BOOKS

Tanisha is the author of three books and countless articles.

“Writing books is challenging, but something in me can’t resist showing up to the page.” -Tanisha

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

St. Martins, June 2019

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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.

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.

Now optioned by Sony Pictures TV for a live-action series adapatation: produced by Freida Pinto and Gabrielle Union

MEDIA COVERAGE

The Root

A Love Letter to Fashion—and Black Womanhood

For Ford, fashion isn't just about how we look―she knows that what we wear is both personal and political.

Newsweek

The 10 Most Important Items in Tanisha Ford's Closet

Culture critic Tanisha C. Ford, author of 'Dressed in Dreams,' shares the most crucial items in her wardrobe.

CHicago tribune

Midwestern Black girls are so often overlooked

"Dressed in Dreams” author Tanisha Ford on how culture shapes style and clothing item comebacks.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Hell, yeah, appropriation hurts

A conversation with black fashion historian Tanisha C. Ford about her book, ‘Dressed in Dreams.’

Colorlines

6 Books That Complicate the Idea of 'Independence'

Books that explore the idea of liberation via the lives, poetry, history and art of people of color.

essence

10 Books We're Dying To Toss Into Our Summer Totes

Everyone from the shopaholic to the clearance rack queen will see themselves in [Ford's] pages.

elle

Leather: A Black Girl's Fashion Rite of Passage

The black leather jacket has been an enduring symbol of Black cool. Here's why.

zora

How Bamboo Earrings Became Iconic

Long before Carrie Bradshaw adorned herself with them, they were the ultimate fly girl accessory.

The Hill

How Hip Hop and Hoodies Changed Our Fashion

African Americans have defined politics, culture and style.

Diverse

Dressed in Dreams Offers a Powerful History Lesson

Poignant yet funny. Ford does a brilliant job tracing the roots of fashion.

Kirkus Reviews

An entertaining coming-of-age memoir

A professor and pop-culture observer finds insight behind the statement, 'clothes are never just garments.'

publishers weekly

Review of Dressed in Dreams

Ford’s knowledge of fashion and her love for the women who influenced her style makes this appealing for anyone who’s ever loved a piece of clothing.

Praise

"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

"There is no one more deft at weaving the fabric of our collective story together with our fashion choices and the politics that shape them than Tanisha Ford. This book will make you reminisce, reconnect and reflect anew on the fashion of the nineties, but with a Midwestern girls twist. Like your favorite album, you will want to take this journey from beginning to end."

Brittney Cooper, Author of Eloquent Rage

"In Dressed in Dreams, Tanisha Ford gets Hurston with it, fearlessly and tenderly combing through the closet of her own black girlhood to unearth a treasure trove of sartorial choices - ones that reveal the innovative, rich and delicious complexity of black female identity. Dressed in Dreams proves that when it comes to black women 'we are what we wear' is much more than a threadbare adage. In Ford’s capable hands, it’s elevated to homage.”

Joan Morgan, cultural critic and author of She Begat This: 20 Years of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

"A rich and exciting book that focuses on family love, girlhood, the black arts movement and the closet. I loved this book. I am still smiling and embracing my memories of coming of age and creating and finding multiple identities while styling in and out of my own closet. Groundbreaking."

Deborah Willis, New York University and author of Posing Beauty

“Tanisha C. Ford explores and explicates the intricacies and politics of black style with the rigor of a critic and the heart of a writer. Deconstructing everything from Afros, dashikis, bamboo earrings, baggy jeans, sneakers, and hoodies, she's a master at letting us see and feel how what we wear expresses our politics and our deepest desires.”

Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times bestselling author of What Truth Sounds Like

"What a charming and endearing collection of memories that will inspire future fashionistas who dare to dream beyond their surroundings."

Mimi Plange, fashion designer and creative director

Lecture Video

The last stop on the Dressed in Dreams book tour! Tanisha and radio host Natalie Moore chat about all things style and Blackness in the Midwest at the 2019 Chicago Humanities Festival.

PDF Reading Guide

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.

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