List Price: $24.95 Details

Save: $11.65 (47%)

FREE delivery Friday, August 4. Details

Or fastest delivery August 1 - 3. Details

Select delivery location

Only 1 left in stock - order soon

$$13.30 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Ships from

Media Brothers Unlimited

Sold by

Media Brothers Unlimited

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Details

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Media Brothers Unlimited

Sold by

Media Brothers Unlimited

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.

Read full return policy

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Friday, August 4 on orders shipped by Amazon over $25

Or fastest delivery Thursday, August 3. Order within 17 hrs 5 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Treat yo' shelf

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$9.30
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: eQuip Online

Added

Not added

$15.50
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Orion LLC

Added

Not added

$24.95
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

David Sedaris

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim Hardcover – June 1, 2004

by David Sedaris (Author)

4.4 3,760 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$10.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

$7.95 with discounted Audible membership

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$13.30

$9.30

$1.25

Paperback

"Please retry"

$12.73

$7.06

$0.99

Mass Market Paperback, Import

"Please retry"

$7.79

—

$4.00

Audio, Cassette, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$7.94

$5.95

$2.99

Digital

"Please retry"

—

Kindle
$10.99 Read with Our Free App
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your 3-Month Audible trial
Hardcover
$13.30

246 Used from $1.25 26 New from $9.30 48 Collectible from $4.09
Paperback
$12.73

214 Used from $0.99 43 New from $7.06 5 Collectible from $4.98
Mass Market Paperback
$7.79

16 Used from $4.00
Audio, Cassette
$7.94

5 Used from $2.99 4 New from $5.95
Digital
—

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.30","priceAmount":13.30,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"30","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ICDPrINRRnId5fBBLGwnd9HchnDAZlORxX3yAErytJDBuFyg2p0yP0nxWg6YpQ%2BGFcNOuFqJ0OHdevM1xMZ82gRdisvfQI0zLMqj7SL5dsU1E1qI3GcklfIsnEFEKWEEE6WYC1o0pgfgQbev6wCcbJB%2Fu70%2F2LyJyfEJLDgwaCJbkwhMG9X6UyXk7Nt%2FKkUB","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$6.95","priceAmount":6.95,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"95","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ICDPrINRRnId5fBBLGwnd9HchnDAZlORyryW4WPo9sHNd9KKj6QoI0jEzwkSLeuABT24QaxM%2FcAnozeHmhCtFLEwHC2s0TA5TRXAoF4r1BTJ4TDHqr%2FfldoNxjx%2F1YPkUWpUajlhahCk8N8NGqhOMvaVTUIiHu02ZyzgcD5MjG1Rryf2bS1cIXQx9WMlf1%2BP","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters. He goes on vacation with his family. He gets a job selling drinks. He attends his brother's wedding. He mops his sister's floor. He gives directions to a lost traveler. He eats a hamburger. He has his blood sugar tested. It all sounds so normal, doesn't it? In his newest collection of essays, David Sedaris lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. His world is alive with obscure desires and hidden motives -- a world where forgiveness is automatic and an argument can be the highest form of love. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is another unforgettable collection from one of the wittiest and most original writers at work today.

Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Little, Brown and Company
Publication date

June 1, 2004
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

9780316143462
ISBN-13

978-0316143462
See all details

Frequently bought together

$13.30

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by Media Brothers Unlimited.

+

$17.98

Get it as soon as Monday, Aug 7

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Sold by BooksHeroes and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.

+

$13.99

Get it as soon as Monday, Aug 7

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Sold by TexasStore5 and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

Lowest Pricein this set of products
David Sedaris
3,247
Paperback
$9.99
Most purchasedin this set of products
David Sedaris
5,645
Paperback
$14.99
Highest ratedin this set of products
David Sedaris
3,462
Paperback
$15.89
This item:
David Sedaris
3,760
Hardcover
$13.30
David Sedaris
8,563
Paperback
$13.40
David Sedaris
15,502
Paperback
$14.99
David Sedaris
3,287
Hardcover
$13.58
David Sedaris
5,256
Paperback
$13.39
David Sedaris
2,860
Paperback
$11.92
David Sedaris
6,093
Paperback
$16.99
David Sedaris
4,131
Paperback
$12.69

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether by nature or by nurture, Ma and Pa Sedaris certainly knew something about raising funny kids. Amy Sedaris has built a cult following for her Comedy Central character Jerri Blank, and David, the more famous of the two siblings, continues to spin his personal history into comedic gold. A good chunk of the material in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim debuted in other media outlets, such as The New Yorker, but Sedaris's brilliantly written essays deserve repeat reads.

