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A Victorian Historical Paper Doll Costume- Florence’s Visiting Costume and Hats

 

A visiting dress for Florence, my paper doll of the 1870s.

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Inking paper dolls still terrifies me every time I start. Still, when I finally erase the pencil lines and the paper doll is sort of revealed, it is a magical kind of moment. I felt that way about this 1870s dress and these hats. I wasn’t sure if I liked it until I’d finally lost all the pencil.

I’m glad I didn’t give up on it. I think this Visiting costume from 1871  turned out well. So, I seem to have come down on the “liking it” side of the spectrum. Never would have guessed that two hours ago.

Looking for the paper doll that goes with this outfit? Here she is.

Florence’s Victorian Paper Doll Masquerade Costume and Ballgown

 

Florence's ballgown and masquerade costumes from the 1870s.

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So, I’m be bit belated today. Okay… very belated and, to be honest to entirely pleased with either paper doll dress. I wasn’t when I first drew them and I’m still not. I liked the masquerade costume more then the ballgown. I was terrified of drawing the train and I still don’t like how it came out. Oh well, it just means I’ll be doing another ballgown for my Victorian paper doll Florence. It’s been quite a few months since I did the old one, I think I could do it better now.

Trains are totally impossible for me. I need to keep practicing on them.

Oh, and here is Florence, the Victorian paper doll that can wear these outfits.

Fashion Doll Friday: Florence’s Swimming Costume and Seaside Walking Dress

Strangely, the seaside walking dress is drawn from a fashion plate which depicts a woman standing on a cliff face, as though she’s been hiking. This leads me to suspect the dress was actually intended for seaside walks and the shorter skirt also hints at this option. I would doubt if women actually wore such a thing hiking, but I have seen photographs of women in the 1900’s wearing high heels standing on a Glacier, so I don’t doubt they did it.

A seaside walking dress and a swimming costume for Florence, a Victorian paper doll.

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Who said fashion was practical?

The swimming costume has a cap with it to cover Florence’s paper hair. Though it was drawn after a plate, her hair style made it a little more awkward then it otherwise would have been. Still, as reader pointed out when I first posted the paper doll’s swimming costume I had forgotten to give her the swimming cap any Victorian lady would have worn over her hair. I have not omitted it this time proving I am trainable.

Here is Florence, the paper doll whose supposed to wear this fantastic swimsuit and seaside walking dress.

Florence’s Traveling Suit: An 1870s Paper Doll Fashion

Today we have a traveling suit for Florence’s trousseau. I have known I needed one of these for her, so I went onto finding a fashion plate.

Autumnal traveling suits for Florence from 1873.

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Florence’s paper doll traveling costume is based on this fashion plate from the NYPL’s digital gallery (I say based on because it is fairly obvious where the paper doll clothes and the actual plate deviate). The dress is labeled in German and my German is practically non-existent.

Kleid aus einfarbiger und gest... Digital ID: 804190. New York Public Library

I’ve been meaning to ask my German speaking co-worker to translate it for weeks and keep forgetting. I tried babelfish and it didn’t exactly work. It game me an answer, but the answer made no sense. Truth be told, I don’t know if its a traveling suit or not, but it looks fairly similar to others I have seen. Anyway, Florence is my paper doll and if I want to declare this her traveling costume, I darn well can. My life might be full of other sources of chaos, but my paper dolls do as they are told… sometimes.

Suits for women were in style in the 1870’s, so it seemed only reasonable to give Florence one, since she is the most fashionable of paper dolls. I also wanted to use the opportunity to make a few tops to go with the same skirt or several skirts. I expect I shall do this more often and a smart color-er of these paper doll clothes would be wise to consider this for future mix and matchable clothing options. It was common to have two bodices to go with one skirt during this era, so one bodice might be a formal dinner dress while the other bodice would be an afternoon or a visiting costume. The very smart lady (or paper doll, in our case) could, of course, turn an afternoon costume into a visiting costume by adding the right jewelry and a smart hat.

Here is Florence, just in case you missed the first post in this series.

Florence’s Afternoon Dress: Paper Doll Clothes to Print

An afternoon dress for Florence, my French fashion doll paper doll.

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Imagine there is a witty intelligent blog entry here rather then some random sentence I wrote before going to bed early since I have a horrible headache.

In case you missed her, here’s the paper doll to wear this afternoon dress. 🙂

Florence’s Promenade Dress: 1870’s Paper Doll Clothes

A promenade dress for Florence, a paper doll from the 1870s.

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This promenade dress for Florence is based on an image from a Godey fashion plate in Feb. of 1873. The gown was purple, black and white, but I’ve left it uncolored, so it can be any combination you like. The skirt is shorter then the carriage dress allowing for easier walking, though such things are rather subjective. It is the 1870’s after all.

I don’t think I would want to dress like a Victorian lady.

Here is Florence, in case you missed the first post in this series.