Virginia Postrel is an author, columnist, and speaker. Her work spans a broad range of topics, from social science to fashion, concentrating on the intersection of culture, commerce, and technology, with an eye toward understanding the personal and social meaning of life in a dynamic, commercial culture.

She is a contributing editor for Works in Progress magazine, published by Stripe Press, and writes a newsletter at vpostrel.substack.com.

Her latest book The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World, was published in November 2020 by Basic Books and is available as an audiobook. Postrel's previous books include The Power of Glamour: Longing and the Art of Visual Persuasion (2013), The Substance of Style (2003), and The Future and Its Enemies (1998).

She spent the 2020–21 and 2021–22 academic years as a visiting fellow at the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy at Chapman University, where she taught classes combining the humanities and economics.