni returned dressed to impress, wearing fur coats, stylish boots and high heels. The men were just as fashionable, sporting turtlenecks, hats, slacks and boots.” Speaking of fashionable men, the 1970s was the decades that solidified the recurring “Mister A&T” or “Mister Aggie” with Ronald Alston and Carl Locus as a yearly tradition at A&T.
Into the late 1970s and early 1980s the traditional, the new formal, and more casual, comfortable styles began to blend in Aggieland. Chuch Burch ‘82 recalls “By the time I was at A&T, Homecoming fashion was becoming more relaxed. You still wanted to look good, but for the football game, it might be jeans, an A&T jersey or other casual wear, depending on the weather. As we moved into the ’80s, tracksuits and sweatsuits became part of the look, and you started seeing more influence from hip-hop culture. It was comfortable, it was casual, but you were still going to represent A&T and look good doing it.”
The 1980s saw a return to traditional coronations and formal wear for the royal court but the influence of Pan-Africanism still influenced the themes, hair, clothes and accessories. Michael Humphrey ’87 recalls that “Homecoming fashion in the late 1980s to the early 90s was all about making a statement. We were influenced heavily by what we saw coming out of New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. — from Triple Goose coats and Timberland boots to designer jeans, polos, bold sweaters and even the asymmetrical hairstyles. Everybody wanted to show up looking fresh. Homecoming gave you a reason to be a little extra, and fashion was a big part of the experience. You weren’t just coming back to campus — you were coming back to be seen.”
Miss A&T, November 18, 1939
As A&T prepares for over 200,000 this Homecoming, there will be certainly be “boldly imaginative” outfits of “every color”. What will the clothes Aggies Wear say about the times, the mood and our Aggie Pride? How much of the game will people miss while pausing to admire the clothes?
If you have fond memories of what you wore for Homecoming or would like more information about this story, please contact the University Archives and Special Collections at libraryarchives@ncat.edu.
By: James R. Stewart Jr. ‘08, Archives and Special Collections Librarian.
