historical

Empire Elegance: Regency Paper Doll Printable

I love regency costume, though not as much as my Mother loves it. I find it simple and elegant and a little romantic, but it can get boring to draw after a while. I try to learn new things about the era each time I draw it- like I learned elastic actually existed (who knew?) and was being used for garters.

Never would have thought of that.

marisole-empire-paper-doll-150

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Days seem slip away quicker than I can blink and suddenly I am realizing time has passed. I suppose that’s the danger of having many commitments on my time- I’m always stretched thinner then I thought I would be. Working while going to school is incredibly forefilling and incredibly challenging. I love my program. I love my job, but my time is a premium. Fortunately, I paper doll to relax, so as long as I know what I am going to do, I can sit down on my couch with my clip board in my lap and draw away when I get home from work. Sure my dishes get neglected, but who needs dishes?

I’m still playing around with skin tones for Marisole, eventually I’ll get a set of them that I like on multiple computers.

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.

1860’s Black and White Printable Paper Doll with Curves

When I was a kid, I always wanted one of those cakes with the doll sticking out of it. You know, the kind where the skirt is made up by cake and the doll comes out the top. (Here’s a picture, for those of you who weren’t doll obsessed children in the early 90’s) Now, whenever I see the dresses of the mid-1860’s when the hoop was at its widest, I think of those doll cakes. Of course, all fashion is about swings. A item of clothing reaches its most extravagant and then slides out as something else enters to replace it, just as the length of shirts have gone from belly-shirts to tunics in the last fifteen years or so, the hoop skirt’s width moved from all around towards the back until it eventually transformed into the bustle. By the mid-1870’s, it was hard to see how it had ever once been a full hoop skirt.

1860s Curves paper Doll

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The advantage of such a wide skirt is that it calls attention to a tiny waist and the women of this ear were well aware of the allure of that feature, so belts were much in vogue. Curves has traveled back in time for a moment, to embrace this gown from 1861.

Now, I knew I couldn’t fit Curves in period hoops and the size of the skirt on the same image, so I put the paper doll in a modern set of underwear. Perhaps, she is a Civil War re-enactor. That gets me out of the whole- why isn’t she wearing a corset and hoops and all the things a woman in 1860 wore under her dress.

Fashion Doll Friday: Florence’s Dinner and Opera Costume

Florence is an interesting case of paper doll uncertainty. Unlike Marisole whose paper wardrobe is organized based on how I am feeling on any given moment or Curves who have no real trend either, Florence was always intended to end when I had finished a complete trousseau.

An opera costume and a dinner dress for Florence, a French Fashion doll.

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Of course, the site crash delayed that point, but I am forging onward trying to finish her, so that I can move on to other Fashion Doll Friday Ideas (like a regency wooden doll or a nineteen fifties hard plastic or a civil war era china head). The problem is that every time I think I’m done, I find another thing I want to make for her. Today, we have a re-print of two paper doll costumes I posted once before.

On the left is the Dinner Dress. Dinner dresses were deisgned to be more formal afternoon frocks and often had long sleeves. A dinner dress could also be worn to lectures or other evening entertainments which were not formal. Another evening activity which required a special sort of dress was the Opera. Opera toilette were intended to be more fanciful then dinner dresses, but still long sleeved. These dresses could be easily redone to be worn as dinner dresses or for other semi-formal occasions.

So, Liana of Liana’s Paper Doll Blog colored in my Regency Teddy Bear paper doll which it very exciting. You can find the black and white original paper doll here. I love what she did with it. Makes me want to start playing with my colored pencils… But I have too much school work right now.

If you missed the first post, than here is Florence, the paper doll whose meant to wear these gowns.

Florence’s Spring Costume: 1870’s Victorian Paper Doll Clothes

A spring walking dress for Florence, my paper doll from the 1870s.

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It is late. I am sleepy. I wish I had something intelligent and in depth to say about this paper doll, but I’m afraid I don’t. The pattern took a long time to draw on the dress, but I think it was worth it. I don’t remember if I based this gown on any real costume. I drew it a while ago and then it languished while I tried to decide what sort of pattern I wanted to decorate the dress with.

I walked home from work today and it was lovely. The walk is mostly flat which is nice and there was a slight breeze. I’ve learned how to walk to avoid the busy street that smells like car exhaust. I am finally learning my way around my Illinois home. Still, I miss Alaska so much.

I am going to bed now, because I am sleepy.

Before I do, Florence is the paper doll that’s mean to wear this gown. You can find her here.

Florence’s House Dresses: Victorian Paper Doll Clothes

Houses dresses for Florence, my paper doll of an 1870s French fashion doll.

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So, here I am all slacking after everyone was so gracious about my little foray into steampunk on Monday. Oh well, that’s just how things go sometimes here in Library School Land where I spend most of my time. I hope, in some small way, these two Florence costumes rather then one make up for it. They are both based on fashion plates from the 1870’s. House dresses were worn often in the mornings or in the afternoon if the lady of the house wasn’t planning on visiting and didn’t expect to be receiving any visitors except those whom she could be casual with such as family. Neither costume has a hat, though the one of the left does have a decorative head covering. The dress on the left comes from this Victorian fashion plate and the dress on the right from this Victorian fashion plate.

You can get Florence, the paper doll who wears these outfits (and her nightgown) over here.

Florence’s Winter Walking Costume: Victorian Paper Doll Clothes

 

A winter walking costume from 1874 for Florence, my Victorian paper doll. The dress features a train and fur trim. She also has a matching hat.

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New thing for the Florence paper doll today. It’s very exciting. Well… I think it’s exciting…

(I might need to have more thrills in my life.)

So, this dress was drawn off this fashion plate from the LA Public Library’s Casey Fashion Plate Index. It’s a fantastic collection of plates.

In case you missed Florence, the paper doll who wears these outfits, here she is.