With his now-legendary store on 125th Street in Harlem, Dapper Dan pioneered high-end streetwear in the 1980s, remixing classic luxury-brand logos into his own innovative, glamorous designs. But before he reinvented haute couture, he was a hungry boy with holes in his shoes, a teen who daringly gambled drug dealers out of their money, and a young man in a prison cell who found nourishment in books. In this remarkable memoir, he tells his full story for the first time.
Decade after decade, Dapper Dan discovered creative ways to flourish in a country designed to privilege certain Americans over others. He witnessed, profited from, and despised the rise of two drug epidemics. He invented stunningly bold credit card frauds that took him around the world. He paid neighborhood kids to jog with him in an effort to keep them out of the drug game. And when he turned his attention to fashion, he did so with the energy and curiosity with which he approaches all things: learning how to treat fur himself when no one would sell finished fur coats to a Black man; finding the best dressed hustler in the neighborhood and converting him into a customer; staying open twenty-four hours a day for nine years straight to meet demand; and, finally, emerging as a world-famous designer whose looks went on to define an era, dressing cultural icons including Eric B. and Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Mike Tyson, Alpo Martinez, LL Cool J, Jam Master Jay, Diddy, Naomi Campbell, and Jay-Z.
By turns playful, poignant, thrilling, and inspiring, Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem is a high-stakes coming-of-age story spanning more than seventy years and set against the backdrop of an America where, as in the life of its narrator, the only constant is change.
"It's easy now to take for granted the trail [Dapper Dan] blazed. . . . Detailed descriptions of his family's tragic journey through poverty, the changing nature of his beloved and cursed neighborhood, and his adventures as a hustler are riveting." --The New York Times
"A dream maker from Harlem." --Nas
"Truly a gift." --Taraji P. Henson, Emmy- and Oscar-nominated actress
"A fantastic and cinematic writer." --Phoebe Robinson
"Dapper Dan makes manifest through garments what Black flyness, Black intelligence, Black struggle, Black courage, Black hustle, Black progress, Black resistance and Black royalty looks like. Never did he rattle a beggar's cup outside of a fashion industry designed to exclude him and all who looked like him. He took what he wanted from the establishment and built his own damn house. His life story is a wonderful tale of brilliance, hard work, perseverance, and hustle--America at its best." --Michaela Angela Davis, writer and image activist
"Dapper Dan is not just the epitome of style and grace, but an international treasure. He is a cultural icon who has pioneered his own path through the fashion industry, one that will influence generations to come." --La La Anthony
"A grand raconteur." --Margo Jefferson, author of Negroland
"A purveyor of the American Dream." --Elaine Welteroth
