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Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl's Love Letter to the Power of Fashion
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.
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.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 25, 2019
33 people are currently reading
2039 people want to read
About the author
Tanisha C. Ford
6 books37 followersTanisha C. Ford is a foremost voice, speaking at the intersection of politics and culture. She is an award-winning writer, cultural critic, and Associate Professor of Africana Studies & History at the University of Delaware. Tanisha is also a co-founder of TEXTURES, a pop-up material culture lab creating and curating content on bodies and the built environment. Her commitment to social justice and communities of color is evident in everything she produces.
A native of a mid-sized Midwestern city most people have never heard of, Tanisha enjoys researching the histories of often-overlooked people and places. Her work centers on social movement history, feminism(s), material culture, the built environment, black life in the Rust Belt, girlhood studies, and fashion, beauty, and body politics. She makes connections between the past and the present in ways that shed refreshing new light on contemporary cultural and political issues.
A native of a mid-sized Midwestern city most people have never heard of, Tanisha enjoys researching the histories of often-overlooked people and places. Her work centers on social movement history, feminism(s), material culture, the built environment, black life in the Rust Belt, girlhood studies, and fashion, beauty, and body politics. She makes connections between the past and the present in ways that shed refreshing new light on contemporary cultural and political issues.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
July 21, 2019
I think it's easy for some people to dismiss fashion as an exaltation of excess capitalism, a waste of money, a glaring lack of modesty and humility. I beg to differ-fashion is an outward expression of personal style, a way to set self apart from the crowd or show unity as a group, even as an act of protest in a society that doesn't view you as capable, human, beautiful as you are. Tanisha Ford traces her style development from the very beginning as a "dashiki family in a Dickies town" to an evolution that crossed paths with baggy jeans, Timberland boots, Wave Nouveau hair, leather jackets, and knee high boots. Tennis shoes, afro puffs, bamboo earrings, short shorts, hoodies, and designer handbags are woven into this thing called life, not only as status symbols or acquisitions, but a representation of personal growth.
Ford's writing is accessible to any reader, it lacks the pretentiousness that is often found in academic writing. I like that she was upfront with admitting that she was privileged to be "on trend", not an easy task in town that was plagued by job loss and drug addiction. I especially admire that she recognized that she needed to find her voice, not be a carbon copy of someone else, which reflects the journey of a countless number of people (me included!).
Favorite passages-
comes from Knee High Boots chapter "being fast had as much to do with the fact some adults feared that your curiosity about grown folks dealings was too dangerous for your own good, a curiosity that would render the adults powerless to protect you from the world. Some also feared you would outpace them in life, learn more, experience more. And if you did that, how could they communicate with you, relate to you, manage you, control you? So they hurled out words like fast, which stung when they hit more so out of their own fear and insecurities than as a way to name our "bad"behavior. Some folks would rather throw us girls away than grapple with their own brokenness" (139).
Afro Puff chapter-"my hair, my dress was a narrative. It told a story of my journey" (204).
Designer Handbag epilogue-"it wasn't about the material items themselves, it was about the hard-fought journey to financial stability, the feeling of being starved of your desires for most of your life and then finally having the access, finally being able to indulge" (240).
Ford's writing is accessible to any reader, it lacks the pretentiousness that is often found in academic writing. I like that she was upfront with admitting that she was privileged to be "on trend", not an easy task in town that was plagued by job loss and drug addiction. I especially admire that she recognized that she needed to find her voice, not be a carbon copy of someone else, which reflects the journey of a countless number of people (me included!).
Favorite passages-
comes from Knee High Boots chapter "being fast had as much to do with the fact some adults feared that your curiosity about grown folks dealings was too dangerous for your own good, a curiosity that would render the adults powerless to protect you from the world. Some also feared you would outpace them in life, learn more, experience more. And if you did that, how could they communicate with you, relate to you, manage you, control you? So they hurled out words like fast, which stung when they hit more so out of their own fear and insecurities than as a way to name our "bad"behavior. Some folks would rather throw us girls away than grapple with their own brokenness" (139).
Afro Puff chapter-"my hair, my dress was a narrative. It told a story of my journey" (204).
Designer Handbag epilogue-"it wasn't about the material items themselves, it was about the hard-fought journey to financial stability, the feeling of being starved of your desires for most of your life and then finally having the access, finally being able to indulge" (240).
October 26, 2019
What a bright read! Tanisha Ford’s Dressed in Dreams is enough parts memoir and (black pop) cultural commentary for either audience to be satisfied and surprised in every chapter. Speaking of chapters, each is organized around a fashion staple of a certain time period and geographic place. In terms of geography, Ford is definitely righting my sort of book—she’s a descendant of the Great Migration raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, one of those Midwestern cities (Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee) otherwise known as “Up South.” Just as Ford knows her fashion, she knows her roots, and is in touch with how certain cultural trends that define black Midwestern style are paralleled in other regions across the U.S., something we share given our particular diasporic history.
This goal of connecting various trends is an enjoyable constant throughout Dressed in Dreams. I loved the Jheri curl chapter she unites Generation Z black girls, who came of age in the late relaxer/keratin treatment and early natural hair care era, with early Millennial women who came of age during the Jheri curl phenomenon. She makes you truly question the trends many find nostalgia for—how was the Jheri curl trend similar to the keratin treatment fad, and how was it different? Did these styles and treatments differ regionally? Were they driven by underpinning class aspirations? The questions are endless.
