Fashion
The Failed Soviet Rival to the Flapper Dress
In post-revolutionary Russia, as the country’s thinkers attempted to work out a new way of life for citizens of the Soviet Union, a small number of artists grappled with a different problem: the clothes of the future. Soviet clothing, they reasoned, should be “rational,” ...read more
Vikings Were...Not Nice to Their Cats
We know the ancient Egyptians loved cats, but what about the Vikings? Recent genetic research has shown that these seafaring Nordic explorers brought domesticated cats on board their ships to kill rodents, helping the furry felines spread across the globe. But the Vikings also ...read more
The Mullet Wasn't Just An '80s Thing: Rebels Have Rocked It for Centuries
The bi-level. The Kentucky waterfall. The Missouri compromise. Hockey hair. No matter what it’s called, there’s more to the mullet than just light beer, Camaros and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The short-long hair style, popularized in the 1980s, has a surprisingly proud history and has been ...read more
A Visual History of Iconic Black Hairstyles
For centuries black communities around the world have created hairstyles that are uniquely their own. These hairstyles span all the way back to the ancient world and continue to weave their way through the social, political and cultural conversations surrounding black identity ...read more
Amelia Earhart’s Other Runway: The Aviator’s Forgotten Fashion Line
Aviatrix. Pioneer. Record breaker. Fashion entrepreneur? Amelia Earhart’s accomplishments above the clouds made her a worldwide icon, but she was also a savvy businesswoman. In the 30s, Earhart became one of the first celebrities to create her own fashion line. Today, women ...read more
10 Fashion Trends You Didn’t Know Were Started by World Leaders
Fashion has always played a role in politics. Monarchs and heads of state have used clothing to cultivate an image, and in some cases their styles became so iconic that they filtered into the mainstream. From Julius Caesar to Nelson Mandela, check out 10 of history’s most ...read more
Barbie Through the Ages
In March 1959, a doll named "Barbie" launched onto the American toy market, sporting a black-and-white striped bathing suit, pouty red lips and a sassy blonde pony tail. The leggy, 11-inch plastic figure—full name: Barbara Millicent Roberts—was the first ...read more
Bikini introduced
On July 5, 1946, French designer Louis Réard unveils a daring two-piece swimsuit at the Piscine Molitor, a popular swimming pool in Paris. Parisian showgirl Micheline Bernardini modeled the new fashion, which Réard dubbed “bikini,” inspired by a news-making U.S. atomic test that ...read more
Fashion designer Gianni Versace murdered by Andrew Cunanan in killing spree
Spree killer Andrew Cunanan murders world-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace on the steps outside his Miami mansion. Versace is shot twice in the head, and Cunanan flees the scene. Cunanan had no criminal record before the spring of 1997, when he began a killing ...read more
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive patent for blue jeans
On May 20, 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world’s most famous garments: blue jeans. In San Francisco, Strauss established a ...read more
Andrew Cunanan continues murder spree
The body of William Reese, 45, a cemetery caretaker, is found in rural Pennsville, New Jersey, on May 9, 1997. He had been shot in the head with a Golden Saber .38-caliber bullet. Police soon determined that the killer was Andrew Cunanan, a 27-year-old man already wanted for ...read more