Fashion of the Founding Fathers: George Washington

Step into the Revolutionary era through the wardrobe of America’s first president. Join Summer Anne Lee, fashion historian and educator at FIT, and Philip De Paola, tailor and menswear historian, to explore how George Washington used clothing to construct authority, identity, and national symbolism. 

Drawing on fashion history and material culture, Lee will examine how George Washington's dress communicated emerging American identity and political authority during the Revolution and the nation’s founding. De Paola will present his meticulously researched recreation of the suit Washington wore to his first inaugural ball in 1789, revealing tensions between patriotism, power, and elegance in the early Republic. 

About the Speakers:
Summer Anne Lee is a Brooklyn-based fashion historian and adjunct instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), where she received an MA in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice. Lee began researching the history of presidential dress in 2020 and is the author of Presidential Fashion: An Illustrated History (forthcoming: Yale University Press). Her research examines the historical importance of the clothing worn by every U.S. president, emphasizing fashion’s role in conveying messages, reflecting personalities, and influencing public perceptions throughout American history.

Philip De Paola is an Associate Collections Specialist in the Antonio Ratti Textile Study and Storage Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Manhattan-based bespoke tailor of both contemporary and historical garments. In spring of 2025, he finished his qualifying paper for the Fashion and Textiles Studies master’s program at the Fashion Institute of Technology entitled “Conservation Through Reconstruction: Reproducing George Washington’s Silk Suit, 1789”. Prior to graduate studies, he worked as a conservation technician at the National Museum of American History in the costume and textile conservation lab. His current focus is on studying and recreating late eighteenth-century menswear.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.