Clara as Dorothy in the Emerald City

Last week, Clara was dressed as Dorothy when she arrived in Oz from Kansas via the tornado. The costume was based on W.W. Denslow's original book illustrations instead of the costumes from the 1939 musical film with Judy Garland. This week, Clara is wearing another of the original Denslow costumes that Dorothy wears to meet the (fake) wizard of Oz.

Source: 1956 reprint. Art in the public domain.

Dorothy got a new outfit upon arriving in the Emerald City, with jingle bells on her collar and skirt. Notice that the Silver Slippers no longer have bows like they did last week! They must indeed be magical to change their appearance. She wears this dress to track down and melt the Wicked Witch, and deal with the flying monkeys.

Source: Library of Congress, in public domain

So Clara has another Wizard of Oz costume this week, this time a puffy dress with some cute jingle bells and an apron. The dress looks very much like a court jester's outfit. The magic slippers don't have bows this week, but her hair does...

And Toto is back, of course.


Next week, Dorothy dresses as another Oz character!

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

Clara's Dress 68 (807k)

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 as Dorothy in Oz

Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
movie of 1939.
(Source: Library of Congress Images)

Many people are familiar with the 1939 musical film, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. But how many have read the original book published in 1900 by L. Frank Baum? Like many books and movie adaptations, there are many differences between the screenplay and the original story.

Original cover from 1900 edition (source: Wikimedia Commons)

The original book was illustrated by an editorial cartoonist named William Wallace Denslow. He drew many very cute pictures of Dorothy, Toto, and all the characters.

Cover from The Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by W.W. Denslow
(Source: ©1956 version, original illustrations
now in the public domain.)

L. Frank Baum wrote many other novels about Oz, but Denslow only illustrated the first. The cover of this 1956 reprint (seen above with the big red poppy), was based on one of the original illustrations in the book.

Left: Illustration from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by W.W. Denslow
(Source: Library of Congress Images);
Right: Illustration from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by W.W. Denslow
(Source: ©1956 version; the text & original illustrations are now in the public domain.)

This cute illustration (on left above) of Dorothy contemplating the scarecrow shows Dorothy in a cute gingham dress. Notice the bows on her magic shoes, which were actually silver slippers in the book, not ruby slippers. Costume designers thought that sparkly red shoes would look better in the new technicolor film that was used for the color portions of the Wizard of Oz film.

The blue illustration above (on the right) is one of the illustrations I based Clara's dress on. The dress is a simple prairie dress with a wide yoke, plain sleeves, and no waistline. As you can see, Denslow was not consistent in how he drew Dorothy. Sometimes she wore a checked gingham, other times the dress was plain. Sometimes Dorothy had a bonnet on, as you can see in the illustration to the left. (The shoe bows are back!)

Denslow's Dorothy always has loose braids. How did they ever stay braided without a tie of some sort?

Clara is dressed as Dorothy today, with the gingham prairie dress, bonnet and braids, and the magic slippers (with bows). And Toto... Dorothy could not possibly go anywhere without Toto by her side.

Next week, Clara arrives in the Emerald City!

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

Clara's Dress 67 (799k)

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 1819 Regency Evening Dress

Fashion in the early 1800s could be pretty complicated for society ladies. There were morning dresses, walking dresses, visiting dresses,  traveling dresses, riding dresses, dinner dresses, and evening dresses. There were fashion rules about how long the sleeves could be – for instance, it was not acceptable to wear short sleeves in the morning. Morning dresses were long-leeved and high-necked.

As a young lady, it would be proper for Clara to wear short sleeves in the evening. She could also have a wide neckline, but to be modest, she would need to wear ankle-length pantalettes under her gown. Bare arms were ok, but ankles! No way.

Of course, as always, high fashion was for the wealthy, so we'll have to pretend that Clara was wealthy and could afford expensive dresses.

The period in fashion from 1811 to 1820 is commonly known as the Regency Era. Dresses typically had high waists, and a simple silhouette. Layers of cloth created a flowing style. Evening dresses were typically decorated with rows of elaborate ribbons, tucks, or other decorations. Clara’s dress is a silk party dress, but not as elaborate as some evening gowns, since it is only decorated with a simple leaf detail.

A pair of thin dancing slippers with tiny bows and some tall silk stockings finish off the outfit.

Young ladies typically wore white or pastel colors in the 1810s when they dressed up for an event. The original  dress was a light, greenish tan (which may have been originally white, but turned brown with age). The leaf designs and ropes, and the neck and sleeve trim were a dull turquoise.

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

Clara's Dress 58 (775k)

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 1990 Bridesmaid Dress

This week, we will jump forward in time by a century from the last post, Clara's 1891 Party Dress. Although the dresses are separated by an entire century, many of the major fashion elements of the dresses are similar... the puffy sleeves, the full skirts, the tight bodices and pointed dropped waists. Even the use of lace is paralleled in the two dresses.

