Black Dandyism: Identity, Resistance & Masculinity

“Black dandyism is the strategic and often subversive use of style by people of African descent to assert individuality, challenge stereotypes, and reimagine black identity.”- Jonathan Michael Square- Professor of Black Visual Culture. Black history is oftentimes obscured and or manipulated. We live in an era where misinformation and disinformation are the order of the day. Unfortunately, many of us have succumbed to this skewed view of reality. Regrettably even the so called educated among us no longer do their due diligence. A lot has been said about dandyism, in particular black dandyism. Correspondingly a lot of what has been said is a distortion of the historical underpinning of this movement. Undoubtedly, the distortion regarding dandyism is rooted in a culture of enslavement, racism and white privilege. Black men have long used fashion, particularly flamboyant styles, as a way to express pride and resistance. Oftentimes this resistance is viewed as a powerful political statement of defying societal expectations and interrogating dominant narratives. This practice, known as Black dandyism, has roots in the post-Emancipation period, gaining popularity during the Harlem Renaissance. Indeed, one of slavery's first acts of debasement was to strip the enslaved of their own clothes, and dress them in standard-issue clothing. This intentional action by the enslavers was a conduit of dehumanization but of course this was met with opposition in rather subtle ways. The modification of these standard issue clothing was seen as a way by the marginalized and often voiceless to reclaim their voices and identity. Dandyism is oppositional and a act of defiance. This calculated action by slave owners was also done to break the spirit of those who were enslaved. Of course, all these efforts were futile. In fact, dandyism has become a reference point of resistance and black pride. The Origins of Black Dandyism. The preeminent early dandy is Beau Brummell, the Regency-era (1795 to 1837) white Englishman who dressed so well that he managed to influence the British monarchy. In its early stages, Black dandyism served as a form of assimilation. Former slaves and Black servants used their finely tailored clothes to mirror the dress of high-society European whites. For Black men specifically, the meaning of these garments takes on a much more loaded message, as they used dandyism to assert what had long been denied to them: individuality and freedom. A dandy is a flamboyantly dressed male figure who is concerned not only with looking good but with making a statement about his identity and individuality. Black dandyism is a defiant declaration against confinement, a celebration of black identity, and a movement based around resistance, pride and history. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, for enslaved Africans brought back to Europe as domestic servants, control was once again asserted by their masters in some households they were ‘dressed up’ as this was a means by their masters in objectifying them in order to signal the family's wealth. Enslaved Africans, writes Monica L Miller in Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity (2009) "arrived in America physically and metaphorically naked” upon which the fashion of the whites was imposed. Dandyism was a critical response to this, and was born out of a desire to self-define and envisage new social and political possibilities in a context where the very concept of "blackness" was created by non-black oppressors. The Caribbean Connection. The Caribbean served as a crucial geographic and cultural crossroads in the development of Black dandyism. Julius Soubise himself was Afro-Caribbean, representing how the style traveled through colonial networks. Islands like Jamaica, Barbados, and Haiti became important sites where European fashion conventions met African aesthetic traditions. Julius Soubise, was perhaps the world’s first and most well-known Black dandy, as noted by scholar Monica Miller. The companion of the Duchess of Queensbury, Soubise was a popular enslaved Afro-Caribbean man known for entertaining, flirting, sporting, and dressing up. Soubise's subversive, startlingly feminized dandyism created shockwaves among white society. Educated, witty and charming, and a capable equestrian, fencer and violinist, Soubise led the interrogation of established categorizations of race, gender and class, and forced a reimagining in the white consciousness of what a black man could be. According to Miller, while Soubise used dandyism to assert visibility, elsewhere in the exhibition, dandyism is shown as being used for concealment. It was a form of dressing up that enabled William and Ellen Craft to escape slavery in Georgia in 1848, as told in William's 1860 memoir. Transgressing once again boundaries of race, gender and class, Ellen, the daughter of an enslaved woman and her slaveholder, disguised herself as a white invalid gentleman complete with jaw bandage and sling, and green-lensed spectacles in order to escape her captors, while her husband William was passed off as her servant. Met Gala. For many of us the recently held Met Gala in New York facilitated a discussion of