Dressed: The School of Fashion
What Women Wore to the Revolution Series
In each course of this three-course series, fashion historian Cassidy Zachary takes you on a journey through the evolution and revolution of Euro-American women’s fashion from the 1770s to the 1840s, the 1850s to the 1920s, and the 1930s to the 1960s, all periods marked by seismic transformations both in the clothing women wore and the lives they led. These courses use clothing as a lens to learn more about the many remarkable people who quite literally changed the shape and face of fashion by pushing the boundaries of what came before. We will meet both well and lesser-known fashion innovators, mavericks, and makers who forever changed the way women dress into the modern day.
Current offerings (and past course recordings) can be found at Cassidy's website, linked here.
What Women Wore to the Revolution: 1770s-1840s
This four-part course traces the evolution and revolution of Euro-American women’s fashion from the 1770s to the 1840s through the lens of three of history’s most iconic figures: Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), Jane Austen (1775-1817), and a young Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Despite living in different times and places, all three women influenced and reflected pivotal moments in fashion’s trajectory from courtly artifice to revolutionary reinvention, from Regency refinement to moral propriety and industrial innovation. Throughout this course we will learn to date and identify these changing fashions while learning about these three remarkable women and the times during which they lived, all of which have left an indelible mark on the fabric of history and our imaginations to this very day.
What Women Wore to the Revolution: 1850s-1920s
In this course, we will meet some of the innovators and innovations responsible for the revolutionary changes sweeping through women’s fashion during the years
1850 and 1929. From Amelia Bloomer's gender defying trousers to Josephine Baker's body-baring fashions on and off the stage, what women wore mattered.
What Women Wore to the Revolution: 1930s-1960s
In this class we will explore the innovators and innovations responsible for the revolutionary changes sweeping through women’s dress during some of the most beloved and iconic eras in the history of Euro-American fashion: the 1930s to the 1960s. From Depression-era fashion fantasies to the "Make Do and Mend" of WW2, from Dior's "New Look" to the liberating micro-minis and blue jeans of the 1960s, we will meet the women--and the clothes--that continue to captivate our imaginations and shape the way we wear to this very day.
Other Past Dressed Offerings
The 1950s Golden Age of Haute Couture
Christian Dior himself described the period immediately following WWII as a “golden age” of fashion and culture.
In this two-part class, we take you behind the seams of France's legendary haute couture industry to meet the moment, makers and models that defined one of the most iconic eras
in fashion history.
THE GREAT DESIGNERS SERIES: Euro-American Fashion's Innovators and Icons, Part I
Euro-American Fashion's Innovators and Icons is the first course offering from our ongoing Great Designers Series. Euro-American Fashion's Innovators and Icons, Part I is taught by Dressed co-founder and host April Calahan and covers a selection of fashion's great makers working between the 18th and early 20th centuries. Structured in two parts, Euro-American Fashion's Innovators and Icons will introduce us to influential designers who have shaped the world as we wear it. We will hear their life stories, share in their successes (and scandals!) and learn to visually identify the design elements characteristic of their work.
The 1960s Youthquake Fashion Revolution
Join fashion historian Cassidy Zachary for an immersive journey into the "Youthquake" fashion revolution of the 1960s, one of the most exciting and rebellious periods in the history of women's (and men's!) fashion. In an era defined by sweeping political, societal, and cultural change, so too were established sartorial conventions shattered at the hands of young people hoping to transform the world. The 1960s witnessed the rise of hemlines, fast fashion, boutique culture, and radical self expression. The hippie counter culture defied the dressed gender binary, Black models and designers redefined the face of fashion, and a new generation of young ready-to-wear designers overthrew the century long reign of the Parisian haute couture. By the end of the decade the world was changed and so too was women's fashion.
Hard Chic: The House of Schiaparelli
In this two-session online course, we will explore the life, work and legacy of one of the fashion world's most original voices: Elsa Schiaparelli, who's unique brand of "hard chic" has been pushing boundaries and unapologetically reinventing fashion since the late 1920s.