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Superfine: Tailoring Black Style

Miller, Monica L., with Andrew Bolton, William DeGregorio, Amanda Garfinkel, and various authors. Photography by Tyler Mitchell with additional photographs by Anna-Marie Kellen and Mark Morosse.
2025
372 pages
241 illustrations
9 1/2 x 12 1/4 in
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Superfine: Tailoring Black Style traces the complex and vibrant legacy of menswear across three centuries of Black culture—from today’s hip-hop aesthetic and popular street trends, through its use during the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement as a symbol of creative and political agency, to its surprising origins as an imposed uniform for servants and enslaved people. Organized by key characteristics of dandyism that resonate across time, including presence, distinction, disguise, and respectability, this fresh interpretation of a centuries-old aesthetic draws on prominent Black voices in fashion, literature, and art—among them, Dandy Wellington, Amy Sherald, Iké Udé, and André 3000. Self-described dandies and high-fashion models feature in a stunning photo essay by artist Tyler Mitchell, who also contributes evocative new photography of garments by contemporary designers such as Virgil Abloh, Pharrell Williams, and Grace Wales Bonner. These works are shown alongside historical attire worn by Black luminaries including Frederick Douglass, Alexandre Dumas père, Muhammad Ali, and André Leon Talley. Scholar Monica L. Miller contextualizes these objects in her text and shows how the evolution of dandy style inspired new visions of Black masculinity that use the power of clothing and dress as a means of self-expression.

Half Groat of Henry VII (1485-1509), Silver, British
British
15th–16th century (?)
Teapot, I.M.P., Silver; ebony, French (Jurisdiction of Lille)
I.M.P.
mid-18th century
Lady with attendant, Meissen Manufactory  German, Hard-paste porcelain, gilt-bronze mount, German, Meissen
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1740
Claude Louis Desrais
Esnauts et Rapilly
between 1776 and 1786
Galloon, Silk and metal thread, European
European
late 18th–early 19th century
Tricorne, wool, Italian
Italian
mid-18th century
Scent bottle, Saint James's Factory  British, Soft-paste porcelain, British, London
Saint James's Factory
ca. 1750–55
Boyer, Louis François Charon  French, Color aquatint [background] with additional hand-coloring [figure]
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1820
Alexandre Dumas, Achille-Jacques-Jean-Marie Devéria  French, Lithograph
Multiple artists/makers
1829
Sword with Scabbard of Faustin I (1782–1867), Emperor of Haiti, Robert Mole  British, Steel, silver, gold, wood, textile (velvet), British, Birmingham
Robert Mole
1850
[Marcus Garvey in a UNIA Parade], James Van Der Zee  American, Gelatin silver print
Multiple artists/makers
1924
Hat, Samuel O. Aborn  American, (a) beaver fur; (b, c) leather, American
Samuel O. Aborn
ca. 1840
Shirt, linen, French
French
ca. 1800
Suit, Newton  British, wool (a, b), silk (b), British
Newton
1829
Top hat, American
American
1820–30
Trousers, cotton, American
American
ca. 1840
Jack Johnson, from the Series of Champions (T227), Honest Long Cut Tobacco  American, Commercial color lithograph
Honest Long Cut Tobacco
Miners Extra Tobacco
1912
Frederick Douglass, George Kendall Warren  American, Albumen silver print from glass negative
George Kendall Warren
Frederick Douglass
1876
Morty Sills
1986
[Studio Portrait], Unknown, Gelatin silver print
Unknown
1940s–50s
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Miller, Monica L. Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025.