Go on an intimate guided tour with DapperDanHarlem, exclusively here:
: he gets stopped by fans everywhere he goes. He is an icon, a legend in the Harlem community, and he seemingly knows just about everyone there is to know around the block.
As we pass the original Dapper Dan boutique that opened in 1982, we stop at a totally nondescript door on 125th. “This was the crack home. I used to sit out in front of my store and watch some of the most beautiful people you could imagine going up into here, the crack spot, before they would go to work,” Day says. “I hated that. You have no idea. People you would never imagine, I could have got this building for $65,000 but the crack dealers who owned it wouldn’t move out.
There are many reasons to call Day a legend, but perhaps the first would be for kickstarting the logomania trend that has since been revived on the runway and on the street. When he opened his storefront in the early 1980s, he began selling furs and leather, often to clients whose pockets were filled with money from the crack epidemic. It was a moral dilemma for Day.
Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, MCM—Day took the logos of these European luxury labels and screen printed them onto ensembles worn by rappers like LL Cool J and boxers like Mike Tyson. As rap evolved to become more braggadocious, some of Day’s designs became flashier, too. When writing his memoir, he introduces a handful of celebrities who became instrumental to his success, and some who were just around but didn’t really do much to help.
Earlier this year, Gucci produced a balaclava and sweater that resembled a blackface figure that caused nothing short of a firestorm on the Internet, Day says that he, of course, felt disrespected, and the backlash online culminated in the request of a boycott from black customers. “I think they’re misinformed,” Day says. “When you listen to the rhetoric that surrounds the whole topic of boycotting, you’ll find they say we spend trillions of dollars.
Fans also have plenty to say about his trademark style—mainly, how to get it for themselves. Known around town for his sharp, professional look. Day is undeniably fly. He owns about 25 to 30 suits, glasses for every occasion, and shoes to match. On the journey between his shops, a young man gets out of his car to say hello. “Watch this,” Day says, before greeting the man with a handshake.
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