You got dressed this morning without knowing you were putting on an empire.

The jeans gone soft at the knee. The watch on your wrist. The waterproof coat by the door, the ring on your finger, the heels at the back of the closet. Every one of them began as a weapon, a conquest, or a crime — and then quietly moved into your wardrobe.

The Empire Is the Tailor tells the true story of ten everyday garments and the wars, empires, and fortunes that cut them. This is history you can feel against your skin: the hidden trail of blood, trade, and ambition running through the most ordinary things you own.

Inside, you'll discover:

The blue in your jeans that came in chains — and the slave trade that dyed the world indigo

The tartan the British outlawed, then stitched onto their own soldiers

Why armies spent centuries dressing to be seen — then, almost overnight, dressed to vanish

How high heels began as battlefield gear for men and a status symbol for a king

The swimsuit named after a nuclear test — and the "forever" diamond invented by an ad campaign

This isn't a fashion book. It's a fast, surprising tour of how conquest, colonialism, and marketing ended up folded into your closet — the kind of history that changes how you see the clothes on your back.

Everything in these pages is true. You may never get dressed quite the same way again.

If you love Mark Kurlansky, Sapiens, or the secret history of ordinary things, this is for you — part of the acclaimed Empire series alongside The Empire Is the Chef and The Empire Is the Bartender.