Episodes
Episode 38: When Lucy Became Mariella
An interview with Ben about his new book
Episode 37: Viva Victoria! The enduring appeal of Victoriana
In a suitably festive episode, Lucy & Ben consider a form of cultural expression that’s ever relevant: Victoriana. From the costu…
Episode 36: Pharaohnic Fashion: Egypt, Art Deco and Costume
Lucy talks with Egyptologists Dr Colleen Darnell and Professor John Darnell (@vintage_egyptologist) to reflect on the enduring cu…
Episode 35: Playful Pageantry: Costume revelry at the Royal Opera Hou…
Every year from the late-nineteenth century Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House opened its doors for a night of costumed revelry. U…
Episode 34: Gender Bender: Behind the Seams with Craig Green
Gender Bender: Behind the Seams with Craig Green. In this week’s episode, Lucy and Ben begin a new mini-series that looks in-dept…
Episode 33: Sirens’ Call: The Underwater World of Mermaids & Mermen
Dress: Fancy has yet to venture off-shore: until now. In this week’s aquatic-themed episode, Lucy introduces Ben to the complex a…
Episode 32: Shimmer & Shine: The Pearly Kings & Queens
London has many august traditions, but few are as beautiful, striking and good-natured as that of the Pearly Kings and Queens. Ex…
Episode 31: Little Podcast of Horror
Little Podcast of Horror: Season Six commences on the year’s biggest day for fancy dress: Halloween! Always looking to raise the …
Episode 30: Fancy That! Dressing Up Comes of Age
In this indulgent, nostalgic birthday episode, Lucy & Ben review a year’s worth of super-niche, sequinned dressing up stories. Ta…
Episode 29: Still Standing: The Costumes and Curation of Elton John
In an especially glittering episode, Lucy and Ben discuss the costumes (off stage and on) of the inimitable Rocket Man, Elton Joh…
Episode 28: Into the Pleasure Garden - The RA Summer Show Lates Event
Getting into the summer spirit in central London, Lucy and Ben re-join the Royal Academy for another Lates costumed extravaganza.…
Episode 27: Indulging Imaginations: Picnicking with the Jane Austen P…
In Pride and Prejuduce Jane Austen extolled the virtues of indulging the imagination ‘in every possible way’. With this in mind, …
Episode 26: Stylish Sketches: Manga Lates at the British Museum
Lucy and Ben record live from the front row at the British Museum, listening in on Grayson Perry as he talks with Kensai Yamamoto…
Episode 25: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
On Saturday 20 July, Dress: Fancy will be hosting a costumed parade at this year’s Royal Academy Summer Show Lates event. The the…
Episode 24: Carte Blanche - The Power of Dressing in White
Pristine, pure, powerful, peaceful: the meanings of white are many and various. It should occasion no surprise, then, that dressi…
Episode 23: Going Batty – A Costumed History of Bats
If you were to think of your costumed alter-ego as a creature, it’s unlikely you’d immediately conjure an image of a bat, and yet…
Episode 22: Fandoms & Self-Fashioning: Into the World of Cosplay
This week, Dress: Fancy speaks with Professor Therèsa M. Winge from Michigan State University to explore the compelling, complica…
Episode 21: Adolescent Avatars: the power and powerlessness of costum…
Children playing dress-up is age-old and innocent. Or is it? Lucy and Ben go behind the seams to consider if children really do e…
Episode 20: Your Culture, Their Costume? Fancy Dress and Cultural App…
In 2011, Teen Vogue drew attention to harmful consequences of insensitively chosen fancy dress costumes that reduce beliefs, cult…
Episode 19: The Campest Christmas Eva!
The pink carpet has been walked and Lucy and Ben reflect on the costume highs and lows of this year’s Met Gala held on 6 May 2019…
Episode 18: Ethereal Excess – Carlos de Beistegui’s Venetian Ball
Described, in all seriousness, as the ‘Ball of the Century’, the Beistegui Ball of 1951 was a fancy dress event like no other: th…
Episode 17: Camper Than Christmas? A Preview of the Met Gala Ball
Aside from Halloween, the only other date that gets Lucy and Ben excited is the first Monday in May, when the Metropolitan Museum…
Episode 16: Aesthetes and the Avantgarde: Costume Balls at the Chels…
In this special ‘on location’ episode, Lucy and Ben visit the archives of the Chelsea Arts Club to explore the creativity, chaos …
Episode 15: The Wonderful World of Weldon’s, Or How to Hire the Best …
The adage, ‘They don’t make them like they used to’, is especially apt for the object at the centre of this week’s episode: a fan…