Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
@elizabethlblock.bsky.social
PhD. Art and culture historian, speaker. Author, GILDED AGE FASHION (preorder now!), BEYOND VANITY, and DRESSING UP. Substack: Gilded Age Fashion
Pinned
Hi everyone. I am pleased to announce my new book GILDED AGE FASHION! ➡️ Reserve your first edition copy now from your favorite bookseller.
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
Me watching microwave.
November 20, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Me watching microwave.
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
Ok I missed the first episode of Ken Burns American Revolution last night because, you know, life, but I’m going to live post streaming it now. Apologies in advance. #KatywatchesAmRev
November 18, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Ok I missed the first episode of Ken Burns American Revolution last night because, you know, life, but I’m going to live post streaming it now. Apologies in advance. #KatywatchesAmRev
Ready for the first Monday in May! Met Gala 2026 theme just announced
November 17, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Ready for the first Monday in May! Met Gala 2026 theme just announced
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
Let’s do next week like this.
November 17, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Let’s do next week like this.
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
Since Black Friday seems to have come early this year, if you're shopping for the new paperback edition of Fashion Victims and want a signed, personalized copy, The Huntington's shop can help you out! Just say in the order notes that you want it signed and how. thehuntingtonstore.org/products/fas...
FASHION VICTIMS: DRESS AT THE COURT OF LOUIS XVI & MARIE-ANTOINETTE
A thoughtful, lavishly illustrated, and highly readable account of the fabulous French fashion world in the pre-Revolutionary period This award-winning book, now available in paperback, chronicles one...
thehuntingtonstore.org
November 16, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Since Black Friday seems to have come early this year, if you're shopping for the new paperback edition of Fashion Victims and want a signed, personalized copy, The Huntington's shop can help you out! Just say in the order notes that you want it signed and how. thehuntingtonstore.org/products/fas...
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
Just to clarify--I am using the most common 19th-century spelling--"crape"--for the mourning fabric. I should probably put that disclaimer in any time I use the word because many readers think that it is a misspelling. I'm all about the primary sources and try to use the terminology of the time.
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #NationalButtonDay
Mourning dress of crape and imperial serge, with several rows of buttons, which might have been cloth-covered or of glass molded to look like crape, 1895
Mourning dress of crape and imperial serge, with several rows of buttons, which might have been cloth-covered or of glass molded to look like crape, 1895
November 16, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Just to clarify--I am using the most common 19th-century spelling--"crape"--for the mourning fabric. I should probably put that disclaimer in any time I use the word because many readers think that it is a misspelling. I'm all about the primary sources and try to use the terminology of the time.
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
I'm going to have a nice peaceful day with no bad news if it kills us all.
November 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
I'm going to have a nice peaceful day with no bad news if it kills us all.
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
They may not stand up to moorland treks or autumnal downpours but I hope the former owner of these boots by Pinet was able to flash her ankles and show off the embroidered panels whilst she walked. Late 1870s @lacma.org #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
November 16, 2025 at 1:36 PM
They may not stand up to moorland treks or autumnal downpours but I hope the former owner of these boots by Pinet was able to flash her ankles and show off the embroidered panels whilst she walked. Late 1870s @lacma.org #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
Oh just some old frock I flung on, understated and demure. The house of Worth believed in a statement, both in fabric and construction and this mid #1890s gown is no exception, rich purple with a smattering of gold #museumatFIT #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
November 12, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Oh just some old frock I flung on, understated and demure. The house of Worth believed in a statement, both in fabric and construction and this mid #1890s gown is no exception, rich purple with a smattering of gold #museumatFIT #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
Hi everyone. I am pleased to announce my new book GILDED AGE FASHION! ➡️ Reserve your first edition copy now from your favorite bookseller.
November 15, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Hi everyone. I am pleased to announce my new book GILDED AGE FASHION! ➡️ Reserve your first edition copy now from your favorite bookseller.
