FAW Chicago, IL Est. 1922
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS
FAW Chicago


04/18/2024


March 13, 2024


A picture of Ellie Carlson

Ellie Carlson - The Rise and Fall of Women's Undergarments


Women's fashions are shaped, literally and figuratively, by their underclothes. Throughout history, a woman's frame has not always been entirely her own. Delicate pieces of linen and lace, stiff corsets, and sturdy hoops and bustles are fascinating to modern eyes. They are the unseen history of an era. Modern contrivances are no less remarkable.

This novel and sometimes naughty presentation will unveil facts and expose myths about women's unmentionables. It includes stories from real women past and present and their amusing and sometimes uncomfortable relationship with their foundations. Participants will also view actual examples of historic underwear.

Ellie (Carlson) of Ellie Presents, Chicago, Ill., is a museum curator with 30 years of experience in small to mid-sized museums and a first-person interpreter portraying several women from the 19th and 20th centuries. Carlson has a B.A. from Roosevelt University and a Master of Historical Administration and Museum Studies from the University of Kansas.



2023 - 2024 Luncheon Programs

September 13, 2023
The Lost Restaurants of Chicago - Chicago author and historian Greg Borzo .

October 11, 2023
Award-winning storyteller and author Brian Ellis thrills with "The Ghosts of Edgar Allen Poe."

November 8, 2023
Rachel DeWoskin, author and University of Chicago professor of Creative Writing, discusses her years as a Chinese soap opera star.

December 13, 2023
Founder of Writer's Theater, Michel Halberstam interprets Truman Capote's "A Christmas Story," & FAW members bring a wrapped book for a book exchange.

January 10, 2024
Musician and songwriter Ashley Lewis entertains with a program of Bluegrass and Bluegrass inspired music.

February 14, 2024
Actress Leslie Goddard explores the life of Grace Kelly, movie star and Princess of Monaco.

March 13, 2024
Author Kathleen Mundo presents Badger State: A Wisconsin Memoir, her account of a hardscrabble childhood in Racine, Wisconsin.

April 10, 2024
Performer Ellie Carlson presents "Unmentionables: a History Of Women's Undergarments."

May 10, 2024
FAW Literature Awards


2022 - 2023 Luncheon Programs

September 14, 2022
The Mystery of Nancy Drew - Susan Becker describes the little-known origins and development of America's first girl sleuth.

October 12, 2022
Behind the scene look at Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop / Works from the Bank of America Collection, Diana Martinez, Director McAninch Arts Center. + Readers & Reviewers meeting (11:00)

November 9, 2022
The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries, author Tom Montgomery Fate, how his far-flung travels led him to redefine the concept of "home."

December 14, 2022
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde, interpreted by Michael Halberstam, actor and former director of the American Writers Theater.

January 11, 2023
Jennifer Miller, FAW member, will present her numerous aide trips to Africa where she worked with former boy soldiers of the Congo.

February 8, 2023
Mark Dvorak of the Old Town School of Folk Music presents "Songs and Prose of Carl Sandburg"

March 8, 2023
Ling Ma, author and FAW award winner, will discuss her work and the popularity of futurist dystopian novels. + Readers & Reviewers meeting (11:00)

April 12, 2023
Lisa Barr, NY Times best selling author. Her three books - Fugitive Colors, The Unbreakables and Woman on Fire are historical thrillers describing events around the priceless art stolen by Nazi Germany

May 12, 2023
FAW Literature Awards


2021 - 2022 Luncheon Programs

September 8, 2021
Once Upon a Cabbage - Joanne Koch's Drama about Alice Guy.

October 20, 2021
Frida Kahlo Comes to Illinois, Diana Martinez Director McAninch Arts Center.
+ Readers & Reviewers meeting

November 10, 2021
Writing a Historical Mystery, Author Mary Logue.

December 8, 2021
Becoming a Bookseller, Suzy Takacs of The Book Cellar.
Book suggestions for holiday shopping & bring your wrapped favorite book for a gift exchange.

January 12, 2022
Fashion and Feminism of the Victorian Era, Britta Keller Arendt, Senior Collection Manager at the Chicago History Museum.

February 9, 2022
Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson, Author William Hazelgrove.

March 9, 2022
Teens Are Readers Too! Chicago Author Adi Alsaid on YA novels.
+ Readers & Reviewers meeting

April 13, 2022
Happy Birthday to Us. Join us as we celebrate FAW's 100th anniversary with cake, champagne, and a panel featuring some of our busiest and most dedicated members.

June 3, 2022
FAW Literature Awards

May 12, 2022
FAW Centennial Celebration at the Women's Athletic Club of Chicago

2020 - 2021 Luncheon Programs

A year of virtual programs

September 25, 2020
Virtual - FAW Literature Awards Zoom Webinar
Literature Awards Video

October 21, 2020
Virtual - FAW Scholarship & Columbia College's MFA Writing Program

November 11, 2020
Virtual - Rex Huppke of Chicago Tribune

December 9, 2020
Virtual - A Musical Program, Vocalists Celebrating the season In Song

January 13, 2021
Virtual - Leslie Goddard performing Georgia O’Keeffe

February 10, 2021
Virtual - Jane Hamilton, Best-Selling Author

March 10, 2021
Virtual - Cynthia Clampitt, Visiting Midwestern History

April 14, 2021
John Scheckter, presenting - Major Fitz-Gerald at Gallipoli

May, 2021
Cindy Crosby - Nature and Midwestern Prairie Author

2019 - 2020 Luncheon Programs

September 11, 2019
Rosellen Brown - Author

October 9, 2019
Confessions of a Literary Translator: The Prose and the Cons (Ann Fisher)

November 13, 2019
Flappers, Cocktails and Temperance: True Stories of Prohibition
Susanna Calkins, author of "The Speakeasy Murders"

December 11, 2019
Jenny Riddle brings to life "The Bouvier Sisters"

January 8, 2020
From Wild Boar to Baconfest by author Cynthia Clampitt

February 12, 2020
Meet the Vanishing Woman presented by historical novelist Doug Peterson and actress Jennifer Goran

March 11, 2020
Eric Blaustein, Holocaust Survivor: Growing up Jewish and Surviving in Nazi Germany

***Date Change***April 1, 2020 - canceled
Jane Hamilton, Best-Selling Author

May 1, 2020 - rescheduled
ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON


2018 - 2019 Luncheon Programs

September 12, 2018
Jenny Riddle - Capital Dames: The Civil Was and the Women of Washington

October 10, 2018
Steve Venturino speaking on Daniel Deronda, George Eliot's final novel

November 7, 2018
Exploring Historical Fiction:Panel of three writers
Connie Hampton Connally, Kelly O'Connor McNees, Devin Murphy

December 12, 2018
Holiday songs by interFRIENDtions

January 9, 2019
The American Writers Museum

February 13, 2019
Donna Seaman - Adult-Books Editor & Booklist Reviews

March 13, 2019
Patricia Frazier - National Youth Poet Laureate

April 10, 2019
Actress Leslie Goddard as Rachel Carson

FRIDAY May 3, 2019
ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON


2017 - 2018 Luncheon Programs

September 13, 2017
Award-winning author Luis Alberto Urrea

October 11, 2017
Actor and storyteller Megan Wells - Classic Ghost Stories

November 8, 2017
Author and Chicago Tribune journalist Howard Reich
Prisoner of Her Past: A Son's Memoir

December 13, 2017
Dramatist Betsey Means with pianist Karen Berk
Virtuoso: The Life of Clara Schumann

January 10, 2018
Chicago History Museum curator Britta Keller Arendt - Civil War Wear

February 15, 2018 (Note this is a Thursday)
Author Sonali Dev - Bollywood Romance

March 14, 2018
Annette Baldwin - Literary Lovers

April 11, 2018
Playwright and song writer Katie Dahl
Stories and Songs from Door County

May 5, 2018
ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON