With the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Gala on the first Monday of May and the new exhibition on John Singer Sargent and Paris, there is most definitely fashion in the air. In this ENCORE episode with listener favorite Dr. Elizabeth L. Block we delve into the stories of some of the most important designers and couture houses of Belle Epoque Paris.

This episode was based on Liz's first book, "Dressing Up: How American Women Influenced French Fashion". Don't miss LIz's news book "Beyond Vanity: The Power and History of Hairdressing" and our accompanying episode.

During the 19th century and culminating in America's Gilded Age, the public's deep fascination for all things Egypt led to "Egyptomania," a craze which affected design, style and cultural and social thought. As a result of wave of exploration and discovery, predominantly by French, English and American parties, the world gained a view into one of the world's most ancient cultures.

Architecture, fashion and interior design were all influenced by the passion for this emerging ancient culture. In this show, Carl is joined by scholars and Egpytologists Dr. John Darnell and Dr. Colleen Darnell to delve into not only how an understanding of ancient Egypt was evolving during the 19th century but its social and cultural impact.

Visit the Gilded Gentleman website for a list of all shows

Follow Carl on one of his walking tours! Find out more information at Bowery Boys Walks

This week The Frick Collection will reopen its doors to the public after a renovation and restoration of nearly five years and a cost of $220 million dollars. Visitors will again see the elegant Beaux Arts mansion once occupied by Gilded Age industrialist Henry Clay Frick and his wife and daughter. They will also see the priceless collection of masterworks of art from the Renaissance through the 19th century, much of acquired by Frick himself.

In this episode, a companion show to the Bowery Boys "House of Beauty: The Story of the Frick Collection", Carl talks with managing educator Caitlin Henningsen about her work researching the domestic staff who worked in the mansion, just who they were and what their roles in the household were. They also speak about how Frick thought about blending art with domestic space in several of his homes and what he wanted to achieve with this mansion before it became a museum after his death in 1919.

Caitlin and Carl also discuss, thanks to extraordinary archival records, how the Fricks entertained in a grand Gilded Age style in the very dining room visitors see today.

Find PART ONE over at the Bowery Boys podcast House of Beauty: The Story of the Frick Collection