Articles of Interest
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear. Produced and hosted by Avery Trufelman, it explores the stories behind clothing and fashion. Each episode delves into the cultural and historical significance of various garments and styles.
Episodes
High Heels
High heels are no longer as high as they were twelve years ago. What happened? An analysis of a trend. For images and links, head to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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The costume designer behind The Devil Wears Prada 2
Brought to you by Macy's: a little interview with Molly Rogers, the underground renegade behind some of the most fashionable media out there.
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Taxes and Tariffs
I promise, this has to do with clothes. As ever, resources and links at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Betty & Veronica
The Archie comic book characters became serious fashion icons, but it all happened through a series of accidents. For images, links, and the recording of the full live show, head to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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The Great American Designer
The USA is a young country, but our fashion design is even younger. Like who are the titans of American fashion design? It’s Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren...these designers who are all still alive.And if you want to look at where these titans of American fashion design got it all from, there was a great American fashion designer who many of them were looking towa
Push-Up Contest
Zoe's dad made a bra that changed the world. Will it change her?A feature from my friends over at the audio magazine Signal Hill
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Clerical Collar
Pastor Zach never liked to wear a clerical collar. Suddenly, he finds himself wearing one all the time. Join me in supporting the multifaith nonprofit ISAIAH
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Fantasy of Fashion, Revisited
What role does fashion have in a time of crisis? This is one of my favorite stories I've ever made. But there have been some updates since it came out. For images, references, and links head to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Made in USA
This is one of the best pieces of fashion reporting I have ever heard: it's a reworked version of a story that originally aired on the NPR podcast Planet Money. And to get my recommendations of well made, relatively ethically produced t- shirts, head to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Epilogue (with Jad Abumrad)
A recording of an intimate conversation at Ludlow House, where the venerable Jad Abumrad asked me some questions about Gear. For images (and the link to the game I talked about) head to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Chapter 7
Soldiers and civilians live in different Americas. But we don't have to. For images, links and more, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Chapter 6
"Gorpcore" emerges.... from (maybe, potentially) unexpected places. For images, links, and more information, head to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Chapter 5
A pattern for blending in. And for standing out.For images and links go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Chapter 4
The end of the draft leads to the yuppification of the field jacket. Images links and more at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Chapter 3
The outdoors is no longer for macho men. In fact, now it's for babies. Images, links, and more information at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Chapter 2
Gear gets defined by scientific testing and research. And this process was pioneered with the development of the field jacket.
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Gear: Chapter 1
Almost all clothes have something to do with the military. But one industry in particular has a lot to do with the military. The first episode of the new season establishes how the American military came to be, and how they were dressed. To see images and learn more, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Gear: Prologue
The next series from Articles of Interest
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Zippers
Zippers are the most common machine all around us. But it's a minor miracle how that came to be. Pictures of early zippers and other links at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Sunglasses
A fashion accessory turns into a medical necessity. Images and links at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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School Uniforms
How uniforms shaped the American school system. Images and a very special animation at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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The Memory Palace
Nate Dimeo is a longtime radio hero of mine. And praises be, now he has a book out of his stories, called The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of The Past. Enjoy this sampler of his audiobook and a favorite episode of mine. And consider supporting both Articles of Interest and The Memory Palace by donating to Radiotopia.
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Clergy
What Catholic priests wear, and the insight it provides into what we laypeople wear. For images of what vestments look like and more, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Stylists (With Decoder Ring)
In honor of the Met Gala, a special feature. This is an episode I produced with one of my favorite podcasts, Decoder Ring. Together we asked the questions: what is a celebrity stylist? Where did this job come from? The answer was very fun.
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Modesty
Why would God care what we wear? A tour through Islam, Mormonism, and Judaism, and all of their varying and overlapping commands. For more images and information, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Nudity
Sometimes it’s liberating to be naked. Sometimes it’s really really not.
Notes, links, and images at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Chromophobia
Color. Why we need it. Why we fear it. And where its future might lie.
Images and links at articlesofinterest.substack.com
Radiotopia’s fall fundraiser is here! Donate today to support Articles of Interest. Thank you! https://on.prx.org/3sbvvOR
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A Few Shoes [LIVE]
On stage in Toronto, with the help of shoe designer Aurora James and shoe historian Elizabeth Semmelhack, we go over a few shoes- and what they say about ourselves and the world.
Images of all the shoes discussed are at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Wearing Hair
You and I both know this. The supply chain is super messed up. The way humans make clothing is deeply messed up. So should we just make garments made of human hair?
A very real question, with very real answers.
For links, images and more information, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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More Pockets
This is a special re visit of one of my favorite stories: Pockets. Followed up by a special live interview with Hannah Carlson, author of the book Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close, to see what’s changed since the original episode came out.