The more formal dresses of the late 1980s and early 90s are actually in a romantic style that borrow elements from Victorian styles of the previous century. The romantic style of dress was a sort of reaction to the ripped and sloppy looks of the early 80s.

The lace, puffy sleeves, and ruffles may have been a bit much for the fashion world, and by the end of the 1990s, most styles were pretty casual, and not very extreme.

Clara's dress this week is even more formal than some dresses might be in 1900, since it was intended to be a bridesmaid dress. The original dress is made with a layer of a gauzy peach fabric under a gauzy sheer layer of lacy white.

The original shoes were gold silk, of a shade that would clash with the peach dress. Fortunately, you can select your own colors.  Dyed silk shoes have been poplar for centuries, because they can be dyed the exact color of a dress, making a completely cohesive outfit. Nowadays, matching dyed shoes are usually only worn on very formal occasions like weddings.

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

Clara's Dress 56 (783k)

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 1891 Party Dress

Today's dress is a very frilly "princess dress" that most girls would love. Fashions in the early 1890s were very ornate, although the bustles and crinolines of previous decades were even more elaborate. Tight bodices and drapy skirts were quite popular, and sleeves got puffier as the decade went on.

Clara’s party dress is covered in lace and bows. The ruffles at the neck, elbows, waist, and knee are quite showy, adding enough detail to make this into a princess dress almost any girl would love.

Clara’s hat has a wide brim and is completely covered in ruffles and bows.

The party shoes worn by Clara are slippers with low heels. The shoes are covered with ruffled silk, and decorated with small bows to match the dress.

The original dress was light pink with a white lace collar. All the lace details and bows were black. The original hat was a straw hat with gold and white ribbons on top. The shoes were a light pink silk.

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

Clara's Dress 55 (843k)

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 1925 Medallion Dress

Clara’s 1925 dress is not a style typically associated with the 1920s. The iconic 20s fashion design was a sheath dress, straight down with no curves perhaps with a dropped waist – or maybe even no waist. However, children’s clothing did not necessarily match the high fashion for women. Although young girls wore styles that included sheath dresses, they also wore other types, including gathered dresses with waists.

Clara’s dress has a pointed waistline, many small pin tucks on the bodice, and a scarf loosely tied around the neck. The dress is decorated with some abstract-style medallions. Are they suns? flowers? I am not sure.

The hat is a cloche style with a soft brim and a wide ribbon for trim.

Clara’s shoes are simple slip-ons with a stripe and brooch clip.

To print Clara's outfit, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 41 (806k)

Clara is a free, printable paper doll. Clara will continue to be available on this blog as long as I 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 (745k)

Clara's 1835 Pleated Dress

Clara's dress this week is from 1835. This time period is referred to as the Romantic Era for fashion. Women wore floaty, gauzy dresses with lots of bows and pleats. Large sleeves made women look like butterflies. Ribbon-tied ballet slippers were quite common as fancy footwear, and the stockings were sometimes richly embroidered. For women, the new fashion was a dress hem that fell just above the ankle to show off the fancy stockings. For girls of Clara's age in the 1830s – as in other time periods – a mid-calf hem was the proper length of a dress for an 11-year-old young lady.

Bonnets in the 1830s were large and covered with ribbons and bows. Clara's is a little simpler than some of this decade, but has the fashionable long ribbon ties.

The original dress is a beautiful shade of bronze, the color of luscious melted chocolate. The hat is emerald green satin. I don't know the original color of the shoes, but they should probably be ivory or the same color as the gown.

To print Clara's outfit, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 32 (754k)

Clara is a free, printable paper doll. Clara will continue to be available on this blog as long as I 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 (745k)

Clara's 1620 Royal Court Gown

Clara's dress this week is a court gown suitable for visiting with royalty. My daughter asked if this was a Queen Elizabeth dress. Queen Elizabeth I lived from 1558-1603, so the king would have been James I (who died in March 1625) or Charles I, who succeeded James. However, fashions did not change very much at that time, so Clara's dress does indeed look like an Elizabethan dress. Children of noblemen dressed in the same style the adults did, just in smaller sizes, so Clara's dress looks almost just like one an adult would wear.

The original dress is in a painting of the English nobleman, Sir Thomas Lucy and his family from 1625, painted by Cornelius Johnson, a Dutch artist. In this painting, there are seven children, although the Lucy family eventually had thirteen! An older boy stands near his father on the left, dressed in adult-style clothing. The three daughters have very similar dresses, with only small variations in style. The baby may be a boy or a girl... there really is no way to tell, since baby boys wore the same dresses as baby girls. The two children in front are actually boys. Although they are wearing dresses like the baby, the style of dress is masculine, with a doublet top like their father. At this time, boys wore dresses until they were about 5-7 years old. I am sure there are plenty of boys out there who would be glad they did not live back in the 1600s... although the practice of keeping baby boys in dresses persisted through the late 1900s, but only until a boy was toilet-trained at about age 2.