It’s a joy to see Ford return to and interrogate the trends of her youth, partially because she is the sort of relaxed academic who will take you along for her intellectual ride. Despite this conversational tone, she still weaves in some informative bits of design history, so that we are learning something new about the styles we love. I can’t lie—given my own fashion apathy (a good high school friend once described me as a “chapstick lesbian”), I often found myself asking if I had *ever* paid as much attention to someone’s clothing as Ford has throughout her life. However, it’s a testament to the author’s skill that despite not knowing many brand names, I would still highly recommend this book. Ford’s distinct blend of universality and specificity makes this a good time for any black girl born in the 1970s onward, regardless of the size of their closet.
This goal of connecting various trends is an enjoyable constant throughout Dressed in Dreams. I loved the Jheri curl chapter she unites Generation Z black girls, who came of age in the late relaxer/keratin treatment and early natural hair care era, with early Millennial women who came of age during the Jheri curl phenomenon. She makes you truly question the trends many find nostalgia for—how was the Jheri curl trend similar to the keratin treatment fad, and how was it different? Did these styles and treatments differ regionally? Were they driven by underpinning class aspirations? The questions are endless.
It’s a joy to see Ford return to and interrogate the trends of her youth, partially because she is the sort of relaxed academic who will take you along for her intellectual ride. Despite this conversational tone, she still weaves in some informative bits of design history, so that we are learning something new about the styles we love. I can’t lie—given my own fashion apathy (a good high school friend once described me as a “chapstick lesbian”), I often found myself asking if I had *ever* paid as much attention to someone’s clothing as Ford has throughout her life. However, it’s a testament to the author’s skill that despite not knowing many brand names, I would still highly recommend this book. Ford’s distinct blend of universality and specificity makes this a good time for any black girl born in the 1970s onward, regardless of the size of their closet.
June 24, 2019
Black fashion has made its place in fashion history from Afros and dashikis to baggie jeans and hooped earrings. Dressed in Dreams by Tanisha C. Ford is a book that all black girls should read. In this memoir Ford tells her coming of age story through fashion and pop culture. This book brought back so many memories for me especially the early 90’s. The music, fashion trends and the history behind it all. I couldn't put this book down. Well written and researched it’s a must read. Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review. 5 out of 5
January 11, 2020
I thoroughly enjoy a nonfiction topic that balances the memoir/biographical context with the point of the story. For example: Lab Girl told us the story of a nerdy woman who loved science and spent all her time working with her partner in the lab but also told us her personal story too. Ford's is the same exact way: she's telling us about how fashion influnces and affects us all using the context of her own family and her personal story. And the recently read Notes from a Young Black Chef.
Loved it!
Ford lays the groundwork about fashion specifically in black culture which includes outfits, patterns, hairstyles, and footwear. Each chapter is a specific fashion element she wants to talk about, providing history on, then rolls it into the context of her own family story. She brings in her mother quite frequently, but also her grandparents, some friends, and classmates along the way but there was definitely strategy and choice in what she shared (and seemingly didn't).
Likewise, I can get behind this book wrapped in love anyway because of the concept too. As I'm hitting my stride in my thirties, I'm loving fashion and the choices I make, so it's an easy sell anyway. She put so many things into perspective and for non-black readers, teaches a thing or two along the way.
Definitely ordering a few copies for our HS library especially with our vocational school offerings in barbering and cosmetology but also textiles and fashion illustration!
"The Fort Wayne library was oddly hip, and they had all of N.W.A.'s music on cassette. I would use my library card to check out the tapes and then dub them using my dual-cassette stereo."
"Each time we stand before our closet to pick out our clothes, we make a series of choices about how we want to appear before the world. This is just as true for people who claim not to care about clothes as it is for self-proclaimed fashionistas. It's because we recognize that the way we adorn ourselves communicates something about who we are and where we come from... We can think of our clothes, then, as a powerful social skin... we're aware of the social politics of dress and are finding ways to survive and thrive within social norms, or perhaps even transgress them."
"I realized: there's power in getting dressed that goes beyond "big P" politics. There's "little p" politics-- the everyday pleasures and delights of styling out, the strategies we use to navigate microaggressions, how we create communities around hair and dress, the ways we call out appropriation. Our garments are archives of memories- individual and collective, material and emotional- that tell these rich, textured stories of our lives. To make it plain: our clothes makes us feel things. All the things."
Loved it!
Ford lays the groundwork about fashion specifically in black culture which includes outfits, patterns, hairstyles, and footwear. Each chapter is a specific fashion element she wants to talk about, providing history on, then rolls it into the context of her own family story. She brings in her mother quite frequently, but also her grandparents, some friends, and classmates along the way but there was definitely strategy and choice in what she shared (and seemingly didn't).
Likewise, I can get behind this book wrapped in love anyway because of the concept too. As I'm hitting my stride in my thirties, I'm loving fashion and the choices I make, so it's an easy sell anyway. She put so many things into perspective and for non-black readers, teaches a thing or two along the way.
Definitely ordering a few copies for our HS library especially with our vocational school offerings in barbering and cosmetology but also textiles and fashion illustration!
"The Fort Wayne library was oddly hip, and they had all of N.W.A.'s music on cassette. I would use my library card to check out the tapes and then dub them using my dual-cassette stereo."
"Each time we stand before our closet to pick out our clothes, we make a series of choices about how we want to appear before the world. This is just as true for people who claim not to care about clothes as it is for self-proclaimed fashionistas. It's because we recognize that the way we adorn ourselves communicates something about who we are and where we come from... We can think of our clothes, then, as a powerful social skin... we're aware of the social politics of dress and are finding ways to survive and thrive within social norms, or perhaps even transgress them."
