In this exhibit, unmentionables make a statement

OPATOWEK, Poland -- Victoria has no secrets in this Polish town.

In an exhibition that’s making some Poles do a double take, the Museum of Industry in Opatowek has chronicled the evolution of women’s underwear from the knee-length knickers and tight corsets of the early 20th century to the skimpy thongs of today.

“Undergarments were pretty much kept well out of sight in the old days,” said Ewa Sieranska, curator at the Central Textile Museum in Lodz, which loaned 140 items to the exhibit “From Pantaloons to G-Strings.” “Now they’re everywhere,” she added.

The exhibit, which runs through this month, shows how female underwear evolved as women’s role in society changed.

Frumpy drawers of the early 20th century gave way to more modern styles in the 1920s -- including garter belts for women entering the workplace.

Among items on display in this town 150 miles east of Warsaw is a white garter belt with pink hearts and clasps to attach to silk stockings, a style popular before pantyhose were developed in the 1960s.

There are also pantaloons (knee-length cotton underwear with lace fringe), day shirts, nightgowns and two-piece corsets.

Nylon rose in popularity in the 1970s, and natural materials such as cotton hold sway today in “unmentionables.”

“When people came to see the exhibition after it first opened, it caused a range of different reactions,” said museum curator Ewa Klysz. “But these items are subject to historical research, and this is a serious exhibit.”

And where does underwear style go next? “Oh, I don’t know what’ll come next,” Klysz said with a laugh. “Maybe a return to what we wore before underwear -- nothing.”