News & Events
For inquires pertaining to interviews or events with the author please contact Christina at erteszek@gmail.com.
Upcoming Events
For more detail on an individual event, please click on the event’s title.
I’m excited to be the keynote speaker at this event!
The third annual Professional Women's Summit in Farmington, N.M., will provide participants with solid tips for successful networking as well as inspiration to overcome the adversities of the previous year.
Watch the story at http://www.farmingtonlocal.news/.../womens-summit...
Sponsored by Kroegers Ace Hardware, Choice Building Supply, ACE Hardware of Farmington - New Mexico
Reviews & Related Coverage
Follow Christina on Instagram: @christinaerteszek
International Apparel Journal
Thank you to Andrew Sia for this delightful ‘Book Report' in the International Apparel Journal. Click here to read: https://internationalappareljournal.com/book-report-olga-the-first-lady-of-underfashions-2022-january/
I'm looking forward to appearing on Deborah Kobylt LIVE this Wednesday, December 01, 2021.
Our show streams LIVE on Facebook. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/DeborahKobylt
Please join us and invite your friends to watch!
KSUT Interview with Tami Graham "The First Lady of Underfashions", a local author's memoir about her parent's escape from war-torn Europe and founding the iconic Olga Company
SOMOS | Award-winning author Sean Murphy joins Christina Erteszeck in a discussion of her new book, The First Lady of Underfashions. Watch the discussion online. August 27, 2021.
WGRT | LIMELight with Jessie. Jessie Wiegan and author Christina Erteszek discuss Christina’s new book, The First Lady of Underfashions. August 11, 2021.
KPOV 88.9 FM | Dawn Newton and author Christina Erteszek discuss Christina’s new book, The First Lady of Underfashions on Open Air with Dawn Newton. July 26, 2021.
WKNY 1490 AM | Warren Lawrence interviews author Christina Erteszek about her new book, The First Lady of Underfashions on Warren in the Morning. July 23, 2021.
Next Tribe | “Bras, Girdles, and Family Secrets: The Revealing Story of the Olga Company” by Michele Willens. June 15, 2021.
“You've probably worn Olga lingerie at some point in your life. In a new memoir, the founders' daughter tells the incredible saga of her parents and their company. Christina Erteszek grew up knowing everything possible about ladies’ underwear. But what she didn’t know about her parents, the founders of The Olga Company, the lingerie maker, could fill a book—literally. … For anyone who has worn undergarments or dealt with unknowable parents, which pretty much covers everyone, The First Lady of Undergarments is a juicy and um…revealing…read.”
Rose City Reader | Rose City Reader’s Book Beginnings features The First Lady of Underfashions by Christina Erteszek. June 3, 2021.
KSJE 90.9FM Farmington, NM | Write-On Four Corners: Christina Erteszeck, 31:04 minutes. May 12, 2021.
PVH Archives | "The Legacy of Olga: Christina Erteszek Shares Stories About Her Parents". April 21, 2021.
Watch the interview online. 3:15 minutes.
PVH Archive: In Conversation with Christina Erteszek. April 21, 2021.
“The First Lady of Underfashions is Christina Erteszek’s newly-released memoir about the courage and vision of her parents and founders of the Olga brand, Olga and Jan Erteszek. Christina Erteszek spoke with us to share thoughts on her parents’ escape from war-torn Europe in the 1940s and their success in building a women’s intimates empire known for innovation and people-first values.”
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb: Q&A with Christina Erteszek. April 16, 2021.
“Christina Erteszek is the author of the new family memoir The First Lady of Underfashions. It tells the story of her parents, who fled from Europe to the United States and started the Olga undergarments company. She lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.”
Reflections | Author Terry R. Bacon, PhD reviews Christina Erteszek’s memoir, The First Lady of Underfashions. April 3, 2021.
The First Lady of Underfashions tells the remarkable story behind the Olga Company’s tag line in many of the advertisements: “Behind every Olga there really is an Olga.”
Advance Praise
"Beautifully written, tender and poignant, and has so many important lessons."
—Sheila Hamilton, five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and author of All the Things We Never Knew
"An unexpectedly sweeping story of courage, survival, passion, and secrecy. Polish refugees Jan and Olga Erteszek risked their lives for a chance at the American Dream, and what followed was nothing short of remarkable."
—Wendie Malick, award-winning actor, activist, and author
"What a tale! Starting with their escape from Poland as hidden Jews on the day of the Nazi invasion, through the rise and fall of one of the most important woman-led American companies of its era, Christina Erteszek’s eloquent account of her parents and the Olga Company is a gripping read from beginning to end. The kind of story that could only happen in America!"
—Sean Murphy, author of The Hope Valley Hubcap King and The Time of New Weather, 2018 National Endowment of the Arts Fellow, and winner of the Faulkner and Hemingway awards for the novel
“Erteszek uses compassion and candor when chronicling the external horrors of WWII Poland and the internal, personal struggles of her parents as they immigrated to America and founded the enor-mously successful Olga underfashion company. This is also a tender coming-of-age tale of the daughter of the ‘real Olga’ as she forges her own unique path. The complicated strands of this story are deftly woven into a family saga full of both triumphs and secrets. A must read.”
—Mandy Mikulencak, The Last Suppers
“The First Lady of Underfashions is a story based around achieving the American dream. We get an inside perspective of Olga and Jan Erteszek, as they transform our bra industry. Under the leadership of the Erteskek family, the Olga Company sets the the standard for customer service inside the industry. Christina articulates well, the family's achievements with solution-based designs of fashionable product, along with Olga's focus on cultivating strong relationships with their employees and business partners alike. These qualities translated into industry-leading service for the Olga customer.”
—Marj R. Turner, former Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Macy’s and The Bon Marche