Dressed: The History of Fashion

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 Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashi...

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 Publications, 2023. Want more Dressed: The History of Fa...

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 Sargent is currently on view at the Museum of Fine Ar...

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 episodes: Smuggled in the Bustle: An Interview with Hind...

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 Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashi...

This week we launch a new segment of Dressed! What's In Your Closet episodes will delve into the items in your closets. In our inaugural episode, we investigate listener Emma P's late 1940s jacket by the obscure brand Jacques Cartier. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles! Support this podcast at — h...

Anticipating the premier of The Gilded Age season 2 next week, we examine the practices and pitfalls of party etiquette of the American elite during the late 19th century. Past Dressed episode: Call Me: The Perils of 19th Century Etiquette Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles! Support this podcast a...

From 19th-century hand-embroidered laundry pillows to the fashion fantasy dreamscapes of Tilda Swinton and Tim Walker, we bring you the latest news from fashion history and fashion history in the making. Recommendations: Laundry pillow featured on @historicembroidery Facekinis Dressed episode A Brief History of Sunscreen Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Memorial Cornell's Remember the Triangle Shirtwai...

We highlight a few of our favorite fashion history titles from the hundreds on the Dressed bookshelf. Books discussed in today's episode: Chinese Dress in Detail by San Fong Chan China Adorned: Ritual and Custom of Ancient Cultures by Professor Deng Qiyao Patchwork: A World Tour by Catherine Legrand Fashion Before Plus-Size: Bodies, Bias and the Birth of an Industry by Lauren Downing Peters Creati...

In part two of our episode with sustainability communicator Clare Press of the podcast Wardrobe Crisis, we discuss a whole host of innovators who are currently plotting fashion's brighter future. Her latest book, Wear Next: Fashioning the Future is out now! Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles! Supp...

Our favorite fashion activist and fellow podcastress, Clare Press of Wardrobe Crisis, joins us in this first installment of this week's two-part episode discussing her latest book Wear Next: Fashioning the Future. Recommended reading: What's the matter with Shein?! CBS News Time magazine Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our website Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favori...

Costume and production designer Catherine Martin takes us behind the seams of her and her team's work on the 2022 Elvis biopic, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Austin Butler. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/don...

Four time Academy Award winning costume and production designer Catherine Martin joins us to talk about her illustrious four plus decade long career designing some of the most beloved blockbuster hits of all time, including Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our website Our Instagram Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles! Supp...

This week we catch up on the departure of more than one notable fashion designer, recommend a bevy of documentaries out now on the modeling industry, chat about the Sotheby's recent Fashion Icons sale and so much more! We also give you updates on our New York fashion history day tours... Dressed's NYC day tours December 7-9th, 2023 Sarah Burton Exits Alexander McQueen Marc Bohan Passes at Age 97 S...

This week we address our most requested topic of all time: 'why do women's garments have fewer pockets?!' Dr. Hannah Carlson joins us to discuss her recently released book Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close. RECOMMENDED READING: Carlson, Hannah. An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close. New York: Algonquin Books, 2023. You can find Dr. Carlson's book and many more of o...

Oh the perils of being a Medieval, tassel loving peasant in the 21st century! In this episode, we meet Tyler Gunther, the peasant behind Greedy Peasant, the queer, Medieval-era fashion influencer, pageant planner, and unlikely social media star who has taken the world by storm.  For more Greedy Peasant: Greedy Peasant’s website Greedy Peasant’s Patreon Greedy Peasant’s Instagram Support this podca...

From 1520 to 1560, the style-conscious accountant Matthäus Schwarz and his son Veit Konrad immortalized their adventures in dressing in a series of stunning, hand-painted portraits that provide a window into the period within which they lived. Historians Ulinka Rublack and Maria Hayward join us to discuss this extraordinary primary source which was published in full color as The First Book of Fash...

In this episode, we go "behind the seams" of Geoffrey Holder's whimsical costume designs for the seven-time, Tony Award winning smash hit The Wiz, which opened on Broadway in 1975 and ran for 1672 performances before closing in 1979. Recommended Reading: The Wiz costumes in the collection of the NMAAHC André de Shield's article Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Support this podcast at — http...

In the conclusion of our two-part episode on the work of Hollywood designer Gilbert Adrian, we turn our attention away from his time at MGM costuming the likes of Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, and instead look at the rise of his fashion house Adrian, Ltd. Creating both custom made-to-measure looks for individual clients as well as 'immediate wear' which retailed at the finest US department stores...

This week we get get the inside scoop on a new fashion history television series coming early next year, chat about France's new incentive to encourage it's citizens to repair and mend their clothing, and shed a few tears over the Loose Ends Project which assists with completing needlework and sewing projects left unfinished by loved ones. We also detail the itinerary of our December 2023 fashion...

One of American fashion's greats, the work Gilbert Adrian defined classic Hollywood glamour and pushed high fashion in new directions during the 1930s and 40s. In part 1 of this two-part episode, we examine Adrian's early years, and his role as head costume designer at MGM, where he turned screen stars, like Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, into fashion icons. RECOMMENDED READING: Esquevin, Christia...

Amber-Dawn Bear Robe joins us to discuss the past, present, and future of Indigenous fashion, including the myriad of fashion design talents seen on the runway of this year's Santa Fe Indian Market (SWAIA). For more information on the designers featured in this year's events, check out https://swaianativefashion.org/designers. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of...

The work of the late, great designer Lee Alexander McQueen consistently blurred the lines between fashion and art, a fact celebrated in the exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse which put his work in conversation with artists who drew on similar themes and visual references. Curators Clarissa Esguerra and Michaela Hansen join us to discuss the exhibition which originated at the Los...

Today's we answer several listeners' requests for an episode on the American womenswear brand Lilli Ann. One of the great runaway success stories of American 20th century fashion, the backstory of the brand takes some twists and turns from its early years in San Francisco's Chinatown, to Lilli Ann's founder's fisticuffs with New York mobsters and his surprising relationship with the French textile...

No longer the household name she was during her own time, Dorothy Liebes has been recognized as "one of the greatest designers of the 20th century." Her modernist textile designs were embraced by interior designers and architects including Frank Lloyd Wright and fashion designers such as her dear friend Bonnie Cashin. This week fashion and textile historian Leigh Wishner joins us to talk about Lie...