Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl's Love Letter to the Power of Fashion
Written by Tanisha C. Ford
Narrated by Tanisha C. Ford
5/5
()
About this audiobook
This program is read by the author.
Essence’s 10 BOOKS WE’RE DYING TO TOSS INTO OUR SUMMER TOTES | The Philadelphia Inquirer's BIG SUMMER BOOKS FOR 2019 | 6 BOOKS THAT COMPLICATE THE IDEA OF INDEPENDENCE by Colorlines | Bitch Media's 15 NONFICTION BOOKS FEMINISTS SHOULD READ THIS SPRING
"Everyone from the shopaholic to the clearance rack queen will see themselves in [Ford's] pages." —Essence
"Takes you not only into the closet, but the inner sanctum of an ordinary extraordinary Black girl who discovered herself through clothes." —Michaela Angela Davis, Image Activist and Writer
From sneakers to leather jackets, a bold, witty, and deeply personal dive into Black America's closet In this highly engaging book, fashionista and pop culture expert Tanisha C. Ford investigates Afros and dashikis, go-go boots and hotpants of the sixties, hip hop's baggy jeans and bamboo earrings, and the #BlackLivesMatter-inspired hoodies of today.
The history of these garments is deeply intertwined with Ford’s story as a black girl coming of age in a Midwestern rust belt city. She experimented with the Jheri curl; discovered how wearing the wrong color tennis shoes at the roller rink during the drug and gang wars of the 1980s could get you beaten; and rocked oversized, brightly colored jeans and Timberlands at an elite boarding school where the white upper crust wore conservative wool shift dresses.
Dressed in Dreams is a story of desire, access, conformity, and black innovation that explains things like the importance of knockoff culture; the role of “ghetto fabulous” full-length furs and colorful leather in the 1990s; how black girls make magic out of a dollar store t-shirt, rhinestones, and airbrushed paint; and black parents' emphasis on dressing nice. Ford talks about the pain of seeing black style appropriated by the mainstream fashion industry and fashion’s power, especially in middle America. In this richly evocative narrative, she shares her lifelong fashion revolution—from figuring out her own personal style to discovering what makes Midwestern fashion a real thing too.
Tanisha C. Ford
Tanisha C. Ford is associate professor of Black American studies and history at the University of Delaware.
Related to Dressed in Dreams
Related audiobooks
We Are Each Other's Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Don't Play in the Sun: One Woman's Journey Through the Color Complex Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl Gurl Grrrl: On Womanhood and Belonging in the Age of Black Girl Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbought and Unbossed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buses Are a Comin': Memoir of a Freedom Rider Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lifting as We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harlem Is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Popular Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Orange Mint and Honey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No One Is Coming to Save Us: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Girls in Queens: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHottentot Venus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wicked Flesh: Black Women, Intimacy, and Freedom in the Atlantic World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hijacking the Runway: How Celebrities Are Stealing the Spotlight from Fashion Designers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5America, Goddam: Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Fashion For You
Bulletproof Seduction: How to Be the Man That Women Really Want Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Skin Revolution: The Ultimate Guide to Beautiful and Healthy Skin of Colour Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFashion: Simple Steps to Find Style & Confidence In Your Every Day Look. Clothing Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic: Lessons in Everyday Elegance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be a Bad Bitch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is Not a T-Shirt: A Brand, a Culture, a Community--a Life in Streetwear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trauma, Tresses, and Truth: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5At Home With Madame Chic: Becoming a Connoisseur of Daily Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Skinnygirl Solutions: Your Straight-Up Guide to Home, Health, Family, Career, Style, and Sex Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kicksology: The Hype, Science, Culture & Cool of Running Shoes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fearless Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wear It Well: Reclaim Your Closet and Rediscover the Joy of Getting Dressed Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLaundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Focus: The Secret, Sexy, Sometimes Sordid World of Fashion Photographers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Size Zero: My Life as a Disappearing Model Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Date Your Wardrobe: And Other Ways to Revive, Revitalize, and Reinvigorate Your Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Editor in Chic: How to Style and Be Your Most Empowered Self Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Make Your Mind Up: My Guide to Finding Your Own Style, Life, and Motavation! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fry's Ties: The Life and Times of a Tie Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Material Girl, Mystical World: The Now Age Guide to a High-Vibe Life Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTales from the Back Row: An Outsider's View from Inside the Fashion Industry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Dressed in Dreams
3 ratings0 reviews