Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams
by Eric Darnell Pritchard; illus. by Shannon Wright
Primary    Abrams    48 pp.
1/26    9781419768866    $19.99

As a young child growing up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in the 1950s and ’60s, Patrick Kelly (1954–1990) was fascinated by clothing and fashion. Money was tight and clothes were made at home; sewing skills were passed down from one generation to the next. While other boys played sports, Patrick pored over the fashion magazines his grandmother brought home from the houses she cleaned. “Sewing seemed like magic” to a young Kelly, and while early projects were messy and imperfect, by thirteen he was creating special-occasion outfits for others. As an adult, he didn’t fit into the fashion world; he was a queer southern Black man whose sleek silhouettes combined loud colors with mismatched buttons and oversized bows and hearts. His work was rejected by the fashion elite as “too vibrant…too bright…too much,” though he eventually found appreciation and success in Paris. Mixed-media collage illustrations perfectly complement Kelly’s design aesthetic, with the mixture of buttons, fabric, yarn, and collaged print mirroring his whimsical and unexpected combinations of materials. An appended biography, an author’s note, and a bibliography add context for those who want to learn more about the designer’s life and work. This inspiring book is an affirmation of the power of being yourself and trusting in the importance of your unique contributions.

From the January/February 2026 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.