"I realized: there's power in getting dressed that goes beyond "big P" politics. There's "little p" politics-- the everyday pleasures and delights of styling out, the strategies we use to navigate microaggressions, how we create communities around hair and dress, the ways we call out appropriation. Our garments are archives of memories- individual and collective, material and emotional- that tell these rich, textured stories of our lives. To make it plain: our clothes makes us feel things. All the things."
October 30, 2019
Very well written, and provides a stroll down memory lane while also connecting how fashion played a part, knowingly or not, in our lives as black women.
November 7, 2025
Listened to the audiobook for class. I love this professor; the way she talks about clothes has expanded the way I think of the dressed body. However, I wanted more from the way this was written.
Read
May 4, 2024Thank you St Martin's Press for the free book to review.
"Our garments are archives of memories-- individual and collective, material and emotional--that tell these rich, textured stories of our lives. To make it plain: our clothes make us feel things. All the things." - Tanisha C. Ford, Dressed in Dreams
Ford titles each chapter in this book with a piece of fashion or trends from the eighties and nineties, chronicles in her journey to personal style and discovery.
Dressed in Dreams was a walk down memory lane in some ways, pausing to give thought to aspects of black fashion and culture. When I consider my own school days with my proud tom boy persona--my oversized T-shirts and jeans, too big for my small frame. Begging my single mom for some Nike or Fila tennis shoes, wanting the brands of my peers, things in my quest to be stylish, or as we once said, FLY. Thinking about LL Cool J and those bamboo earrings.
The colorful "Crayola" crayon box colors I remember in middle school are the billboard of my youth. But the chapter on the AFRO PUFF had me in my feelings (I laughed at the JHERI CURL chapter because I didn't have one but one of my aunt's did for WAY TOO LONG). I can recall with candid discomfort and a hot hair and hair grease smell in my youth the "pressed" or straightened hair sessions. The chastiment to BE STILL or GET BURNED moments. Agreeing to get the CREAMY CRACK so I could have GOOD HAIR.
And when all that changed as an adult in my mid 30s when I had so many hair styles my friends couldn't keep up. The fun I had with being able to practically do anything with my hair if I wanted hair extensions. The reality of my relaxed hair gone and dealing with the hair strands growing out of my head. Being terrified, but slowly coming into my own. In a small way, learning to love myself and the reflection in the mirror.
---
Notes
3-Our garments are archives of memories-- individual and collective, material and emotional--that tell these rich, textured stories of our lives. To make it plain: our clothes make us feel things. All the things.
Yep, that Wet and Wild lipstick
28 -, leather is more like us than any other thing we wear
35- "it is the fundamental desire
43- I wanted that hair. Good hair....
44- Colorism - School Daze
81-and that's what fashion was for, to remake something old into something fresh
93- They didn't see us coming in our Crayola crayon box of denim jeans when they wrote "blue jeans" into that dress code. It was a stroke of black kid genius, the sort of ingenuity that sparked hip hop culture to begin with.
167- From a young age, black girls are sent messages that we aren't enough, but we also get a lot of messages about how we are too much, our lives caught between these contradictions.
205- It was about purging so much negativity and brokenness to get to a truer, lighter sense of self. That was indeed one thing I had gleaned from my days as a pupil in the school of Erykah: "pack light."
214- If you're black, you are already so vulnerable that letting down your guard is unthinkable. Black folk in America are marked out by the most normal things.
215-You're constantly fighting just to be perceived as acceptable in the most basic situations.
"Our garments are archives of memories-- individual and collective, material and emotional--that tell these rich, textured stories of our lives. To make it plain: our clothes make us feel things. All the things." - Tanisha C. Ford, Dressed in Dreams
Ford titles each chapter in this book with a piece of fashion or trends from the eighties and nineties, chronicles in her journey to personal style and discovery.
Dressed in Dreams was a walk down memory lane in some ways, pausing to give thought to aspects of black fashion and culture. When I consider my own school days with my proud tom boy persona--my oversized T-shirts and jeans, too big for my small frame. Begging my single mom for some Nike or Fila tennis shoes, wanting the brands of my peers, things in my quest to be stylish, or as we once said, FLY. Thinking about LL Cool J and those bamboo earrings.
The colorful "Crayola" crayon box colors I remember in middle school are the billboard of my youth. But the chapter on the AFRO PUFF had me in my feelings (I laughed at the JHERI CURL chapter because I didn't have one but one of my aunt's did for WAY TOO LONG). I can recall with candid discomfort and a hot hair and hair grease smell in my youth the "pressed" or straightened hair sessions. The chastiment to BE STILL or GET BURNED moments. Agreeing to get the CREAMY CRACK so I could have GOOD HAIR.
And when all that changed as an adult in my mid 30s when I had so many hair styles my friends couldn't keep up. The fun I had with being able to practically do anything with my hair if I wanted hair extensions. The reality of my relaxed hair gone and dealing with the hair strands growing out of my head. Being terrified, but slowly coming into my own. In a small way, learning to love myself and the reflection in the mirror.
---
Notes
3-Our garments are archives of memories-- individual and collective, material and emotional--that tell these rich, textured stories of our lives. To make it plain: our clothes make us feel things. All the things.
Yep, that Wet and Wild lipstick
28 -, leather is more like us than any other thing we wear
35- "it is the fundamental desire
43- I wanted that hair. Good hair....
44- Colorism - School Daze
81-and that's what fashion was for, to remake something old into something fresh
93- They didn't see us coming in our Crayola crayon box of denim jeans when they wrote "blue jeans" into that dress code. It was a stroke of black kid genius, the sort of ingenuity that sparked hip hop culture to begin with.
167- From a young age, black girls are sent messages that we aren't enough, but we also get a lot of messages about how we are too much, our lives caught between these contradictions.
