What can a nursing uniform tell us about the past? More than you might think. Through rare garments and archival treasures, this presentation traces the evolution of UNMC College of Nursing uniforms from 1917 to the 1990s, revealing how clothing shaped professional identity, reflected social change, and connected generations of nursing students. Join us for a fascinating look at a century of nursing through the textiles that nurses wore every day.

This lecture examines the history of the UNMC College of Nursing through textiles, with particular attention to nursing uniforms from 1917 through the 1990s. Drawing on archival collections and surviving garments, it explores how changes in uniform design reflect shifting expectations of training, professionalism, gender roles, and patient care across the twentieth century. From early starched dresses and caps that signaled discipline and hierarchy to later, more practical and individualized attire, these textiles reveal how nurses navigated institutional authority while forming identity and community. By foregrounding clothing as both functional and symbolic, this presentation reveals how uniforms shaped the daily, embodied experiences of nursing students and their sense of identity over time.