“I Wear Nothing but White Now” — LisaRaye McCoy Links Father’s Death to Long-Running Fashion Choice

Public figures, business people, and artists have every part of their lives scrutinized, right down to their fashion choices. For some folks, being out in public and embodying a certain look or style is the very definition of their existence. Others have their fashion choices scrutinized due to the success of their endeavors, like Adam Sandler, who prioritizes comfort above all.

Some adopted a uniform throughout their career to "level up" and help them focus more on their work, like Steve Jobs and his decision to hire stylist Issey Miyake to come up with his trademark look.

So why does LisaRaye McCoy always seem to wear white? Was it a decision based on attempting to create a personal brand for herself? Or is there a deeper decision-making process involved?

According to Black America Web, the actor/director/producer said that her decision to always rock white outfits was one rooted in personal joy. The decision to do so occurred organically, but originated over two decades ago, when she went out of town on a weekend trip.

"It's not a method to the madness," the Players Club star said. "It's not because it's religion [either]. It's because one day on the weekend I went out-of-town and realized I had all white outfits and they looked so crisp and clean. I said I can do this for a week, a month, a year?"

Following this, she said in her 2010 interview that for "eight or nine years" after she had consistently worn white garments. "I feel like an angel," she said of the fashion choice.

Furthermore, she explained that there's an additional reason as to why she exclusively rocks white garments, and it has to do with the passing of her father.

"I had a revelation. It was like, oh, I remember, when my father passed, my mother was very adamant [about] wearing a black outfit and she was very adamant about me going with her to pick this black outfit and I didn't want to," she told AlwaysAList.com.

"I think I had completely shut down at that time anyway. And I was like, 'I wonder if that has everything with why I went totally to the right and I wear nothing but white now."

LisaRaye's father, David Ray McCoy, was the victim of a murder at the hands of his then-girlfriend Sheila Daniels and her brother Tyrone Daniels.

The siblings shot McCoy in the back of his Cadillac on Nov. 12, 1988. At the time of his passing, David Ray was "a prominent Chicago Millionaire who amassed his fortune via ownership of several hotels and nightclubs," according to Black America Web.

The Chicago Tribune published an article on Nov. 15, 1988, about McCoy's business acumen and contributions to other Windy City entrepreneurs. He had purportedly lent millions to folks wanting to start neighborhood businesses on the South Side.

Additionally, McCoy was praised for creating jobs for many in the community, and was hailed as an inspiration to young Black people who wanted to be businessmen.

In the same piece, law enforcement officials stated that McCoy's sharp business practices may have left him with enemies. "Family members told detectives that McCoy was involved in several business-related quarrels before he was found shot to deathe this weekend in the back seat of his 1988 Cadillac," the paper wrote.