iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Two weeks until the 50th anniversary of the Bicentennial. Here, outfits worn by Doris Duke, 1974-76. On view at Rough Point Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island. Jeans by Wrangler

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Reposted by Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian

BJCampbell @bj25.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Obama Center Reflecting Pool

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Kate Strasdin @katestrasdin.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

This gown has got some glow! The combination of white gauze, vivid coral coloured silk trim and woven stripe makes the detail sing. Its edges are outlined, as if sketched in with a highlighter pen, bold and bright. Late #1860s, sold via #KerryTaylorAuctions #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Back view of a long white gauze dress with matching bodice and skirt. The gauze fabric has a coral woven vertical stripe with small dark floral motif. The edges are trimmed with coral silk fringe

Front view of the 1860s white and coral dress. This view shows how the bodice and peplum style overskirt are trimmed with coral silk fringe outlining their boundaries

Detail photograph of the centre back of the 1860s coral and white dress. It shows a decorative bow centre back, the coral silk trim and the drape at the waist

Fabric detail of the 1860s coral and white dress which focuses on the woven stripe in the white gauze and the application of narrow coral silk fringe

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Jane Friedman @janefriedman.com · 19/06/2026

According to Jake Bauman at Sony, the biggest trend in book-to-screen adaptations is the self-publishing and fan-fiction pipeline. “Everyone’s trying to harness the power of those fandoms,” he said. Here's my full coverage from a US Book Show panel, featuring agents, scouts & buyers in Hollywood.

janefriedman.com

From Online Fandoms to Blockbuster Films and TV Shows: What Books Get Optioned Now | Jane Friedman

Hollywood scouts and studio execs reveal why book sales don’t always matter, BookTok rules, and how YA isn’t really YA.

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Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Mourning ring "In Memory Of" John Dixon who died 19 June 1872, aged 60 years. Black enamel, rose-cut diamonds, and a pearl.

gold and black enamel mourning ring with six pointed star set with a pearl and diamonds. The band reads "In Memory Of"

Gold and black enamel In Memory Of mourning ring with six-pointed star bezel set with diamonds and a pearl.

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Emma Butler-Marr @19thcenturyem.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Can't wait for this on the 26th!! Email ehu19place@outlook.com for more info if you'd like to come ☺️

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Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Why not just call this gender-neutral clothing that you prefer seeing on bodies with no curves? Simone Rocha Men's Spring 2027 collection. Images: WWD

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Anna Kornbluh @annakornbluh.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

writing is this bullshit chapter

there’s nothing to do but cut up the pages with scissors and put them back together with tape

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Mary M. Burke @maryburke.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Shelf in Wharton's library at The Mount

colo(u)rful leather books on ornate shelf

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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Quilt art by Spanish quilter and textile artist Cristina Arcenegui Bono #WomensArt

White quilt with image of two children reafing seen from above

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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

We are so very cooked www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/u...

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Chris Woodyard @chriswoodyard.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

I is for Ice Box is one of the entries in A is for Arsenic: An ABC of Victorian Death (available worldwide). For many decades the ice box was the best method of preserving a corpse. They were called “corpse-preservers,” “ice-boxes,” and “corpse coolers.” One brand was known as the “Fresh-ever.”

black and white drawing of an antique ice chest meant to preserve a corpse. The coffin is on trestles and a hose from the ice box drains into a bucket and out the window.

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

It’s June, & with it comes my 279th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️ + blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

blackwhiteandread.com

#ScholarSunday Thread 279 (6/7/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

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TLDR Jack @tldrjack.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I suspect this might be the best photo I ever take

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Mary Burgess @cambliblife.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Went to make a cup of tea and found one of my colleagues had evidently enjoyed themselves at the kid's Lego session yesterday. Not sure we've got enough lego to make a full size one though...

A lego model of a blue book trolley made out of lego, with a variety of different coloured books on it.

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The changes are expected to happen quickly. Employees have been told to update email signatures, letterhead, and other official documents immediately.

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The Kennedy Center is preparing to restore its original identity. According to an internal memo, attorneys for the institution have instructed staff to begin removing references to Trump from official materials and to once again use the venue’s full historic name

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Scott MacFarlane at the Kennedy Center: There are cameras nearby, ready for the moment they literally chisel Trump’s name off.

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Victoria Haddock @vickyhaddock.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, was born #OnThisDay in 1872. She was photographed by Gustav William Henry Mullins in August 1894, prior to her marriage to Tsar Nicholas II, wearing this German-made pink silk and chiffon gown. State Hermitage Museum collection. #fashionhistory

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Victoria Haddock @vickyhaddock.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

David Bowie married Iman at St James' Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy, #OnThisDay in 1992. The supermodel bride wore a white, halterneck Hervé Léger bandage gown with a detachable train for the religious ceremony. #fashionhistory

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Kate Strasdin @katestrasdin.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

This dress is just crying out for a dance floor upon which to twirl. The pleats, fluted edges and tiers of fabric are bluebell like, a disco belle blooming on a summer’s evening. John Bates for Jean Varon, 1973 #FashionMuseumBath #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

A dusky blue halter neck evening dress consisting of vertical pleats that have been arranged in four tiers of increasing width from shoulder to floor

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BOO! k HistoriAAAH 🎃 @book-historia.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Not the tattoo event breaking the all-time library attendance record it set last year 💅💅💅

Many colorful people in a reading room looking at old books

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Joe Reid @joereid.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

There should be an Emmys category for funny running, and Patricia from Widows Bay should win that one too.

