Twelve Museums with Searchable Online Costume Collections

This post could be subtitled: How to waste time looking at pretty dresses…

I used to have a Research Resources page, but it never got updates and I know from my stats was basically ignored, but I think tracking down this sort of stuff on the internet is fun (I am a librarian, what do you expect?), so here are a few museums which have strong costume collections that you can view online and that I use when I’m looking for research sources.

Two things people should know:

    1. The number of costume pieces which predate 1700 is limited, but not non-existent. I have tried to note when a museum has pre-18th century holdings.

    2. These are in the order which I bookmarked them and doesn’t resemble any actual ranking of quality.

Okay, here we go….

Contains something like 50,000 costumes and textile artifacts from the mid-18th century to the present, the Chicago History Museum Costume Collection is one of the largest in the world. Not everything is available on line yet, but those which are have beautiful quality photos and some include CT scans showing the interior construction of the garments (which is totally useless for paper dolling, but totally cool never the less.)

Browse a selection of objects from the Fashion Museum collection, or search the selection for a specific term using the search box or menus. The photo’s aren’t the best, but the Fashion Museum has some stuff that is hard to find elsewhere, including an excellent collection of regency dresses.

Searchable database which is wonderful, but the collection can also be browsed by costume themes such as clothes for work or sports and includes some unusual pieces like early archery dresses and information.

Okay, so I didn’t know that Indianapolis had such a stellar costume collection until a few months ago, but they really do have a stellar collection. The color photos are lovely, but there is some variation in quality. Like a lot of collections in the United States, the strength of the material comes from the 19th century.

Be sure to search the “online catalog” as well as check out the Costume Gallery. The Gallery contains only a few of the costume pieces owned by the Kent State Museum, the rest are in the catalog and the catalog contains several hundred thousand pieces, though not all are costume related. I don’t know why Kent State has such a strong collection, but they do and they are all lovely- especially their 18th century pieces.

The KCI Digital archives is a wonderful source organized by date, but not a large one. If you can find a copy, their book Fashion is incredible.

Searchable by date, type or region, the collection is massive. Unlike a lot of other collections, LACMA has a fair number of things that are pre-18th century.

The Met’s database covers the entire collection, including their costume materials. Recently, the Brooklyn City Museum gave the Met their costume collections and so there are some really outstanding pieces from that collection available. Like LACMA, the Met is large enough to have pieces that predate the 18th century.

Mostly 20th century, and mostly high fashion, the FIT’s collection is small enough to browse, but large enough to be diverse. I hope they add more to it in the coming years, because I’m sure this only scratches the surface of what the school actually owns.

Search the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to find beautifully photographed costume pieces from around the world. Their Chinese material is particularly strong, though their photos are a little small.

There is so much at the V&A that it is a little overwhelming. Not every photograph is useful, but the huge amount of material is well worth it. V&A has some of the best pre-18th century materials available.

The MFA owns pieces ranging from Middle Eastern rugs to African kente cloths to haute couture fashions to American stays. Their collection is sprawling to say the least, but incredibly useful.

This isn’t isn’t complete. I know there is material out there from other museums, but I wanted to showcase a few that I find particularly useful. Did I miss anyone’s favorites? Are there some I should know about? Do people find these sorts of things useful?

Maurader Princess: Paper Doll Coloring Page

Today we have Margot and apparently she’d decided to become a brigand and rob from either the rich or the poor… though robbing from the rich does have the advantage that they have stuff unlike the poor who are, generally, poor. I wanted to call this set pirate something, but I didn’t want to use the word pirate, so I went in search of a synomyn and came up with maurader. And yes, I was thinking of Xena: Warrior Princess when I added the word princess to the title.

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

I know I’ve mentioned my weird love of that show on this blog before. Speaking of shows I like, I did see the latest Grimm episode on Friday, during which I did draw paper dolls, and while I enjoyed the show, I was struck with how exposition filled it seemed. I thought it was sort of weak. I hope for better things soon enough.

I feel like this Margot paper doll could be friends with my Gypsy Rose who exists in black and white and color. It’s weird to me to think that I posted that set just under two years ago. I can see a lot of things I still need to improve and a few things that have improved.

So, it’s pretty late on Sunday as I write this and I really should be getting into bed since once I start talking about my TV show watching habits, I know there’s a problem. By the way, did anyone else see the new Grimm episode and what did they think?… or you can comment on the paper doll. That would be cool too.

Jacqueline: A Paper Doll In Four Different Color Schemes

Clearly, I got bored last weekend and decided that what I needed to do was color a paper doll set in three different color schemes, because I couldn’t make up my mind.

