From his eponymous store on E 125th in Harlem, Dapper Dan (real name Daniel Day) presided over a remarkable fashion emporium in the 80s and 90s. His uptown clientele was a heady mix of hustlers, street cats and hip hop royalty, all of whom shared a mutual love of what Dap himself called a ‘macho type of ethnic ghetto clothing’. That’s Harlem shorthand for streetified-luxury, a glorious melange of status symbols such as mink, ostrich, crocodile and python married with his own trademark remix on Louis Vuitton, Gucci, MCM, and Fendi yardage.
LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Salt ‘n’ Pepa, Run DMC, Fat Boys and Public Enemy publicly repped Dapper Dan hard and his fame quickly spread beyond the local hood. Peep Eric B and Rakim’s Follow the Leader and Paid in Full for classic Dapper Dan outfits in full effect. Mike Tyson famously punched out opponent Mitch Green in front of the store whilst on his way to pick up the classic ‘Don’t Believe the Hype’ jacket. The place became notorious.
Jackets, bags, hats, two-tone jumpsuits with all-over prints – there was nothing Dapper Dan wouldn’t cover in acres of hand-printed and embossed leather. Gucci seat covers, LV-inspired upholstery and a famous convertible lid for Rakim’s Jeep showed Dap’s talent for entrepreneurial diversification. Another iconic ensemble was a Louis Vuitton jacket with huge gold Mercedes badges. Less well known were the sneakers that matched his jackets, but shoes were definitely on the menu at Dapper Dan’s. The Fat Boys for example repped Nike Air Force 1s with Gucci Swooshes on the cover of their long player Crushin’. Nearly everything was a one-off designed for an individual, making Dapper Dan one of the OGs at customizing.
As his fame and fortune grew, the European fashion houses swooped. Infuriated by the very public knock-off of their trademarks and inflamed by their utter rejection of black, urban culture, they took legal action against Dap and he went underground.
If you haven’t already done it…. Go hit that reblog button. Do what you have to, just do that too.
Like seriously. Just find one and reblog it real quick. I post a couple yesterday and put into the universe that I actually wanted it
Only been at work for a couple and I get this at as a tip! (tips ain’t normal at ALL in here)
Come on now!!
Let it work for y’all too
YALL!! THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE!! (I don’t know how your bank account is set up, but $55 dollars in tips counts as a blessing over here!)
*sending out money blessing vibes to y’all*
Counting my blessing and they total up to $60 today. (Got another $5 tip not too long ago)
Today was good. Im trying to maintain this same energy all this week to see what will come of it
I don’t care, I ain’t playin. Imma need one of these damn thangs to work, now.
I might as well not reblogging aint gone put money in my pocket
Let the universe know what you want
Cash app $drinabee if you tryna bless me
That works too I guess 😂😂 #BeTheBlessing
I mean if someone would like to bless a struggling college student, mine $neshao and I have Venmo 👀
Same if somebody wanna help me out $camjam21 😌
cash app me my birthday next year january $EzekielCrawford
gone be thirty and im scared help every dollar helps
Somebody sent $20 for my graduation 🎓 Saturday, cash app $drinabee if you want to donate too
Yo I reblogged that goat one and I ended up getting 27 dollars in my back account cause I got a refund on a sex toy that didnt work the day after i reblogged that shit
😂💀 blessings come in every shape and form
Exactly mine was just unconventional 😂
always taking donations $ChanteEunan
Tryna start burlesque dancing and i need cute shit $noeyyyy
