Being Black has always been revolutionary. From the way we cook, style our hair, talk, walk, and dress to impress, Black folks around the globe have always been trendsetters, innovators, and disruptors. The Met Gala’s Theme for this year is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, and when the theme hit the press, many were intrigued by it. Some may have pondered, “What is a dandy, and what is its relevance in the 21st century?”
The Costume Institute’s forthcoming show “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” (May 10- October 26th) will answer this question. According to a statement on Barnard’s website, the exhibition will be designed around what Barnard alum Zora Neale Hurston defined as the “12 Characteristics of Black Dandyism” which were delineated in her 1934 essay “Characteristics of Negro Expressions”.
To be succinct, a dandy is a man who puts great emphasis on his physical appearance and grooming, often accompanied by meticulous attention to detail. While historical remnants of Dandyism have always been interwoven into modern fashion stylings and Black fashion aesthetics, Dandyism is an 18th-century art form and often a sartorial way of dress. While in its modern adaptation, it is a deliberate act of resistance against social and historical tropes, it was once a style of dress forced upon house negroes and servants.
Monica L. Miller, guest curator for the upcoming exhibit, shares on Barnard’s site that “Being able to create a multidimensional world featuring historical and contemporary garments and accessories, paintings, prints, and decorative objects from my book Slaves to Fashion has been an incredible honor and a huge, fantastic challenge.” And, Miller looks forward to sharing this rich legacy with the world.
From Slaves to Fashion to Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style, this cultural and historical book listicle provides a glimpse into the world of Black Dandyism from the past to the present.
Miller is not only a professor at Barnard College (Columbia University) and the Chair of the Africana Studies Department, but she is also a highly sought-after cultural historian. Her book Slaves to Fashion is the inspiration behind this year’s Met Gala theme and exhibition. From London’s 18th-century social scene to the modern aesthetics of the Harlem Renaissance, Slaves To Fashion takes an in-depth look at the many incarnations of Dandyism through a cultural and historical lens. With Slaves to Fashion, Miller considers the Black Dandy in 19th-century American literature and drama, W. E. B. Du Bois’s reflections on black masculinity and cultural nationalism, the modernist aesthetics of the Harlem Renaissance, and representations of black cosmopolitanism in contemporary visual art.” This book thoroughly provides an expansive look at the beginnings and evolution of the “Black Dandy.”
Lewis’s Dandy Lion showcases the “new dandy” and highlights those she’s coined as “High-styled rebels”, Black men who have proclivities for bold colors and prints, refinement, and an aptitude for vintage and modern designs. Comprised of contemporary photographs and commentary of personalities across the globe, this vibrant book gives a contemporary glimpse of Black Dandyism.
Published in 1928, McKay’s Home to Harlem was one of the first books by a Black author to become a major bestseller. Giving a glimpse into Harlem after World War I through Jake, a Southern Black longshoreman, and Ray, an intelligent Haitian. In Home to Harlem, McKay provides a very descriptive landscape of Harlem’s jazz nightlife and highlights many of the social inequalities during that time. When I first read Home To Harlem many years ago in undergrad, I discovered what a “dandy” and “pansy” were. With McKay’s use of Black dialects and lyrical prose that lifts the words right off the pages and transports them into your mind, one can truly imagine how snazzy the dandies looked strolling down Lenox Avenue, 125th Street, and stepping into the Cotton Club late at night.
The Original Black Elite provides a look at the lives of the Black elite around the time of the Civil War. Highlighting the life of Daniel Murray, his socialite wife, and their children, who attended Ivy League schools, the book examines an era when wealthy, free Blacks held positions of power and had assimilated into America’s cultural fabric. And, how the systemic implementation of “Jim Crow” disrupted this budding class of Americans. If you love books that take a deep dive into the often hidden histories of America, you’ll appreciate this cultural and historical book.
Black Ivy is an ode to great style, and the photographs within its pages feature some of the most stylish and influential Black men in American culture. From Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., to James Baldwin and Sidney Poitier, reappropriated Prep fashion as an act of resistance against negative tropes about Black men, when many were fighting for civil rights and equality. Comprised mostly of images, this book includes the work of some of the country’s best photographers.
Dapper Dan is a fashion giant. Many designers and fashion stylists around the world look to him as a trendsetter. He optimizes all of the positive connotations associated with a modern-day Black dandy. If you see a man gliding down Central Harlem rocking a custom plaid suit and a wide-brimmed hat at 1 p.m. on a sunny day, it’s probably Dapper Dan. The man who went toe-to-toe with fashion conglomerates that tried to steal his style, without giving him proper credit. The creative genius who has an ongoing collaboration with Gap, called Dap Gap, tells his full story in this New York Times bestselling memoir, from being a pioneer of high-fashion streetwear to being a global household name in the fashion world.
Written by the renowned American historian and professor, David Levering Lewis, When Harlem Was in Vogue, peels back the curtain for readers to get a taste of what Harlem was truly like during its prime. With chapters like “City of Refuge”, “Enter The New Negro”,“Nig*er Heaven” and “A Jam of A Party”, Lewis beautifully writes about the lives of Black Americans, how they live and the art in its varied forms that we so masterfully create. But, coupled with the glory that was “Black life in Harlem”, Lewis wrote candidly about the racism and discrimination during the Harlem Renaissance as well.
Superfine examines three centuries of Black dandy fashion and how it’s reflected in art, fashion, and society, and it’s a beautiful compilation that archives the lasting impression that dandyism has had in Black menswear, as well as influenced “new visions of Black masculinity”. The book comprehensively explores the impact of Black dandyism and its influence on hip-hop fashion culture, its iterations during the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement, and beyond. Superfine includes the perspectives of influential cultural movers and shakers like Andre 3000, Pharrell, Dandy Wellington, Ike Ude, Andre Leon Talley, and many others. The book also features high-fashion models and “dandies” in a photo essay by Tyler Mitchell.
