Description
Conversations on Dress: Artisans and Designers Book Launch with Rebecca Jumper Matheson
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
7:00 pm Eastern/4:00 pm Pacific
FREE Webinar, Open to All
Costume Society of America Series Editor Kelly L. Reddy-Best will be joined by author Rebecca Jumper Matheson to discuss the latest book in the series, Artisans and Designers: American Fashion Through Elizabeth and William Phelps. Long before “slow fashion” entered the spotlight, William and Elizabeth Phelps pioneered durable, handcrafted American leathergoods and women’s sportswear that blended luxury, utility, and social impact from the 1940s through the 1960s. Artisans and Designers offers the first in-depth study of their legacy, linking their inventive designs and progressive business practices to broader themes of sustainability, postwar consumerism, and American identity.
Fashion historian Rebecca Jumper Matheson is the author of two previous books in the CSA Series, The Sunbonnet: An American Icon in Texas and Young Originals: Emily Wilkens and the Teen Sophisticate, among other publications. She is an instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in the Fashion and Textile Studies MA program.
Kelly L. Reddy-Best is Professor and Chair of Family and Consumer Sciences at Illinois State University. She has served as the Editor of the CSA Series, published by Kent State University Press, since 2023.
You can preorder your copy of the book by clicking here!
Registration closes 24 hours prior to the event.
If you missed the deadline, email conversationsondress@costumesocietyamerica.com.