Actually, there was a fourth color scheme, but it looked bad and didn’t get as far as being posted.

jacqueline-black-white jacqueline-spring-time

{Click Here for a PDF of Jacqueline: Black and White} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Jacqueline: Black and White} {Click Here for a PDF of Jacqueline: Spring Time} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Jacqueline: Spring Time}

jacqueline-winters-day jacqueline-brights

{Click Here for a PDF of Jacqueline: Winter’s Day} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Jacqueline: Winter’s Day} {Click Here for a PDF of Jacqueline: Brights} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG of Jacqueline: Brights}

I think I might have a problem. I can’t keep doing this with Pixie paper dolls, because it’s darn time consuming and yet… I wonder what she’s look like in a red and blue color scheme? See… this is why I have a problem.

So, I put up a Terms of Use statement recently. The truth is that I probably should have done it a while ago, but sometimes I forget that I’m not talking to myself when I write on this blog. So, none of the terms on it are really different than they ever have been, but I think it clarifies a few things. As always, if you have any questions about anything, feel free to email me. I check my email every most days. I’m working on recoding the FAQ page as well.

Autumn Color: A Paper Doll to Print

I have a similiar relationship with blond hair and brown skin as I do with red hair and brown skin. This is to say that I try it and than I don’t like it and swear I won’t do it again and than I do it again. Unlike the red-hair brown skin combination which I never feel like I’ve achieved, this blond hair brown-skinned Marisole is look pretty cute to me.

marisole-autumn-color-2013

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I think it’s her braids. Have I mentioned that I am totally in love with her braids?

So, February has come and gone. Last year I noted African American History Month (which is February) by compiling a list of paper dolls around the web. And um… I kinda forgot this year.So, though I don’t have another list of paper dolls, I would like to draw attention to Paper Doll’s by Gail where there are lots of lovely African American paper dolls including Condoleeza Rice, Michelle Obama, Halle Berry and Fantasia Barrino. Also, though unrelated to African American paper dolls, the entire cast of Twlight.

Rapunzel… The First of the Flock Fairytale Magnetic Series

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Today I am totally pleased to present the first of the Flock Fairytale series which is Rapunzel. Rapunzel is one of those fairy tales that sorta freaks me out.

Somehow Disney turned it into a rather cute movie, but I just can’t get over the gruesomeness of original story what with the people getting blinded and all. Plus Rapunzel means like “salad greens” or something in German (according to a German friend in Grad School) and isn’t that a little weird? Naming your child after salad greens is, I suppose, a small oddity, after you’ve locked them in a tower for 18 years.

In the Grimm version, Rapunzel is a blond, but I don’t see why blonds should get all the fun. (Plus, I don’t really have a blond Flock doll…), so Phoebe gets to rock the Rapunzel look.

As I mentioned, this fairytale is weird, so I wasn’t going to do a Rapunzel, but when I was researching steampunk/neo-victorian (can someone explain the difference between those two things to me someday? I feel like neo-victorian is just steampunk without the gears and goggles…) fairy tales for inspiration I came across this drawing and I knew I had to do a Rapunzel.

Oddly, she’s the first one I’ve finished though I drew Red Ridinghood before her. I’ll get Red Ridinghood done in a few more weeks, I think.

By the way, there are 102 outfit combinations possible from this Flock set which is pretty wacky… though that high number relies on the large number of pairs of shoes (six) accompanying the nine main outfit pieces.

People supported my last foray into wacky ideas with my Noir Punk set, so I hope people like this one too.

Fairytale Flock: Phoebe as Rapunzel Set PDF Downloads
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Phoebe Doll PDF Download Rapunzel Clothing PDF Download

Marisole Monday: Autumn Colors

So, this was supposed to go up last Monday, but clearly that didn’t happen. Never the less, here she is on this Monday looking as dashing as ever.

Sunday was Purim, as some people probably know. Purim is one of my favorite holidays, mostly because of fond memories from when I was a child an the joy of making and eating hamentashen. As usual, I made far more of them than I could eat and so I’ll be giving them to various people today. Several years ago, I drew an Esther paper doll, though you’ll have to scroll down a little to see her in the post.

marisole-autumn-color-BW-2013{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the rest of this series}

Anyway, in other news, I know I’ve neglected the blog over the last few weeks. I’ve been really busy, but I’m hoping to get back onto the ball with it. A few things are going to be changing, so keep your eyes open for a new about section and a few other new things- nothing radical, mostly housekeeping chores that I put off for a long time and finally am getting around to.

Today’s paper doll was inspired by a lot of different things, but mostly by my realization that I haven’t drawn very many coats for my paper dolls (with the exception of my Snow Day set, years ago) and my new found favorite research tool- hair style magazines, particularly black hair style magazines which I can draw hairstyles out of.

I do feel a little self-conscious buying the magazines at the local drug store, since the woman behind the counter usually gives me an odd look, but they’ve proven invaluable for getting hairstyles right. This braided bun is something I’ve wanted to draw for a while, but since asking random passer-bys to stand still for art practice isn’t really reasonable, my hairstyle magazines saved the day.

What sorts of hairstyles would you like to see for Marisole in the future?