205- It was about purging so much negativity and brokenness to get to a truer, lighter sense of self. That was indeed one thing I had gleaned from my days as a pupil in the school of Erykah: "pack light."
214- If you're black, you are already so vulnerable that letting down your guard is unthinkable. Black folk in America are marked out by the most normal things.
215-You're constantly fighting just to be perceived as acceptable in the most basic situations.
September 7, 2019
Dr. Ford’s Dressed in Dreams is a trip down memory lane. Yes, it’s her autobiography through fashion, but it also became mine as I remembered the fashion choices I made during those same years and the wars I had with my mother over what I wanted to wear and the still very real struggle of what to do with my hair. I’m also an Indiana girl but hailing from the “big city” of Indianapolis with slightly different experiences. Finding the differences was the beauty of the book. Some stories invite you in. As the reader, you want to be all up in the writer’s world. This one made me want to remember mine. It was a nice change of pace. Ford is adept at contextualiaing her childhood through fashion in ways that allow readers to remember their own 80s and 90s. Also, I admit that Ford and I went to college together so a lot of the fun was remembering details from when were on campus together, noting details from her life that I knew were missing, and learning details from her life that I didn’t know. Whether you know the author or not. Whether you're from the midwest or not. If you're a woman and you worse clothes in the 80s and 90s, then you're gonna love the memories that come with dressed in dreams.
December 5, 2021
"From a young age, black girls are sent messages that we aren't enough, but we also get a lot of messages about how we are too much, our lives caught between these contradictions." ('Bamboo Earrings', 167)
I am finally getting around to writing this review (in 2021)! I got it from the library but did have a few favorite passages written down, this from the intro does a great job of explaining the WHY, ie why Professor Ford chose to focus on fashion, "We assume that we know what signals or markers clothes tell us about who wears them: their race, gender, sexuality, political leanings, socioeconomic status, religion, and so forth. We're not always right, but the mere fact that we think we know means that we believe that clothes reflect an established cultural value system." While the introduction is a bit heavy and academic the rest of the book is fun (which isn't too surprising since it's a book on fashion and Black women/femmes). It's a mix of memoir, Black history and fashion history and although I didn't grow up in the '80s and barely remember '90s fashion it was still enjoyable to read Ford's memories and recollections of the ten items of fashion and style she chooses to focus on in different chapters. Selfishly I was also quite pleased to see that I owned some of the items listed (leather jacket, knee high boots, hoop earrings and some verryyy cheap door knockers as a kid). I also appreciated her Midwestern perspective, the middle of the country isn't thought of as the most fashionable from what I can discern but Ford makes a compelling case to not overlook its previous or future contributions to the fashion industry. Also I did not expect her very astute observations about the perception of Black boys versus girls at predominantly white schools (she attended a boarding school that was PW), "The black boys were allowed to be bombastic. Their version of black cool was accepted. They could be hip hop with their baggy jeans and wheat Timberland boots and cornrows, like my cousin Jonathan used to wear, and still be thought of as smart and athletic. [...] For black girls and Latinas, there was more social pressure for us to conform, to tame our hair and our bodies" ('Baggy Jeans', 106-107). This stunned me because it so profoundly named something I'd observed growing up but struggled to articulate and I never would have considered the fashion lens as a way to explain the double standard.
DRESSED IN DREAMS is an erudite and compelling look at Black fashion and its contributions to American fashion and culture writ large that rightfully centers the perspectives of Black women and femmes. I loved that she wove her personal story and connections to each item into the chapter. From hair to fashion, Ford explores some notable trends and major style moments that came from Black culture while providing an additional Midwestern rust belt lens as she assess each fashion/style piece. At the same time the book isn't solely laudatory when it comes to fashion, Ford touches on cultural appropriation, hypocrisy and other downsides to the fashion industry and its treatment of Black culture/style. It's a nuanced look at a topic I always knew was important but never thought much about since I'm not a fashionista. And while I didn't finish this book feeling anymore prepared to be fashionable in the real world I did walk away with a greater appreciation (and specific examples!) of all the ways Black people have changed the fashion game for the better.
I am finally getting around to writing this review (in 2021)! I got it from the library but did have a few favorite passages written down, this from the intro does a great job of explaining the WHY, ie why Professor Ford chose to focus on fashion, "We assume that we know what signals or markers clothes tell us about who wears them: their race, gender, sexuality, political leanings, socioeconomic status, religion, and so forth. We're not always right, but the mere fact that we think we know means that we believe that clothes reflect an established cultural value system." While the introduction is a bit heavy and academic the rest of the book is fun (which isn't too surprising since it's a book on fashion and Black women/femmes). It's a mix of memoir, Black history and fashion history and although I didn't grow up in the '80s and barely remember '90s fashion it was still enjoyable to read Ford's memories and recollections of the ten items of fashion and style she chooses to focus on in different chapters. Selfishly I was also quite pleased to see that I owned some of the items listed (leather jacket, knee high boots, hoop earrings and some verryyy cheap door knockers as a kid). I also appreciated her Midwestern perspective, the middle of the country isn't thought of as the most fashionable from what I can discern but Ford makes a compelling case to not overlook its previous or future contributions to the fashion industry. Also I did not expect her very astute observations about the perception of Black boys versus girls at predominantly white schools (she attended a boarding school that was PW), "The black boys were allowed to be bombastic. Their version of black cool was accepted. They could be hip hop with their baggy jeans and wheat Timberland boots and cornrows, like my cousin Jonathan used to wear, and still be thought of as smart and athletic. [...] For black girls and Latinas, there was more social pressure for us to conform, to tame our hair and our bodies" ('Baggy Jeans', 106-107). This stunned me because it so profoundly named something I'd observed growing up but struggled to articulate and I never would have considered the fashion lens as a way to explain the double standard.
