Star Struck Style

December 21 is Florence Griffith Joyner’s birthday.

Depending upon where you live, the sun typically moves out of Sagittarius and into Capricorn on December 21. But here in the west, it’s more likely that people born on this date still have Sagittarius sun signs. Flo-Jo, for instance, was born in Los Angeles, just after midnight. The sun still had a full degree to travel before it moved into Capricorn.

And she was a Sagittarius, with the sun, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter all in the sign. She did have Saturn in Capricorn, though. In much of 1959 and 1960, both Jupiter and Saturn were in their ruling signs. It was an interesting time — a time of big cultural shifts. Much of the “progress” that occurred in the sixties only took place because of the groundwork laid while Saturn transited its own sign during that era.

But I digress! Flo-Jo represented the best of Sagittarius style. She was a free spirited centaur who broke free from the herd to gallop off into the great beyond. In her universe, there were no rules. Every race she ran provided her with another opportunity to do her own thing while schooling the youngsters on what it meant to be an individual.

There has never been anyone quite like her. I don’t know if she really has a counterpart in contemporary culture. Janelle Monáe, perhaps? I only compare the two because Janelle Monáe is one of the most free-spirited women in fashion today. If you’ve read my new book, you already know that I believe that Janelle Monáe is the best-dressed woman in the world today, so comparing Flo-Jo to her is a compliment of the highest order. I’m sure that they would both agree.

Anyway, it’s been almost twenty years since Flo-Jo’s unexpected death. I wonder what else she would have brought to fashion if she hadn’t died? I bet it would have been fabulous.