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.
Today, we have a carriage dress for Florence. Carriage dresses differed from walking dresses for the Victorian lady because they were intended to be worn while riding in a carriage. So, they often feature long trains and longer skirts.
It’s odd to realize that the bustle was originally considered a more rational solution to the huge width that crinoline skirts had grown too.
Fashion can be such a funny thing.
Outside, the snow has coated the ground and it is a beautiful white covering. It makes everything look so peaceful. Unfortunately, it also makes everything so very cold. I avoid spending much time outside in this icy Illinois winter.
This teddy bear paper doll is one of the oldest I still think is well drawn. I drew her back when I was an undergrad. I’d been drawing a lot of dark things, so when I started this my roommate said to me: That’s cute. What are you going to do to it? You don’t draw cute things.
Well, I left it as is in order to prove that I darn well could draw cute things. (Truth be told, I had planned on keeping it a simple line drawing.) Though, I must confess, cute has never been one of my personal goals for my paper dolls and I tend to dislike most art which people label as either “cute” or “adorable.” Never the less, I do think it’s important to stretch the sort of paper dolls and doodles I draw and I am always looking for something new- though in some ways teddy bear paper dolls are actually an older trend of mine since I remember draw them as a child. I thought I couldn’t draw people, but drawing bears was much easier.
So, if you want to get a teddy bear paper doll to wear some of these stylish dresses, I posted her on January 10th.
French Fashion Dolls were dolls made in the 19th century to help educate young ladies how to dress properly for adulthood. They often had a complete trousseau of clothing which makes them a great subject for paper dolls.
Florence is a combination of several different dolls. Her face is based on the dolls of François Gaultier like this one from the Carmel Doll Shop. Her body is based on a wooden bodied Bru doll which is one of the most highly prized types of French fashion dolls. I think she sure does make a beautiful Victorian paper doll for printing and coloring in.
Since I didn’t want to end up drawing clothing from the entire French fashion doll era (it ran from about the 1850’s through about 1885, though there are some from as late as 1915), I decided to limit myself. This printable paper doll and her wardrobe is from between the years 1869 and 1875. Today, the paper doll has her night gown, dressing gown and night cap.
Next Friday, Florence’ll get her underwear and then after that she’ll start getting dresses to print. Since Florence, like Curves, is a printable paper doll hold over from the old blog, I do plan to post a mixture of dresses some people have seen and some people haven’t. I am still proud of a lot of the dresses I drew for Florence last year (this isn’t true of a lot of things I’ve drawn), so I have no intention to not keep them as part of the paper doll’s trousseau.
Yay. It’s a first post and it is a Regency fashion teddy bear paper doll- because everyone needs a teddy bear with Empire era dresses, right? I mean that’s totally normal. (Don’t judge me!)
So, I am very excited to reveal here the mostly finished new version of Paper Thin Personas. Yes, I lost everything, but now is a time for rebuilding and creating new things. (This is me trying to be positive.) There’s still some work to be done and it’s not perfect yet, but it is on it’s way. I’m excited.
(No one else might be, but I totally am.)
So, enjoy the Regency Teddy Bear paper doll.
A more coherent post may come on Monday, but no promises.
Edit: I’ve posted the second page of this paper doll. You can get the teddy bear’s other clothes here.