dandyism. The Met Gala and its Costume Institute spring 2025 exhibition, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style," is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from May 10 to October 26, 2025. The exhibition recognizes and celebrates the historical and contemporary importance of Black dandyism. The exhibition explores how Black men have used fashion to express identity, resistance, and power. The exhibition examines how men's style, and in particular, dandyism, has helped shape transatlantic black identities for more than 300 years. The star-studded Met Gala in New York had the corresponding theme "Tailored for you" as its dress code. Co-chairing and hosting the event are actor Colman Domingo, Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky and musician and creative director Pharrell Williams. They worked alongside Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and honorary co-chair, basketball player LeBron James. Fashion as A Conduit of Resistance. Fashion has always had a political undertone. In arriving at a modern black identity and reclaiming one’s voice against lynchings, riots and persistent inequity, dressing up again played a vital role. In 1917, around 10,000 African Americans took part in the Silent Protest Parade down New York's Fifth Avenue, the men in black tailored suits, the women and children dressed in white. The suit, explains Miller, is "a historical throughline" in the exhibition, which includes everything "from livery garments… to tailcoats and different versions of it… to even track suiting". One of the most dandified examples is the zoot suit, which debuted in Harlem's dance halls in the 1930s before spreading across the country. Donned by performers such as Dizzy Gillespie and Cab Calloway, as well as the activist Malcolm X, it featured oversized shoulder pads, wide lapels and ballooning trousers cuffed at the ankle, and was often accessorized with a pocket watch on a long chain and a brimmed hat. Iké Udé's statement is very much instructive in a discourse surrounding black dandyism. Whereas the self can be devoured by public scrutiny, it can be saved by private self-objectification – Iké Udé. In this statement, the Nigerian born American photographer explores the duality of self-perception. He suggests that the constant scrutiny and judgment from the outside world can be harmful to one's self-image, likely leading to the self being "devoured." On the other hand, Iké Udé also posits that by engaging in private self-objectification, one can find a way to reclaim and potentially even strengthen one's sense of self. Progressive Dandyism. Fashion is both conscious and continuous. Fashion is never static. We continue to witness the evolution of men’s fashion. Some will argue that in some spaces men’s fashion has become more feminine as designers continue to push the fashion envelope. For example, Little Richard can be considered a dandy. His flamboyant style, including his trademark pompadour hairstyle, eyeliner, and makeup, was a key part of his persona and influenced many musicians. Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman) helped to usher in an era of flamboyant menswear expression, leading by example with an outlandish wardrobe and fearless style. James Brown could be considered a Black dandy. He embraced flamboyant, colorful, and often exaggerated clothing, often with bold accessories, which were key elements of the dandy aesthetic. His flamboyant style, featuring tight, colorful clothes, bright patterns, and exaggerated shapes, resonated with the Black dandy tradition. Brown's style was also influential in making the Black dandy aesthetic more widely accepted. In contemporary music, Michael Jackson can also be considered a dandy. He embodies the style and persona of a dandy, known for his flamboyant androgyny, meticulous attention to detail. Prince, too can be considered a dandy, both in the traditional sense and in a more modern, androgynous interpretation. His flamboyant fashion choices, attention to detail in his appearance, and confidence in his style align with the characteristics of a dandy. Prince was known for his bold and often unconventional fashion choices, including high heels, jumpsuits, sequins, and provocative leather, as well as more traditional dandy elements like lace and frock coats. How we wear fashion becomes part of our identity and brand. The feminized evolution of men’s fashion is often seen on the Red Carpet and the fashion capitals of the world. Some men have grown more confident in wearing bright colour clothing. Without a doubt dandyism continues to expand and this expansion if often seen in the entertainment industry where the blurring of gender lines is more accepted and normalized. Black dandyism has a strong historical significance for descendants of those who were enslaved given it serve as a reference point for resistance, as well as asserting one’s humanity and serving as an agency regarding the styling of self. In the words of Monica Miller, when the dandy is Black, we get to see the dandy as a figure that really encapsulates a kind of matrix of identity, race, gender, class, sexuality and sometimes nation. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #dandyism