New York fashion was going through a lavish era. To make good on my spontaneous promise to Little Man, I threw on my best suit, hopped in my Benz, and rode down to Fifth Avenue, watching the neighborhoods transform within minutes from crumbling buildings and vacant lots to immaculate townhouses and gleaming storefronts. I was too tired to even realize the extent of what I’d offered. Really, though, I had no idea how I was gonna do that. Right: Dapper Dan at his boutique in 1985, wearing one of his own creations. Left: Olympic sprinter Diane Dixon wearing a custom mink-and-leather jacket, 1988.
“You can do that?” “Hell yeah I can do that,” I told him. “Yo,” said Little Man, his eyes lighting up. “You excited about a little bag?” I said to Little Man and his girl. Most of all, I was fascinated by the excitement it was creating among my customers. As someone who knew all about leather, I marveled at the stitching and the way the ink rested on the skin. It was a beautiful bag made with amazing craftsmanship. That was the first time I’d seen a Louis Vuitton up close. When I walked over to see what all the commotion was about, the girl held up a small brown leather clutch with a repeating pattern of gold letters-an L overlapping a V. Everyone in the place started crowding around her. One day, I was working in the store, sleep-deprived as usual, when Little Man, a hustler who worked for the Harlem boss James “Jack” Jackson, walked in with his girl. Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day revisits the shop that brought the runway to the street, and the street to the runway. In 1982, a gambler turned clothier started sampling old-money status symbols, remixing the trademarks of Europe’s top fashion houses for Harlem’s biggest rappers, from Salt-N-Pepa to LL Cool J-even a future Supreme Court justice came knocking.
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