Fashioning the Enslaved Servant, an interview with Dr. Jonathan Michael Square (Dressed Classic)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dressed: The History of Fashion

Episode: Fashioning the Enslaved Servant – An Interview with Dr. Jonathan Michael Square
Original Air Date: October 31, 2025
Host(s): Cassie Zachary & April Callahan
Guest: Dr. Jonathan Michael Square, Harvard University

Episode Overview

This episode explores the deep intersections of American fashion history and slavery through the lens of object-based research. Dr. Jonathan Michael Square, a scholar at Harvard, discusses his findings about two Brooks Brothers coats worn by enslaved valets in the antebellum South and investigates how fashion functioned as a tool of both oppression and self-determination during slavery. The episode dives into the significance of the archive, the overlooked role of Northern industries (specifically Brooks Brothers) in slavery, and the way clothing was used to enforce hierarchy and status among enslaved people.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dr. Square’s Path to Fashion History

• Background & Motivation ([04:24])
  • Lifelong fascination with creative expression and art; parents attended art school.
  • Shifted from a fashion lover to a fashion scholar during his doctoral studies at NYU.
  • Created a digital humanities project, Fashioning Self and Slavery and Freedom, exploring the relationship between fashion and slavery.
  • Quote:

    “I often say that I fashioned myself into a fashion scholar.”
    — Dr. Square ([06:01])

2. The Importance and Politics of the Archive

• Archival Research ([06:37])
  • Analogizes fashion designers’ use of textiles to his use of text; both are acts of creative construction.
  • Emphasizes archives as sites of power—where certain narratives are privileged, others silenced.
  • Archives can shape company or national brands, as in the case of Brooks Brothers, whose archive is managed by a marketing firm to craft a selective corporate narrative.
  • Quote:

    “It’s not just a repository of dusty old documents. It’s a place where knowledge is created. It’s also a place where some narratives are privileged and other narratives are excluded or sidelined. And it all comes down to power.”
    — Dr. Square ([07:16])

3. Brooks Brothers: America’s Oldest Fashion Brand and Its Ties to Slavery

• Company History ([09:56])
  • Founded in 1818 by Henry Sands Brooks in New York City—location crucial for international trade linked to slavery economies.
  • Remained family-owned until 1946; now owned by luxury conglomerate family (Del Vecchio/Luxottica).
  • The Northeast, including New York, remained economically entangled with slavery-related industries even after abolition in the North.
  • Quote:

    “I think that’s crucial to understanding the company’s connection to slavery.”
    — Dr. Square ([10:39])

4. The Two Brooks Brothers Coats & Enslaved Valets

• Discovery and Description ([14:10])
  • Dr. Square identified two Brooks Brothers coats—one “great coat,” one “cutaway”—in the Historic New Orleans Collection, originally purchased for enslaved valets by William Newton Mercer.
  • Mercer: Wealthy southern planter with over 500 enslaved people.
  • Discussion of coat types as uniforms/livery, representing status and proximity to power in the household hierarchy.
  • Quote:

    “These [coats] were uniforms for enslaved valets… So Mercer was kind of in the top 1% of slave-owning planters in the South.”
    — Dr. Square ([15:28])

5. North-South Intersections & Ready-Made Clothing

• Geographical/Economic Connections ([16:47], [17:09])
  • New York’s economic ties to the South exemplified by Brooks Brothers selling to Southern slaveholders.
  • Mercer was involved in elite circles in both the North and the South, purchasing goods (like uniforms) from Northern suppliers.
• Innovation in Ready-Made Clothing ([18:48])
  • Brooks Brothers pioneered ready-made garments not for elite consumers but for “soldiers, low wage workers, enslaved people.”
  • Uniforms were often not custom-fit but produced for rough sizing and utility—underscoring social stratification.
  • Quote:

    “Fashion historians often talk about it in like laudatory terms… but actually, they innovated the ready-made clothing industry for soldiers, for low wage workers, for enslaved peoples…”
    — Dr. Square ([18:48])

6. Fashion’s Role in Enslaved Hierarchies

• Fashion vs. Dress, and Power ([19:59])
  • Distinguished “fashion” (status, display) from “dress” (utilitarian clothing).
  • Described how enslaved people were “costumed” to maximize value at slave markets—clothes as tools for “the theater of the slave market.”
  • Plantation hierarchies reinforced through luxury or distinctive dress for favored enslaved laborers/domestics (e.g., Thomas Jefferson’s valet).
  • Quote:

    “Productive slaves or domestic slaves or favorite slaves were often given finer garments… to highlight the hierarchy between them and enslaved peoples with a lower status.”
    — Dr. Square ([21:23])

7. Brooks Brothers, the Civil War, and Uniforms

• Uniform Production & Connections ([22:58])
  • Brooks Brothers’ lesser-known history as a maker of uniforms for Union soldiers in the Civil War (alongside making livery for enslaved/domestic staff).
  • The company got Union Army contracts through political connections with George Opdyke, former NYC mayor and manufacturer of clothing for enslaved people.
  • Ready-made clothing origins are entwined with large-scale, low-cost uniform production for marginalized laborers.
  • Quote:

    “Brooks Brothers received a contract to produce uniforms for the Union Army. It turned out that the uniforms weren’t the best quality and had to be remade by another company.”
    — Dr. Square ([24:13])

8. Material Culture & Customization

• Symbols of Wealth and Power ([25:44])
  • Buttons on the coats bore the Mercer family falcon crest—enslaved people “emblazoned” with their owner’s insignia.
  • Similar family crests appeared on silverware and household objects, signaling enslaved persons’ object status within the material culture of the household.

9. Brooks Brothers’ “Heritage” and Silences in History

• Brand Legacy & Whitewashing ([27:42])

  • Brooks Brothers’ staying power owed partly to the slow evolution of menswear and to clever management of its “heritage.”
  • The company has “sanitized” its history, erasing connections to slavery and labor exploitation from its public narrative.
  • Notable historical figures and presidents wore Brooks Brothers, cementing its image as an American institution (Lincoln, FDR, JFK, Obama, Trump—all wore BB).
  • Quote:

    “Brooks Brothers regularly references its archive in advertising, marketing, and even in the design of its garments… [yet is] silent about a heritage that’s steeped in American slavery.”
    — Dr. Square ([31:08])

• Limited Access and Brand Strategy ([31:41])

  • Brooks Brothers’ archive is tightly controlled; Dr. Square denied access despite persistent attempts.
  • Argues the company should “control the narrative” by being transparent, citing other institutions that have faced their past.

10. Where to Learn More & Further Reading

• Dr. Square’s Current/Future Work ([33:23])
  • Multiple book chapters: on head wraps among free and enslaved women, W.E.B. Du Bois and self-fashioning, and the broader context of fashion and slavery.
  • Invites listeners to follow his social media, digital humanities project, and upcoming YouTube channel for more accessible scholarship.
• Recommendations for Further Research ([34:41])
  • Dr. Monica Miller, Kimberly Jenkins’ Fashion and Race Database, Tanisha C. Ford, Tiffany Gill, Eric Darnell Pritchard, The Costume Institute of the African Diaspora, Chaney McKnight, Darnell Jamal, Serena Lee (@thegeorgiandiaspora), Robin Gavon, Elizabeth Way, and Instagram influencer @pamboy.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Archive as Power:

  “Archives are about power, and the archive and those who control it have the power to shape a narrative or to control the way history is told, whether it’s a historical figure or a nation.”
  — Dr. Jonathan Michael Square ([07:35])

• On Objectification of Enslaved People:

  “They often enslaved peoples were treated like luxury items, just like an ashtray or a handkerchief.”
  — Dr. Jonathan Michael Square ([27:07])

• On Brooks Brothers and American Presidents:

  “Brooks brothers actually dressed 40 out of 45 American presidents. Can you guess the five presidents who weren’t outfitted by Brooks Brothers? ... Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.”
  — Dr. Square ([29:44], [30:08])

• On Avoiding Uncomfortable Histories:

  “The company has been silent about a heritage that’s steeped in American slavery. And they’ve carefully crafted a brand narrative that sidesteps any unsavory details about its history and archive.”
  — Dr. Square ([31:29])

• On Why We Must Continue This Work:

  “I’m a big proponent of digital humanities as a way to democratize higher education and to radicalize pedagogical practices."
  — Dr. Square ([33:42])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dr. Square’s Background & Digital Humanities — [04:24]
• Archive as Epistemological Space — [06:37]
• Brooks Brothers’ History and Ties to Slavery — [09:56]
• Discovery of the Two Coats — [14:10]
• The Economics of Ready-Made Clothing — [18:48]
• Fashion, Hierarchies, and the Enslaved — [19:59]
• Brooks Brothers & The Civil War/Uniform Production — [22:58]
• Emblems & Material Culture (Falcon Buttons) — [25:44]
• Brooks Brothers’ Legacy and Erasure — [27:42], [31:29]
• Brand Control & Access to the Archive — [31:41]
• Further Reading/Resources — [34:41]

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Summary Takeaway

This episode pierces the marketed veneer of American fashion “heritage,” revealing how iconic brands like Brooks Brothers are rooted in—and obscured—histories of slavery and racialized labor. Dr. Square’s research situates fashion as both a system of control and a domain of resistance, and spotlights the critical importance—and contested politics—of archival access and interpretation. For listeners, it provides a challenging and necessary context to the clothes we wear and the stories that remain untold in mainstream fashion history.

