Emily Dickinson's Dress

Authors: Mira Bartók, Carolina Ebeid, Erinrose Mager, Emily Pettit, Andrea Rexilius, Mary Ruefle, Bianca Stone, and Khadijah Queen

Publisher: Factory Hollow Press (2024)

In this paper doll book there is no paper doll.  We dare not make a doll of Emily Dickinson. We do dare to explore with wonder and whimsy and affection and admiration and intrigue and inspiration – Emily Dickinson's iconic white dress. 

A little about the history of the dress can be found by you if you go looking. There’s information about the dress materials – a cotton fabric, mother-of-pearl buttons. There is information about why and when someone might wear a dress of this style. There is information about when Emily Dickinson began dressing in this dress. There are ideas and theories and speculations about why Emily Dickinson might have chosen to wear this dress for the time that she wore this dress. There is information about the pocket. 

Here eight artists have made their own version of this dress for you. Each dress appears twice and on the verso page you will find each dress has small tabs should you like to cut it out. Once you cut out a dress may it bring you somewhere interesting and may you bring it somewhere interesting. Perhaps it belongs by favorite books or in a window. Perhaps it goes along on a walk to see a tree or find a bee or a bird. Perhaps it sits on top of a painting or a picture by you or not by you. What we hope is that each dress finds a way to say something to you, to bring about some new perspective, to tell it slant.