Steampunk Paper Doll Trousseau: Greta’s Sporting Costumes

Today, we have some sporting outfits for our steampunk paper doll bride. Since the fun of Victorian trousseaux (or should it be neo-victorian trousseaux?) are their costumes for every occasion, I had a lot of fun thinking up outfits for Greta to wear while she did a few different sports. Being a highly talented paper doll, I’m sure no sport is beyond her skill (and I have a few more sporting outfits planned- though perhaps not for a while).

greta-sporting-toilettes
Greta has a steampunk/neo-victorian inspired riding habit, a hunting costume, a skating toilette and a fencing toilette. What else could a steampunk paper doll bride want? (Okay, more outfits, but I am working on that. 🙂 )

Wealthy women have actually been involved in sporting activities for longer than most people think. Archery teams in the Regency were regularly co-ed. I’ve been 18th century illustrations of women doing archery, but I’m not sure women actually did it that often, sepcially since a lot of those illustrations are intended to be erotic- oh, the scandal. Women had been riding horses forever and in the South, prior to the Civil War, hunting or shooting was a common activity for women of wealth. By the 1900s, women could choose between tennis, golf, bicycling, skating, croquet and a variety of other sporting events.


greta-trousseau-sporting-outfits

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My favorite is the fencing toilette. Someone asked for a fencing outfit (a long time ago) and I don’t know much (anything) about fencing, but I had a lot of fun drawing it. I suspect having open laces on the sides of your leggings is not… you know… very practical, but what’s the fun of drawing steampunk fashions if they have to be practical?

Here is the rest of Greta’s paper trousseau. My question to everyone is, what sorts of outfits should I add to Greta’s expanding steampunk paper doll trousseau?

8 thoughts on “Steampunk Paper Doll Trousseau: Greta’s Sporting Costumes”

  1. Beautiful! Most of all I like her fencing and hunting attires.

    Maybe something she would wear to beach? Would it be easy to swim in it or would it be meant mostly to protect her from the sun? Would she ever go to beach at all? It is interesting how one can see from her trousseau what she does in her life.

    Or maybe something to wear while doing chemistry experiments?

    • Hmm… a Swimsuit would make sense. I’ll have to think about it. I seem to recall seeing a “seaside walking dress” in one of the Harpers from about 1870.

  2. We love Greta!! And Yea!! Super thrilled you added the fencing gear!! So happy, we featured it on both of our sites today, hope you don’t mind, but we really couldn’t resist. 😀 We see so little in the way of toys and never a paper doll for fencing! So we’re even extra happy with it. Thank you for the neat addition to her wardrobe. Love all of your dolls and outfits. Just wonderful. Hugs – Jezery

    http://www.facebook.com/TheChaosClanOfficial
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    The Chaos Clan – Griffin Fencing Academy – Fencing Division – U.S.A.

    Keep On Flying – Would still love to see someone do a Firefly ( The Series ) paper doll set. Keeping my eyes open.

    • Thanks. I’m glad you liked her. I just finished a longer post specifically about the fencing outfit, so that should be up tomorrow.

      I tend to avoid doing licensed characters (like Firefly), because I worry about the legal ramifications. I know Liana (of Liana’s Paper Doll Blog) did a few specific costumes from the series and the movie. And I feel like I’ve seen Firefly paper dolls somewhere else in black and white, but I can’t seem to recall where. (Not helpful, I know.)

      Anyway, I’m glad some people who actually fence liked my fencing outfit. 🙂

  3. how about one for playing music (like the piano or violin)? or a less formal one for sitting around and sewing? one for travel? I remember learning about travel gear for victorian women once, and how they had specific coats and head wraps to keep their clothes and hair clean.

    • Travel wear would be cool. I need to do some more research on it. I used to have an article printed out about Victorian women’s clothing worn in Egypt for travel… I wonder where it go off too. 🙂

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