To see images of all kinds of pockets and to stay in the loop on articles of interest, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
Plus Sizes
Plus-sized fashion seems to live in a separate trend cycle. There are different patterns, different cuts. And most notably, women’s shirts often have holes in their shoulders. And this separate plus-sized fashion universe reveals a lot about the way clothes are made and measured… and the way clothes dictate who is allowed to participate in public life.
This episode was made in collaborat
The Corduroy Appreciation Club
A secret society. A secret tradition. And a cloth that somehow lends itself to ritual.
articlesofinterest.substack.com
(I can’t believe that, fatefully, this is the 11th episode of the year.)
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Paisley
Himanshu kept seeing paisley everywhere: from his home temple to his couch cushions to his mom’s pants. Some of these products were Indian but a lot weren’t. How did this pattern get embraced by the world?
See articlesofinterest.substack.com for images, links and more.
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Paper and Rubber
This is about two examples of cloth-alternatives. One that went extinct. And one that’s very much alive.
This story deals with sex and sexuality. But in a fun way!
Images, links, and more details at articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Fashion Without Capitalism
In the 1980s, Budapest was not quite socialist and not quite capitalist, and there was one fashion designer who thrived in this moment.
This is the story of Tamás Király, an unusual artist from an unusual period of Hungarian history, both of which were unusually short-lived. Because Király was murdered in 2013.
Photos of Király and his designs are at https://articlesofinterest.substac
The Black Fashion Museum
The tricky thing about fashion is that, in order to preserve its history, you need to preserve physical garments. And, alas, closet space is finite, cloth gets sun-bleached and eaten by moths, and Americans notoriously do not care about their fashion heritage. So this is why one woman decided to put a call out across the country and make a scrappy archive all by herself.
This story was
Prison Uniforms (with Ear Hustle)
Prison uniforms are not, in fact, uniform. There are so many types of clothes that are worn across different facilities… including … some prisons that don’t have uniforms at all.
This episode is a special collaboration between Articles Of Interest and Ear Hustle, dropping on both of our feeds. For images of the Broad Arrow, and to see a prison without uniforms, go to articlesofinterest.s
How To Dress
Think of this mini episode as a tiny makeover in your ears.
Amy Smilovic, the founder of Tibi, has some of the best advice when it comes to gathering a wardrobe and putting outfits together. These are some of my favorite tips from Amy’s book, The Creative Pragmatist.
For links, transcript, and more, go to Articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Our Mannequins, Ourselves
Behind the scenes at the Costume Institute, we see how long it really takes to dress a mannequin. And learn about a few famous mannequins from the past.
For images, links, and more, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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Inside The Factory
On the ten year anniversary of a horrible manufacturing disaster- a look at what has changed, what hasn’t, and the massive secret industry behind it all.
If you’d like to sign the petition from Clean Clothes Campaign, click here or head to articlesofinterest.substack.com for more links and resources on the audit industry and audit deception.
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On Pointe
The pointe shoe is a design that balances at the very tip of both tradition and innovation. What can make it change?
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The Clueless Closet
Ever since 1995, a generation has been dreaming of Cher’s digital closet from the movie Clueless. So why don’t we have it yet? It’s not the technology. It’s a psychological problem with the way fashion works.
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American Ivy: Chapter 7
I have a confession to make.To see images, notes and full transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.comArticles of Interest is made by Avery TrufelmanEdited by Kelly PrimeMixed and Mastered by Ian CossAlbum art by Helen Shewolfe Tseng and photography by Matty Lynn BarnesTheme songs are by Sasami, with additional music from Rhae RoyalProud member of Radiotopia!
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American Ivy: Chapter 6
As the 80s turns into the 90s, preppy is everywhere. All over the planet. In the United States AND Japan. And sure, preppy sort of morphs into business casual. But it also turns into something else. Something way more fashionable.To see images, notes and full transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.comArticles of Interest is made by Avery TrufelmanEdited by Kelly PrimeMixed and Mas
American Ivy: Chapter 5
Ralph Lauren ascends. And so does a slender little joke book that no one expected to be a colossal, massive bestseller. Just in time for the secret fashion revolution of the 1980s that no one ever talks about.To see images, notes, and full transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.comArticles of Interest is made by Avery TrufelmanEdited by Kelly PrimeMixed and Mastered by Ian CossAlb
American Ivy: Chapter 4
Ivy starts to go out of style, thanks to the counterculture (with a lot of help from corporate America). But Ivy finds an unlikely savior in a Jewish college dropout from the Bronx.To see images, notes, and full transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.comArticles of Interest is made by Avery TrufelmanEdited by Kelly PrimeMixed and Mastered by Ian CossAlbum art by Helen Shewolfe Tse
American Ivy: Chapter 3
The look of the elite somehow becomes the look for everyone. And as more and more people are taking on Ivy, it only becomes cooler and cooler. Which goes against everything I thought I knew about trends.To see images, notes, and full transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.comArticles of Interest is made by Avery TrufelmanEdited by Kelly PrimeMixed and Mastered by Ian CossAlbum art
American Ivy: Chapter 2
So where does Ivy begin? The short answer: Princeton University. The long answer is a spiral that takes us from a 1940s Chinese prison camp, to the raucous party culture of 1920s London, to the docks of downtown New York City after The War of 1812.To see images, notes and full transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.comArticles of Interest is made by Avery TrufelmanEdited by Kelly
American Ivy: Chapter 1
A trend forecaster follows up on a trend report from 2016. A prominent fashion buyer tells me his trends for fall 2022. And I wonder why one particular trend, against all odds, seems to come back over and over againTo see the jeans of the future, along with more images, notes and transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.comArticles of Interest is made by Avery TrufelmanEdited by Kel
American Ivy: Prologue
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear. And for a long time, one particular look has come back in style again and again and again. Or maybe it never went away. Season 3 will get to the bottom of it.
