“Go with the Flo,” by Stephanie Mansfield, first appeared in the April 1989 issue of Vogue. To explore more highlights from Vogue’s archives, subscribe to our Nostalgia newsletter here.

She burst onto our TV screens in vibrant fuchsia and lime, all striking hair, lips, and eyes, with nails that made her look more like a Solid Gold dancer than a triple gold medalist from the previous summer’s Olympics.

She is Flo-Jo, the fastest and most flamboyant sprinter ever to leave the starting blocks. She can outpace O. J. Simpson, perform three thousand sit-ups in one go, and do partial squats while holding 320 pounds—all without messing up her delicate pearl stud earrings. And she still finds time to paint tiny palm trees and glittery designs on her fingernails. With her speed, style, and bold femininity, Florence Griffith Joyner has shattered the divide between vanity and athletic excellence, proving that one doesn’t have to exclude the other.

“You can sweat and still look good doing it,” says Griffith Joyner, pausing from packing for a European trip to discuss her unique fashion sense on the track. She races in a grape-colored spandex one-legged suit under patterned bikini bottoms, her lips shining with a bright raspberry gloss. “I love bright colors,” she explains. “They’re full of energy. The color gets me fired up.”

At twenty-nine, Griffith Joyner is focused and straightforward, with a youthful laugh and a voice she’s refining through diction lessons, as lucrative film and TV opportunities await her. (She also has acting and dialogue coaches.) Her hair is a cascade of black curls, her nails are impeccably manicured, and her large brown eyes stand out beneath long, spidery lashes. Her skin is smooth as cocoa butter. On her left hand, she wears a diamond ring so large Brian Boitano could skate figure eights on it. And those legs! Her thighs rival those of the top NFL players, and her arms are as strong as pump-action rifles. Meet G.I. Flo.

Growing up in Los Angeles housing projects, young Florence Griffith Joyner loved hair ribbons and playing dress-up. Appearance always mattered. Her mother made sure her hair was combed, her face clean, and her clothes neatly pressed. She was also deeply attached to her Barbie dolls. “We don’t just play with dolls,” she reflects. “They shape how we see life and other women.” Known as Dee Dee to her family, she used a world of beauty and makeup to escape the hardships of poverty. “I remember styling a lot of dolls’ hair. I ruined many by using my mom’s hot curlers on them. I burned up so many.”

It’s no surprise that her grandmother, Gertrude Scott, still works as a beautician at eighty-four. Her mother, Florence, a seamstress, was another key influence. “My mother always encouraged me to stand out. She made all my dresses when I was little.” She taught her daughter to be unique and to develop her own style. “I always tried to create different patterns, something no one else had. Becoming a great designer was one of my dreams.”

Now able to afford designers like Valentino and Balenciaga, Griffith Joyner recalls shopping as a girl: “I’d say, ‘Mom, I want shoes or a dress like my friend’s,’ and she’d reply, ‘Don’t you want something different?'” She laughs. “She’d tell me, ‘It’s easy to look like everyone else, but being different is special.’ I guess I’ve always aimed for something more special.”

Griffith Joyner started running at seven but never liked the standard T-shirts and shorts. “The T-shirt was okay, but I’d roll up the sleeves or tie the front to make it my own.”

Off the track, her personal style was just as distinctive. She’d go to the mall with her pet boa constrictor draped around her neck like a scarf. “People used to laugh at me. I’d wear one green sock and one blue sock, one rolled up and the other down. I’d braid the top of my hair so it stuck out.”Absolutely. Even now, people make fun of what I wear, but I’ve grown immune to the criticism.

Griffith Joyner knew how to sew, so she started making her own running outfits and picked out bright accessories to stand out. “When I first wore a bodysuit, everyone told me, ‘That will slow you down.’ I didn’t buy it. I cared more about fashion than worrying whether it would affect my speed.”

She believes the negative reactions come from many athletes’ fear of not being taken seriously. “I think it’s that fear. People always ask me, ‘Why do you wear that?’ A little lipstick isn’t going to make you run slower.” She adds, “If you think something will hold you back, it will. It’s all in your head.”

Griffith Joyner’s own mindset is pure Frederick’s of Hollywood. Teammates were stunned by her lacy white pantyhose—she calls it an “athletic negligee”—and especially by her one-legged unitard.

