Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

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Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim

First edition cover
Author	David Sedaris
Cover artist	Jacket design by Chip Kidd
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Essay collection
Publisher	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date	June 1, 2004
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	272 (hardcover)
ISBN	0-316-14346-4 (first edition, hardcover)
OCLC	53138732
Dewey Decimal	814/.54 22
LC Class	PS3569.E314 R47 2004
Preceded by	Me Talk Pretty One Day
Followed by	When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is a 2004 collection of 22 autobiographical essays by American humorist David Sedaris. The essays address the author's upbringing in Raleigh, North Carolina, his relationships with family members, and his work and life in New York City and France.

Essays[]

1. "Us and Them" - childhood memories of a family "who don't believe in TV"
2. "Let It Snow" - the day when Sedaris's mother locked her children out in the snow
3. "The Ship Shape" - childhood memories of the second home that his father never bought
4. "Full House" - a childhood game of strip poker gives the young Sedaris a touching moment
5. "Consider the Stars" - reflecting on the cool kid at school
6. "Monie Changes Everything" - Sedaris' rich aunt
7. "The Change in Me" - the 13-year-old Sedaris wants to act like a hippie
8. "Hejira" - Sedaris' father kicks him out of his house due to his homosexuality
9. "Slumus Lordicus" - Sedaris' father's experiences as a landlord of a section 8 apartment complex in the early 80s.
10. "The Girl Next Door" - Sedaris' relationship with a girl from a troubled family
11. "Blood Work" - a case of mistaken identity while cleaning houses
12. "The End of the Affair" - Sedaris and Hugh's different reactions to a love story
13. "Repeat After Me" - Sedaris' visit to his sister Lisa, and his family's feelings about being the subject of his essays
14. "Six to Eight Black Men" - thoughts about the traditional Dutch Christmas story, among other cultural oddities
15. "Rooster at the Hitchin' Post" - Sedaris' younger brother is born and gets married
16. "Possession" - searching for a new apartment, and Anne Frank's house
17. "Put a Lid on It" - a visit to Sedaris' sister Tiffany's home, and their relationship
18. "A Can of Worms" - Sedaris's mind wanders as he, Hugh, and a friend eat at a diner
19. "Chicken in the Henhouse" - prejudiced attitudes towards homosexuals in America
20. "Who's the Chef?" - bickering between two people in a long-term relationship
21. "Baby Einstein" - the arrival of his brother's first baby
22. "Nuit of the Living Dead" - a late night encounter at home in rural France

Title origin[]

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At a public appearance in Cleveland, Ohio on October 12, 2010, Sedaris explained when he was under a deadline for a title and was getting desperate, his boyfriend Hugh had a dream in which he saw someone reading a book entitled, in French, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Sedaris then knew that he had his title, even though it had nothing to do with the contents of his book.

Audiobook[]

The book was released on audio CD, with Sedaris reading, from Time Warner Audiobooks.