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
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
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...
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
Winner! Thank you to the Costume Society of America for choosing my book BEYOND VANITY:
THE HISTORY AND POWER OF HAIRDRESSING as the 2025 winner of the Milla Davenport Publication Award! #academicsky
THE HISTORY AND POWER OF HAIRDRESSING as the 2025 winner of the Milla Davenport Publication Award! #academicsky
April 16, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Winner! Thank you to the Costume Society of America for choosing my book BEYOND VANITY:
THE HISTORY AND POWER OF HAIRDRESSING as the 2025 winner of the Milla Davenport Publication Award! #academicsky
THE HISTORY AND POWER OF HAIRDRESSING as the 2025 winner of the Milla Davenport Publication Award! #academicsky
You are invited! April
25: Join us for the Material Intelligence virtual symposium on hair! We have an incredible panel of artists and scholars. Share with hairstylist friends! Free to all. Register at link below #academicsky #fashionsky
25: Join us for the Material Intelligence virtual symposium on hair! We have an incredible panel of artists and scholars. Share with hairstylist friends! Free to all. Register at link below #academicsky #fashionsky
April 5, 2025 at 1:14 PM
You are invited! April
25: Join us for the Material Intelligence virtual symposium on hair! We have an incredible panel of artists and scholars. Share with hairstylist friends! Free to all. Register at link below #academicsky #fashionsky
25: Join us for the Material Intelligence virtual symposium on hair! We have an incredible panel of artists and scholars. Share with hairstylist friends! Free to all. Register at link below #academicsky #fashionsky
Tuesday! You are invited! March 18, 5:30pm: Join me at The Museum at FIT, NYC, for a conversation about the history and power of hairdressing. Free to all. RSVP or just pop in! 227 W. 27th St. #fashionsky #booksky
March 16, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Tuesday! You are invited! March 18, 5:30pm: Join me at The Museum at FIT, NYC, for a conversation about the history and power of hairdressing. Free to all. RSVP or just pop in! 227 W. 27th St. #fashionsky #booksky
Alexander McQueen, fall 2025 // ermine accessory set, 1890-99 in the Met.
Does anyone know if the
McQueen is real or fake fur? #fashionsky #booksky
Does anyone know if the
McQueen is real or fake fur? #fashionsky #booksky
March 12, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Alexander McQueen, fall 2025 // ermine accessory set, 1890-99 in the Met.
Does anyone know if the
McQueen is real or fake fur? #fashionsky #booksky
Does anyone know if the
McQueen is real or fake fur? #fashionsky #booksky
It's all about the accessories. Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, fall 2025 rtw // fashion plate, 1813. What do you think of the bird cage? #booksky
March 9, 2025 at 3:39 PM
It's all about the accessories. Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, fall 2025 rtw // fashion plate, 1813. What do you think of the bird cage? #booksky
Paperback on the runway. I like it, Paloma Wool! #fashionsky
March 9, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Paperback on the runway. I like it, Paloma Wool! #fashionsky
Happy International Women's Day! Here is the butterfly ball gown by the House of Worth, 1898, in the Met #fashionsky
March 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Happy International Women's Day! Here is the butterfly ball gown by the House of Worth, 1898, in the Met #fashionsky
Delaware! See you on Tuesday, March 4 at Winterthur Museum. I am honored to be the first speaker in the Research at Winterthur series. Join us to talk hair history! #academicsky RSVP: www.winterthur.org/calendar/res...
February 28, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Delaware! See you on Tuesday, March 4 at Winterthur Museum. I am honored to be the first speaker in the Research at Winterthur series. Join us to talk hair history! #academicsky RSVP: www.winterthur.org/calendar/res...
You are invited! March 18, 5:30pm: Join me at The Museum at FIT, NYC, for a conversation about the history and power of hairdressing. Please share with the hairstylists, colorists, salon owners in your world. Free to all. RSVP at link in comments
February 27, 2025 at 1:43 PM
You are invited! March 18, 5:30pm: Join me at The Museum at FIT, NYC, for a conversation about the history and power of hairdressing. Please share with the hairstylists, colorists, salon owners in your world. Free to all. RSVP at link in comments
You are invited! March 18: Join me at the Museum at FIT, NYC, for a conversation about the history and power of hairdressing. We might just chat a bit about our favorite hairstyles on The Gilded Age show on Max. Free to all. Rsvp at link in comments. See you there! #fashionsky
February 16, 2025 at 3:03 PM
You are invited! March 18: Join me at the Museum at FIT, NYC, for a conversation about the history and power of hairdressing. We might just chat a bit about our favorite hairstyles on The Gilded Age show on Max. Free to all. Rsvp at link in comments. See you there! #fashionsky
If you are going to launch a book on modernist architects, the only suitable venue really is the Lever House, NYC.
Congratulations to Mary
Anne Hunting and Kevin D. Murphy on "Women Architects at Work: Making American Modernism." #academicsky
Congratulations to Mary
Anne Hunting and Kevin D. Murphy on "Women Architects at Work: Making American Modernism." #academicsky
February 14, 2025 at 3:28 AM
If you are going to launch a book on modernist architects, the only suitable venue really is the Lever House, NYC.
