“Humans Should Be as Well-Dressed as Horses”: Craft, Clients, and Continuity of Phelps Associates

An Alumni Spotlight Lecture by Rebecca Jumper Matheson (BGC PhD ’22, Fashion Institute of Technology) William and Elizabeth Phelps began their leathergoods and sportswear brand, Phelps Associates, as a craft workshop in a Washington Square basement, making custom belts and bags for an intimate circle of clients. Their leathergoods drew inspiration from the handcraft traditions of decorative horse harness, the functional shapes of historic military gear, and the repurposed shine of vintage brass insignia. The Phelpses sought to slow the pace of fashion change by creating quality goods and keeping designs in production for years. Clients responded by “collecting” and repairing their work, and sometimes handing down their Phelps pieces. Over the years, they expanded their workshop and added the ready-to-wear Phelps Deep Country Clothes line, reaching a wider range of consumers. This alumni spotlight lecture by Rebecca Jumper Matheson will consider the artisanship of Elizabeth and William Phelps, highlighting extant objects and specific clients, including actress Lauren Bacall and photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Rebecca Jumper Matheson (JD, University of Texas at Austin; MA, Fashion Institute of Technology; PhD, Bard Graduate Center) is a fashion historian. Matheson’s research focuses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century American women’s dress, using interdisciplinary approaches to discover women’s narratives as designers, makers, sellers, and consumers. Her recent projects have dealt with accessories, advertising, everyday dress, teenage fashion, and long-distance train travel. Matheson is the author of three monographs, The Sunbonnet: An American Icon in Texas (2009), Young Originals: Emily Wilkens and the Teen Sophisticate (2015), and Artisans and Designers: American Fashion Through Elizabeth and William Phelps (2025), among other publications. She is an adjunct instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in the MA program in fashion and textile studies.