Talks@EHC: Women, Intimate Wear, and Identity in Evanston: 1920s-2020s

Talks@EHC: Women, Intimate Wear, and Identity in Evanston: 1920s-2020s

with Kimberly Grzesek

Wednesday, September 16, 6:30pm

Free & Open to all. Scroll down to RSVP

In-person event
At the Evanston History Center
225 Greenwood Evanston, IL

What can intimate wear tell us about the lives of women across generations? This historical presentation explores how corsets, bras, lingerie, and changing undergarments reflected evolving ideas about women’s bodies, movement, femininity, and freedom from the 1920s to today. Through the lens of Evanston’s history of women’s education, civic engagement, and cultural life, the program looks at the often unseen relationship between what women wore underneath their clothing and the changing roles they occupied in public and private life. The presentation invites audiences to see intimate wear not simply as fashion, but as a revealing record of women’s lived experiences and social change across the last century.

Guests are invited to arrive beginning at 6pm to view the related Vive La Garçonne historic fashion exhibit on the second floor.

About Kimberly Grzesek

Kimberly Grzesek is a lingerie designer and entrepreneur who transitioned from the world of clinical psychology research and academia to explore women’s experiences through clothing and design. She is the founder of Bella Otér, a lingerie and loungewear boutique and creative community space in downtown Evanston. Her work explores intimate apparel and clothing as a lens for understanding women’s identity, movement, confidence, and changing roles across generations. Through design, historical research, and community programming, Kimberly brings together her background in psychology with her interest in women’s social history to examine how what women wear reflects the cultural expectations, freedoms, and experiences of their time.

Through our community’s generosity, we can offer these free programs! Please consider donating $10 to support our ongoing free public programming.

Please click the blue “Going” button below to RSVP. A confirmation email will be sent to the email you registered with.

If you don’t receive a confirmation email, please email Erin Hughes at ehughes@evanstonhistorycenter.org.