Clara's 1883 Draped Dress

I'm taking a break this week from the Wizard of Oz series to post a special dress. This Saturday, October 26, is the third anniversary of Allison's death. We miss her so much. Actually all of October's posts were created ahead of time, since I don't like October much.

This fashion plate has special meaning for me. The beautifully framed picture was a gift from a dear friend.

The artwork is a hand-colored engraving from an 1883 copy of the Journal des dames et des demoiselles. The Journal was a Belgian fashion magazine published in French by Bruylant-Christophe et Compagnie.

Clara’s dress is based on the little girl's blue dress from the fashion plate. The bustle had come back into fashion in 1881 after five years of being out of style, and remained fashionable through 1889. Dresses were made of heavy fabric, and highly decorated. Clara’s dress is actually relatively plain, compared to some of the dresses of the era.

A simple crenellated, velvet decoration crosses the bodice and also appears at the cuffs. Her dress has a stylish dropped waistline, with a wide, gathered, draped waistband. Pleats were very popular in the 1880s, and Clara’s skirt is no exception – wide pleats add detail and dimension to the short skirt.

The velvet hat is decorated with lots of ribbons and tucks. It is hard to tell if the hat is a bonnet with a rolled-up brim, or a wide beret.

Clara’s shoes are simple boots, worn with tall, thick stockings to cover the young girl’s legs.

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

Clara's Dress 71 (778k)

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 1885 Formal Dress

Clara is dressed in a formal dress for a dance or evening party. With lace and ribbons and ruffles, the dress is quite typical of fashion designs from this era. In the 1880s, bustles returned to popularity, but this time with a narrower silhouette. Clothing became heavier and more ornamented than it had been in the previous decade. Pleats were extremely popular, and Clara's dress has its share of them.

Clara's dress is representative of these overly decorated dresses of this decade. Velvet, brocade, and other heavy fabrics were popular, although Clara's dress is made of silk and lace.

The slippers are also made of a lightweight silk with ruffles to match the dress. They are finished off with buckles, and would have been very fragile, and thus only worn for special occasions.

Clara's hat completes the outfit, with plenty of silk bows to match the dress and shoes. The hat brims of the 1880s were narrower than previous years, but this particular hat has a tall brim reminiscent of a top hat. I think it is a rather silly hat, but this style was relatively popular 125 years ago.

The original dress was an ivory silk. The shoes were ivory leather with silk bows. The original color of the hat is unknown.

Be creative with your coloring. I simply provided the original colors as a reference. You may also be interested to know that jewel tones were very popular in the 1880s. Some pastels were worn, but bright colors were more stylish:


To print Clara's Dress, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 18 (903k)

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)

If you like my paper dolls enough to want to share with others, please email or post a link to my blog rather than sending or posting a copy of the paper dolls. Refer your friends so they can enjoy the free, printable paper dolls on my blog. Please do not post my artwork on your own sites, modify any of the files, or distribute them to others.

Clara's 1883 Winter Coat

Clara is wearing a winter coat today (a strange outfit for June, unless you are up in the northern mountains). Her coat is from about 1883, and has a short Victorian half-cape, not very much like this one from 30 years before. Her coat has a fur collar and many pleats and large buttons. And, of course, she is wearing gloves.

In the 1880s, clothing became heavier and more ornamented than the previous decade. Pleats were extremely popular, and Clara's dress has its share of them. Good luck cutting them out! (I usually just trim a smooth line just below the pleats to save time.) This coat is actually quite conservative compared to some of the tasselled, ribboned, and overly decorated dresses of this decade. Bustles were back in fashion after a few years of respite, and velvet, brocade, and other fabrics were popular. The dresses from this decade usually make me think of very fancy drapery.

The boots are made of leather, and are beautifully made with scalloped edges, and were from Paris. They are a classic style that was popular for the entire second half of the nineteenth century. However, shoes in the 1880s have a more pronounced curve to the ankle and heel than earlier boots, a little reminiscent of the popular bustle. I think it would take me fifteen minutes to put on shoes with that many buttons!

Clara's hat completes the ensemble, with plenty of silk ribbon, a ribbon, and an ostrich feather. The hat brims of the 1880s were more narrow than previous years, but over the following decades, grew larger and floppier until they reached ridiculous proportions. Remember the hats from "My Fair Lady"? That was set in 1901-1910.

The original coat is a rich jewel-toned blue with blue-and-red checked trim. The hat was derived from a vintage black-and-white drawing. The button-up scalloped edge boots are a dark brown leather.

Be creative with your coloring. I simply provided the original colors as a reference. You may also be interested to know that jewel tones were very popular in the 1880s. Some pastels were worn, but bright colors were more stylish:


To print Clara's Dress, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 13 (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)

If you like my paper dolls enough to want to share with others, please email or post a link to my blog rather than sending or posting a copy of the paper dolls. Refer your friends so they can enjoy the free, printable paper dolls on my blog. Please do not post my artwork on your own sites, modify any of the files, or distribute them to others.