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06 September 2022
Sacramento State is opening its closet to reveal a vast historical collection of apparel and accessories so gorgeous that even a fashionista might be green with envy.
“Sacramento Dress: 120 Years of Fashion,” on display in the University Library Gallery through Oct. 8, is the first public view of the Sacramento State Costume Collection, which features clothing worn during various fashion periods, from the 1860s to the 1980s and beyond.
The collection includes a Civil War-era mourning dress, an intricately beaded dress from the 1920s, lace gloves, hats, bags, shoes and jewelry, and many other items.
“It’s a hidden treasure,” said Professor Dong Shen, coordinator of the Fashion Merchandising and Management (FASH) program. “There is so much history and so much history embedded in those pieces.
“We have a responsibility to present them to a larger audience.”
Housed in a windowless, environmentally controlled storage room in Mariposa Hall, the collection grew as faculty, staff, community members and local businesses donated more than 500 pieces over the decades.
But they were never cataloged or shown to the public.
“Our department accesses it all the time,” said FASH Lecturer Taylor Anderson. “Instructors will go into the collection closets and pull out pieces, but mostly for design reference purposes or to show students certain techniques or constructions.
“But we’d really like to showcase it to the greater Sacramento community and the rest of the Sac State community, not just the students who take our classes in the fashion program.”
The moment Shen laid eyes on the collection more than 20 years ago, she knew she wanted to exhibit it.
“I was dying to do something with it,” said Shen, who teaches fashion and consumer-related courses in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. “But that wasn’t my area of expertise.”
Shen said she was just waiting for someone like Anderson, whose background is in fashion history and sociology.
They began cataloging the collection in the fall of 2018, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit before an exhibit could open. It was repeatedly postponed until “Dressing Sacramento” finally opened in late August.
The exhibit includes stunning pieces dating back to 1860, taking visitors through the Roaring Twenties, World War II, the tumultuous 1960s and the excesses of the 80s, before concluding with clothing created by Sac State students in 2019.
“Dressing Sacramento” does more than spotlight fashion trends.
Combined with archival photos of local people and places, the exhibition places fashion in historical, social and cultural context, such as a loose-waisted dress designed to groove to jazz music in dancehalls like M Street. Cafe in Sacramento’s Old Japan Town.
“Fashion is something that is so easily dismissed because we take it for granted,” Anderson said. “But really, fashion is a medium and a platform to discuss so many aspects of our culture, our society, our history, our politics and human behavior.”
Sacramento History Center curator Veronica Kandl helped Anderson select photos of Sacramentans by offering suggestions and giving her access to an online image database.
“I am very happy that we are starting to cooperate,” said Kandl. “We like to use our collection and collaborate with schools.
“We’ve worked with Sac State interns before, but never from the fashion program. So for me it’s really exciting. I love seeing our collection used more and I think it will be really interesting for people to see.”
A nearly $3,000 grant from University Enterprises, Inc. paid for photo enlargements and acid-free archival materials to make exhibits that would not damage the fragile fabrics of the exhibit pieces.
Many of the historical pieces don’t fit contemporary mannequins, so Anderson and her students had to build special dress forms with 20-inch waists and an S-shaped silhouette popular during Edwardian times.
One student even built a historically accurate crinoline and petticoat to go under a handmade mourning dress dating back to the 1860s.
“Without these structures, the dress simply won’t fit. It might work, but it won’t look like it did when it walked down the street,” Anderson said.
The story continues below the photo.
The exhibition is also a way for the University to share the collection with the community that donated all the pieces. Shen and Anderson said they hope schools and senior centers will organize trips to the exhibit.
“When our students see the work, they see the value in the fascinating facts behind those pieces,” Shen said. “Can you imagine if we bring in different age groups, like the elderly, who can see the history they’ve lived? Or the impact it might have on middle and high school kids?”
The FASH program is working to catalog the entire Sacramento State Costume Collection and make it available online to the public.
“Dressing Sacramento: 120 Years of Fashion” runs through Oct. 8. The reception will be Thursday, September 8, at 5:00 p.m., with opening remarks at 6:00 p.m.
The University Library Gallery is open 10am – 4pm Tuesday to Friday and noon – 4pm on Saturday.
For more information, call (916) 278-4189.
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