Book Review: “Dressed in Dreams”

Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl’s Love Letter to the Power of Fashion

Tanisha C. Ford

Hardcover, 256 pages

Publication Date: June 25, 2019

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Genre: Nonfiction, Fashion

It was nearly midnight. I was lying in bed, bored and unable to sleep. Summer break can have that effect. I grabbed my phone and started browsing through my library’s online collection, hoping to find something interesting and easy enough to read so I would be entertained until I could finally fall asleep.

I was scrolling through a list of new releases when I saw “Dressed in Dreams.” I have never read a book on fashion, let alone one about how black fashion engages with American history. I decided to download it and give the genre of fashion writing a chance.

I would read more fashion books if everyone wrote them as well as Ford. She weaves her own story into the account of black fashion as it has evolved from the 1970s to the present day. The changes in fashion trends reflect the changes in Ford’s life: the dashikis her parents wore in the 70s, the leather jackets she coveted as a child, the Nikes everyone wore when she was a teenager and the natural hair movement she embraced in adulthood.

The memoir aspect is a major part of what makes “Dressed in Dreams” so good. This is not just a historical report about the evolution of black fashion; it is a biography of how fashion influenced the culture and individuals of its time, including Ford and her family. The fashion of her parents’ time differs from her own, and as Ford grows up, she moves from envying her mother’s closet to developing her own unique style. She uses fashion to help find her identity and make sense of the world around her. Fashion is a way to make a statement, whether about one’s self or about something bigger.

The last chapter of the book captures both of these reasons for fashion well. The hoodies which became synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement a few years ago are both a statement and a personal matter for Ford. She is passionate about Black Lives Matter, and she is also painfully aware of the dangers her own teenage son faces in America. She has to reconcile her own experiences with those of the movement, and her thoughts and feelings are bookended by the fashion behind it.

“Dressed in Dreams” is easily a five-star read. I highly encourage you to pick up this book, even if—like me—you feel about as far removed from fashion as a person can be. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of trends just as much as Ford’s own experiences. She works emotion into her writing without it becoming sappy, and the personalization of the information she shares makes it an engaging experience from the first page to the last.

While “Dressed in Dreams” is a fashion book, it is about much more than that, which is the point Ford makes about fashion as a whole. It is not pretty clothes bought at an expensive boutique. Fashion is cultural; it is personal. If you think fashion is no more than models on a runway, Ford is here to change your mind.

Paige Holmes is a senior journalism major from Topeka, KS. Reading is her favorite thing to do because it teaches one how to think, imagine and live. Paige believes there is no better way to learn something or be entertained than by reading a book. Her favorite genre of books is fantasy/thriller and her favorite book is ‘Opening Moves’ by Steven James.

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