fashion

Zelensky's Attire in Congress Wasn't Slovenly, it was Strategic

by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

Zelensky, without military experience, has thread the needle between evoking patriotic fighting spirit and appropriating unearned military credibility with his much-discussed attire in Congress. His outfit is part of a long tradition of dress choices by world leaders. 

The History of Fashion's Turn to Embracing Fakery

Fashion historians Valerie Steele and Einav Rabinovitch-Fox explain the historic push and pull between designers and copycats, and how recent trends have blurred the lines between authenticity and fakeness and exclusivity and popular style. 

Will the Era of the Butt Ever End?

Heather Radke's "Butts: A Backstory" isn't (just) a provocation, but a carefully researched study of how bodily ideals and attractiveness are constructed and reproduced in societies. 

Acceptance of Natural Hairstyles a Continuing Front in Civil Rights Struggle

by Jasmine Nichole Cobb

Recently signed legislation in Massachusetts prohibits workplaces and schools from banning many hairstyles associated with African Americans, showing that racism can work through sartorial standards to make opportunity and acceptance contingent on conformity to white norms. 

The New Army Tactical Brassiere Latest Episode of Military Connections with Fashion

by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

The move to create new undergarments reflects the military's recent efforts to incorporate a more diverse population of servicemembers, as well as a longstanding concern with managing the appearance of women in service. 

"Bridgerton" Keeps Perpetuating the Hollywood Corset Myth

by Hilary Davidson

Hollywood tends to portray women's historical fashions through a lens formed by today's ways of dressing, and ignore the more complex material and social history of clothing. 

Ralph Lauren's HBCU Tribute Line is Part of a Long History of Fighting for Recognition through Fashion

by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

The designer's new collaboration with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges is more than a marketing ploy; it reflects the long history of Black college students (and Jewish tailors and designers) working to make the fashionable representation of the American ideal more inclusive.

Jeans: The History of the People's Pants Coming to American Experience

Denim touches the history of American slavery, immigration, industrialization and counterculture. An upcoming "American Experience" feature tells the story. 

Fashion and Freedom from Suffrage to AOC

by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

Fashion, freedom, and American independence have been and are still connected to ideas of women’s rights and equality.

Socialite Mollie Moon Used Fashion Shows to Fund the Civil Rights Movement

by Tanisha C. Ford

Ebony Magazine's Fashion Fair offered a platform to Black designers while raising money for civil rights organizations – more than $60 million over a half-century. 

America’s Most Hated Garment

Atlantic writer Amanda Mull turns to fashion historians Marley Healy and Valerie Steele to place the growing social acceptance of sweatpants in a pattern of clothing standards changing in response to cultural influences and social conditions. 

How Clothing Can be a ‘Tool of Resistance’

Professor Tanisha Ford discusses the ways that the clothing choices of civil rights activists in the past and today reflect change and continuity in protest movements.

Learn About the Fashion History of NYC in New Documentary

“[The documentary] is about the history of fashion in NYC from sweatshops in LES to the heyday of the Garment District to independent designers across the five boroughs,” Ariel Viera said.

Harris Tweed was Cold War ‘uniform’ for CIA

WHILE British secret agents of the 1970s were portrayed on TV in tight blue jeans, shirts with huge collars, ludicrous wide ties and brown cardigans – a la The Professionals – their real-life equivalents on the other side of the Atlantic opted for … Harris Tweed.The American hero behind the Iran hostage rescue featured in the film Argo has revealed the fashion style of CIA agents during the Cold War as he was honoured for services to the famous Scots cloth.Tony Mendez was played in the Best Picture of the Year Oscar-winner by Ben Affleck, whose Harris Tweed jacket is giving the fabric its highest-profile Hollywood exposure in years.Former agent Mendez, speaking in New York, confirmed that the movie reflected reality and that Harris Tweed had been “part of what every agent wore” during his time in the service.....

What Obama and Xi's Shirt Sleeves Summit Means

by Jeffrey Wasserstrom

Though Xi loosened his tie in California, he’s shown no signs of loosening up on human rights issues back home.