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For more:
Follow Dr. Square on Instagram (@fashioningtheself), Twitter (@UnsewnHistories), or search for his project Fashioning Self and Slavery and Freedom.
Explore the Fashion and Race Database by Kimberly Jenkins and referenced scholars for further study.

Transcript

[Cassie]

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[April]

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[Avery Trufelman]

Time when the United States military is being sent into American cities, when civilians and soldiers are being pitted against each other, it's strange that we've never dressed more alike. We all wear performance clothes. We all wear outdoor clothes, whether or not we're outside civilians and soldiers. I'm Avery Trufelman. I make a podcast about clothing called Articles of Interest and in this new season I trace the interwoven histories of the military and the outdoor industry and how they built each other. Find articles of interest wherever you get your podcasts and the season is called Gear.

[Cassie]

Please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from the Dressed archive of over 500 plus shows.

[April]

The history of Fashion is a production of dress media. With over 8 billion people in the world, we all have one thing in common. Every day, we all get dressed.

[Cassie]

Welcome to Dressed the History of Fashion, a podcast that explores the who, what, when of why we wear. We are friends, fashion historians and your.

[April]

Hosts Cassie Zachary and April Callahan. So Cass, first thing, the very first thing that comes to your mind when I ask you this question. Oldest fashion brand in the U.S. go.

[Cassie]

Hmm, that's actually a very good question and makes me wonder. I mean, I guess if I would have to guess off the top of my head, I would say something like Le Levi Strauss.

[April]

Close, but not quite. It's actually Brooks Brothers and I think that we have may have like very, very briefly mentioned this on the show in the past, but Brooks Brothers is actually the oldest continuously operating fashion brand in the United States and actually has more than 200 years of company history behind it. So there's bound to be maybe a couple skeletons in the closet when your brand has been around long. And today we're actually joined by Dr. Jonathan Michael Square to discuss some of his really intriguing object based research that hits at this intersection of fashion history and the history of slavery within the United States.

[Cassie]

Dr. Square is a scholar of fashion and visual culture of the African Diaspora at Harvard University where his work examines the ways, quote, dress and adornment served as a form of radical self determination. When enslaved peoples did not have direct access to revolutionary quote unquote texts, they often used textiles. End quote. And we cannot wait to hear more. Dr. Square, welcome to Dressed.

[April]

Thank you so much for joining us today. Dr. Square, welcome to Dressed.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited about the conversation.

[April]

Yeah, me too. And what that conversation is really kind of going to center on today is part, just part of your research for a book that you're working on currently. But before we get to that, I'd like to ask you first how you came to the field of fashion studies. Because this is something that I've started recently asking all of our guests. We actually get a lot of questions from people about like, how do you become a fashion historian or a fashion scholar? And I think it's really, really interesting and compelling to hear about all the various different paths of study that kind of lead some of us to what we do.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

April, I was actually born a fashion scholar.

[April]

I love that.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

But in all seriousness, I've nurtured a lifelong interest in creative expression. My parents went to art school and I grew up around their art. And so anyone who's known me for a long time will tell you that art and fashion have always been passions of mine. There was a moment when I like dabbled with being a fashion blogger. Do you remember fashion bloggers?

[April]

Oh, yeah. Back in the day, before influencers. Pre influencers.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Exactly. Like, if you scroll deep into my ig, you'll see me trying to be a fashion blogger. Like, I cringe at those posts, but I won't delete them because I have like this historian's archiving impulse. Like you could just jump into your head from that moment. But in any case, I didn't really start to identify as a fashion scholar until the tail end of my doctoral studies. I did a PhD in history at NYU, and while I was doing a PhD, I created a digital humanities project called Fashioning Self and Slavery and Freedom I meant it to be like an online resource for people who are interested in the relationship between fashion, the fashion industry, and slavery. And also, being from Louisiana, I've always been interested in the history of slavery and my own history as an ascendant of enslaved peoples. So this, my current research and also this digital humanities project sort of marries those two interests. But I would say that, you know, it's through that project I became less a fashion consumer or lover of fashion and I became a real fashion scholar. I often say that I fashioned myself into a fashion scholar.

