A Stylish Paper Doll July: Visiting The Early 1910s

A black and white line drawing of a woman paper doll wearing a 1910's underwear consisting of a long corset over a chemise with stockings and shoes.

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As I wrote to my patrons earlier this week, I wasn’t sure if wanted to do this idea I’ve had rattling around my head. I really want to get better at drawing line-work and it seems to me the best way to do that is to draw a lot of line-work. So, I thought I would try to draw a paper doll or/and an outfit every day for the month of July and share them here.

I am totally unprepared for this- usually I don’t start projects like this without a big head start and I only have the first two fully finished (though the several others are in various stages of progress.) But I am also trying to get over my fear of failure and how better to do that than try something and possibly fail publicly. Because that’s not anxiety inducing….

Anyway, I decided to start with the 1910s, because my patrons voted a while ago on which time periods I should draw and 1910s was one of the winning eras. It’s not a period I actually knew much about, so it was a lot of looking at things and trying to decide what to draw. I’ve actually not done a lot of 1910s paper dolls over the years.

A little about this paper doll…

Women in the early 1910s wore long corsets that went over their hips. These corsets often unlaced at the bottom and this meant a woman could decide how restricted she wanted her movement to be. Unlacing the bottom of the corset would allow more movement for walking or hiking. Underneath the corset, women wore slips or combinations that were decorated with ribbons and lace. Combinations were underwear that had short pantaloons and a chemise top, similar to a modern romper. The long garters attached to the corset were used to hold up stockings.

Capturing the interaction between the garters and the bottom of the combination worn underneath the corset was hard. I’m still not 100% happy with that outcome, but the whole point of this project is to move forward, even when I am a little conflicted.

As for the hair, I am really pleased with it. Women often styled their hair by pulling it over their ears and twisting it at the back of their heads. This hairstyle was a preview of the short bobbed haircuts that became trendy in the 1920s. It’s common to see women in this era and wonder if the hair is long or short. I was surprised at how many styles I saw included bangs, which I hadn’t known were popular.

What do you think of today’s paper doll? Do you like the 1910s?

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