Shadow and Light: Fantasy Paper Dolls…

I shall confess openly that I chose to rather than finish my Marisole paper doll for Monday I went out and had drinks with some friends. I think I had more fun with the drinks and burgers than I would have had with the paper doll, though I always value the opportunity to work on paper dolls. It was a busy, but weirdly unproductive weekend.

So, yesterday evening, after I got home from a panel on slavery and christian thought in the 1860s (which was fascinating, by the way), I settled down to watch something mindless on television (I have an odd addiction to HGTV) and work on this paper doll set.

This brings us rather neatly to today when I uploaded my files and posted the paper doll.

shadow-light-paper-doll-25

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series}

Every printable paper doll I make is a little different. In today’s paper doll set, I wanted to create some historically inspired (Tudor-lite) dresses that would feel like they could have actually existed, though obviously they did not.

There’s a bit in the film Enchanted where the character goes from the cartoon fantasy world into the real world and suddenly the inherent absurdity of the huge skirted dress she is wearing becomes obvious. I bring this up, because sometimes I feel like fantasy costumes are absurd for the sake of absurdity.

There is nothing wrong with giant skirts.

But this set of paper dolls, I found myself thinking of the stiffer conical skirts of the tudor period (thanks to the farthingale) rather than the softer styles I usually favor. The hair owes more to the Rudi Gernreich and Givenchy of the sixties than to anything older.

By the way, I have been looking for a really stellar book on the sixites mod fashions, if anyone knows of one, I’d love to get the title. The few I have found have all been lackluster at best.

Valentine’s Day…

valentines-day-paper-doll

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So, it’s Valentine’s Day again.

I have a history of fairly unpleasant Valentine’s Days, but being that as it is, I still enjoy the holiday as an excuse to eat those weird message hearts that taste like chalk. Personally, I almost wish we’d consider returning Valentine’s Day to it’s roots.

By which I mean the feast of Lupercalia which the Roman’s celebrated from the 13th to the 15th of Feburary. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain all while drunk and naked. How’s that for a good time?

Apparently, the women thought (well everyone thought) that being slapped by a bloody hide of a dead animal would make them fertile.

Anyway, short of getting slapped with straps of wet animal skin, I’ve decided to draw and post a paper doll. Slightly less messy, I suspect, though also, perhaps, less fun. The Chinese New Year paper doll poll got lots of votes for friends to go with the New Year paper doll, so she can share clothing if you want snakes to go with the hearts.

Goats and dogs, you’ll have to draw yourself.

By the way, I have a history of Valentine’s Day paper dolls. I did two in 2011 Marisole Monday and Pixie named Valentina . I didn’t do one last year, so I thought I better do one this year.

Marisole Monday: Vintage Roses in Pinks and Browns and Purples…

So, a version of this paper doll set got to become magnetic and is on it’s way to my grandmother, hopefully to get there before Valentine’s Day. Her set has a different doll with it, but I liked this doll a lot. The truth is that I have owed her a magnetic paper doll set for a while and I would be nervous about saying this online, but since she doesn’t seem to believe in the internet, I think I’m safe. I tend to be of the view that when you get to a certain age than you can decide not to use the internet if it suits you. I plan on becoming a grouchy old woman who may or may not chase children off my porch with a shotgun.

marisole-vintage-roses-color

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Anyway, this is a busy week for me. There’s a birthday in my family and Valentines Day for which I really should draw a paper doll. I did one for the Chinese New Year after all.

I’m also pleased to announce I now have a Showcase page inspired by Toria’s wonderful one. I am looking for more people’s colored versions of my black and white paper dolls or costumes you might have drawn for the paper dolls or anything else related to the paper dolls on this site that I might feature, so please email me“>email me if you have work that you would like included.

Questions? Thoughts? Theories on the meaning of life? Feel free to comment. I do love comments.

A Chinese New Year Paper Doll

Happy New Year! Apparently, this year is the year of the Snake. My limited understanding of the Chinese Zodiac informs me that it’s both the year of the Snake and the year of Water. I really don’t know much about the Chinese Zodiac.

chinese-new-year-magnolia

{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a PNG to Print} {Click Here for the Rest of the Series}

Anyway, I have been on a Chinese traditional dress kick since last year. I decided to draw a qípáo or cheongsam which is the figure hugging high collared dress of kung fu movie fame. The dress isn’t that old, but evolved around the 1920s in Shanghai. The original qipao was wide and loose and long and trimmed with bands of embroidered fabric.

The tunic on the left has “horse hoof” sleeves which were a standard part of Manchu dress during the Qing Dynasty in China. I shortened it to make it a little more modern. There’s also a pair of jeans, a pair of trousers and a modern qipao with a matching skirt, which is apparently not an uncommon way to wear one.

Speaking of all things Chinese, I was heavily inspired by the Kurhn dolls like this one which I guess are sort of Chinese Barbie dolls. Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely New Years Day, I plan on eating dumplings in celebration. (Also, because I have them in my freezer.)

I am currently debating if I should give today’s paper doll some friends, because I really liked the pose and I had fun drawing her (though I’m not totally pleased with the hair).