Hi everyone. Two new issues of my Gilded Age Fashion newsletter are waiting for you. Read for free and please share! open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...
October 12, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Hi everyone. Two new issues of my Gilded Age Fashion newsletter are waiting for you. Read for free and please share! open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
New summer dates for my Joy Goddess book tour! Headed to EssenceFest for a book talk & signing in the Morial Convention Center at 1 pm on 7/5. Hope to see you in DC, Martha's Vineyard, Atlanta, Miami, Indy and Baltimore. More stops to come with details here and on my website www.aleliabundles.com
July 3, 2025 at 11:13 PM
New summer dates for my Joy Goddess book tour! Headed to EssenceFest for a book talk & signing in the Morial Convention Center at 1 pm on 7/5. Hope to see you in DC, Martha's Vineyard, Atlanta, Miami, Indy and Baltimore. More stops to come with details here and on my website www.aleliabundles.com
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
"A triumph."
Panorama, a journal of @ahaaamericanart.bsky.social, reviews "Beyond Vanity," a valuable contribution to the emergent field of hair studies, by art historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social: journalpanorama.org/article/beyo...
Panorama, a journal of @ahaaamericanart.bsky.social, reviews "Beyond Vanity," a valuable contribution to the emergent field of hair studies, by art historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social: journalpanorama.org/article/beyo...
Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing - Panorama
Panorama is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication dedicated to American art and visual culture (broadly defined). The journal is intended to provide a high-caliber international forum for…
journalpanorama.org
July 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
"A triumph."
Panorama, a journal of @ahaaamericanart.bsky.social, reviews "Beyond Vanity," a valuable contribution to the emergent field of hair studies, by art historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social: journalpanorama.org/article/beyo...
Panorama, a journal of @ahaaamericanart.bsky.social, reviews "Beyond Vanity," a valuable contribution to the emergent field of hair studies, by art historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social: journalpanorama.org/article/beyo...
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
It is easy to decry garments worn by generations past as we occupy spaces of stretch fabrics but women could move more than we imagine. Here an 1873 tennis dress & an active participant in John Lavery’s 1885 painting ‘Played’ offering a different view @chertseymuseum.bsky.social #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
July 2, 2025 at 10:21 AM
It is easy to decry garments worn by generations past as we occupy spaces of stretch fabrics but women could move more than we imagine. Here an 1873 tennis dress & an active participant in John Lavery’s 1885 painting ‘Played’ offering a different view @chertseymuseum.bsky.social #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
[Slips this into your protest knapsack]
June 14, 2025 at 5:13 PM
[Slips this into your protest knapsack]
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
This morning I heard a guy, standing in front of a salon, say into his phone, “I’d go low femme on brows & high femme on the mouth” & I have no idea what that means or the context but also this is indisputable/correct/wise.
June 10, 2025 at 4:27 PM
This morning I heard a guy, standing in front of a salon, say into his phone, “I’d go low femme on brows & high femme on the mouth” & I have no idea what that means or the context but also this is indisputable/correct/wise.