[April]

And we will definitely at the end, when I ask you how people can find you, you can tell people and direct people to that resource which is still online. You know, you were talking about being a historian and you have remarked to me in the past that archival research is incredibly important to you and that you, I'm quoting you both fetishize and, and theorize the archive. In what way does that inform your research, particularly the research that you're doing right now?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Yeah, that's a great question. I think fashion designers, well, I don't think. I know fashion designers use textiles, and I, as a historian, I use text. And in a lot of ways I think it's the same intellectual work, we're just using different mediums. My research is based in part on object analysis. So this chapter that we're going to describe, I'm using two Brooks Brothers coats that were worn by enslaved valets as a point of departure. But really the grist of the research lies in the analysis of archival documentation. And as historians, we're taught to think very critically about the archive as an epistemological space. So it's not just a repository of dusty old documents. It's a place where knowledge is created. And it's also a place where some narratives are privileged and other narratives are excluded or sidelined. And it all comes down to power. Of course, you know, the word archive comes from a word in ancient Greek which I will not bother to butcher on your podcast. But the word means to be first or to rule. So a lot of words that convey power and control, whether it's monarch or hierarchy or anarchy, sort of derived from the same word. So archives are about power, and the archive and those who control it have the power to shape a narrative or to control the way history is told, whether it's a historical figure or a nation. And in my particular case, it's a for profit company and Brooks Brothers in particular, it's archive is run by a D.C. based marketing firm and corporate archive known as the History Factory. It was founded in 1979. And the history Factory helps construct corporate identities and build brand narratives. And so you can think about the survival of Brooks Brothers Archive as being indebted to this firm. One of the co founders of the History Factory actually reached out to Brooks Brothers in the late 70s, early 80s when the company was on the brink of bankruptcy. You know, people weren't really buying suits anymore, and they really had to like, restructure. And this firm basically ran their archive at its own expense because they believed that it was important for the history of the company. Now I find myself getting lost in the whole, like the weeds of the research. When the company was bought by Claudio Del Vecchio, who's also a Brooks Brothers enthusiast, he paid for the tobacco expenses. And the History Company actually still advises Brooks Brothers. They often tell them to focus on innovation and nonconformity. And of course, their brand strategy sort of occludes any connection to slavery. But you can think about the survival of Brooks Brothers as being due to the generosity are the largest of these, like two wealthy white men who have emotional connections to the brand.

[April]

Interesting. And we have mentioned before on the show that Brooks Brothers is one, if not the oldest continuously operating fashion brand in the U.S. could you give us a little bit of background on the company before we turn our attention to the two particular objects that kind of sparked your query into the company?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Absolutely. I mean, you guys are absolutely right. Brooks Brothers is the oldest American clothing brand. It was founded by a grocer named Henry Sands Brooks, and, you know, given his experience in retail, he opened this men's clothing emporium in Lower Manhattan on April 7, 1818. The original store was on the corner of Catherine and Cherry street in neighborhoods referred to as the Two Bridges because it's nestled between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge. In the early 19th century, it was sort of a bustling commercial residential district with the view of the East River. And funny enough, Brooks Brothers actually shared this neighborhood with Lord and Taylor, which was founded about six years later. But I mean, the stores waterfront location is really important because it was conducive to international and domestic trade. It was only two blocks away from Wharves. And I think that's crucial to understanding the company's connection to slavery. But throughout the 19th century, it was run by the Brooks family. And that's where the name comes from, the Brooks Brothers. Like after Henry Sands Brooks died, it went to his sons, the Brooks Brothers. And it stayed in the family until 1946. And after 1946. It was sold a number of times and now it's owned by Claudio Del Vecchio, who's an Italian magnate. Claudio Del Vecchio's family owns Luxottica, which is the eyewear conglomerate. Like Luxottica, they make lenscrafters.

[April]

Yeah.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Sunglasses.

[April]

We're actually gonna do an episode coming up shortly on the history of sunglasses. And it's gonna be less about object based and more like theory based. And it's gonna be really interesting and you'll learn more about sunglasses when we get to that episode. Listeners. But basically there's like two really main companies that make almost all the sunglasses and eyewear that we see around the world. Right.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

It's kind of astounding. Yeah, yeah. Like they, they have a real lack on the market and it wasn't until like companies like Warby Parker that they sort of like started to break up. That conglomerate, whether it's Ray Ban or Oakley Versace, Miu Miu, Turi Burch, they're all made by exotica. So I mean, this family has a lot of money.