Based on the author's descriptions, nearly every member of his family is funny, although some (like sister Tiffany, perhaps) in a tragic way. In "The Change in Me," Sedaris remembers that his mother was good at imitating people when it helped drive home her point. High-voiced, lovably plain-spoken brother Paul (aka The Rooster, Silly P) has long been a favorite character for Sedaris readers, though Paul's story takes on a serious note when his wife has a difficult pregnancy. The author doesn't shy away from embarrassing moments in his own life, either, including a childhood poker game that strays into strange, psychological territory. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim provides more evidence that he is a great humorist, memoirist, and raconteur, and readers are lucky to have the opportunity to know him (and his clan) so well. His funny family feels like our own. Perhaps they are luckier still not to know him personally. --Leah Weathersby

From Publishers Weekly

In his latest collection, Sedaris has found his heart. This is not to suggest that the author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and other bestselling books has lost his edge. The 27 essays here (many previously published in Esquire, G.Q. or the New Yorker, or broadcast on PRI's This American Life) include his best and funniest writing yet. Here is Sedaris's family in all its odd glory. Here is his father dragging his mortified son over to the home of one of the most popular boys in school, a boy possessed of "an uncanny ability to please people," demanding that the boy's parents pay for the root canal that Sedaris underwent after the boy hit him in the mouth with a rock. Here is his oldest sister, Lisa, imploring him to keep her beloved Amazon parrot out of a proposed movie based on his writing. ("'Will I have to be fat in the movie?' she asked.") Here is his mother, his muse, locking the kids out of the house after one snow day too many, playing the wry, brilliant commentator on his life until her untimely death from cancer. His mother emerges as one of the most poignant and original female characters in contemporary literature. She balances bitter and sweet, tart and rich—and so does Sedaris, because this is what life is like. "You should look at yourself," his mother says in one piece, as young Sedaris crams Halloween candy into his mouth rather than share it. He does what she says and then some, and what emerges is the deepest kind of humor, the human comedy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School - This lighthearted follow-up to Me Talk Pretty One Day(Little, Brown, 2000) contains a selection of personal essays. Some of the pieces appeared previously in magazines or on the NPR radio program This American Life. The first half of the collection focuses on Sedaris's childhood, including his relationship with his supportive mother and "man's man" of a father. Family vacations, snow days from school, and parental conflicts are all rendered in a comic style. Several of the pieces highlight the author's growing up with the knowledge that he is gay. He writes about the mixture of feelings he experienced in a real but funny manner. The second half moves Sedaris into adulthood. Although still dealing chiefly with his family, the focus shifts to his brother and sisters. From Tiffany, who collects and sells junk right from her house, to macho, floor-sanding Paul, Sedaris sets up a family dynamic that's sometimes odd, sometimes sad, but always funny. A handful of pieces include or refer to his life partner, Hugh. Whether it's apartment searching in "Possession" or the clash of personalities in "A Can of Worms," it's refreshing to see a writer portray a gay relationship that's committed and monogamous. Although not as unified as his other books, this collection serves as a touching reminder of how odd, funny, and unique our lives really are. - Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Critics agree that Corduroy and Denim marks Sedaris’s transition from a humorist and essayist into a full-fledged memoirist. The volume returns to the dysfunctional childhood and adulthood tribulations that made Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day bestsellers, and contains the same snarky wit, heartbreaking humor, and touch of malice. But this time, melancholy, introspection, and even a bit of sadness create more emotionally wrought stories. Perhaps Sedaris is, as Newsday suggests, finally recognizing the distance he often puts between himself and his subjects. The only complaint? A few pieces add humor in inappropriate places (does Sedaris really covet the Anne Frank house?). A must read for Sedaris fans; for novices, the best introduction to one of the nation’s funniest writers.

