Today I am going to do some mini-reviews of three paper doll books that have been sitting on my desk for a while. I’ll be looking at Big Fancy Dresses by Kwei-lin Lum, Japonica by Andrea Helen Smith, and Cutting Edge Couture by Norma Lu Meehan.
All of these books are from Paper Doll Review.
Sometimes, when I really like a paper doll book, I don’t have a lot to say about it. “This book is beautiful” is not really the most interesting review ever written about anything. I think part of the point of a review is to think about a piece of art (in this case a paper doll book) and really analyze it in a meaningful way with an opinion.
If you don’t feel like hearing what I think about each, just go buy them from Paper Doll Review. They are all lovely books.
Cutting Edge Couture by Norma Lu Meehan
So, let’s start with Cutting Edge Couture Paper Dolls by Norma Lu Meehan. Basic stats: The book is 9 by 11.75 inches tall. The dolls measure just under 10 inches. There’s 20 different outfits. David Wolfe chose the designs and maybe wrote the essay in the book. He’s not credited for it in the book, but it feels like other writings of his I have read.
Total side note, but did you notice how the C of the word “Couture” goes through the paper doll’s hat? So cool. Great attention to detail there.
Let me start with stating the obvious. Norma Lu Meehan is one heck of an artist. I’ve been a fan for a long time. The fabrics are rendered beautifully, the dolls skin seems to glow, and the drape of the garments feels right. I love that the dolls are clearly from the same “world”, but each one is distinct. Not just skin color, but facial shape and structure. These are two beautiful models, but they are not the same at all. Love that.
All of the art here is amazing. I can not say that enough.
My only criticisms are with the intentionality. The best paper doll books, I think, are works of art the feel cohesive. The essay, while interesting, felt disconnected from the illustrations. The text on the pages didn’t add anything (though I did like the splatter looking backgrounds) and I couldn’t tell why the garments had been chosen (beyond all being beautiful.) There’s tantalizing hints at the end of the essay, but little more.
Why these designers? I wondered. Why these garments? Why this arrangement? They aren’t in chronological order.
If you want a lovely book of contemporary fashion design, I think this is absolutely successful. As a fully cohesive piece of art, I felt like it was missing something.
Big Fancy Dresses by Kwei-lin Lum
Next up is Big Fancy Dresses by Kwei-lin Lum. Basic stats: The book is 8.5 by 11 inches, so letter sized. The dolls are 9 inches tall and there’s ten costumes. There is also an instruction page about the floating tabs, always helpful, included.
It’s not often that a see a paper doll book and think to myself, “This is just fun” and Big Fancy Dress is one such book.
It’s playful, whimsical, and a little surreal in all the best ways. Each costume feels like it belongs in a funhouse mirror version of our reality where these garments make sense and I am 100% here for it. There’s also something genuinely funny about a lot of these gowns. I didn’t want to give too many away by showing pictures. There’s a dress made of candy. There’s a dress with Romeo and Juliet being played out on the skirt with a puppet who looks like Shakespeare. (Not shown here, but you can see it on Paper Doll Review.) There’s a fairy princess dress and a Queen of Hearts.
All in all, I was very impressed with how each background was unique for each dress, but I found the “different” backgrounds side by side in the spreads a little jarring. On the flip side, I’m not convinced that wasn’t intentional to emphasize the topsy-turvy feeling.
The dolls are very similar. 99% of the time, I want more paper doll diversity. In this case I think it works, because the dolls don’t really feel human. There’s such a surrealist undercurrent to the whole book, so the dolls feel like they are part of something that’s defining it’s own parameters. This is not the real world. So, in the case of this specific book, I think the dolls similarity 100% works. There’s cohesion there.
The cover-stock and interior paper are nice. I didn’t mind the smaller size, but imagine some people might be surprised by it. I did wish there was some sort of artists statement to go with this book, because I would super love to know more about the inspirations for these fantastic dresses. However, I didn’t feel like its absence distracted too much, because the artistic vision (to be pretentious for a moment) was so strong.
If you want a weird, playful, odd little book that will make you smile, then I highly recommend Big Fancy Dresses by Kwei-lin Lum.
Japonica by Andrea Helen Smith
My love of bustles is well documented on this site, but a lesser known fact is that I also love kimonos. So, Japonica by Andrea Helen Smith was right up my alley. Basic Stats: The book is sized at 11 by 9 inches. It’s sort of an unusual size. The doll measure 10 inches high and there’s 8 dresses. There’s some background info and an artists statement included.
The book is a collection of bustle gowns and kimonos based on the styles of the Meiji era (1868-1912) when Japan began adopting European dress. This is not, however, a book devoted to perfectly rendering historical clothing. It is more a historically inspired work with all the garments are inspired by the Japonica butterfly. If that feels a little complicated, never fear.
The book never feels like it is trying to do too much and the captioning is informative, but brief. I learned things I didn’t know reading the information given with each dress. I also didn’t find it distracting or feel like I need to know more. It was the perfect amount of informatio
The art is beautiful. The soft colors feel dreamy. The borders on the pages add cohesion without distracting. When I was a kid, I loved paper doll books with one doll and a bunch of dresses. So, the format of this book resonates with me. Also, it’s not common to see a historical inspired paper doll book with a non-white model. Very nice to see.
Can I be a paper person for a moment? The paper here is amazing. I have handled a lot of paper stock in my time and this paper stock feels utterly luxurious.
One last note on Japonica, there is an amazing instructions page. I mean, it might seem like an odd thing to highlight, but it is so well done. I was super impressed by it, but didn’t want people to miss out on pictures of the pretty dresses.
If you want a historically inspired paper doll book with beautiful gowns and fun information about Japan, then I think Japonica by Andrea Helen Smith is a great choice.
And that’s it.
The truth is that Big Fancy Dresses, Japonica, and Cutting Edge Couture are all books I would recommend. Each one is really a nice book and a wonderful addition to a paper doll collection. Each book feels different from each other, but I don’t plan to get rid of any of them. That’s rare. I don’t keep all the paper doll books I review, but I will be keeping all of three these.
Do you have a favorite of these three? Or a book you’d like to hear me ramble about? Let me know in a comment.