[April]

Yeah.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Foreign.

[April]

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[Cassie]

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[April]

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[April]

Speaking of objects, I'm hoping you can tell us a little bit about the two coats that you referenced earlier. That were worn by enslaved men. How did you come across these and can you describe them for us?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

I first came across it in a footnote in a book by a historian named Philip Foner. And he mentions in passing that Brooks Brothers had a connection to slavery. And I just sort of stored it in the back of my mind. But then I came across two coats that were in the permanent collection of the historic New Orleans collection. And those two references, the two coats in historic New Orleans collection and the footnote in the book by Philip Foner, was sort of the jumping off point for this chapter, for this research. The coats are still in really great condition. You can still see the Brooks Brothers logo in one of the coat. Not the logo so much, but the label on the inside of the coat. And it's sort of. One is what we call a great coat, A long knee length coat with buttons all along the front. The other one is a cutaway coat. So instead of going all the way down to the knee, the tail on the back of the coat goes all the way down to the knee, but the front is sort of short with buttons going along the top. Yeah.

[April]

And so a great coat was usually worn as like outerwear. And so the tail coat was probably some sort of form of livery. I would guess more of indoor wear, probably.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Exactly, yeah. These wore uniforms for enslaved valets. So the purchaser of the coat was a man named William Newton Mercer. William Newton Mercer was extraordinarily wealthy. He was born in Maryland, was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, served in the army. He opened up a private practice in Natchez because he was stationed in Natchez. And he married into a planter family. And shortly after marrying into this family, his father in law died. And a few years later his wife died. And he inherited most of this family's wealth, which included four plantations. So Mercer was kind of in like the top 1% of slave owning planters in the South. So he had a lot of disposable income.

[April]

How many enslaved persons did he have working from him or do we even know?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

We know there's a lot of documentation of it. And he was actually a very fastidious record keeper. There are actual, actually several lists of his enslaved peoples, and there's also census schedules of its enslaved peoples. The highest number I've seen is over 500.

[Cassie]

Wow.

[April]

You know, you mentioned that Brooks Brothers is in New York and Mercer is in Mississippi, Right?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Mississippi and New Orleans.

[Cassie]

Yeah.

[April]

This is very much a story about place in addition to like a biographical narrative. You just established New York City as the home of Brooks Brothers. But now we're talking about the American South. So how do these two places intersect in terms of these two coats, these two objects?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

That's an important connection that you made because people often associate the institution of slavery with the American south, and rightly so. Most slave holding states were in the south. And of course there was slave slavery in the Northeast, but of course there was gradual emancipation that started in the early 19th century. So we associate slavery more so with the American south than with the Northeast. But also we have to remember that there were a number of industries that benefited from slavery. Even if slavery had been abolished in New York or Massachusetts or what have you, they were still benefiting from the economy that was based in part on slave labor. As you said, Brooks Brothers was founded in New York. And New York plays a really important part in my research. I mean, as I just described, like, I talk a lot about the early retail landscape of Manhattan. And also William Newton Mercer, the man who purchased the coats for his enslaved valets. He spent part of his life in New York. So he was a unionist, and he spent part of the Civil War in New York. In fact, he was a member of the Union Club, which is the oldest private men's club in New York. It actually still exists.

[April]

Wow.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

It's a club for men only. It's on 69th Street. But he was that embedded in the city that he was part of this club. And he might have even bought the Brooks Brothers coats on one of his trips to New York.

[April]

So he would have maybe had their measurements and had them made to measure for these two particular individuals. And were they worn by two individuals or do we know who wore them?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

That's a really great point question that you're bringing up because Brooks Brothers was actually one of the first firms to innovate ready made clothing. And fashion historians often talk about it in like laudatory terms, but actually they innovated the ready made clothing industry for soldiers, for low wage workers, for enslaved peoples, because those folks couldn't afford the frills of like bespoke custom suiting. So he probably didn't have the measurements. He probably just eyeballed the coats and be like, this should fit such and such person. And to answer the second part of your question, we don't know exactly who wore the coats. Okay. That's one thing I'm trying to figure out. In my research, I've been able to identify two formerly enslaved men who lived in his household who were identified in 1870 census so I don't know if those were the actual two men who wore the coats or was it someone else, because the coats were probably purchased earlier, probably between 1855 and 1865.

