logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
53m 24s

Barbie: The Fashion History of an Icon, ...

Dressed Media
About this episode

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? 




Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/donations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Yesterday
Fashion and the Showgirl, Part I (Dressed Classic)
With her towering headwear and sparkling body suit, the showgirl is an instantly recognizable, cross cultural pop icon--and one that is front and center currently with the debut of Taylor Swift's latest album The Life of a Showgirl. In this two-part episode from 2020, we explore ... Show More
31m 37s
Oct 3
Let's Party Like its 1889!: Etiquette of the Fête in Gilded Age New York (Dressed Classic)
We revisit one of our popular 'etiquette in history' episodes today and examine the complex social codes of party throwing and going in Gilded Age New York. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion? Our ⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠classes⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠⁠bookshelf⁠ ... Show More
52m 50s
Oct 1
Dress, Dreams, and Desire: Fashion and Psychoanalysis: an interview with Dr. Valerie Steele
It's Freud x fashion this week as Dr. Valerie Steele joins us to speak about her exhibition Dress, Dreams, and Desire: Fashion and Psychoanalysis which is currently on view at The Museum at FIT through January 4, 2026. The exhibition--which is the first of its kind--explores "key ... Show More
57m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Barbie for President!
July 29th, 1992. The Baltimore Sun runs a feature about a surprise candidate in the upcoming presidential race: Barbie. The 11.5-inch icon of girlhood and glamor is running for office – and flying off the shelves. But how did a plaything become important enough to make national n ... Show More
35m 23s
Jul 28
Barbie for President!
July 29th, 1992. The Baltimore Sun runs a feature about a surprise candidate in the upcoming presidential race: Barbie. The 11.5-inch icon of girlhood and glamor is running for office – and flying off the shelves. But how did a plaything become important enough to make national n ... Show More
36m 22s
May 2025
American Girl Dolls | 136
During the 1990s a doll that taught kids about American History became a major force within the crowded toy market. The 18 inch historically accurate dolls were expensive and only available by mail order, but they managed to capture the imagination of an entire generation and in ... Show More
27m 5s
Jan 2016
Author Interview: Fashion History With April Calahan
April has two books out about fashion history, one featuring historical fashion plates, and another on the pochoir technique used to create fashion illustrations in the early 20th century. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/ ... Show More
43m 49s
Apr 2025
S09E04 - Art Deco⏐Paris-Shanghai, a dialog of styles
In Paris, in the 1920s, a myriad of languages ​​was spoken. Elegant ladies from all over the world flocked to the French capital to shop to their heart’s content. The city, a veritable crossroads of influences, drew inspiration from the most diverse sources. But if there was one ... Show More
16m 33s
Apr 2022
Lessons from the Fashion History Books - Rachel Elspeth Gross's Fab Instagram Feed
What Can Fashion History Teach Us About Sustainability? Which fashion figures tower over the history books? Who’s fame stands the test of time, and who gets forgotten - and why? What can we learn from wartime rationing and the Make Do & Mend movement? How was life when home-sewin ... Show More
54m 8s
Jun 2024
Eleanor Medhurst, "Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion" (Hurst, 2024)
Eleanor Medhurst joins us today to talk about Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion (Hurst & Company, 2024). Clothes are integral to lesbian history. Lesbians, in turn, are integral to the history of fashion. The way that we dress can help us to present who we are to the world ... Show More
44m 28s
Nov 2024
S07E03 - Literature⏐Salammbô, the quintessential femme fatale and the unique brooch by René Lalique
“It was in Megara, a suburb of Carthage, in the gardens of Hamilcar…”This is the opening sentence of Salammbô, Flaubert’s great historical novel, which has become a cult classic. Just like its heroine … the Carthaginian princess with dazzling finery and a tragic destiny.Salammbô ... Show More
13m 8s
Aug 2023
Barbie collector with 800 dolls in her house
Artist Dawn Austin, from Derbyshire in the UK, has amassed a collection of more than 800 figurines spanning several decades. She joins Nights to talk about her love of the dolls, and, of course, the Barbie movie. 
12m 54s
Sep 5
Renaissance Beauty: hair, makeup and skincare in the 16th century
Greg Jenner is joined in sixteenth-century Italy by historian Professor Jill Burke and comedian Tatty Macleod to learn all about Renaissance beauty standards and treatments. Early modern Italy is renowned for the gorgeous artworks created by painters like Titian, Rubens and Botti ... Show More
57m 39s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami