Since the Harlem Renaissance in the early 20th century, dandyism has been integral to the fabric of Black life. And as styles have evolved over the decades, so too has the culture, setting fashion trends that span the world.
At the Met Gala on Monday, the styles that have influenced culture at large, and Black culture specifically, will be celebrated on fashion’s biggest night.
The following is a collection of some of the ways Black men have used tweed, suiting, tailoring and fine details to present themselves to the world.
A young man wearing a formal suit and top hat circa 1890.
Bill Robinson, the American tap dancer and entertainer renowned for his stairway dance, sharing a joke with a friend at the Trocadero Café in Paris circa 1927.
Tenor Roland Hayes, from Boston, arriving in New York City in 1937 aboard the S.S. Normandie.
An man adjusting his friend’s tie in Kansas City circa 1940.
The crowd watching the orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom in Chicago in 1941.
Teen boys dressed in zoot suits circa 1943.
A model in a zoot suit and watch chain, circa 1945.
A couple at the top of the Empire State Building in 1946.
Swing dancing at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York, in 1947.
John Hazel, 21, Harold Wilmot, 32, and John Richards, 22, arriving in the U.K. from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush circa 1948.
Sammy Davis Jr. showing clips of his film “Robin and His Hood Men” in 1964.
Eugene Record, left, and Marshall Thompson of American soul group The Chi-Lites in 1969.
Model Amina photographed for Vogue wearing Yves Saint Laurent in 1972.
Fashion designer Willi Smith at the 1973 Stephen Burrows Resort show in New York.
An unidentified man in Harlem circa 1975.
Young men in Chicago circa 1975, at left, and 1973.
Singer and model Grace Jones performs in New York in 1981.
André Leon Talley in New York circa 1986, after attending the Calvin Klein fall fashion show.
Director Spike Lee poses for a photo at the 1990 New York Film Critics Awards at Sardi’s restaurant in New York.
Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur attend the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.
André 3000 of Outkast arrives at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City.
Members of “La Sape” movement, an acronym for Societe des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Elegantes (the Society for the Advancement of Elegant People), in Brazzaville. On the left, “sapeurs” in 2008 and on the right, Patience Moutala, coordinator of the Red Devils group in 2014.
Janelle Monae during Paris Fashion Week in 2019.
Michael B. Jordan promoting his new film “Sinners” in New York on April 2.
