In this episode we chat about the latest news from Black Barbieland, our thoughts on Bridgerton season 3, an incredible exhibition of textiles woven from Golden Orb Weaving Spider silk threads and the work of Korean artist Choi So Young, who repurposes denim and other garments to create mind-blowing collage works depicting the complex geometries of…

We explore the fasten-ating history of closing clothes through the lens of three of the most familiar fasteners in our wardrobes today: zippers, velcro, and magnets! Additional Resources: Don't Say Velcro! video Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website and classes Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion histo…

This week we open up our listener mail to discuss affordable options for ethically made garments, recommend some additional fashion history books for kids and chat about some listener requested episodes that are currently in the works. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website and classes Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 140 of ou…

This week fashion historians and vintage collectors Janine D'Agati and Hannah Schiff join us to discuss their book From Sleepwear to Sportswear: How Beach Pajamas Reshaped Women's Fashion which presents groundbreaking new research on beach pajamas as a missing piece of the puzzle in women's adoption of pants in the early 20th century. Check out Jan…

We continue our conversation with Keita Motoji and Mark McNulty of Ginza Motoji, Japan's premiere speciality kimono purveyor dedicated to preserving and celebrating the art--and artisans--of kimono. In Part II of this episode, we learn about the different types of kimono and the continued significance of the kimono in Japan today. Learn more about …

Today, we are joined by Keita Motoji and Mark McNulty of Ginza Motoji, Japan's premiere speciality kimono purveyor dedicated to preserving and celebrating the art--and artisans--of kimono. In Part I of this episode, they take us behind the seams of the kimono process to meet the makers responsible for its creation. Learn more about Ginza Motoji: Co…

In part II of our episode this with week with Dr. Kate Annett-Hitchcock we chat about some of the 20th and 21st initiatives in the realm of fashion and disability including the work of Helen Cookman's line of Functional Fashions which featured the work of noted American designers Bonnie Cashin and Pauline Trigère. Recommended reading: Kate Annett-H…

This week Dr. Kate Annett-Hitchcock joins us for a two-part episode to speak about her recently released book The Intersection of Fashion and Disability: A Historical Analysis which spans more than 500 years of dressing for disability. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website and classes Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 140 of ou…

We continue to meet the singing style icons at the heart of Marcellas Reynolds's book Supreme Sirens: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Music. Want more Supreme Women? Supreme Actresses: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Hollywood Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our we…

Marcellas Reynolds is back to talk about the final book in his fashion forward Supreme Women series: Supreme Sirens: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Music. Want more Supreme Women? Supreme Actresses: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Hollywood Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion Want more Dressed: The History of …

Recorded live at the recent Project Threadways symposium hosted by the ethical brand Alabama Chanin, we explore four past Dressed topics to underscore the importance of understanding the materials to go into our clothes and valuing the people that make them. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website and classes Our Instagram Our booksh…

The 2024 Met Gala might go down as the most controversial and most expensive in the event's 75 year+ history. Today we unpack the broader implications of the Gala's The Garden of Time theme while we also explore the exhibition Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, which puts on display 220 masterpieces from The Costume Institute's permanent colle…

Today we tease our Fall 2024 fashion history tour of Paris and detail all of the sartorial delights on our itinerary for the City of Lights. From tours of the most important fashion museums in the world, to private visits to the ateliers of both historic and contemporary makers, this year's tour might just be our best yet! We will visit the Paris O…

This week we are joined by Rachel Slade to discuss her book Making It In America which examines the story of the company American Roots which has undertaken the nearly impossible task of manufacturing garments 100% made in the U.S.A. Recorded live at the recent 18th Annual Sustainability Business and Design Conference at the Fashion Institute of Te…

Books are some of the first ways that children are introduced to the fantastical, wonderful, and historical world of fashion. On today's episode, we share some children's books that sparked our own love for fashion history, as well as some more recent publications. Books discussed in today's episode (some with links to purchase): A Treasury of the …

It's time to add Santa Fe to the list of world fashion centers! May marks the debut of SWAIA Native Fashion Week, the very first Indigenous “fashion week” in the US dedicated to showcasing the exciting and dynamic creations of Native American and Indigenous Canadian designers. Amber Dawn Bear Robe, the show's visionary director and producer, joins …

We continue our exploration into the fashion history of the Gucci family, in part two of a two part past episode from the Dressed archive. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website and classes Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles Our Sponsors: * Check out Happy Mammoth and use my code DRESSED…

