Dressed: The History of Fashion

Episode: Spanish Fashion in the Age of Velázquez with Amanda Wunder, Part I (Dressed Classic)
Hosts: April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary
Guest: Dr. Amanda Wunder
Release Date: December 12, 2025

Overview

This episode explores the world of 17th-century Spanish court fashion through the eyes of Mateo Aguado, the royal tailor for over four decades under Philip IV, as featured in Dr. Amanda Wunder’s landmark archival study. Dr. Wunder’s research uncovers the overlooked significance of Aguado and his peers, reconstructing their social, professional, and creative lives. The hosts and guest examine the creation of royal wardrobes, the politics of dress, artisan hierarchies, the evolution of Spanish style, and how surviving records bring these stories to light alongside the celebrated portraits of Diego Velázquez.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rediscovery of Mateo Aguado

• Amanda Wunder’s Research Journey

  • Amanda was inspired by a passion for both making clothes and Spanish culture (04:44).
  • Her archival work brought to light hundreds of pages documenting Aguado’s career, who was previously forgotten by history but central to Spanish royal fashion (06:13).
  • “It took me...quite a few years, before I realized...this was really the subject of the book that I was going to be writing.” – Amanda Wunder [07:00]

• Why Was Aguado Forgotten?

  • Despite his dresses appearing prominently in Velázquez’s court portraits, Aguado’s name was nearly lost to history (02:20).
  • Dr. Wunder’s mission: “put the tailor back in the picture" and recognize artisans as image-makers alongside famous artists like Velázquez (03:14).

2. Building Royal Image: Sources and Methods

• Archival Treasures

  • Main source: “endless lists” from Aguado’s account books; at first glance, these are tedious inventories, but careful transcription and analysis reveal rich details: garment types, day-to-day challenges, and even the queen’s preferences (09:22).
  • Unique resources: The Royal Palace artisan accounts, rare personnel documents, and a detailed post-mortem inventory reconstruct Aguado’s professional and home life (11:00).

    “Putting together a much bigger picture of his life, both personal and professional, than I ever would have expected” – Amanda Wunder [12:09]

  • Portraits, extant textiles, and even tools (like iron rods for ruffs) also inform her narrative (12:20).

• Challenges:

  • Most garments do not survive; understanding relies on piecing together scattered, non-visual records (09:22).

3. Madrid’s Fashion Scene in the 1600s

• The Garment District (13:47)

  • After the court’s return to Madrid in 1606, the city ballooned with aristocrats, servants, actors, priests, and tradespeople—all needing fashionable attire.
  • The central district between the palace and Plaza Mayor teemed with activity, selling both new and used garments (14:10).
  • Surprising development: emergence of ready-to-wear clothing; size-based suits on sale as early as 1615, long before commonly assumed (15:30).

    “You go into a store in Madrid in 1615 and buy a premade dresser suit in size, small or large.” – Amanda Wunder [15:45]

• Tailoring Profession and Hierarchy

  • Vast inequalities; a few at the top (like Aguado) had creative, prestigious, and well-paid roles, while most toiled for low wages with little autonomy (16:16).

4. The Social Reputation and Gender of Tailors

• The “Dishonest Tailor” Trope (17:04)

  • Tailors managed expensive materials—clients feared theft or deception regarding fabric usage (17:26).
  • Their intimacy with clients, especially women, sparked social anxieties and fueled negative literary stereotypes.

• Gender and Guilds

  • Mostly male, but a few widows inherited their husbands’ tailoring posts; actual female labor likely much greater, though almost invisible in records (19:02).

    “I am absolutely convinced that [Aguado's wife] played a pivotal role in his workshop. ...but, of course, there's not a scrap of paper to testify to that.” – Amanda Wunder [19:14]

• Apprenticeships & Journeymen

  • Tailoring was tightly regulated by guilds; young apprentices worked long hours for room, clothes, and training, followed by a limbo as underpaid journeymen (21:25).
  • Only masters could cut fabric; journeymen could only sew. Revolts over working conditions were rare but did occur (22:35).

5. Fashion as Politics under Philip IV

• Dress Codes as Statecraft

  • Philip IV reformed royal dress early in his reign, outlawing the elaborate ruffs of his father’s era for plainer black suits and simple collars (23:47).
  • Dress became a mark of decorum and loyalty: “To appear at the Spanish court after this law was imposed, you absolutely had to wear this style of dress that was worn by the king himself.” – Amanda Wunder [24:39]
  • The rules of court dress and behavior were codified; clothing dictated not just style but movement and posture (26:02).

• Court Tailors: Royal vs. Queen

  • The King’s tailor (Juan de Varela) was notorious for scandal and ultimately dismissed for theft; in contrast, Mateo Aguado was chosen by the Queen (29:03).

6. Constructing Royal Appearance: From Head to Toe

• Dressing the Queen

  • Aguado’s appointment as Queen's tailor gave him exceptional daily access to the monarch. He was responsible for not only new garments but continual alterations—especially around pregnancies and postpartum changes (33:47).

    “He was present and really in the most intimate moments of the Queen's life and played a really important role in shaping the Queen's image...” – Amanda Wunder [35:38]

• Women's Fashion Breakdown

  • Formal portraits show the queen in ceremonial attire (saya indera) with heavy trains, worn only for high holidays and sittings—made only a few times per year (36:27).
  • Daily wear: three-piece ensembles (doublet with sleeves, floor-length skirt, overgown/ropa) combining modesty and extravagant decoration.
  • Spanish fashion was ever more structured and rigid as others in Europe trended toward looser, more natural clothing (38:17).

