Fashion Friday: The Power and Politics of Black Style in Dressed in Dreams

Fashion is more than just fabric and thread—it’s an archive of culture, a battleground of identity, and a language of resistance. Tanisha C. Ford’s Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl’s Love Letter to the Power of Fashion is a deeply personal and historically rich exploration of Black fashion as both a form of self-expression and a marker of social change. This Fashion Friday, we take a moment to dive into Ford’s evocative storytelling, where sneakers, hoodies, and bamboo earrings hold as much weight as history books.

Ford’s book is a nostalgic yet sharp-witted journey through the closets of Black America, tracing the style choices of generations—from the afros and dashikis of the civil rights era to the hip-hop aesthetic that shaped the ’90s. She doesn’t just reminisce; she contextualizes, offering a lens into how Black fashion has always been political, shaped by both joy and struggle.

One of the most compelling aspects of Dressed in Dreams is Ford’s personal connection to the styles she discusses. Growing up in the Midwest, she navigated the unspoken fashion codes that determined belonging and survival. From avoiding the wrong-colored sneakers during the gang violence of the ’80s to the culture shock of attending an elite boarding school where her vibrant, oversized jeans stood out against a sea of conservative wool shift dresses, Ford’s experiences resonate deeply. Her storytelling makes it clear that Black fashion is a site of both vulnerability and power.

But Dressed in Dreams is also a critique. Ford dissects the mainstream fashion industry’s long history of appropriating Black style while excluding Black bodies. She explores the economic realities that make knockoff culture a necessity for many Black communities and highlights the ingenuity of making magic out of dollar-store rhinestones and airbrushed T-shirts. She reminds us that Black fashion is not just about aesthetics—it’s about access, agency, and the perpetual reinvention of cool.

With Dressed in Dreams now optioned by Sony Pictures TV for a live-action adaptation, the book’s influence is set to expand beyond the page. Produced by Freida Pinto and Gabrielle Union, the series promises to bring Ford’s sharp cultural analysis and vibrant storytelling to an even broader audience.

This Fashion Friday, let’s celebrate Black style not just as a trend but as a legacy. As Ford’s book illustrates, fashion is more than what we wear—it’s who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going. So, whether you’re rocking a vintage leather jacket, Timberlands, or a hoodie with a message, know that you’re part of a long, revolutionary tradition of dressing in dreams.

About the author

Tanisha C. Ford is a cultural critic and award-winning writer. A professor of history at The Graduate Center, CUNY, she has written for the New York Times, the Atlantic, Time, the Root, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and featured on NPR, among other places. In 2019, she was named to the Root’s list of the 100 Most influential African Americans. Ford is the author of Dressed in Dreams, Kwame Brathwaite: Black is Beautiful, and Liberated Threads, which won the 2016 Organization of American Historians’ Liberty Legacy Foundation Award for best book on civil rights history. Her research has been supported by New America/Emerson Collective, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Schomburg Center, and Ford Foundation, among others. She lives in Harlem. For more information visit: www.tanishacford.com. Follow her on social media: @SoulistaPhD