Cover art for podcast Articles of Interest

Articles of Interest

39 EpisodesProduced by Avery TrufelmanWebsite

Articles of Interest is a show about what we wear. Produced and Hosted by Avery Trufelman

39 Episodes | 2018 - 2024

1. Kids' Clothes

December 6th, 2018

23:43

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 …

2. Plaid

December 7th, 2018

18:55

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 …

3. Pockets

December 8th, 2018

21:13

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 …

4. Hawaiian Shirts

December 9th, 2018

23:18

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 …

5. Blue Jeans

December 10th, 2018

26:05

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 …

6. Punk Style

December 11th, 2018

30:48

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 …

Theme Music by Sasami

March 18th, 2019

2:36

"Articles of Interest" theme song by Sasami Ashworth

Sasami’s new album is out now. Get it!

7. A Fantasy of Fashion

June 22nd, 2020

39:52

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 …

8. Knockoffs

June 23rd, 2020

31:00

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 …

9. Perfume

June 24th, 2020

29:44

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 …

10. Suits

June 25th, 2020

32:25

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 …

11. Diamonds

June 26th, 2020

31:16

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? …

12. Wedding Dresses

June 27th, 2020

28:51

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 …

American Ivy: Prologue

October 12th, 2022

4:15

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 …

American Ivy: Chapter 1

October 26th, 2022

35:15

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 …

American Ivy: Chapter 2

November 2nd, 2022

44:54

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 …

American Ivy: Chapter 3

November 9th, 2022

43:32

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 …

American Ivy: Chapter 4

November 16th, 2022

43:59

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 …

American Ivy: Chapter 5

November 23rd, 2022

44:53

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 …

American Ivy: Chapter 6

November 30th, 2022

43:14

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 …

American Ivy: Chapter 7

December 7th, 2022

39:04

I have a confession to make.

To see images, notes and full transcripts, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com

Articles of Interest is made by Avery …

The Clueless Closet

March 29th, 2023

32:49

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 …

On Pointe

April 12th, 2023

39:55

The pointe shoe is a design that balances at the very tip of both tradition and innovation. What can make it change?

Inside The Factory

April 26th, 2023

42:12

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, …

Our Mannequins, Ourselves

May 10th, 2023

33:46

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 …

How To Dress

May 24th, 2023

17:43

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 …

Prison Uniforms (with Ear Hustle)

June 7th, 2023

49:58

Prison uniforms are not, in fact, uniform. There are so many types of clothes that are worn across different facilities… including … some prisons …

The Black Fashion Museum

June 21st, 2023

31:20

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 …

Fashion Without Capitalism

July 5th, 2023

40:46

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 …

Paper and Rubber

August 2nd, 2023

39:32

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

Paisley

August 16th, 2023

40:03

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

The Corduroy Appreciation Club

August 30th, 2023

52:16

A secret society. A secret tradition. And a cloth that somehow lends itself to ritual.

articlesofinterest.substack.com

(I can’t believe that, …

Plus Sizes

September 13th, 2023

44:33

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 …

More Pockets

September 27th, 2023

36:49

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

Wearing Hair

October 11th, 2023

36:52

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 …

A Few Shoes [LIVE]

October 25th, 2023

1:04:30

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 …

Chromophobia

November 8th, 2023

47:29

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 …

Nudity

March 20th, 2024

49:11

Sometimes it’s liberating to be naked. Sometimes it’s really really not.

Notes, links, and images at articlesofinterest.substack.com

Farewell

February 22nd, 2024

0:39

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