The elegance and glamour of society’s women in the past are encapsulated in one exhibit at the NIU Art Museum in Altgeld Hall’s Rotunda Gallery.

The exhibit, “Some Enchanted Evening: 100 Years of Evening Gowns (1900-1999),” showcases finely crafted and historic gowns from the private collection of Barbara Cole Peters.

Peters began collecting vintage fashions when she was in college.

“I didn’t particularly like the fashions of the ‘60s and bought my first pieces (from the 1940s) to wear,” Peters said. “I very soon stopped wearing any of these garments since I became very protective of them.”

“She has a huge collection of dresses and women’s fashions,” said Peter Olson, assistant director of the NIU Art Museum. “She has done several exhibits in the past and comes up with historical context [for each one].”

The collection offers dresses by top designers such as Oscar de la Renta and Sophie Gimbel, in addition to designs created by private dressmakers.

Each gown is representative of a particular decade and has a corresponding history as to how it was created and acquired. In addition, Peters posted newspaper headlines and listed significant, historical events that occurred during each decade that may have had an effect on a change in women’s fashions.

“I love the beauty and craftsmanship of the garments, but my fascination lies in their role as historical artifacts,” Peters said. “Fashion is a historical artifact. As such, it is intrinsically tied to and reflects political and social mores from one period to another.”

Within the exhibit, the gowns are organized in an effort to reflect as much history as possible.

“The exhibit has two parallels,” Olson said. “A journey through the 20th century decade by decade and by vignettes, a way for [Peters] to stop and take a look at something specific.”

In the gallery notes provided at the exhibit, the vignettes are explained as a portion of the exhibition in which gowns are presented in the context of specific social and artistic genres, movements and events.

Each of the five vignettes, the “House of Worth,” “Ballets Russes,” “Orientalism,” the “Psychadelic” movement and “Black and White Ball,” have a representative gown and an accompanying history that explains the period’s significance and how it inspired women’s fashion.

Peters believes strongly in sharing her collection with the public, which is a major reason for organizing exhibits.

“Garments have a finite life span and as a result, all costume collections have an inherent poignancy,” Peters said. “This is the reason I present exhibitions, so people can see these beautiful garments before they cease to exist.”

“Some Enchanted Evening” runs through Oct. 13.