• National Styles as Politics

  • Dress in Spain during this era was a statement of “national character.” Changing style marked boundaries—so much so that a French spy adopting Spanish dress was considered incredibly cunning (39:00).

7. The Tailor as Designer & Project Manager

• Aguado’s Workshop

  • Aguado didn’t just sew—he designed, drew decoration sketches, and organized entire teams including journeymen, seamstresses, and specialists like quilters or fabric prickers (41:09).
  • Collaboration with embroiderers, silk merchants, farthingale makers, and more created an ecosystem of artisan labor under royal patronage.

  “Aguado is designing the Queen's dresses, and then there's this whole team... dozens of seamstresses... specialists... all working together.” – Amanda Wunder [41:09]

• Production & Turnaround

  • Dresses, even elaborate ones, could be made with astonishing speed—sometimes literally overnight by massive teams; longer-lasting labor went into expensive textiles (44:11, 45:39).

• Ephemerality of Royal Dress

  • Garments were routinely repurposed, altered, and finally cannibalized for their valuable fabrics and materials (45:39, 57:27).

8. The Artisan Hierarchy Around Royal Dress

• The Web of Officiales de Manos

  • Royal “makers by hand” included the embroiderer, gold wire drawer, glover, farthingale maker, and more, each with strict roles and their own support staff (47:28).
  • Nobles managed the wardrobe overall (Keeper of the Jewels and Wardrobe); artisans maneuvered for prized, hereditary positions (48:00).

• Notable Quotes

  • “This in-between group who has a foot in the court and a foot in town has fallen through the cracks up until now.” – Amanda Wunder [49:06]

9. Undergarments, Women Makers, and Material Worlds

• Farthingale Makers

  • Maria Jiménez and her son Diego López made the rigid underskirts supporting Queen Isabel’s dresses—one of the rare named women artisans (51:26).
  • Undergarments were often color-coded in pinks and reds, believed to confer health, especially fertility, under medical beliefs of the period (54:10).

    “Almost always these undergarments were made from the colors of flesh and blood, from shades of pink and red... supposed to be health giving.” – Amanda Wunder [54:12]

• Storage and Afterlife

  • Garments (including farthingales) were stored in specially-shaped cases; most have not survived except perhaps as fragments (54:53).

10. Dressing More Than the Queen

• Aguado Dressed:
  • Not only the queen but royal children, staff, visiting dignitaries, even the king, religious images, dolls, and toy soldiers (55:39).
  • “He had an incredible range of work to do, made thousands of garments. And I think what's really amazing is...not a single one survives today.” – Amanda Wunder [57:16]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Professional Rediscovery:
  “If you take the kind of attention to an artisan...that we typically pay only to...famous painters...we can actually learn an incredible amount about their lives.” – Amanda Wunder [08:16]

• On Collaboration and Complexity:
  “There's this whole ecosystem of artisans...all working together.” – Amanda Wunder [42:00]

• On Political Fashion:
  “From the beginning of his reign, [Philip IV] set this new tone...using fashion to make political statements, using laws to govern fashion...” – Amanda Wunder [25:30]

• On the Ephemeral Nature of Court Fashion:
  “The fabrics would take an incredibly long time to weave. ...the dresses themselves were really ephemeral constructions.” – Amanda Wunder [45:39]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction to Amanda Wunder & Research Background: [04:23]–[07:34]
• Discovery of Mateo Aguado in the Archive: [06:13]–[08:16]
• Archival Sources and Research Approach: [09:22]–[12:20]
• 17th-century Madrid Fashion Scene & Ready-to-wear: [13:47]–[16:16]
• Tailor Reputation and Gender Dynamics: [17:01]–[20:35]
• Tailor's Guild Structure & Apprentices: [21:25]–[23:35]
• Philip IV's Political Use of Fashion: [23:47]–[26:14]
• Court Etiquette and Dress Rigidity: [26:14]–[27:28]
• Dressing the Queen: Aguado's Role: [33:47]–[36:02]
• Spanish vs. European Feminine Costume: [37:53]–[40:05]
• Aguado as Designer & Project Manager: [41:09]–[44:11]
• Fabric & Ephemerality of Dress: [45:39]
• Officiales de Manos—The Artisan Ecosystem: [47:28]–[49:40]
• Undergarments & Farthingale Makers: [51:26]–[55:30]
• Aguado’s Work for the Whole Court: [55:39]–[57:16]
• Survival (or Not) of Garments: [57:27]–[58:49]

Tone and Style

Throughout, Dr. Wunder is approachable and enthusiastic, with the hosts engaging her in detailed, curious questions. The episode remains accessible yet scholarly, painting the royal wardrobe as vivid social history rather than dry material culture, and connecting the researchers’ own passion for sewing and academic study.

Conclusion & Next Episode Preview

The hosts preview Part II, where Dr. Wunder will delve further into Aguado’s work for Philip IV’s second queen, Mariana of Austria, the politics of fashion, and the real garments behind Velázquez’s Las Meninas.

For images and further reading:

• See @dressedpodcast on Instagram
• Look for the hashtags #dressed495 and #dressed496
• Amanda Wunder’s book: Spanish Fashion in the Age of Velázquez: A Tailor at the Court of Philip IV

“May you consider the many nameless creators of fashion and your favorite fashion portraits from history next time you get dressed.”