[April]

And you write in some of your work on this that fashion was really embedded, and I'm quoting you here, into the quote, system, even as the institution of slavery was disintegrating. So I'm hoping that you can elaborate on that, both in terms of how fashion was employed by slave merchants selling, as you say, quote, enslaved chattel, and also after the fact, by plantation and slave owners like Mercer in establishing this sort of hierarchy within their own households or their own properties. Because that's kind of at the core of, like, what we're getting at with these jackets, right?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Absolutely. And, you know, one thing I really appreciate about your question is that you're stressing the word fashion. I know in day to day language we tend to use dress and fashion interchangeably, but it's an important distinction for scholars. And like these Brooks Brothers coats that I'm describing weren't utilitarian workaday garments, which is what I would associate with the word dress. They were more fashion items. Like, they weren't bought out of necessity. They were bought out of a desire for ostentatious display. But you're absolutely right. Like, you know, I feel like in the popular imagination or like in the memory of slavery, when we think about the slave market, we think about people sort of in ragged clothing or half dress. But in reality, documents have shown, and also images of the slave market have shown that people were actually dressed up for the slave market. They were dressed in clothing that was much better than sort of utilitarian day to day dress. It was sort of costuming for the theater of the slave market. And for instance, Solomon Northrup, who's The author of 12 Years a Slave, describes the costuming of enslaved peoples. And they were given clothing, special clothing for the slave market. They were sort of dressed up for the slave market. And as you brought up in the second part of your question, there was other ways in which the fascist system sort of became embedded in, like, the functioning of slave societies because productive slaves are domestic slaves or favorite slaves were often given finer garments. One to sort of draw a distinction, to sort of highlight the hierarchy between them and enslaved peoples with a lower status within the plantation or within the slave society. So, for example, Sally Hemings, who was Thomas Jefferson's longtime concubine, didn't actually receive the best clothing at Monticello. It was actually Jupiter, who was Thomas Jefferson's longtime valet who received the best fabrics. So that's just an example in which hierarchies are established on plantations or in slave societies. And it's often based on the ways in which fashion is doled out.

[April]

Right. You know, and coming back to Brooks Brothers specifically here, I bet many of our listeners are going to be surprised to learn about what you just mentioned a few moments ago is that Brooks Brothers was actually commissioned to produce uniforms for Union soldiers during the Civil War. Would you tell us a little bit more about that? And also if you wanted to, and draw that connection to household livery that was worn by many enslaved and even a little bit later, if I'm correct, newly freed persons who remained in domestic service in the American South.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Yeah, I think it's a history that people don't often associate with Brooks Brothers. You know, we associate Brooks Brothers with sort of all American preppy collegiate style. But the earliest history of the company was actually in. It was sort of like a one stop shop for menswear. If you wanted a custom suit, you can go there and get like a fine custom suit. You'd pick out like fine wool for a custom suit. But if you'd also want ready made garments, they also provided that too. And those ready made garments were more so for. For soldiers, for domestics, for low wage laborers who couldn't afford to have custom made clothing. So Brooks Brothers received a contract to produce uniforms for the Union Army. It turned out that the uniforms weren't the best quality and that they actually had to be remade by another company.

[April]

Oh no. Early to ready wear didn't always work.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

But they got the contract actually through a New York City mayor named George Opdyke, who was actually a clothing manufacturer himself. And he had a clothing company that made clothing for enslaved peoples in New York on Hudson Street. And I think it's through this connection that Brooks Brothers got the contract for the Union army uniforms through this connection with George Opdyke because he was looking out for his own business associates.

[Cassie]

Yeah.

[April]

So that connection between, let's say military uniforms and also domestic household staff uniforms, it's very close.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

It's very close. And you know, I feel like it's something that Brooks Brothers has sidelined in its history. But you often do see catalogs from the late 19th century for liveries, Brooks Brothers liveries. There was a separate catalog from like their fine suiting. So it's sort of, it's the origins of ready made garments, which lies in like cheap clothing, cheap menswear for soldiers, for laborers, for Domestics for enslaved peoples.