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Ben Railton @americanstudier.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Call me a bizarre anthropomorphic rabbit, because I’ve got so many Easter Eggs in my 270th #ScholarSunday thread of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy the hunt, all! 🗃️ + blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...

blackwhiteandread.com

#ScholarSunday Thread 270 (4/5/26) – Black and White and Read All Over

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Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Today is publication day for my book Gilded Age Fashion! Happy to partner with my friends at Lofty Pigeon Books in Brooklyn: shop.loftypigeonbooks.com/preorders/gi...

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Deborah Kalb @deborahkalb.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Q&A with Elizabeth L. Block about her new book, GILDED AGE FASHION. tinyurl.com/yf8dcdfh @elizabethlblock.bsky.social

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Women's History Network @womenshistnet.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Join us this #WomensHistoryMonth in amplifying women’s voices past and present. Our website is a wonderful place to start learning more. Spread the word! womenshistorynetwork.org #WHM2026 #WomensHistory #GenderHist Image: Pit girl brow workers, Wigan, 1900. COPY 1/445, The National Archives.

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Michael Lobel @mlobelart.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

One of Carl Van Vechten's luminous photographic portraits of Harry Belafonte, from the Van Vechten papers at Yale's Beinecke Library archives.yale.edu/repositories...

Photograph of a beaming Harry Belafonte, seated against a decorative backdrop

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Michael Jay McClure @mjmimages.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

People ask me what it’s like to write the #MJMfashionGuide & conveniently I have footage of the process.

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Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

You are invited to the book launch of Gilded Age Fashion! April 2, 6:30pm. Lofty Pigeon Books, Brooklyn Join me for a book signing and conversation with Carl Raymond, host of The Gilded Gentleman podcast. Details and RSVP here: shorturl.at/Q75i2 Free to all. Please share with friends.

shorturl.at

You are invited to the book launch of Gilded Age Fashion!

April 2, 6:30pm. All the details are inside this issue.

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Michael Jay McClure @mjmimages.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Thank you, Catherine O’Hara, for showing us a way.

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Kate Strasdin @katestrasdin.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

The House of Worth was never afraid of a bold motif in the late c19th. Exuberant florals became their signature, here woven into pear green damask but a blousy, leafy rose climbing the cloth @mfaboston.bsky.social #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Back view of a long pear green damask evening dress with puffy leg of mutton sleeves and a rose motif woven into the cloth

Front view of the House of Worth mid 1890s evening dress that shows the more complex arrangement of the front of the bodice

A closer detail of the fabric of the pear green damask evening dress which captures the scale of the rose motif woven into the fabric

A detail of the shoulder of the pear green damask evening dress with its fullness gathered into the top

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Stephanie Porras @periodeye.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Reading grad apps at the moment and yet again astonished at how amazing folks are. Almost everyone is better qualified than I was, impressive and interesting and motivated. I am finding this incredibly difficult.

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Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Thank you to Material Intelligence magazine for dedicating an issue to the topic of hair and for giving me the honor of writing an article. Open access: www.materialintelligencemag.org/hair-16/. Photo: Yale Joel. Woman Having Her Hair Styled at Hair Salon at Saks Fifth Avenue, 1962. LIFE

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Kate Strasdin @katestrasdin.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

I am currently coveting this #1960s ensemble by Bonnie Cashin. The grey wool outlined with red leather, the brass fastenings, the plaid lining, the berry red dress beneath. Yes please to all of the above #goldsteinmuseum #FashionHistory 🗃️🪡

Close up of the collar of a dark grey wool flannel coat. The edges are trimmed with red leather. The high collar is fastened with brass closures

Full length view of the dark grey flannel coat edged with red leather.

Full length view of the dark grey flannel coat but this time it is unfastened revealing that it has a bright red and orange plaid lining with a red jersey dress beneath

Full length view of the red jersey dress seen beneath the grey coat. It sits below the knee, has long sleeves and a narrow red leather belt

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Elizabeth L. Block art and culture historian @elizabethlblock.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Look at this advance copy of GILDED AGE FASHION! Reserve yours today and thank you for your ongoing support 🙏🏻

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Jen Donohue @authorizedmusings.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

actually referring to planning notes I wrote before starting to write this novel, please clap

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SJ Groenewegen @sjgroenewegen.co.uk · 27/11/2025

PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS! EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHED BOOKS! gonna be reposting your books because hoo you made a book! Links here: www.sjgroenewegen.co.uk/publications 💙📚

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julieinstitches.bsky.social @julieinstitches.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. Day set designed by Sophie Gimbel, USA, c1950. Full details here: fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/4052...

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Viktor Winetrout @viktorwinetrout.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

He is risen

The Pillsbury Dough Boy float at the Macy's Parade

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