“Actually, I had planned a different outfit, but when I cut off one leg, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s different.’ I looked in the mirror and put shorts over it.” The shorts resemble a sexy diaper. “You just roll it down,” she laughs. “That’s the new style.”

Photographed by Irving Penn, Vogue, April 1989

After marrying 1984 Olympic triple-jump champion Al Joyner in 1987, Griffith Joyner wore the one-legged outfit to the July trials. “Critics said it was too flashy and not appropriate for track and field. The other girls couldn’t handle the criticism, but I just laughed it off.”

While her sister-in-law, gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, presented a more conservative image, Griffith Joyner embraced her flamboyant style. Her peers “have gotten used to me wearing different outfits. Some of my closest friends ask, ‘What are you wearing today? How revealing is it? Let us see.’ I tell them, ‘No, you’ll have to wait until I take off my sweats.'”

From November to December, Griffith Joyner focused on “a lot of mileage” (long runs), along with biking and weightlifting to maintain her muscular physique, which one sportswriter predicted would be “the look that the twenty-first-century woman would covet.” In February, she began track workouts. She wakes up early, runs three miles, practices on the track for almost three hours, spends about two hours in the weight room, then heads home to her Newport Beach, California condo, where she eats a pasta dinner before a night run.

“I can pretty much eat anything I want, as long as it’s in moderation. For dinner, I usually make spaghetti, dinner rolls, and maybe some broccoli.” She rarely drinks, though she and Al might share a glass of champagne on the tenth of each month to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

For the record, her fingernails are all natural, but she paints them with a thin layer of acrylic. “I once let them grow to six inches,” she laughs. “I’ve always admired women with long nails. When I was young, my mother had a friend with long nails, and I was just drawn to them.”

At 5’7″ and 130 pounds, Griffith Joyner typically wears a size six or eight. Off the track, she prefers Anne Klein clothes. “I like a soft look, not outfits covered in ruffles. Anne Klein designs calm clothes in cream colors and earth tones.”

She and her manager are reviewing the flood of offers that came in after she won three gold medals and a silver at the Summer Games. (Advertisers have already nicknamed her “Cash Flo” and estimate she could earn up to a million dollars a year.) Florence made a guest appearance on the TV show 227 and recently did a screen test for Norman Lear. She also plans to design her own activewear line. Two Japanese companies, Mitsubishi and Mizuno, will have her endorsing televisions and athletic shoes, respectively. It’s likely her image will appear on everything from soft drinks to cosmetics later this year. (She turned down an offer to endorse a headache remedy to avoid any association with drugs.)

Perhaps Griffith Joyner’s most unusual commercial venture is her Flo-Jo doll is set to rival her favorite Barbie. “They’re aiming to make her look exactly like me. She’ll have attachable nails, styled hair, and makeup.” As for the muscular legs and glutes that aren’t typical of Barbie, Griffith Joyner chuckles, “I doubt they’re adding the muscles.”

Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of helpful FAQs about From the Archives Florence Griffith JoynerFast and Fashionable

General Beginner Questions

Q Who was Florence Griffith Joyner
A Florence Griffith Joyner often called FloJo was an American track and field athlete She is famous for her incredible speed and her unique flamboyant fashion sense

Q What is From the Archives Florence Griffith JoynerFast and Fashionable about
A Its a collection or feature that looks back at FloJos life and career highlighting both her worldrecordbreaking athletic performances and her iconic stylish appearance

Q Why is she called FloJo
A FloJo is a popular nickname made from the first part of her first and last names Its catchy and easy to remember

Q What world records did she set
A She set the world records in the womens 100meter and 200meter dashes at the 1988 US Olympic Trials These records are still unbroken today making her the fastest woman of all time

Career Achievements

Q Which Olympics did she compete in
A She first competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics winning a silver medal in the 200 meters Her most famous performance was at the 1988 Seoul Olympics where she won three gold medals and one silver medal

Q What made her running style so unique
A Beyond her pure speed she was known for her long decorated fingernails and her customdesigned often onelegged bodysuits She used her appearance to express confidence and individuality

Q Did she have any other careers besides running
A Yes She was a fashion designer author and fitness advocate She also served as a cochair of the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Fashion Legacy

Q Why was her fashion sense such a big deal
A In the 1980s womens track fashion was fairly standard FloJo broke the mold with her bold colorful outfits and sixinch fingernails proving that an athlete