Today, the name Gucci, with its iconic double "G" logo, is an internationally renowned luxury fashion label. But what of the Gucci family responsible for its creation? In this week's two-part episode from the Dressed archives, we delve into the fashion history of one of the world's most instantly recognizable brands by centering the family responsi…

Waleria Dorgova joins us for for the second part of our episode this week on the artist, interior, fashion and textile designer Sonia Delaunay. Dr. Dorogova co-curated the ground-breaking exhibition with Dr. Laura Microulis, research curator of the Bard Graduate Center, where the exhibition Sonia Delaunay: Living Art is on view through July 7, 2024…

Now mostly remembered as a painter, this week we look at the broad spectrum of the work of Sonia Delaunay with a special emphasis on her fashion and textile designs. Waleria Dorogova, co-curator of the exhibition Sonia Delaunay: Living Art which is now on view at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City joins us to speak about the years of researc…

This week, we are joined by Rebecca Seaver, the Director of Museum & Archive Services for Dolly Parton, and the person responsible for the curated selection of special pieces on view in Dolly's recently published memoir Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. And thanks to the book's audio companion, we even hear from Dolly herself! A special tha…

This week, we are joined by Rebecca Seaver, the Director of Museum & Archive Services for Dolly Parton, and the person responsible for the curated selection of special pieces on view in Dolly's recently published memoir Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. And thanks to the book's audio companion, we even hear from Dolly herself! A special tha…

In part II of this week's episode in commemorating the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire which occurred in Lower Manhattan on March 25, 1911, we examine how the fire started, hear from some of the survivors and learn about the sweeping labor reforms and worker protections which followed in its wake. Recommended resources: Co…

As the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory approaches in a few short days, this week we bring you a two-part episode on the nature of the New York City garment trade at the turn of the 20th century, and how a horrific workplace accident on March 25, 1911 reshaped the landscape of workers rights and protections. Recommended resource…

This week we chat about the latest in fashion history news including Norma Kamali training an AI to design her legacy, the Oscar nominees for Best Costume Design, a new YSL bookshop in Paris and some of the spectacular pieces up for sale at recent fashion auctions. Recommended Resources: Vogue Archive Killers of the Flower Moon article by Christian…

We continue our conversation with Isabel Attyah Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas about nameplate jewelry, addressing its central and even controversial role in both sub and mainstream cultural expressions, including hip hop. Recommended resources: The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and Identity Documenting the Nameplate Instagram Want more Dressed: The Hi…

Isabel Attyah Flower and Marcel Rosa-Salas join us to discuss their book The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and Identity, which celebrates the myriad of meanings embedded in the multi-cultural and cross-generational phenomenon of nameplate jewelry. Recommended resources: The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture and Identity Documenting the Nameplate Instagram …

In this special Black History Month episode, Taniqua speaks with Linda Ann Dixon about the legacy of her great grandmother Ann Lowe.Di Black Fashion History

In the wonderful and often bizarre world of fashion fads from history, we ask the question: which should live on to wear another day and which should be left to history? Recommended resources: Bedazzled Beetles Hobble Skirt Painted knees Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website and classes Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of …

Maison Margiela's Spring/Summer Paris 2024 Haute Couture collection show delivered a haunting jolt that is hard to forget. Whether you loved the show or hated it, it was a moment. And that moment–which will undoubtedly go down in fashion history–was also packed with references to the history of fashion itself. Alexandre Samson, Curator of Haute Cou…

An exceptionally famous milliner in her day, the life and career of Mildred Blount has been somewhat lost to history. Curator Taylor Bythewood-Porter joins us to shine a light on the first African-American to be admitted to the Motion Pictures Costumers Union and her glorious on-screen creations for films including Gone With the Wind and Gigi as we…

In the early years of the twentieth century, Madam C.J. Walker built an international, Black hair care empire from the ground floor up, transforming herself from a laundry work making $1.50 a day to the woman Guinness World Records identifies as the “first self-made millionairess.” This week, we learn all about her extraordinary life in an intervie…

In part II of our episode on The Costume Institute's exhibition Women Dressing Women, co-curator Mellissa Huber takes us behind the scenes and shines a light on some of the invisible labor which does into mounting a major fashion in a museum. Can't make the show? Grab a copy of the amazing exhibition catalog here! Want more Dressed: The History of …

This week we are joined by Mellissa Huber and Karen Van Godtsenhoven, curators of The Costume Institute's exhibition Women Dressing Women, which is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City through March 10, 2024. The exhibition explores more than 100 years of fashion history via the work of women designers and centers their contri…

