So, life this week has been a roller coaster of sickness and travel, but I promised a second page of clothes for Peach in the Park to expand her Victorian paper doll wardrobe and I am pleased to say that here they are.
In no real order, in this set of paper doll clothes there is a promenade dress or afternoon dress, a gymnastics outfit and a set of underwear consisting of a chemise, drawers and a stayband or corset. She also has a pair of shoes with stockings and a ballgown for her doll. It is entirely possible that the doll’s little ballgown is my favorite piece of the entire set, though drawing that small was a challenge. (Seriously, the doll is like two inches tall in real life. I kid you not.)
I drew these designs based on illustrations from several different Victorian fashion magazines including Harpers Bazaar and La Mode Illustre, which as French. I highly recommend Dover’s excellent books of fashion plate reprints when working on Victorian period fashions- they bring a richness to the process of research that is of great value. Plus it’s fun to draw surrounded by open books (at least, I think it is fun.)
I also think it is important to remember that while fashion magazines show perfectly coifed children, actual children’s garments are often more worn and simpler. Kid’s did get out in play even in the 1800s and parents did not dress them like little adults, despite what my fashion history teacher told me. The length of a girl’s skirt indicated her age. The poppets are, in my mind, between the ages of 8 and 11, so their skirts are mid-calve. The skirts would slowly lower until maturity when they would be floor length for many, thought not all, activities.
As a reminder, because I forget this sometimes too- any of the Poppet paper dolls can wear any of the other Poppet paper doll’s clothing. So, while I was thinking of Peach when I made these outfits, they could also be worn by Petunia, Paradisea, Poppy, Posey, Petal, or Primrose.
That is a lot of P names.
Anyway, enjoy the Victorian paper doll outfits.
As much as I love the Victorian era, or any other time period that has them, the idea of corsets makes me dizzy. Why would anyone willingly subject themselves to that?
Well, a properly fitted laced corset is not, actually, that uncomfortable and provides a lot of the support that today women get from bras.
One of the things to remember is that social standards are complicated. Why, in 96 degree weather, do bankers still wear dark suits, today? Or women wear high spike heels while going out? The need to conform to the expectations of the group is a powerful force in the human psyche.
To put it another way, people wore corsets, because that was simply normal.
Thank you for publishing these my nephews loved the paper dolls for little boys and I can now recognise your style and found your blog just browsing through google images 🙂