From Booklist

Sedaris' piquant essays are as meticulously honed and precisely timed as the best stand-up comic routines, which is, of course, what they are. A National Public Radio star, the author of five best-sellers, including Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000), and a hall-filling performer,Sedaris--openly gay, nervy as a tightrope walker, sharply hilarious, teasingly misanthropic yet genuinely compassionate--has a unique ability to supply exactly the right details to bring every funny, awkward, ludicrous, painful, horrible real-life moment into harrowingly crisp focus. But given all that he has already revealed about his childhood, family, and bizarre adventures, one wonders how he can continue to mine his life to create fresh and arresting essays, and, indeed, a few pieces do feel strained. It stretches one's credulity, for instance, to envision young Sedaris panhandling or taking erotic advantage of a strip poker game. But when he muses over his parents' "slumlord" phase, remembers a rich aunt and a neglected nine-year-old girl, and profiles his over-the-top brother, he is mesmerizing, and his ability to make the reader gasp, laugh out loud, or grow teary is undiminished. At the same time, there's an increased edginess to his work, reminding readers that beneath the brio, Sedaris, gifted connoisseur of the absurd, is deadly serious. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Publisher

The desperately anticipated new collection by the beloved and bestselling writer Time Magazine named America's Favorite Humorist.

About the Author

David Sedaris is also the author of Me Talk Pretty One Day, Barrel Fever, Naked, and Holidays on Ice. He is a regular contributor tp Public Radio International's This American Life and to the New Yorker.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0316143464
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company (June 1, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780316143462
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316143462
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #456,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,047 in Humor Essays (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 3,760 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

Important information

To report an issue with this product, click here.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

David Sedaris

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

David Sedaris lives in Paris. Raised in North Carolina, he has worked as a housecleaner and most famously, as a part-time elf for Macy's. Several of his plays have been produced, and he is a regular contributor to ESQUIRE and Public Radio International's 'This American Life'.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

3,760 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Foster Corbin

No Joking About Anne Frank, Please!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 17, 2004

Verified Purchase

I always enjoy listening to Mr. Sedaris, usually when I'm driving and catch him on some public radio station. Here he has a new book with a terribly clever title as well as a hooty photograph of a mannequin on the jacket cover. Mr. Sedaris then proceeds to dress his family. We can only hope that he is being hyperbolic in some of his outrageous descriptions of his parents and siblings or he may not get invited back to a Thanksgiving dinner any time soon. If one of his sisters indeed is actually named "Tiffany", then of course she'll never make it in a world outside of a trailer park. Surely no heterosexual brother, even on his worst day, can be as big a pig as Sedaris' brother Paul who makes sure that his bride-to-be's dogs are a part of his wedding. She comes down the aisle in silence-- the DJ is stuck in traffic so there is no Wagner or Cat Stevens or whoever to serenade her-- followed by a pack of dogs.
Mr. Sedaris can go from the humorous to the achingly painful in short order. His description of being moved out of his parents' home by his father at the age of twenty-two, not because he was a bum but because he was gay, will break your heart--as it did his mother's. His gentle reveries of his life with his lover Henry and their patterns of dullness will make you smile. Sedaris' father's wanting him to punch out a school bully when the writer spends his weekends making banana nut muffins instead of excelling the "art of hand-to-hand combat" will amuse you. His description of his playing strip poker at a slumber party for him and his friends in the sixth grade is hilarious.
What is not funny-- not funny at all-- is Mr. Sedaris' account of his visit to the home of Anne Frank in Amsterdam. He opines that he has found the perfect apartment and would love to move in and redecorate. "The entire building would have been impractical. . . but the part where Anne Frank and her family had lived. . . was exactly the right size and adorable. . ." The writer couldn't be more wrong. When I visited this home, I was taken aback at how small the Frank family's hiding quarters were and how so many people survived there for so long.
I have no trouble with gallows humor-- if that's what Mr. Sedaris is striving for in the Anne Frank fiasco-- but he falls flat on his face here in what is otherwise for the most part an amusing book. To compare him to Mark Twain and Nathanael West, as someone in "The New Yorker" does, is a bit of a stretch too. On the other hand some commentator recently compared Johnny Cash to Mark Twain as well. Perhaps I'm the one who is out of step here.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Erica

Another nightstand essential

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 7, 2022

Verified Purchase

I’m halfway through and I’m loving it. The short story structure is usually perfect for satisfying my inconsistent reading phases and settling my mind before bed, but I’ve found myself wanting to read more despite my eyelids closing involuntarily. One moment I’m cracking up silently next to my sleeping partner and the next I’m relating to a stranger who feels like a friend/ family member. I’m impressed by what feels to be such an honest interpretation of the author’s own character. Insightful, self aware, and slightly self deprecating. It’s a great mix that offers tremendous quality in creating a shared “you had to be there” reading experience for all of us who have been invited into the recount of these moments. Also, the cover art is gorgeous which earns this book extra points as it will be displayed on my nightstand for quite some time where I can keep it easily accessible

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

C. Johnson

very good, but...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 13, 2005

Verified Purchase

This is a great book. My one complaint is that I've noticed a slight change in tone this time. He can be a little smug. I'll explain...