Congratulations to Mary
Anne Hunting and Kevin D. Murphy on "Women Architects at Work: Making American Modernism." #academicsky
Congratulations to Mary
Anne Hunting and Kevin D. Murphy on "Women Architects at Work: Making American Modernism." #academicsky
Timely article on the essential work of university presses by @derekkrissoff in @chronicle.com #academicsky
February 10, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Timely article on the essential work of university presses by @derekkrissoff in @chronicle.com #academicsky
Hi folks. Since I have been posting more often, I wanted to reintroduce myself. I am the author of two books on women's fashion and hair history. Available everywhere! Cheers #fashionsky
February 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Hi folks. Since I have been posting more often, I wanted to reintroduce myself. I am the author of two books on women's fashion and hair history. Available everywhere! Cheers #fashionsky
Left: Pingat jacket, 1885 in the V&A// top: Altuzarra fall 2025 // bottom: Pabal Gurang fall 2025. The fur dolman jacket by Emile Pingat (Paris) is lined with quilted satin. What do you think? #fashionsky
February 9, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Left: Pingat jacket, 1885 in the V&A// top: Altuzarra fall 2025 // bottom: Pabal Gurang fall 2025. The fur dolman jacket by Emile Pingat (Paris) is lined with quilted satin. What do you think? #fashionsky
Margaret Qualley in Chanel at Critics Choice Awards // Greek marble statue, late 4th century BCE in The Met. Going for the ancient draping vibes. What do you think? #fashionsky
February 8, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Margaret Qualley in Chanel at Critics Choice Awards // Greek marble statue, late 4th century BCE in The Met. Going for the ancient draping vibes. What do you think? #fashionsky
Ariana Grande in Dior at Critics Choice Awards // cage crinoline, 1850s. Would add a pic of a jellyfish if space
allowed #fashionsky
allowed #fashionsky
February 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Ariana Grande in Dior at Critics Choice Awards // cage crinoline, 1850s. Would add a pic of a jellyfish if space
allowed #fashionsky
allowed #fashionsky
Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab at the Critics Choice Awards // Edwardian gown, ca. 1905, sold by Augusta Auctions in 2020. What do you think? #fashionsky
February 8, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Angelina Jolie in Elie Saab at the Critics Choice Awards // Edwardian gown, ca. 1905, sold by Augusta Auctions in 2020. What do you think? #fashionsky
Patron saint of New
York Fashion Week? This newly discovered portrait of a woman by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (just after 1800) caught my eye at Christie's. The Grecian hairstyle with jeweled diadem! What do you think? #fashionsky
York Fashion Week? This newly discovered portrait of a woman by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (just after 1800) caught my eye at Christie's. The Grecian hairstyle with jeweled diadem! What do you think? #fashionsky
February 6, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Patron saint of New
York Fashion Week? This newly discovered portrait of a woman by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (just after 1800) caught my eye at Christie's. The Grecian hairstyle with jeweled diadem! What do you think? #fashionsky
York Fashion Week? This newly discovered portrait of a woman by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (just after 1800) caught my eye at Christie's. The Grecian hairstyle with jeweled diadem! What do you think? #fashionsky
If you have attended one of my talks on Gilded Age fashion, then you know I often set the Parisian shopping scene with a painting by Jean Béraud.
I was delighted to have a
sneek peak at this Béraud painting at Christie's: "Arc de Triomphe: Champs-Elysées," ca. 1882-85. What do you think? #fashionsky
I was delighted to have a
sneek peak at this Béraud painting at Christie's: "Arc de Triomphe: Champs-Elysées," ca. 1882-85. What do you think? #fashionsky
February 6, 2025 at 12:56 AM
If you have attended one of my talks on Gilded Age fashion, then you know I often set the Parisian shopping scene with a painting by Jean Béraud.
I was delighted to have a
sneek peak at this Béraud painting at Christie's: "Arc de Triomphe: Champs-Elysées," ca. 1882-85. What do you think? #fashionsky
I was delighted to have a
sneek peak at this Béraud painting at Christie's: "Arc de Triomphe: Champs-Elysées," ca. 1882-85. What do you think? #fashionsky
Chappell Roan in Jean Paul Gaultier archival dress from 2003 at the 2025 Grammy Awards // Degas, Dancer with a Bouquet Curtseying on Stage, 1878 (Musee d'Orsay). What do
you think of the dress designer using
Degas as a reference point? #fashionsky
you think of the dress designer using
Degas as a reference point? #fashionsky
February 3, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Chappell Roan in Jean Paul Gaultier archival dress from 2003 at the 2025 Grammy Awards // Degas, Dancer with a Bouquet Curtseying on Stage, 1878 (Musee d'Orsay). What do
you think of the dress designer using
Degas as a reference point? #fashionsky
you think of the dress designer using
Degas as a reference point? #fashionsky