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
"Tariffs and Trade: A Historical Perspective" is a reading list of books and journal articles that address global and historical trends in tariffs and trade over the past 100 years. Articles are freely available through 10/1/25. View the full list: buff.ly/XOtGCBS
June 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM
"Tariffs and Trade: A Historical Perspective" is a reading list of books and journal articles that address global and historical trends in tariffs and trade over the past 100 years. Articles are freely available through 10/1/25. View the full list: buff.ly/XOtGCBS
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
I notice that this early #1870s Worth gown features in the Paris retrospective of the fashion house’s designs. I have long used this gown as an example of the bringing together of makers - of passementerie, of weavers, of seamstresses in a dizzying assortment @metmuseum.org #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
May 30, 2025 at 8:42 AM
I notice that this early #1870s Worth gown features in the Paris retrospective of the fashion house’s designs. I have long used this gown as an example of the bringing together of makers - of passementerie, of weavers, of seamstresses in a dizzying assortment @metmuseum.org #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
I don’t think I am destined ever to own a garment that requires a matching coat but if by some miracle I were, I hope it might look something like this. Some #1960s Mme Grès marries darkest navy with brilliant yellow in seemingly simple lines @metmuseum.org #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
May 25, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I don’t think I am destined ever to own a garment that requires a matching coat but if by some miracle I were, I hope it might look something like this. Some #1960s Mme Grès marries darkest navy with brilliant yellow in seemingly simple lines @metmuseum.org #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡
Tonight! Thursday, May 15, 7pm at the Montauk Club, Brooklyn. Stop by if you can. I will add you to the list #fashionsky
May 15, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Tonight! Thursday, May 15, 7pm at the Montauk Club, Brooklyn. Stop by if you can. I will add you to the list #fashionsky
Somehow this is real
and I had the chance to talk with the hair icon herself, Julie Klausner, on the must-listen podcast How Was Your Week?! Listen in wherever you get your pods podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
and I had the chance to talk with the hair icon herself, Julie Klausner, on the must-listen podcast How Was Your Week?! Listen in wherever you get your pods podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
My Enemy’s Child with Elizabeth L. Block
Podcast Episode · How Was Your Week? with Julie Klausner · 04/24/2025 · 1h 45m
podcasts.apple.com
April 24, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Somehow this is real
and I had the chance to talk with the hair icon herself, Julie Klausner, on the must-listen podcast How Was Your Week?! Listen in wherever you get your pods podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
and I had the chance to talk with the hair icon herself, Julie Klausner, on the must-listen podcast How Was Your Week?! Listen in wherever you get your pods podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...
Attention beauty and #fashionsky editors: My book BEYOND VANITY: THE HISTORY AND POWER OF HAIRDRESSING is the first book on hair to win a fashion history book award. Let's chat! elizabethlblock@gmail.com
April 18, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Attention beauty and #fashionsky editors: My book BEYOND VANITY: THE HISTORY AND POWER OF HAIRDRESSING is the first book on hair to win a fashion history book award. Let's chat! elizabethlblock@gmail.com
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
McNally Jackson is starting a twice-yearly festival including talks, a print zine, and a phone-free closing party (with ‘a secret lineup’). ‘There will be events related to the festival at least two or three nights a week,’ Sarah McNally says.
McNally Jackson Is Starting a Book Festival
McNally Jackson is starting a twice-yearly festival including talks, a print zine, and a phone-free closing party (with ‘a secret lineup’). ‘There will be events related to the festival at least two or three nights a week,’ Sarah McNally says.
www.vulture.com
April 14, 2025 at 1:09 PM
McNally Jackson is starting a twice-yearly festival including talks, a print zine, and a phone-free closing party (with ‘a secret lineup’). ‘There will be events related to the festival at least two or three nights a week,’ Sarah McNally says.
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
The McNally Jackson Festival is coming in May -- with talks held over the course of several weeks, plus a phone-free closing party at TJ Byrnes and a print zine
www.vulture.com/article/mcna...
www.vulture.com/article/mcna...
McNally Jackson Is Starting a Book Festival
The city’s big little indie-bookstore chain is betting on the idea that readers want something more than the standard launch party.
www.vulture.com
April 14, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The McNally Jackson Festival is coming in May -- with talks held over the course of several weeks, plus a phone-free closing party at TJ Byrnes and a print zine
www.vulture.com/article/mcna...
www.vulture.com/article/mcna...
Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian
A new image of feminine beauty that was young, modern, and mobile was appearing in late 19th century magazines.
Common Threads: America’s First “It Girl” | The Saturday Evening Post
In the late 1800s, a “New Woman” emerged from the pages of popular magazines, offering a new interpretation of femininity.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
April 15, 2025 at 3:48 PM
A new image of feminine beauty that was young, modern, and mobile was appearing in late 19th century magazines.