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12. Wedding Dresses
A wedding was once seen as a start of young adulthood. Now, a wedding has come to represent a crowning achievement -- a symbol that your whole life is together and you have accrued the time and space and resources to afford your ascent to another level of fulfillment. And there's no greater symbol for this day, and all the pressure it brings, than a white dress.
Articles of Interest is a
11. Diamonds
Diamonds represent value, in all its multiple meanings: values, as in ethics, and value as in actual price. But what are these rocks actually worth? The ethics and costs of diamond rings have shifted with society, from their artificial scarcity perpetuated by DeBeers to their artificial creation in labs.
Articles of Interest is a limited-run podcast series about fashion, housed inside th
10. Suits
Menswear can seem boring. If you look at any award show, most of the men are dressed in black pants and black jackets. This uniform design can be traced back to American Revolution, classical statuary, and one particular bloke bopping around downtown London way back in the 1770s.
Articles of Interest is a limited-run podcast series about fashion, housed inside the design and architecture
9. Perfume
The world of high end perfume is surprisingly lucrative, considering that scent is often the most ignored of our senses. But one can't judge a scent solely by the brand and shape of the bottle. With the right amount of attention, perfume can be a key to a whole olfactory world.
Articles of Interest is a limited-run podcast series about fashion, housed inside the design and architecture p
8. Knockoffs
Brands hold immense sway over both consumers and the American legal system. Few know this as well as Dapper Dan, who went from street hustler to fashion impresario and has spent time on both sides of American trademark law.
Articles of Interest is a limited-run podcast series about fashion, housed inside the design and architecture podcast 99% Invisible. Launched in 2018 by Avery Trufelm
7. A Fantasy of Fashion
In the wake of World War II, the government of France commissioned its most prominent designers to create a collection of miniature fashion dolls. It might seem like an odd thing to fund, but the fantasy of high fashion inspired hope in postwar Paris. These dolls also forever changed the curator who discovered them almost 40 years later, in a strange museum perched on a cliff in rural Was
Theme Music by Sasami
"Articles of Interest" theme song by Sasami Ashworth
Sasami’s new album is out now. Get it!
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6. Punk Style
There is this myth that it’s frivolous or unproductive to care about how you look. Clothing and fashion get trivialized a lot. But think about who get associated with clothing and fashion: young people, women, queers and people of color — groups of people who historically haven’t had a voice have expressed themselves on their bodies, through their style, their hair, their tattoos, their p
5. Blue Jeans
For the most part, we tend to keep our clothes relatively clean and avoid spills and rips and tears. But denim is so hard-wearing and hard-working that it just kind of amasses more and more signs of wear. So you can learn a lot from observing an old pair of blue jeans.
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear, created by Avery Trufelman; a six-part series within* 99% Invisible*,
4. Hawaiian Shirts
There are a few ways to tell if you’re looking at an authentic, high-quality aloha shirt. If the pockets match the pattern, that’s a good sign, but it’s not everything. Much of understanding an aloha shirt is about paying attention to what is on the shirt itself. It’s about looking at the pattern to see the story it tells.
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear, created by Ave
3. Pockets
Womenswear is littered with fake pockets that don’t open, or shallow pockets that can hardly hold more than a paperclip. If women’s clothes have pockets at all, they are often smaller and just fit less than men’s pockets do. And when we talk about pockets, we are talking about who has access to the tools they need. Who can walk through the world comfortably and securely?
Articles of Inte
2. Plaid
Lumberjacks wore plaid. Punks wore plaid mini skirts. The Beach Boys used to be called the Pendletones, and they wore plaid with their surfboards. Lots of different groups have adopted the pattern over the course of the 20th century, but if we want to explore how this pattern proliferated, we’ve got to go to Scotland.
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear, created by Avery Tr
1. Kids' Clothes
Clothes are records of the bodies we’ve lived in. Think of the old sweater that you used to have that’s just not your style anymore, or the jeans that just aren’t your size anymore. We are like snakes who shed our skins and grow new ones as we age. And it all starts in the kids’ department.
Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear, created by Avery Trufelman; a six-part series w
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