Fourth generation flower maker Adam Brand takes us behind the scenes of his family's business M&S Schmalberg. Founded by his family in 1916, the company is the last of its kind in America. M&S Schmalberg's website and Instagram Etsy store with a 20% discount just for Dressed listeners! Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website and clas…

Fifth generation master pleater George Kalajian’s family has been perfecting the art of the pleat since the 19th century. He joins us to discuss the past, present, and future of his family’s renowned pleating enterprise Tom’s Sons International Pleating, a staple of New York City’s Garment District since the 1970s. Tom's Sons International Pleating…

Our favorite vedette, Dita Von Teese, joins us this for part 2 of our conversation this week to chat about being the first-ever guest star at Paris' legendary cabaret, the Crazy House and her current residency in Las Vegas. Her show Dita Las Vegas: A Jubilant Revue is onstage now at the Jubilee Theater, formerly home to iconic acts including Frank …

We are kicking off our seventh season of Dressed in spectacular style as we are joined all this week by the one and only Dita Von Teese! A longtime vintage collector and star of the neo-burlesque scene, Dita's impact on contemporary visual culture cannot be underestimated. In part one of this two-part episode, we chat about her relationship with vi…

Join us for our now annual holiday party where we 'exchange' some of their favorite gifts from fashion's past and present. Gifts you can gift! Our very first online course What Women Wore to the Revolution Books for our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles 18th Century Beauty Box 18th Century Beauty Spots Pressed flower dy…

This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of American fashion's greatest moments: the Battle of Versailles. "Halstonette" Chris Royer joins us to discuss her first hand account of modeling in the now legendary fashion face-off between French haute couture and American design. Want more Battle of Versailles? The King of Sexy Cling: An Interview wi…

It's official!!! In today's episode we announce the launch of Dressed: The School of Fashion, chat about Prada's upcoming trip to the moon and recommend some fashion history newsletters to follow. Recommendations: Sign up for our first class: What Women Wore to the Revolution, Part I IKEA's Designer Towel Skirt Fashion Newsletters: Laura Beltran Ru…

Have you ever pondered, 'but, what would Jane Austen wear?' We have all the answers for you in this episode, as Dr. Hilary Davidson joins us to talk about her two books: Dress in the Age of Jane Austen and Jane Austen's Wardrobe. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion…

In today's episode, we answer some listener mail about what is and what isn't fast fashion, discuss the documentary Unboxing Shein and chat about the latest news from The Met's Costume Institute. Recommended: Fashion Revolution Transparency Index Good On You The True Cost documentary Unboxing Shein Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our web…

Custom couturier to brides, debutantes and American socialites, including Jacqueline Bouvier and Marjorie Merriweather Post, The Saturday Evening Post once called Ann Lowe "society's best kept secret." Today, we explore the true breadth of Lowe's career with fashion curator Elizabeth Way who joins us to speak about her exhibition Ann Lowe: American…

Just as fashion is more than pretty clothes, basketball is more than just a game. Pulitzer Prize winning author Mitchell S. Jackson joins us to discuss why the relationship between fashion and basketball matters historically and today. Purchase Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion Mitchell's website Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our…

Fashion luminary and trailblazing model, agent and activist Bethann Hardison joins us to discuss her life and legacy as explored in the new documentary Invisible Beauty. More on the documentary Invisible Beauty Bethann's website Our Battle of Versailles interview with Robin Givan Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website Our Instagram …

In part two of our 2-part episode on the MFA Boston's exhibition Fashioned by Sargent, art historian Dr. Erica Hirshler re-joins us to speak about some of Sargent's most famous works including Madame X and his sensuous portraits of male style icons of the day. Recommended reading: Hirshler, Erica, et al eds. Fashioned by Sargent. Boston: MFA Public…

All this week, Dr. Erica Hirshler joins us to talk about the sartorial stylings of one of history's great painters of fashion, John Singer Sargent. In part one of this two-part episode, we learn a bit about Sargent's international upbringing and career as well as his sometimes dictatorial role in styling his sitters. The exhibition Fashioned by Sar…

Nothing gets between a woman and her fashion! Dr. Elizabeth Block joins us for part two of our episode on Gilded Age fashion in a discussion on fashionable smuggling, thievery, and the costumes of Gilded Age Season 2! Get your hands on a copy of Dr. Block's book Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion here. Relevant past Dressed episod…

Dr. Elizabeth Block joins us to discuss her book Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion which celebrates the lesser known figures behind the international success of the French haute couture in the late 19th century, most notably their elite American clientele who were driving forces of Gilded Age fashion. Get your hands on a copy of …