Alice Ishizaki

Alice Ishizaki, photographed in Los Angeles in the 1930s, was the first Asian American to be hired at either The Broadway or Bullock’s department stores in Los Angeles, according to her family. Although the department stores had policies about not hiring women of color, her granddaughter Cheryl Motoyama says, “They hired my grandmother on the spot when they saw her because she had flawless skin. She worked for a number of years at their makeup counter.” Ishizaki, ever-fashionable at 98 years old, continues to use Elizabeth Arden day and night cream, and her beauty advice includes wearing sunscreen, bright lipstick and gloves. Courtesy Cheryl Motoyama.

 Source: hyphen magazine | oh this old thing