American Style

Ostensibly this show is about "style" or maybe "fashion", but in reality it is an alternate look at history with a focus on style/fashion as it looks at the history of American culture over the last half of the 20th Century. Believe me I am not the least interested in fashion, but the series is quite illuminating when it seeks to define how people's behavior was changed, and the focus is on what we wear rather than war, crime, domestic behavior, etc. Definitely a must for history fans and people interested in American culture.

I was so excited for this series - what an incredible panel of commentators! But damn, they seemed to struggle to tell the story in the 1990-2000s episode. It felt rushed and forced, with multiple-minute segments of Michelle Obama's & Melania Trump's fashion choices. Ultimately, I was bored and the conclusion was, "Melania Trump should be mindful of the clothes she wears..."

I enjoyed this series as an attempt to discuss the history of American fashion design in the 20th and early 21st century, with appealing commentary by experts like Tim Gunn, Christie Brinkley, Jeffrey Banks, Norma Kamali, etc. However, I felt that the series was uneven and rushed through particular eras that would have been so interesting to explore. Little to say about American fashion in the '50s except "oh, it was the Cold War and Red Scare, so everyone was afraid to break conservative fashion rules. All the women were housewives who wore dresses to vacuum the house, men all wore boring grey suits, except the beatniks who were cool." That's nonsense. There were very interesting innovations and trends in that era of women's fashion, as well as influencers and the first supermodels. The series seemed in a rush to get to the '60s & '70s.

The first part of the series opener was so promising, with a deeper dive into the evolving American fashion manufacturing industry, retail and marketing innovations, but it felt rushed and uneven. Have to blame the show runners for that.

Beyond fashion and style, the show masterfully glances through the great American history through lenses that are so simple and exactly how we view ourselves everyday!