Freeing the Body: The Birth of Modern Dr...

International best selling author Justine Picardie joined us in this 2022, two-part episode to discuss the life and legacy of Christian Dior's beloved sister Catherine, a WWII French resistance fighter, concentration camp survivor, and inspiration behind Dior's most famous scent ... Show More

This week we revisit a 2020 Fashion History Mystery where we answer a listener query about the origin of women's shorts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 

Fashion history and true crime come together in this 2022 episode where we explore a scandal of the 1860s involving a British cosmetics maven who bilked her clients out of fortunes with the promise to halt the aging process and make them beautful forever. Learn more about your ad ... Show More

Underwear! Whether we're talking boxers, briefs, loincloths, brassieres or even lingerie, undergarments have a storied history in cultures across the planet. It's a tale touching on everything from shifting attitudes about morality to scientific innovations, fashion and more. In ... Show More

We're revisiting an episode from 2014 about makeup, which has a rich and lengthy history that spans the globe and crosses cultures. From 10,000 B.C.E. to the 20th century, people have been using cosmetics to enhance their looks -- sometimes with unintended side effects. Learn mor ... Show More

How many pieces of clothing did the average Tudor own? Did women in the 16th century have specialised maternity wear? And what was behind the fascination with codpieces? Jane Malcolm-Davies stitches together our understanding of what the Tudors wore, from knitted hats and linen h ... Show More

Throughout history one thing has had more impact on women’s lives than almost anything else - giving birth to children. In this episode we will explore various aspects of this paramount and awe-inspiring process and how it has changed across cultures and through time. From how we ... Show More

This week, we’re unraveling the fashion industry’s 19th century origins. Progress was everywhere… But with each apparently miraculous innovation came pain, illness—and even death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 

Periods. About 50% of the population gets them. But this natural process of shedding the uterine lining every month as part of fertility has long been shrouded in mystery, embarrassment and taboo. Let’s take a look back in time to see how women in the past and in various cultures ... Show More

What chores did medieval women have to get through each day? How could plucking your eyebrows in the Middle Ages land you in hell? And why did people believe that older women’s looks could kill? In our latest “Everything you wanted to know” episode, medievalist Dr Eleanor Janega ... Show More

Appearance was everything in the Renaissance – a way to make a good marriage and gain power and influence. But what if you fell short of the era’s exacting beauty ideals? Speaking with Charlotte Hodgman, Professor Jill Burke ventures into the realm of Renaissance beauty culture, ... Show More

The free love of the 1960s was a crucial step in the world becoming more sex positive, but would any of it have happened without the invention of The Pill? This week, we're chatting all things birth control - how it came about, the reaction (hello again Pope Paul!), and allll the ... Show More

"His clothes seemed to melt into each other with the perfection of their cut and the quiet harmony of their colour. Without a single point of emphasis, everything was distinguished"The suit has long served as the official attire of men in Britain, Europe and the Western World. Tr ... Show More