In Sedaris' earlier books, he presents stories about the pre-famous David Sedaris. The description of his struggles as a writer/artist/son/brother were hilarious and bittersweet. The newer material from him feels like he is more aware of himself as an accomplished writer. It still works, just not quite as well. I understand that he writes non-fiction about his life, and we can't fault him for being successful. This new tone is most evident in his story about visiting the Anne Frank house. He writes about his obsession with finding the perfect place to live, and how this place would be really great. Not funny.

This didn't ruin the whole book for me. I enjoyed the story about his brother's wedding the most. The stories about his brother, "Rooster," are always hysterically funny.

Check out "Me Talk Pretty One Day," "Naked," and "Holidays on Ice" before picking this one up. If that doesn't give you your full Sedaris fix, order "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim."

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jeffrey A. Veyera

A Perfect Palliative to "Lake Wobegon"

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 10, 2004

Verified Purchase

I hate NPR.
I hate NPR the way cats hate baths. The way Shaq hates Kobe. The way Michael Moore hates America.
But I love NPR's own David Sedaris the way Joanie loves Chachi.
Ok, well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but not much of one.
This collection of ironic and laugh-till-you're-incontinent essays marks Sedaris' continuing claim on the title of "funniest man in France". Sure, that's not much of an accomplishment these days, but if he'd move back in with his wonderfully-eccentric family, he'd surely be the "funniest man in North Carolina" too.
Some of Sedaris' best and boldest work is in evidence here:
- How his neighbors' celebrating Halloween a day late taught him the meaning of "hate"
- His reminiscences of an all-male sleepover during which he briefly had ultimate power over his fellow teenage boys, power which he promptly abused (and relished abusing)
- The tale of how his family came to be slumlords
- His brother Rooster's redneck wedding
- The funniest Christmas story ever told, entitled (I kid you not) "Six to Eight Black Men"
How good is Sedaris?
Good enough to make me listen to NPR just to hear a comedian at the top of his game.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Trinity's EJ

Great Author

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 19, 2020

Verified Purchase

When ever I need to read light hearted, short stories, to make me laugh out loud or l feel the need to believe that my family isn't the only crazy one on the planet, I know I can always count on David Sedaris.

I understand the need for authors to ask for reviews, however, there was just something about the fact that had he not asked for one, that made it impossible for me not to write one. So if your a miserable person and for some reason feel you want to continue feeling so, whatever you do, don't read this book.

Thanks for making me feel so good David, maybe one day I can do the same for you, I know I have enough material for at least 4 or 5 books!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Leonie

Fabulous

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on August 8, 2021

Verified Purchase

So funny! David is a genius. The way he makes the mundane a thing thing of hilarity is rare. I loved this book.

Kartonwiesel

funny stories, as usual

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on August 29, 2010

Verified Purchase

if you like other Sedaris books you will like this as well. Funny as hell.

Traveler

Great stories

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on January 17, 2018

Verified Purchase

I laughed out load on the train during my many commutes. Great stores that cover a range of life and experience.

Rizzo

Hilarious and refreshing.

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on March 10, 2015

Verified Purchase

Refreshing and hilarious account of David's family life growing up. No author has made me laugh this much in years.

Sandra

Funny and often touching.

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on January 20, 2015

Verified Purchase

Loved it, but I am already a huge fan of a David.

See more reviews

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust

Buy new: $13.30$13.30 FREE delivery: Friday, Aug 4 Ships from: Media Brothers Unlimited Sold by: Media Brothers Unlimited

Buy used: $6.95

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the Author

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim Hardcover – June 1, 2004

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

What do customers buy after viewing this item?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Publishers Weekly

From School Library Journal

From Bookmarks Magazine

From Booklist

From the Publisher

About the Author

Product details

Videos

Important information

About the author

David Sedaris

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$13.30

FREE delivery: Friday, Aug 4

Ships from: Media Brothers Unlimited

Sold by: Media Brothers Unlimited

Buy used:

$6.95