[April]

Just like military uniforms, often have a lot of emblems or symbols embedded into them. These particular coats that you examined also did. Would you tell us a little bit about the buttons that are featured on these coats and how does that relate to some of the other forms of material culture that have been found within the Mercer household?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Yeah, that's really interesting. The buttons have little falcons on them. So the Mercer crest has falcons on it. So he wanted to sort of emblazon his enslaved peoples with signs of his family's wealth. So he had custom buttons for these jackets. But you can see other falcons throughout the le material culture from the Mercer household. So for example, there's a silver tray and it has a falcon and an M on it. So this, and this actually wasn't that uncommon in, like, the wealthier households in antebellum US they would often have symbols that represented the family on the buttons for their domestics and enslaved peoples. It's not unusual to see symbols or crests from a family throughout a household, whether it's on tiebacks for curtains or for different symbols around households. And they often enslaved peoples were treated like luxury items, just like an ashtray or a handkerchief.

[April]

Yeah. And Dr. Monica L. Miller joined us last season on Dressed, and she talked about that specifically. So you can go back to that episode if you want to learn more about that. Dr. Square. Brooks Brothers has been around for over 200 years. At this point, how can we account for the longevity of the company? And I'm curious as to what Brooks Brothers response has been to your research.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

I think Brooks Brothers has survived in part due to glacial shifts in menswear that protected from the vagaries of a mercurial fashion industry. You know, with women's wear, trends shift every few years, even in the 19th century. And that's less the case with menswear. So people shop at Brooks Brothers because it's fashioned itself into an American institution. And my father shop there, my grandfather shop there. It's really solidified itself as like a go to purveyor of like respectable suiting in preppy menswear. In the process, they completely sidestep any reference to manufacturing clothing for, you know, enslaved peoples or low wage laborers when they sort of sanitize their history. But I think it's due in part to its menswear. Of course, it's had troubles in the past. Like I mentioned, like, the 70s and 80s was a really hard time for Brooks Brothers. And there's recently a New York Times article about Brooks Brothers and it's going through another rough patch right now, but I think it's been able to sort of stick around because trends in menswear, until recently at least, were very slow changing. So throughout its storied history, Brooks Brothers has always boasted an illustrious clientele. For example, Abraham Lincoln famously wore a Brooks Brothers frock coat the night that he was shocked by John Wilkes Booth. And Franklin Roosevelt wore Brooks Brothers collard wool cape at the yalta Conference in 1945. And John F. Kennedy was actually wearing the Brooks Brothers button down shirt when he was assassinated in Dallas. And one image that I really like to show when I present this work to my students is an image of Barack Obama and President Trump during the 2017 presidential election. And they're wearing identical Brooks Brothers coats.

[April]

Oh, wow. I'm gonna guess I already know who wore it better. Just saying.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

So Brooks brothers actually dressed 40 out of 45American presidents. Can you guess the five presidents who weren't outfitted by Brooks Brothers?

[April]

Oh, I'm not even gonna take a stab at that, but I bet you're gonna tell us.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Yes. So Brooks Brothers was founded in 1818. So the first three presidents weren't able to be outfitted by Brooks Brothers. But funny enough, it was Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter apparently was very thrifty and preferred not to have any new suits when he became the American president. So he wasn't outfitted by Brooks Brothers. And it was also Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan, of course, was an actor. He lived in California before he became the president, and he had a whole. He had tailors and people that he worked with in California that he preferred to continue working with. So, yeah, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

[April]

The storied history of Brooks Brothers deepens even further.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

This is going back to the conversation that we were having about archiving. But the company selectively draws from its archive and its story history to maintain its loyal customers and to attract new ones. Brooks Brothers regularly references its archive in advertising, marketing, and even in the design of its garments. For this reason, the History Factory, and by extension, Brooks Brothers, cautiously, Fitz, who is granted access to the archive, particularly as it is consciously marketed as a, quote, heritage brand. In an effort to not hurt its bottom line. The company has been silent about a heritage that's steeped in American slavery. And they've carefully crafted a brand narrative that sidesteps any unsavory details about its history and archive.

[April]

Yeah, interesting.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

So I haven't had access to the archive. I've tried multiple times, and they will not grant me access.

[April]

Do they respond to you or are they just like, no, thank you, we're not taking researchers right now.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

No response.

[April]

No response.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, I hope to. I mean, I think, you know, I don't think they're going about this the smartest way. I think they should control a narrative. Instead of me, scrappy fashion scholar, doing this research, they should do the research and expose this history and control the narrative because they. It's ultimately their company and their brand and their profits that'll be hurt. So, I mean, there have been a lot of institutions and companies that have sort of taking that approach. Like Volkswagen.