DRESSED IN DREAMS is an erudite and compelling look at Black fashion and its contributions to American fashion and culture writ large that rightfully centers the perspectives of Black women and femmes. I loved that she wove her personal story and connections to each item into the chapter. From hair to fashion, Ford explores some notable trends and major style moments that came from Black culture while providing an additional Midwestern rust belt lens as she assess each fashion/style piece. At the same time the book isn't solely laudatory when it comes to fashion, Ford touches on cultural appropriation, hypocrisy and other downsides to the fashion industry and its treatment of Black culture/style. It's a nuanced look at a topic I always knew was important but never thought much about since I'm not a fashionista. And while I didn't finish this book feeling anymore prepared to be fashionable in the real world I did walk away with a greater appreciation (and specific examples!) of all the ways Black people have changed the fashion game for the better.
November 10, 2021
Don't have much to say about this one partially because LIFE is a thing that insists on happening in increasingly aggravating ways, and also because I just…don't have much to say. I liked learning about the history and meaning behind some of the iconic Black fashion elements she covers, and seeing how Black kids and adults from varying backgrounds made them their own. It's always interesting to me to see a familiar topic through a new lens. The fashion world is still so white in general, even though quite a lot of trends are essentially coopted from people of color, and especially Black people.
I listened to this on audio and the author reads it herself, and I really liked listening to her and appreciated her easy, conversational tone. But this was also much more of a personal memoir than a sociological study/history like I expected. There was a lot about the details of various points in her life that weren't really relevant to the specific topic of the chapter, and I found myself drifting off while listening. But that is also likely due to the LIFE stuff, to be fair. I think this is a worthy one but just didn't totally hit the mark for me personally.
(Read for the "Style" prompt for Nonfiction November.)
I listened to this on audio and the author reads it herself, and I really liked listening to her and appreciated her easy, conversational tone. But this was also much more of a personal memoir than a sociological study/history like I expected. There was a lot about the details of various points in her life that weren't really relevant to the specific topic of the chapter, and I found myself drifting off while listening. But that is also likely due to the LIFE stuff, to be fair. I think this is a worthy one but just didn't totally hit the mark for me personally.
(Read for the "Style" prompt for Nonfiction November.)
Read
March 16, 2021Read this for school so I'm not rating it, but I will say this is an EXCELLENT and nuanced look at fashion and how it affects and is affected by black women and black non-binary people. Very very worth the read
March 20, 2020
4.5 Review to come
July 31, 2019
I get it. I understand it. While the author and I didn't quite have the same timeframe and cultural/fashion cache this book and the tales of fashions within were quite familiar. I was reminded of growing up and not being able to wear Nike (of any sort) because my mom recalled sensational news stories of people being robbed, jumped and even killed for their Jordans. I was reminded of that feeling of being more grown up when I went to Value City and bought a pair of Nike gym shoes with my own money, but also that feeling of being afraid that my mom would chastise me (and my dad for allowing it) for buying the forbidden brand. I was taken back to being in New York for the first time in 2006 and going to the Carol's Daughter store in Brooklyn and feeling hip and in the know about natural hair care when I saw it on the shelves of Sephora when I came back home to Chicago. I also remember feeling a little perplexed by what to do with my natural hair while also feeling like a pioneer on my HBCU campus because I was one of only a handful of girls with a TWA when I started my freshman year, but then a wizened elder by the time I graduated four years later and saw so many of peers rocking their natural texture and asking me what I did or sharing their feelings of inspiration in my choice. I'm still only rocking the same 3 styles with my natural hair, but that has more to do with my general disdain of hair than anything else, ha. When Tanisha talks about being in her mother's closet and what a clotheshorse her mom is, I'm reminded of my own mother, with multiple closets full of clothes and the things I saw and coveted as a young child. Some of those things have come to me now that I'm old enough, things like her gold jewelry because she's moved onto silver and others I will never see again because my mother didn't hold onto her fabulous pieces even though she knew she had a little diva of a daughter coming behind her. Towards the end Tanisha talks about being in a Louis Vuitton store and how the impostor syndrome takes root and can make you feel unworthy of being in the place, even though your money is just as green, or how you feel like you must be the perfect, cautious, overly-everything shopper in order to overcome racist and classicist stereotypes that have affected Black people and POC from Oprah to young workers with their tax refund. I thought of all the times I've donned that mask or played the role in order to get through an encounter and feel worthy of also being able to belong in the capitalist system and spend my money just as frivolously as the white girl next to me. I was transported back to Costa Rica and crying on a bus while headed into the mountains and jungle after hearing that George Zimmerman would face no jail time for the senseless killing of Trayvon Martin and the way that the hoodie began to symbolize something for me. What a thoughtful exploration of Black fashion and culture. The only thing I will say is that I felt like some of the descriptions of people were a little unnecessarily "mean girl" in a way that I can't quite put my finger on, but rubbed me the wrong way a little. Thankfully, these moments were few and far between and I'm thankful for the opportunity to reflect on fashion and style in this way.
June 18, 2019
Dressed in Dreams is a perfect blend of memoir, fashion, pop culture, and history. Tanisha C. Ford walks readers through her life, telling of the popular fashion trends that she embraced as well as introducing the special individuals and culture that influenced her style. Wholly original in both concept and execution, Tanisha C. Ford’s book is a beautiful celebration of black women. However, anyone who treasures clothes, hair, and accessories will delight in this thoughtful book.
