What’s clear from studying the wardrobes of these inimitable artists and writers is both their commitment to their personal style and how it is undeniably an extension of their work. American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou’s wardrobe was very much rooted in the 1930s, the decade in which she grew up , and oscillated between African and European-inspired styles. In her 1969 autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou ruminates on learning her approach to fashion from her mother, who made all of her childhood clothes, from bloomers and handkerchiefs to lavender taffeta Easter dresses. Part cost-effective, part self-love , as Terry Newman, author of Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore told Refinery29: "Looking smart and feeling good was an Angelou trademark and it boiled down to having self-respect, which was something she championed for all. Her sense of self always manifested in her wardrobe and that wardrobe was always elegant. She forever looked together." Later in life, when working at the University of Ghana, Angelou adopted a west African style of dress that heavily featured traditional prints, two-pieces, and beaded jewelry. Her time in the country, where she met the likes of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., had a huge influence on Angelou’s writing and politics, and her dress reflected that.