[April]

We're gonna get ahead of this kind of type.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Exactly, exactly. Yeah. Or even like a lot of universities who have a connection to slavery. Like, we're gonna like, start an initiative to support, like, minorities who are interested in, like, higher education. Like, we're gonna control the narrative. But Brooks Butters is just like swept it under the rug. And I think it's just the fashion industry. The fashion industry is unstable. All it takes is like one gaff, one slip up.

[April]

And we've seen many recently.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

We've seen many. So I think their tactic is just to ignore this history. But, you know, I don't know. I don't think it's the smartest move.

[April]

Yeah, agree. I'm hoping you can tell us a little bit more about some of your other work. Perhaps your fashioning the self project. And what else can people expect to read about when your book is released?

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

So this is actually just one chapter of a book of several chapters. So there's one chapter on head wraps worn by free and enslaved women in New Orleans, and there will be another chapter on Wed Dubois and his self fashioning. So this is just one slither of a larger project. Each chapter, I hope, will fit together like puzzle pieces, like being in dialogue with each other. But yeah, I mean, the book project is just part of my larger work on fashionist slavery. As you've mentioned, I'm very active on social media. I'm a big proponent of digital humanities as a way to democratize higher education and to radicalize pedagogical practices. So feel free to follow me on Instagram or Facebook. Asioningtheself on Instagram and on Facebook Fashion, the self enslavery and freedom. I'm also on Twitter unsewnhistories and recently just launched a YouTube. So you get to see my face in person.

[April]

Yay. One quick question before perhaps we wrap up today. Besides your own work, do you have any other recommendations for any of our listeners who might want to learn more about the intersection of dress, race and social justice.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Absolutely. Well, first I would direct your listeners to the conversation that you had with Monica Miller. Monica Miller is an amazing scholar and she's someone I looked look up to in terms of like, research on fashion and slavery. She's also just a really nice person.

[April]

Yes.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

I'd also direct your listeners to Kimberly Jenkins Fashion and race database.

[April]

Yeah. Hey, Kim.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Hey, Kim. It's a really important resource. It's free and open to the public, so definitely check it out and follow the database on Instagram. And I would also direct your listeners to the work of Tanisha C. Ford. Anything written by Tiffany Gill. Anything written by Eric Darnell Pritchard. I love the work of the Costume Institute of the African Diaspora, which is out of the London College of Fashion. I'm close friends with Chaney McKnight, who's a historical reenactor, and Darnell Jamal. I have a friend named Serena Lee who has an Instagram account called the Georgian Diaspora. Anything written by Robin Gavon, who's amazing. And of course, Elizabeth Way, who's a curator at the museum at fit.

[April]

We love Liz.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

We love Liz. Hi, Liz. And also there's an influencer on Instagram whose work that I'm a fan of. It's Pam boy. Oh, I don't know this Pamboy.

[April]

Oh, I'm writing this down. Cool. I will check that one out. Dr. Square, thank you so much for joining us. We really, really, really appreciate this.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure to talk with you.

[April]

You too.

[Cassie]

Bye.

[Dr. Jonathan Michael Square]

Bye.

[Cassie]

Jonathan, thank you so much for being with us on the show today. What a fascinating conversation. April and I found it really interesting what he had to say about Thomas Jefferson's favorite valet who received finer quality of clothing and textiles than Jefferson's long term concubine and mother to six of his children, Sally Hemings. Needless to say, we are very much looking forward to Dr. Square's book when it comes out. And I think that does it for us today. Dress listeners, may you consider the systems of power interwoven into your wardrobe. Next time you get dressed, please head.

[April]

Over to dressedpodcast on Instagram, Instagram or Dressed podcast without the underscore on Facebook to check out the visual content associated with each week's episodes.

[Cassie]

Remember, we love hearing from you dress listeners. So if you'd like to write to us, you can do so at. Hello, DressHistory.com DressHistory.com is also our website where you can sign up for our monthly newsletter, our in person tours and online fashion history courses and there you can also check out whatever else we have up our finely tailored sleeves.

[April]

We get so many questions from you all about our recommendations for fashion history books so if you're interested you can always find a link in our show notes to our bookshop.org bookshelf so that address is bookshop.org shop dressed and there you will find over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles.

[Cassie]

Do you love Dressed but want to skip the ads? We are are so excited to now be a part of the Airwave Network and their premium ad free history subscription Airwave History plus and this is available on Apple Podcasts and the subscription brings you our podcast as well as 27 other popular history podcasts ad free for $5.99 per month. More information is available at the link in our bio.

[April]

Thank you as always for tuning in and more dressed coming your way soon. The History of Fashion is a production of Dressed media.