
Clothes to Make You Smile
Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams
Abrams Books for Young Readers · Print & ebook · January 13, 2026
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- Who it’s for
- A picture-book biography follows Patrick Kelly’s joyful designs from Vicksburg to the fashion world.
- Themes
- Creative self-expression, Perseverance amid rejection, Joy through fashion
- Genres
- Artists' Lives for Kids, Kids Fashion, African American Life (U.S.)
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Clothes to Make You Smile is a picture book biography about Patrick Kelly, one of fashion’s most influential Black designers, joyously told by fashion expert and educator Eric Darnell Pritchard and beautifully illustrated by award-winning artist Shannon Wright. Patrick Kelly was one of the most influential fashion designers of the twentieth century, but growing up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, he didn’t see many boys who liked to sew.
Continue reading
That didn’t stop him from sitting down at his grandma’s table and picking up a needle and thread. Patrick loved the way clothes could make someone feel their best, and he dreamed of creating designs full of joy and whimsy. Those dreams brought him to some of the biggest cities in the world, but when he got there, he was told that his clothes were too vibrant, too tacky, and too much! When the fashion world rejected his designs, Patrick just laughed and carried right on working. He created clothes for people like him, outsiders who didn’t grow up fitting in but weren’t afraid to stand out. He filled his designs with love, and when the world finally recognized his talent, they couldn’t help but smile.
Patrick Kelly’s Designs
A picture-book biography follows Patrick Kelly’s joyful designs from Vicksburg to the fashion world.
Come here for
- Kelly’s early love of sewing at his grandmother’s table
- His vibrant, whimsical designs and persistence through rejection
Expect
- A biography of Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly
- Illustrations by Shannon Wright
Where it sits
| Artists' Lives for Kids | 49% |
|---|---|
| Kids Fashion | 46% |
| African American Life (U.S.) | 36% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Kids Fashion
- Artists' Lives for Kids
- LGBTQ+ Lives & Stories
- African American Life (U.S.)
- Authors
- Eric Darnell Pritchard
- Publisher
- Abrams Books for Young Readers
- Published
- January 13, 2026
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Creative self-expression · Perseverance amid rejection · Joy through fashion
- Reading lane
- Kids Fashion