I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2019
This book, a mesh of a coming of age story and fashion history textbook, is a cool way to show how fashion changes and molds us while also defining our roles and class. It is written beautifully (almost poetically).
Although it was clear in several passages that I am not the target audience for this book, I found that I could relate to at least 75% of the fashion and brands named in the book. I grew up in the same “factory town” as Ford names it - and even went to the same high school. We were a year apart, but the fashion, songs, and sentiments were all the same.
This book spans Ford’s life through the clothing, music, and ideals that were popular at the time (from dashikis to #blacklivesmatter). She describes not only how they affected her life, but also how they came to be, and a little bit about how they related to her culture.
I enjoyed the nostalgia I felt through the discussion of the designs, labels, and stores I also wore and loved, but I was a bit thrown off by the back-and-forth of timelines. It seemed to want to go chronologically, but would somehow go from present to past, and then back again quite a bit.
Overall, it’s an interesting read.
Although it was clear in several passages that I am not the target audience for this book, I found that I could relate to at least 75% of the fashion and brands named in the book. I grew up in the same “factory town” as Ford names it - and even went to the same high school. We were a year apart, but the fashion, songs, and sentiments were all the same.
This book spans Ford’s life through the clothing, music, and ideals that were popular at the time (from dashikis to #blacklivesmatter). She describes not only how they affected her life, but also how they came to be, and a little bit about how they related to her culture.
I enjoyed the nostalgia I felt through the discussion of the designs, labels, and stores I also wore and loved, but I was a bit thrown off by the back-and-forth of timelines. It seemed to want to go chronologically, but would somehow go from present to past, and then back again quite a bit.
Overall, it’s an interesting read.
August 26, 2025
A wonderful read! If you grew up obsessed with fashion in small town Midwestern America you will see yourself in the pages of this book, if you didn't you will still love it. It reads as a memoir through clothing and I couldn't put it down!
October 10, 2019
“Each time we stand before our closet to pick out our clothes, we make a series of choices about how we want to appear before the world. This is just as true for people who claim not to care about clothes as it is for self-proclaimed fashionistas. It’s because we recognize that the way we adorn ourselves communicates something about who we are and where we come from.”
Dressed in Dreams: a Black Girl’s Love Letter to the Power of Fashion by Tanisha C. Ford has easily been one of my favorite reads so far this year. Part history lesson in style, part coming-of-age tale, Dressed in Dreams lures readers into the world of a Midwestern Black Girl defining herself one wardrobe choice at a time.
The title bearing the words “love letter” is so fitting, as Ford shares an ode to the Jheri Curl, makes honorable mention of the Dopemans, head-nods baggy jeans, and gives three snaps for the beloved bamboo earrings. Each reference of course, is accompanied by a personal story that shaped Ford’s identity as a black woman in some way. And while devouring each story, I was reminded of how much of who we are is observed through our garments.
I enjoyed this book so much. Ford knew how fashion shaped our lives and how we as black people use fashion as a form of self-expression in the most creative ways. I smiled as I read each essay, reminiscing on my own fashion stories and how the thought of my skating rink attire at 15 brought back so many memories. And while the author and I may not have had the exact same experiences, I could relate to many of the sentiments she expressed. Every pair of doorknockers I’ve purchased, every pair of baggy POLO jeans I was passed down, and every hairstyle I tried throughout the years helped me realize the woman I wanted to be and gave me the power to control the version of myself I proudly displayed.
Thank you Tanisha C. Ford for sharing your stories with us. Special thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for a copy of this read in exchange for an honest review.
Dressed in Dreams: a Black Girl’s Love Letter to the Power of Fashion by Tanisha C. Ford has easily been one of my favorite reads so far this year. Part history lesson in style, part coming-of-age tale, Dressed in Dreams lures readers into the world of a Midwestern Black Girl defining herself one wardrobe choice at a time.
The title bearing the words “love letter” is so fitting, as Ford shares an ode to the Jheri Curl, makes honorable mention of the Dopemans, head-nods baggy jeans, and gives three snaps for the beloved bamboo earrings. Each reference of course, is accompanied by a personal story that shaped Ford’s identity as a black woman in some way. And while devouring each story, I was reminded of how much of who we are is observed through our garments.
I enjoyed this book so much. Ford knew how fashion shaped our lives and how we as black people use fashion as a form of self-expression in the most creative ways. I smiled as I read each essay, reminiscing on my own fashion stories and how the thought of my skating rink attire at 15 brought back so many memories. And while the author and I may not have had the exact same experiences, I could relate to many of the sentiments she expressed. Every pair of doorknockers I’ve purchased, every pair of baggy POLO jeans I was passed down, and every hairstyle I tried throughout the years helped me realize the woman I wanted to be and gave me the power to control the version of myself I proudly displayed.
Thank you Tanisha C. Ford for sharing your stories with us. Special thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for a copy of this read in exchange for an honest review.
February 28, 2022
I contemplated giving this a higher rating because I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I ended up not because it felt not fully developed. What I mean by that is that each chapter and fashion trend Ford wrote about and provided history and anecdotes for was so good—but left out pieces of her identity. I know it's selfish to demand more, but I would have loved to read about what changed for her and how she viewed clothes once she became a mother (for example). That was a very light thread throughout this piece, and I wanted to know how such a life-impacting thing—raising a child—influenced how she was viewing various trends. Or about how she watched her son pick clothes to express himself. Given the way she wrote about everything else in this book, I think that would have been really cool.
I'm grateful for this book because so many pieces of culture are touched upon here that I've either never thought about or appreciated. And you can tell Ford has written every word being proud of Black culture, and her most loving anecdotes are the ones where she mentions close friends and family members who helped shape her fashion views.
