

Dressed: The History of Fashion
Dressed Media
With over 8 billion people in the world, we all have one thing in common. Every day we all get dressed. Join Dressed as we explore the social and cultural histories behind the who, what, when of why we wear.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 9, 2025 • 52min
Fashion Scandals: Madame X
For our debut of Season 8 of Dressed, we bring you the first of our new ongoing series: Fashion Scandals. Today we whisk you into the scandal swirling around surrounding one of the most famous paintings in all of art history, John Singer Sargent's Madame X. We will meet the subject, the American-born Parisian It-Girl Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, and learn just how her appearance in Sargent's portrait shocked even the most jaded of Parisians when it was displayed at one of the world's most prestigious art exhibitions, the Salon de Paris, in 1884.Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? • Our website and classes • Our Instagram • Our bookshelf with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 31, 2025 • 53min
Barbie: The Fashion History of an Icon, Part III (Dressed Classic)
The final episode of our Barbie fashion history series explores Barbie's flowering into a fully fledged fashion icon in the 21st century and what that means in terms of diversity and representation for Barbie, in front of and behind the seams. Recommended Reading:
Carol Spencer's Dressing Barbie
Dan Savage's Ken Comes Out (1993)
Barbie's Time Magazine Article (2016)
Barbie's Style Instagram
1985-2022 Well Known Designers of the Barbie Dolls
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 28, 2025 • 49min
Barbie: The Fashion History of an Icon, Part II (Dressed Classic)
Barbie gets the full haute couture treatment in part two of our Barbie fashion history series from 2023 which takes us into the 1980s, a period that lays the foundation for her ascension into full fashion icon status.Recommended Reading:
Ruth Handler's Dream Doll
Carol Spencer's Dressing Barbie
Robin Gerber's Barbie and Ruth
Black Barbie documentary
Independent article about the Black Barbie documentary
"Tracing the History of 'Asian' Barbie" by Kelly Kasulis
Billyboy* and Mdvanii
Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?
Our website and classes
Our Instagram
Our bookshelf with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 26, 2025 • 50min
Barbie: The Fashion History of an Icon, Part I (Dressed Classic)
Barbie is so much more than a child's toy. Since making her debut in 1959, the Barbie doll has become a full-fledged global phenomenon--and fashion icon. In this three part series from 2023, we explore the fashion history and cultural significance of the world's most famous doll and meet the fascinating figures behind her creation. Recommended Reading:
Ruth Handler's Dream Doll
Carol Spencer's Dressing Barbie
Robin Gerber Barbie and Ruth
Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?
Our website and classes
Our Instagram
Our bookshelf with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 21, 2025 • 17min
Get Dressed With Us in Paris and New York!
A quick hello from the Dressed Universe! While we are still on our winter hiatus, we wanted to check in to invite you to get Dressed with us in Paris, New York and online...We have amazing fashion history tours open for registration now: 3 days in New York City April 9th-11th (and because Day 1 sold out, we added an extra date April 16th) and a once-in-a-lifetime 7 day tour of Paris June 29-July 6th. Head over to dressedhistory.com for the detailed itineraries and also to register for our upcoming online classes.
Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?
Our website and classes
Our Instagram
Our bookshelf with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles
Listen ad free here!
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 14, 2025 • 51min
Invisible Beauty: An Interview with Bethann Hardison (Dressed Classic)
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 fashion history titles!
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 7, 2025 • 33min
Scott Barrie, an interview with Elizabeth Way
During our annual winter hiatus, we bring you some of our favorite episodes from Dressed's back catalog of more than 500 episodes. Today we revisit one of our past episodes with Elizabeth Way who joined us, on this occasion, to speak about the work of fashion designer Scott Barrie who is only but one of the creators detailed in her edited volume Black Designers in American Fashion.
Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?
Our website and classes
Our Instagram
Our bookshelf with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles
Listen ad free here!
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feb 5, 2025 • 50min
Ann Lowe: American Couturier, an interview with Elizabeth Way
During our annual winter hiatus, we bring you some of our favorite episodes from Dressed's back catalog. Today we revisit one of our past episodes with Elizabeth Way who joined us, on this occasion, to speak about her 2023 exhibition Ann Lowe: American Couturier, which was on view at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware.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." Recommended reading: Way, Elizabeth, ed. Ann Lowe: American Couturier, New York: Rizzoli Electra, 2023.
Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?
Our website and classes
Our Instagram
Our bookshelf with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles
Listen ad free here!
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 31, 2025 • 29min
Donyale Luna: Myth, Model, Muse, Part II
We continue our look at the life, legend, and legacy of 1960s supermodel Donyale Luna.Further Reading / Watching:
Donyale in Que Etes-Vous Polly Magoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS_aJN7c8ps;
Daughter Dream Cazzaniga's article https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/donyale-luna-model-vogue
Don Strachan's blog https://donyaleluna.wordpress.com
TIME magazine's "The Luna Year" http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,840625,00.html
Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?
Our website and classes
Our Instagram
Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles
Listen ad free here!
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 29, 2025 • 37min
Donyale Luna: The Life and Legacy of a Legendary Model, Part I
In 1966, Donyale Luna became the first model of color to appear on the cover of any edition of Vogue magazine--but she was so much more than a pretty face. In this week's two part series, we look at the life, legend, and legacy of the enigmatic woman who took the fashion world by storm in the 1960s. Further reading:
Daughter Dream Cazzaniga's Vogue article
Don Strachan's Blog
TIME magazine's "The Luna Year"
Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?
Our website and classes
Our Instagram
Our bookshelf with over 100 of our favorite fashion history titles
Listen ad free here!
Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices