Clara's 1910s Dropped Waist Dress

During the 1910s, fashion designs became softer and less tailored than those of the previous decade. Dresses like this one and this one were very structured, pleated, and decorated. 

Clara’s dress is from about 1910-1915, so it still has the dropped waist popular in the previous decade. The top is blousy with four simple pleats. The sleeves are also slightly puffed, and are cut at 3/4 length and finished with a wide cuff. This only decorations for the dress are the small ruffles at the neck and sleeve.

The dress was originally white with yellow daisies all over, so the dressmaker was probably relying on the pattern to dress up the outfit. Still, the dress is plain enough to just wear everyday... after all, Clara can't wear an evening gown to school!

No hat for this week. Instead, Clara has a hair bow to top off the outfit. I adjusted the tabs for the bow, so hopefully it will stay on!

It may surprise you to see that Clara’s shoes are boots, and not exactly what you might expect to be worn with a dress. However, boots were very practical, and were worn with day dresses in the early 1900s. This little clip from a postcard shows a girl wearing boots with her dress. 

To print Clara's Dress, use this PDF file:

 Clara's Dress 49 (776k)

Clara is a free, printable paper doll. Clara will be available on this blog as long as I continue to post new fashion pages for her. You can read the introduction for the Clara paper doll here.

To print the Clara paper doll, use this PDF file:

 The Clara Paper Doll (718k)

Clara's 1895 Victorian Winter Dress

I hear it snowed somewhere in the country this week. Here, the citrus trees are blooming and it smells heavenly. Nevertheless, I drew a winter dress for Clara this week for all of you who had snow and ice.

Clara's dress is from the late Victorian fashion era. Victorian dresses in the 1890s were very tailored, and decorated. They often had sleeves that were called leg-o-mutton sleeves, due to the shape created by their wide upper arms and tight lower arms. 

Clara’s dress has a blousy top with a wide lace collar, and the very typical wide sleeves. The skirt has a bell shaped silhouette, also very popular in the 1890s. 

Clara’s hat has a stiff bow, a buckle, and some feather trim. Hats appeared in many styles in the 1890s, but this one is the sort of wide, flat hat popular in the mid-nineties.

And finally, Clara has some sturdy button-up boots with thick stockings to keep her warm.

The original dress was gray silk with a pink lace collar and belt. The gloves were white. The hat was all black, and so were the boots and socks.

To print Clara's Dress, use this PDF file:

 Clara's Dress 48 (741k)

Clara is a free, printable paper doll. Clara will be available on this blog as long as I continue to post new fashion pages for her. You can read the introduction for the Clara paper doll here.

To print the Clara paper doll, use this PDF file:

 The Clara Paper Doll (718k)