Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore
A Public Talk by Kiki Smith
Saturday, November 4, 2023 | 2 pm
Historic Northampton, In-person and live-streamed
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Author and Smith College Theatre Professor Kiki Smith will discuss her new book, Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore. The book focuses on a neglected subject: the everyday clothing of ordinary American women.
In her illustrated talk, Smith will show garments and accessories from the collections of Smith College and Historic Northampton and describe how the clothing reveals information about the era and the women who made, bought, and wore them. Her talk will include modest and inexpensive pieces, as well as one-of-a-kind garments, a rare World War I uniform worn by an American woman working behind enemy lines, and a 1970s go-go dancer’s costume.
For those attending in person, clothing from Historic Northampton’s collection will also be on display.
In her illustrated talk, Smith will show garments and accessories from the collections of Smith College and Historic Northampton and describe how the clothing reveals information about the era and the women who made, bought, and wore them. Her talk will include modest and inexpensive pieces, as well as one-of-a-kind garments, a rare World War I uniform worn by an American woman working behind enemy lines, and a 1970s go-go dancer’s costume.
For those attending in person, clothing from Historic Northampton’s collection will also be on display.
A book signing will follow the talk.
In partnership with Broadside Bookshop and Smith College’s Theatre Department.
In partnership with Broadside Bookshop and Smith College’s Theatre Department.
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Catherine (Kiki) Smith is professor of theatre and head of The Smith College Historic Clothing Collection. She is also a costume and set designer for Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, Massachusetts, where she is a founding member. In 2003, Kiki Smith won a Village Voice OBIE award for designs of the Talking Band's premiere of Ellen Maddow's play “A Painted Snake in a Painted Chair.”
An exhibit based on Smith’s new book will travel in 2024, with the New-York Historical Society serving as the first venue. Kiki Smith served as President of the Board of Trustees of Historic Northampton from 2014 to 2019. |
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