| Summary: | Inspired by Terry Newman’s literary and sartorial analysis of writers in her book <i>Legendary Authors and the Clothes They Wore</i>, I analyze James Baldwin’s literary and sartorial style using excerpts from his works and archival photography. I also add a signifier/signified analysis using social semiotic theory. According to De Saussure, there are two main parts to any sign, the signifier, which connotes any material <i>thing</i>, and the signified, which is the meaning that is made of that <i>thing</i> by the receiver. Social semiotics changes the focus from the sign to the way people use semiotic resources to produce communicative artifacts, collectively. In the semiotic tradition, I extend the literary text (<i>Go Tell it on the Mountain</i>, <i>Another Country</i>, and <i>Just Above My Head</i>) to a larger reading of the culture in which it was created and to the more universal structures that are inherent within it. Clothing is also considered a critical semiotic resource because it is viewed as a sign that signifies a particular meaning. In my analysis, I illuminate how Baldwin’s sartorial style is a mirror (signifier) to reflect his literary style and reflects the creative and spiritual (signified) essence of his work, connected to and with collective Black narratives of style.
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