SARATOGA SPRINGS — Librarian and historical costumer Caitlin Sheldon has taken a historical photograph of Saratoga Springs and rebuilt the dress in the image detail by detail in a project titled “Refashioning Saratoga.”
The finished dress and the recreated photograph, will be publicly displayed at the Saratoga Springs Public Library during a program at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Through an Individual Artist Grant from Saratoga Arts, Sheldon was able to use an image held in the Robert Joki Stereoview Collection in the Saratoga Room at the Saratoga Springs Public Library and recreate the dress, bringing it to life in silk fabric for the purpose of demonstrating the vibrancy of the history of Saratoga Springs.
Sheldon drafted the pattern for the dress using historical drafting techniques, and spent approximately 100 hours designing, cutting, and sewing the dress from mid-April 2019 to mid-September 2019. A photographer was enlisted to photograph the dress in the same setting as the original to provide a side by side comparison which will be revealed at the program on Oc. 24.
More information about the project and the recreation process can be found at Ms. Sheldon's website fancymiscellany.wordpress.com and her Instagram @mylittlewolfie.
