Dapper Dan

Starred review from May 6, 2019
In this moving memoir, Day (aka Dapper Dan) chronicles his rise from a poor black boy growing up in 1940s Harlem to becoming a notable designer of streetwear. With clients ranging from gangsters and pimps to Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Day saw each customer as “an actor auditioning to be in this big, generational movie I’m making.” Day was a talented poet and writer, as well as a hustler who beat street hoods in dice games and dropped out of high school at 15. In 1974, Day began making and selling clothes, and he opened his first store on 125th Street in 1982. He taught himself textile printing and, during New York’s crack epidemic in the 1980s, built a clothing business that inspired what boxers and rappers would wear for years to come; in 2018, he opened a store on Lenox Avenue, with Gucci as a partner. Day writes that he “never thought of as an artist, or in fashion industry terms... I was playing jazz with fashion.” In describing his life, Day also provides a fascinating portrait of the Harlem in his youth, “before the heroin game overtook the numbers game, before crack overtook heroin.” Day wonderfully captures the style of Harlem and its evolution throughout the decades.

June 1, 2019
After nearly three decades of shaping much of what we know of as "street style," Harlem-born Day, aka Dapper Dan, tells his life story in an engaging prose style. From growing up hungry in the 1940s and '50s ("nothing makes you question the purpose and meaning of life like hunger") to being a master dice gambler to opening (and subsequently closing) his own clothing boutique, the author chronicles his own story as well as that of the changing societal landscape of Harlem. Day's parents had moved from "tight-knit rural communities in the South where everyone knew each other" to black Harlem, where families "did their best to re-create those communities." There was little crime and decent education in the public schools, but as Day grew older, the allure of the streets became more important than an education. The author quit high school as the neighborhood was becoming increasingly violent and fragmented due to new housing projects and the rise of heroin and crack, and he took up gambling as his primary hustle. He became a master of his trade, "somewhere between a magician and a scientist," and he used his smarts through dice games as a primary means of income to support his growing family. After a brief stint in prison for a credit-card fraud scheme in Aruba, Day, increasingly spiritually minded and determined to get off the streets, returned to Harlem and opened the clothing boutique Dapper Dan, specializing in furs and leathers. "Fashion for me wasn't about expression," he writes. "Fashion was about power," a message that resonated with his neighborhood connections, drawing in the hustlers with money to spend. Day eventually found a creative way to screen print the logos of high-fashion labels, such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Fendi, and make custom clothing for his first customers--the black gangsters of Harlem. Since then, his clothes and vision have become iconic to American hip-hop culture. With clients like Jam Master Jay, Flavor Flav, and Beyoncé, Day continues to have an instrumental effect on black urban culture. A dynamic version of the mythic American dream.

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Starred review from July 1, 2019

Street hustler, con artist, and breakthrough fashion designer Harlem native Day, better known as Dapper Dan, has seen and done it all. Born at the end of the Depression, Day grew up on the streets of Harlem hustling dice games and using drugs and alcohol but maintaining a strong sense of family and loyalty to childhood friends. His story, told here with author Awake, winds through Harlem and local neighborhoods, travels to Africa, which ignited a spark of African pride and style, and running a credit card con throughout the Caribbean, which led him to doing prison time in Aruba. Day ultimately found his niche in fashion design, selling items to gangsters, hip-hop artists, and athletes from the trunk of his car then opening his groundbreaking Dapper Dan's Boutique in 1982, which was shut down after ten years. Since 2010, he has experienced a resurgence in the fashion world, launching a store on New York's Lenox Avenue in 2017. His designs have been exhibited at major museums in New York and beyond. VERDICT Dapper Dan is a Harlem success story. His tale, told here in the vernacular and with honesty, is a true treasure. Absolutely fascinating; will exceed all expectations. [See Prepub Alert, 1/23/19.]--Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
Anyone who was anywhere near hip-hop during the 1980s, especially if they loved Yo! MTV Raps, saw Dapper Dan's fashions sported by the likes of LL Cool J, Rakim, and Biz Markie. Daniel Day was born and raised in Harlem, one of seven children of parents who worked hard yet remained in poverty. Day learned the hustle early, starting with small-time theft and moving on to making real money in dice games with drug dealers. His insistence on always looking fly led him to the world of fashion, and his drive, street smarts, and knowledge made him a success. Learning textile printing, he opened his Harlem store in 1982 catering to dealers, rappers, and athletes with his own designs that went on to influence streetwear for generations. Day is a natural storyteller with a distinct point of view that clearly comes through in this enjoyable memoir. He incorporates the social history of Harlem, a fascinating backdrop, and writes as compellingly about his city and its people as he does about his life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)