In a society that sends messages of beauty equating to Whiteness, this book is super important. I'm excited this is a read I'll be discussing with my Book Club, and I definitely recommend it!
I'm grateful for this book because so many pieces of culture are touched upon here that I've either never thought about or appreciated. And you can tell Ford has written every word being proud of Black culture, and her most loving anecdotes are the ones where she mentions close friends and family members who helped shape her fashion views.
In a society that sends messages of beauty equating to Whiteness, this book is super important. I'm excited this is a read I'll be discussing with my Book Club, and I definitely recommend it!
June 26, 2019
***ARC received from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***
The title really sums up what this book is all about, a love letter to the power of fashion and how it shapes peoples lives. The author leads us through how it helped to influence and shape her life life but she does a great job of showing how fashion affects culture as a whole. Also cultures affect on fashion, from music to movie and television.
Each chapter for the book is dedicated to a specific piece of fashion and its affect on society at that time. I really liked how the author also spends a good amount of time talking about the history of the fashion. I know all the fashion that she mentioned but to learn its history was really a nice touch, showing how much the author loves fashion and the impact that it has had on her life.
It may be a love letter but it doesn't shy away from the negative aspect of fashion. Not just for how society judges black women's fashion and when white women wear that same fashion but to how the choice of a single piece of clothing that everyone likely has in their closet can be seen as a threat or just a fashion statement, depending on who is wearing it.
I highly recommend Dressed in Dreams.
The title really sums up what this book is all about, a love letter to the power of fashion and how it shapes peoples lives. The author leads us through how it helped to influence and shape her life life but she does a great job of showing how fashion affects culture as a whole. Also cultures affect on fashion, from music to movie and television.
Each chapter for the book is dedicated to a specific piece of fashion and its affect on society at that time. I really liked how the author also spends a good amount of time talking about the history of the fashion. I know all the fashion that she mentioned but to learn its history was really a nice touch, showing how much the author loves fashion and the impact that it has had on her life.
It may be a love letter but it doesn't shy away from the negative aspect of fashion. Not just for how society judges black women's fashion and when white women wear that same fashion but to how the choice of a single piece of clothing that everyone likely has in their closet can be seen as a threat or just a fashion statement, depending on who is wearing it.
I highly recommend Dressed in Dreams.
August 29, 2019
This was such an on-point read. It's so intriguing how fashion evolves and informs others of who you are. It's one of the first things that people see when they look at you.
Since the author and I are around the same age, many of the moments and styles she described felt like a walk down Memory Lane. Some parts of it made me think back to the days of Lerner: around the mid-1990s, there was a slightly ribbed shirt they sold that EVERYONE had. Long sleeved, short sleeved, sometimes striped, in all colors. I even had a shorts set in it at one point. It was a popular item at a moment in time.
I also haven't thought that deeply about the topic of regional fashion, particularly how the mid-east/mid-west states can feel isolated toward some trends, or how risque an item can be perceived to be, based on the end user. For example, I knew that knee boots were edgy and made a statement, but never considered that they would be looked at in a negative view by some (possibly because of go-go dancer or street walker connotations).
Ultimately, the way the author weaved in particular styles with her life was intriguing and was executed in a very real, relatable way. I really enjoyed it.
Since the author and I are around the same age, many of the moments and styles she described felt like a walk down Memory Lane. Some parts of it made me think back to the days of Lerner: around the mid-1990s, there was a slightly ribbed shirt they sold that EVERYONE had. Long sleeved, short sleeved, sometimes striped, in all colors. I even had a shorts set in it at one point. It was a popular item at a moment in time.
I also haven't thought that deeply about the topic of regional fashion, particularly how the mid-east/mid-west states can feel isolated toward some trends, or how risque an item can be perceived to be, based on the end user. For example, I knew that knee boots were edgy and made a statement, but never considered that they would be looked at in a negative view by some (possibly because of go-go dancer or street walker connotations).
Ultimately, the way the author weaved in particular styles with her life was intriguing and was executed in a very real, relatable way. I really enjoyed it.
June 26, 2019
Dressed in Dreams book review - no spoilers -
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Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Part memoir, part fashion lesson and all around absolutely engaging: this is a novel I thought about long after closing the cover. Though it's rooted in fashion, Dressed in Dreams deals with all kinds of topics: desire, access, black innovation, appropriation and ultimately fashion's power. Tanisha takes us through her childhood, teen years, college and beyond. You grow with her, feeling not only the pains of adolescence but also her experiences as a black girl coming of age in a Midwestern rust belt city. I appreciate her honesty, her ability to speak so passionately throughout her story and how she's able to tie so much back to fashion. To quote Tanisha, "And I've concluded: clothes are never just garments."
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This book publishes today, June 25, 2019!
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Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Part memoir, part fashion lesson and all around absolutely engaging: this is a novel I thought about long after closing the cover. Though it's rooted in fashion, Dressed in Dreams deals with all kinds of topics: desire, access, black innovation, appropriation and ultimately fashion's power. Tanisha takes us through her childhood, teen years, college and beyond. You grow with her, feeling not only the pains of adolescence but also her experiences as a black girl coming of age in a Midwestern rust belt city. I appreciate her honesty, her ability to speak so passionately throughout her story and how she's able to tie so much back to fashion. To quote Tanisha, "And I've concluded: clothes are never just garments."
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This book publishes today, June 25, 2019!
