Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is a 2004 collection of 22 autobiographical essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

s by American humorist David Sedaris

David Sedaris

David Sedaris is a Grammy Award-nominated American humorist, writer, comedian, bestselling author, and radio contributor....

. The essays address the author's upbringing in Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, his relationships with family members, and his work and life in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

The following is a list of the essays in Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, with brief notes about their contents:

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
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
    Zwarte Piet
    In the folklore and legends of the Netherlands and Belgium, Zwarte Piet is a companion of Saint Nicholas whose yearly feast in the Netherlands is usually celebrated on the evening of 5 December In the folklore and legends of the Netherlands and Belgium, Zwarte Piet (meaning Black Pete) is a...
    
    , 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
    Anne Frank
    Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
    
    '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

At the time of publication, there was considerable fan speculation as to the origin of the book's title. During an October 12, 2010 public appearance in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, Sedaris said he was under a deadline for a title and was getting a little desperate when 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 own book.