Barbara Bates (Finding Aid)

Barbara Bates

1955 -

Favorite Color: Black

Favorite Food: Cotton Candy and Watermelon

Favorite Vacation Spot: Anguilla

Interview Length: 103 minutes

Interview Date(s): August 28, 2002

Interview Location(s): The HistoryMakers, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois

Abstract

Fashion designer Barbara Bates shares memories of her maternal grandmother and of spending summers with her in Mississippi. She also remembers living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her aunt in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In addition, Bates describes her mother and her siblings. She remembers being a student in elementary and middle school, particularly her excellence in science and her dream to become a fashion designer. Finally, she discusses her search for her biological father when she was twenty-one years old. Fashion designer Barbara Bates discusses meeting her father for the first time, when she was twenty-one years old, and the relationship that they developed. She also remembers having her first child while in high school and graduating with honors a year early, in 1972. Bates reflects on being more interested in work than in college and, finally, her entry into the fashion design industry. From selling clothes in bathrooms, Bates discusses the fast growth of her business and celebrity clientele. She also discusses her commitment to her religious faith following the death of her cousin and business manager. Finally, she discusses the birth of her second son and eventually becoming a grandmother. Fashion designer Barbara Bates reflects on the experiences of meeting and eventually divorcing professional football player Otis Wilson in 2002. She also discusses her personal strength and her tendency to be giving, especially through the Barbara Bates Foundation. She discusses her fashion philosophy and her business goals for the future. Finally, she discusses her sons, her civic and social activities and how she would like to be remembered. Fashion designer Barbara Bates discusses how she selects the teen mothers and hard-to-fit girls to give prom dresses created by the Barbara Bates Foundation. She also reflects on her life and the support that she's received from her mother. Finally, she shares a multitude of personal photographs.

60 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)