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.

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.

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])

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]

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.

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.