THE SHIFTING LINES OF FASHION - A PODCAST DISCUSSION

Where does style come from? What influences fashion over the years? Where do we stand now? This week, listen ahead to the below podcasts and we will discuss all of these questions.

Fashion: The Politics of Style - Trailblazers with Walter Isaacson (27m43)
Host Walter Isaacson recounts the fascinating origins, developments and movements behind paradigm shifts within the fashion industry over the 150 years.

Fashion - Beyond Belief (27m22s)
The annual Met Gala - which takes place in New York tonight - is often described as "fashion's biggest night out". It is a fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art that welcomes celebrities from all walks of life and fashion industry paragons alike. It also signifies the opening of the NY Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibition which this year has the title 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination'. Religion has had an impact on the way we dress for many centuries. Clothing is mentioned in the Bible and some might argue that Eve's fig leaf was the earliest fashion statement. But the fashion world is not just influenced by the Catholic Church. Muslim fashion - and the popularity of the 'cool hijab' - is very important today as is a growing demand for modest fashion.

PREPPY: The Surprising Origins of American Style - The Next Big Idea (1h3m)
How did Oxford shirts, cashmere sweaters, and chinos become staples of American fashion? How did a style born on Ivy League campuses make its way into the mainstream? What does the way we dress say about who we are?

To answer those questions, our producer, Caleb, sat down with Avery Trufelman, host of the podcast "American Ivy," and Maggie Bullock, author of the new book "The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew."