The Stories We Wear is a new exhibit on display in the Merle-Smith Galleries on the lower level of Penn Museum. The opening day celebration was held on Saturday, September 25.

“Museum work, at its core, is about telling stories,” said Christopher Woods, Williams Director of the Penn Museum. The displays illuminate the stories of human experience and help make anthropology and archeology accessible to everyone. 

The Stories We Wear is organized into five themes: work and play, battle, performance, ceremony, and rule. Objects on display include clothing, jewelry, uniforms, regalia, and tattoos. Among the 250 objects, visitors can see the coral-beaded Hubert de Givenchy gown worn by Grace Kelly, High Serene Princess Grace of Monaco; a Philadelphia Eagles uniform loaned to the museum by retired Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin; the velvet merlot gown worn by contralto Marian Anderson; and a theatrical ensemble worn by 2018 Drag Queen of the Year Eric Jaffe in Thweeney Todd: The Flaming Barber of Fleek Street.

Learn ancient history from drag queen “archaeologists” Eric Jaffe and Lili St. Queer during an after-hours musical theater comedy tour every Thursday evening in October, entitled Eric and Lili’s Night at the Museum. It will include an interactive walking tour of the galleries, live musical theater, dance, and comedy for mature audiences only. Those who attend can view The Stories We Wear and Eric Jaffe’s theatrical emsemble before each performance.

General admission to Eric and Lili’s Night at the Museum is $35 and tickets can be purchased at https://www.penn.museum/events/adult-programs/pm-pm.