The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates



Overview of the Item

Repository: The HistoryMakers
1900 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60616
(312) 674-1900
info@thehistorymakers.com
http://www.thehistorymakers.com
Interviewer: Adele Hodge
Videographer: Paul Bieschke
Title:Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates
Dates:August 28, 2002
Abstract: (ABSTRACT)
Quantity: 4 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials.
Identification: A2002.150
Language: The interviews and records are in English

Biographical Note

Self-taught fashion designer Barbara Bates was born on June 27, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Elvin Hicks, was a teacher and her mother, Vera, was a housewife. Bates went through Chicago's public school system and graduated from Marshall High School in 1962.

Bates worked a variety of jobs after graduating from high school, where she frequently designed the clothes she wore. In 1984, while working as a secretary for the First National Bank of Chicago, Bates began selling her clothing out of the bathroom during lunchtime. This experience led Bates to design clothes full time and, two years later, she opened a 700-square foot showroom.

In 1999, Bates founded the Bates Foundation to provide custom prom dresses to underprivileged or hard-to-fit young women from inner-city schools in Chicago. Bates' desire to make dresses for these women comes primarily from her own trials as a teen mother. Bates remembers the alternative school she attended as a pregnant fifteen-year-old and promised to make prom dresses for the girls who returned to high school and graduated.

Bates Designs continues to be a leader in the world of fashion. Exotic fabrics and leather trim are among the hallmarks of her designs. Bates has outfitted numerous celebrities, including Sinbad, Michael Jordan, Whitney Houston and Mike Tyson.

Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®

Scope and Contents

This life oral history interview with Barbara Bates was conducted by Adele Hodge on 2002-08-28 in The HistoryMakers, Chicago, Illinois and is recorded on 4 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Barbara Bates's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Restrictions on Use

All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.

Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms.
Contributors:
Bates, Barbara, 1955-
Bieschke, Paul
Hodge, Adele
Persons:
(PERSONS)
Corporate Bodies:
(CORPORATE BODIES)
Family Names:
Bates
Places:
(PLACES)
Subjects:
(SUBJECTS)
Document Types:
Video oral history interview
Titles:
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates

Related Material

Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.

Administrative Information

Location of Originals

Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.

Preferred Citation

The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates, August 28, 2002. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.

Detailed Description/Tape Listings

Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates, Tape 1, August 28, 2002, TRT: 00:28:57.

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.


Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates, Tape 2, August 28, 2002, TRT: 00:28:59.

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.


Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates, Tape 3, August 28, 2002, TRT: 00:30:33.

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.


Video Oral History Interview with Barbara Bates, Tape 4, August 28, 2002, TRT: 00:24:06.

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.