Fashionistas: Icons of History
Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Elizabeth L. Block, Piper Huguley*, with Camille Kashaka moderating.
France Hall
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201
Saturday, April 11, 2026
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
The Writer’s Room with Piper Huguley
*1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Counting Room
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Enter the bold world of fashion, as three esteemed authors take to the stage with widely lauded work to engage in a striking conversation about culture and fashion, history and unsung women designers who set the tone for the glamorous world of fashion. Get introduced to icons such as Claire McCardell, in Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson stellar work by the same name, The Designer Who Set Women Free, and“hidden figure,” the unjustly forgotten, Ann Cole Lowe in Piper Huguley’s striking novel, By Her Own Design, who rose from the Jim Crow era to a storied career, and the exuberance and glamour of the Gilded Age, with Elizabeth L. Block’s newly published Gilded Age Fashion. Both a work of art and a historical accounting of “sumptuous gowns” of that era, it’s an exploration of the women who wore them, and a peek into the social etiquette and customs of the wealthy. “When one ill-advised gown could define a reputation.” We are braced for an extraordinary conversation about the culture of a time, landing on a woman’s right to choose how we dress and how we live. Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson is the critically acclaimed author of the biography Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free, which was named a New York Times 100 Most Notable Books of 2025, and a best book of the year selected by NPR, Time, The Washington Post, Kirkus, and more. Piper Huguley is an English professor at Clark-Atlanta University and the author of two historical fiction novels: By Her Own Design (recently optioned to Sony TriStar) and American Daughters. “The facts of Ann Lowe’s life are remarkable, but Huguley has taken us a step further, harnessing the art of fiction to invoke the emotions of her experiences and bring Ann Lowe to life.” – Elizabeth Way, Associate Curator, The Museum at FIT and editor of Black Designers in American Fashion. Elizabeth L. Block, PhD, an art and culture historian, is a Senior Editor in the Publications and Editorial Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She is the author of Gilded Age Fashion and writes the Gilded Age Fashion newsletter on Substack. “A new book by Elizabeth Block is cause for celebration. She offers a unique and rare insight into the fashion and style of the Gilded Age… a true behind-the-scenes look at the elegance and fashion that created the Gilded Age,” writes Carl Raymond, host of The Gilded Gentleman podcast. Moderated by Camille Kashaka, the Managing Director for Joe’s Movement Emporium and Creative Suitland, who has contributed to the broad and powerful community-focused cultural and artistic impact of these institutions.
*The Writer’s Room with Piper Huguley (on historical fiction)
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Counting Room
THE WRITER’S ROOM debuted at the virtual 2021 CityLit Festival, designed to engage participants face-to-face with authors in an informal conversation about the different aspects of writing, including questions about craft, research, writing process, challenges, and publication. Featured wind down from being ‘on’ and simply engage with the writers assembled about all sorts of things. In the past, EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL, TERRANCE HAYES, NIKKY FINNEY, JENNY OFFI LL, HANIF ABDURRAQIB, FATIMAH ASGHAR, BERNICE McFADDEN, and ROXANE GAY participated and simply loved it. Roxane Gay was so taken by the diverse and inclusive writers assembled that – to our delight and surprise, she stayed for an hour. A hit with festival attendees! This year’s featured TWRs are meant to engage you and for you to ask questions: Reyna Grande – Cultural Witness: Migrant Heart for the Seekers & Dreamers (on the immigrant experience) & Piper Huguley – Fashionistas: Icons of History (on historical fiction).
*The Writer’s Room is an informal convening where the featured author takes the lead with an introduction that speaks as an invitation to attendees to open up and engage with their questions.
Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson is the author of the critically-acclaimed book Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free. Her first biography has been hailed as a best book of 2025 by The New York Times, NPR, Time, Kirkus, and The Washington Post, among many others. Claire McCardell earned an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction longlist selection, an Amazon Editor’s pick for Best History, and rave reviews from Oprah Daily, The Atlantic, Elle, Forbes, Harper’s Bazaar, and on All Things Considered and Morning Edition. The New York Times Book Review calls this book an exceptional biography and an essential read that “puts the American fashion icon Claire McCardell back in the pantheon.” Elizabeth is working on her second book—a true crime object biography about the famous Ruby Slippers from “The Wizard of Oz,” forthcoming from Dutton. Elizabeth’s writing career encompasses cultural criticism, narrative nonfiction, investigative journalism, short fiction, and memoir. She’s been widely published in places like The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harper’s, The Washington Post Magazine, and The Southern Review, among others. She’s been a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, and in 2023, Elizabeth became the first literary artist to win Maryland’s prestigious Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize, given in recognition of artists who demonstrate excellence in mastery of craft, depth of artistic exploration, and unique vision. Elizabeth teaches graduate-level writing, and she is the Editorial Director at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where she lives with her family and a very opinionated corgi named Buddy.
eedickinson.com
Instagram: @ElizabethEvittsDickinson
Piper G. Huguley’s most recent biographical historical fiction book, American Daughters (2024), is the story of the decades-long interracial friendship between Alice Roosevelt and Portia Washington, the rebel teenage daughters of President Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington, respectively. Her previous historical fiction book was By Her Own Design: a novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register (William Morrow Publishing), which tells the inspiring story of the Black fashion designer of Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress and was selected as the historical fiction winner for 2022 by the American Library Association’s Reading Council. By Her Own Design has been optioned by Sony/Tristar with Ruth Carter and Serena Williams as producers. “Piper Huguley’s novel follows the arc of Ann Lowe’s amazing life from her childhood in Alabama, fashioning ethereal silk flowers to the greatest commission of her career, the wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier to John F Kennedy.” – Dr. Kate Strasdin, Senior Lecturer, Cultural Studies at Falmouth University. Piper teaches literature at Clark-Atlanta University and blogs about the history behind her novels. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and son.
piperhuguley.com
Instagram: @piper_huguley
Elizabeth L. Block, an art and culture historian, is a Senior Editor in the Publications and Editorial Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She writes the popular Gilded Age Fashion newsletter and Instagram account @elizabethlblock and invites you all to join her there. Dr. Block earned her PhD in art history at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, with a focus on 19th-century American painting. She also holds an MA in American Studies from Columbia University and a BA in English from The George Washington University. Gilded Age Fashion: 50 Iconic Looks and the Stories Behind Them (Hardie Grant, 2026) is available now. “Not only will fans of The Gilded Age swoon over the detailed photos of these sumptuous gowns, Block also provides a masterly peek at the customs and habits of those who wore them, whether to an afternoon tea or a society wedding. This is one to savor,” writes Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen. Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing is the winner of the Costume Society of America’s 2025 Millia Davenport Publication Award. Her book Dressing Up: The Women Who Influenced French Fashion won the Victorian Society in America book award 2022.
elizabethlblock.com
Instagram: @elizabethlblock
Camille Kashaka serves as the Managing Director for Joe’s Movement Emporium and Creative Suitland. She is the former Executive Director of Motor House in Baltimore. Coming aboard the organization immediately before the closures due to the COVID19 pandemic, Camille navigated a new terrain of leadership. Pivoting to a mixed model of virtual and in-person programs within a dire economic landscape was a challenge her team confronted lovingly. Camille has served as the Interim Managing Director at Hattiloo Theatre in Memphis, TN, and as the Director of the Anacostia Arts Center in Southeast Washington, DC. where she curated visual arts exhibitions, music series, and a performing arts season, including curating the All The Way Live Tuesdays Hip Hop Series, creating the Resident Performing Arts Incubator, and “Black Gold,” an exhibition that celebrated Afrofuturistic aesthetics in both abstract and figurative work. Camille received her BFA from Howard University in Theatre Administration and her Master’s from American University in Arts Management. Camille is also a lighting designer and stage manager. She has worked with organizations that include Story District, Freshh Inc Theatre Company, Astro Pop Events, and JAMtheRevue.
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CityLit Project in partnership with Maryland Center for History and Culture present Bearing Witness: Literature as a Revolutionary Act. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 11, 2026. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.
Download the CityLit Festival: Bearing Witness flyer with the schedule.
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