February 9, 2020
In this memoir/fashion history, Tanisha Ford gives us the story of the evolution of black fashion in the 20th and 21st century in a delightfully personal and thorough way. I found her writing approachable but super smart, and learned A LOT. Each chapter centers on a fashion item or trend (Leather Jacket, Hoodie, Afro Puff etc.), moving chronologically from the 60s to today. While Ford provides historical and cultural context for each chapter, she also shares the story of the fashion piece in her own coming of age story. She has a keen eye on cultural appropriation, a nod to queer style-shapers, and a fascinating story herself. On a personal note, I was surprised to find myself in the Kehaya dorm at St. Paul’s School in NH where I’ve spent so much of my time every summer! Ford takes us all over the country and tells the story of the influence and resilience of black style beautifully.
June 16, 2021
This was an interesting way to frame and tell an autobiography through the fashion that accompanied and defined Tanisha's life. I learned about some styles and experiences that I hadn't heard of before. I also learned some more about the history of migration and culture of black communities after emancipation. Overall the book was fun and honest, mixed with the reality of some of the struggles of navigating the world as a black woman.
I gave it 3 stars because it was a fine read but nothing super impactful or connecting for me. I also felt like the first half was structured well as a narrative and then the end jumped around a bit without a clear story or direction. The content was all fine, but just didn't have anything to push it up to the next level.
I gave it 3 stars because it was a fine read but nothing super impactful or connecting for me. I also felt like the first half was structured well as a narrative and then the end jumped around a bit without a clear story or direction. The content was all fine, but just didn't have anything to push it up to the next level.
September 10, 2019
This book is my favorite read of the year so far! As black women, style is so deeply embedded in our cultural identity. Growing up, our style isn’t always inspired by fashion runways; it’s inspired by our mothers, our black culture icons, and the women in our hoods. @soulistaphd narrates her story of exploring identity through style so beautifully, and in such a relatable way! Every page felt like sitting down with a girlfriend and sharing about the first time your mom bought you a pair of bamboo earrings, or that one time you got that bad perm 😂 I would definitely recommend this book to every black woman who loves style.
December 20, 2019
A black woman’s love letter to fashion, fashioned from the clothes of her life. Chapters are named after dashikis, coochie cutters, knee high boots, baggie jeans, and hoodies – among others. Each chapter details the garment and how it affected the author’s life in such a way the reader learns her story as well as information about the style and its place in African American culture. As she says in the first pages, “Through our clothes we can do our own form of world-making... And nobody does this better than people from oppressed groups...” It makes me wish for a similar book from a lesbian who has experienced the different clothing choices from the 1930s forward.
February 15, 2020
30 Words or Less Summary:
Dressed in Dreams discusses the history of African-American vogue of the last century hand in hand with Dr. Ford's small town childhood to grown advocate and mature fashionista.
What I liked best:
So much. Lately I love delving through fashion articles or books with influencer heroines, because even though I initially feared the narrators would all be snotty or catty, they really have such great wisdom to give and are honestly just trying to love themselves too.
This book has a lot to offer if you are a black woman who grew up in the 90's like Dr. Ford, but I think any WOC can enjoy this book, or anyone really who loves style and morality. This book reads a lot like Naturally Tan by Tan France, part trend guide, part memoir. A friend said it also reads like We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, with the author expressing concern over not connecting with her roots after moving higher in academia.
I hope you pick up Dr. Ford's books along with the similar books mentioned above. I do look forward to reading more books by her.
What I liked least:
There needs to be a playlist!!! 👏👏👏 Someone get on that!!!
Dressed in Dreams discusses the history of African-American vogue of the last century hand in hand with Dr. Ford's small town childhood to grown advocate and mature fashionista.
What I liked best:
So much. Lately I love delving through fashion articles or books with influencer heroines, because even though I initially feared the narrators would all be snotty or catty, they really have such great wisdom to give and are honestly just trying to love themselves too.
This book has a lot to offer if you are a black woman who grew up in the 90's like Dr. Ford, but I think any WOC can enjoy this book, or anyone really who loves style and morality. This book reads a lot like Naturally Tan by Tan France, part trend guide, part memoir. A friend said it also reads like We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, with the author expressing concern over not connecting with her roots after moving higher in academia.
I hope you pick up Dr. Ford's books along with the similar books mentioned above. I do look forward to reading more books by her.
What I liked least:
There needs to be a playlist!!! 👏👏👏 Someone get on that!!!
June 20, 2019
4.5 Stars. This book is part cultural history, personal reflection, and societal analysis. The writing is phenomenal and brought me in as well as back to my own memories of fashion/music/expectation as a young adult to adult. HIGHLY recommend Dr. Ford's book, particularly to those wanting to be reminded and immersed in their backgrounds and what aspects of fashion sparked our ideas of belonging and identity.
August 18, 2019
This book was nostalgic on so many levels. It weaves a history lesson into the memories of childhood in a relatable way. I learned so much but also found myself nodding and saying “mmhmm” throughout the book. Ford explores the risk in being different within the Black community but also the importance of family, community and personal individuality. As a fellow lover of fashion, I simply loved the chapter illustrations!
January 6, 2020
Dressed in Dreams was a fascinating read for me. Tanisha Ford's description of her growing up in a Midwest factory town, her experiences as she went through school and college, was eye-opening. I've heard the phrase "clothes make the man" (or woman, as the case may be), but I never realized how much fashion can be a part of cultural identity. This book has made me consider things I hadn't considered before, and isn't that what good writing does?
January 14, 2020
I really liked this memoir of sorts that analyzes the importance of 10 articles of fashion and their importance in the author’s life and her community/the Black diaspora. I loved the vignettes she shared about her life and how fashion has been an important part of her personal narrative. This book would make a great bookclub read and a good jumping off point to consider the ways in which fashion is more than “just” clothes or accessories.
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