In the painting, you may be able to see the original colors of rusty red and greenish-gray brocade fabric, with wide white lace at the neck, cuff, and collar. The tiara is gold inset with a red gemstone. The girl on the right is wearing some cute little red slippers, which I used for the shoes. (Correction August 16, 2013: The child on the right is most likely a boy, since he also has a double top. Thank you John Cass.)

To print Clara's outfit, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 31 (770k)

Clara is a free, printable paper doll. Clara will continue to be available on this blog as long as I 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 (745k)

Clara's 1860 Party Dress

My youngest daughter looked over my shoulder at this dress and said, "Mommy, I would like that dress." Definitely a princess dress.

Clara's fashion page for today is a party or dance ensemble, with a dress, rose wreath, and slippers.

The dress is a crinoline, or hoop skirt, in the proper mid-calf length for a young girl. The tight bodice is offset by the layers of ruffles and the huge bow.

When crinolines came into fashion about 1856, it seems the fashion designers tried to add as many ruffles, bows, and bits of trim as possible. I wonder how much cloth would be used to make the ruffles for this dress?

Apologies to all who get to cut these out for your young ones... those ruffles are a challenge, although I tried to make the bottom row as simple as possible, while still matching the rest of the ruffles. If I'm in a hurry, sometimes I just cut some curves just below the lines, instead of following the exact outline.

The original dress was white with a deep rose pink bow. The shoes were also white, and the roses on the shoes and in the wreath were a matching pink.

To print Clara's outfit, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 28 (796k)

Clara is a free, printable paper doll. Clara will continue to be available on this blog as long as I 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 (745k)

Clara's Pedal Pushers

Another scorcher of a week here in Arizona. It's a little cooler than last week; only 106 today. So this week, since it's still so hot, Clara has some capris – or pedal pushers – from the 1950s.

Up through the 1940s, pants were still scandalous for women to wear. However, pants became suitable for women during World War II, when women wore trousers to work in factories in place of the men who were at war. By the 1950s, many styles of pants were worn by women and girls, including these short pants, known by many names: pedal pushers, three-quarter shorts, capris, or clam diggers. Clara's pedal pushers have some cute trim on the cuff.

Clara also has a matching long tunic for a blouse, with geometric trim at the neck, and large pockets. The tunic style of top was quite popular in various forms through the 1950s.

To finish off her outfit, Clara has some simple ballet slippers. Although Clara's pair for today is quite simple to match her outfit, it was also the style to have bows, buckles, rhinestone clips, or other decorations on similar shoes.

The original tunic and pants were a navy blue with a gingham trim (red and white checks) around the neck, sleeves, and pant cuffs. The original shoes were white.

You may be interested to know that black and white were extremely popular in the 50s. Ladies wore white with black accessories and trim, or black with a little white. Some of the other popular colors for clothing in the 1950s were:


To print Clara's outfit, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 26 (731k)

Clara is a free, printable paper doll. Clara will continue to be available on this blog as long as I 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 (745k)

Clara's 1830 Ball Gown

In the 1830s, the empire dresses of the previous three decades lost popularity, and some more complicated designs came into fashion. Small details like pleats and pin tucks were very popular. Lace, ribbons... well let's just say the more lace and ribbon on the dress, the better. At least in the eyes of the fashion designers of the 1830s.

Sleeves took on ridiculously wide proportions. In fact, this dress is pretty conservative on the sleeve size compared to some of the mutton-chop sleeves of the decade. The sleeves in some dresses were almost as wide as the skirt.

This dress is from about 1830, and has a gathered bodice trimmed with a wide band of lace. The wide skirt has matching lace, and rows of pin tucks at the hem. The dress was worn over many layers of petticoats, giving it a wide bell shape. The huge puffy sleeves hang off the shoulder, making the shoulders of the dress into a fashionable, sloping shape.

The slippers are pretty simple in design, with a button on the strap and a little bow for trim. Some flowers for Clara’s hair finish the ensemble.

You may also be interested to know that along with white, ivory, and gray, these were some of the popular colors for clothing in the 1830s:

To print Clara's Dress, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 21 (917k)

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 1838 Frock and Pantaloons

This week's fashion page for Clara is drawn from a fashion plate which appeared in The World of Fashion; January 1838. You can see the source of the fashion plate here if you are interested. (Click on the image to see a larger version of the fashion plate.)

This is the description found in the magazine:

YOUNG LADY'S DRESS.

FIG. 3.--India muslin frock and pantaloons; the corsage is trimmed with a fichu drapery, and the sleeves with knots of ribbon. Ceinture, neck knot, and hair knots en suite.

Notice the use of French throughout the description. Paris was (and mostly still is) the center of the fashion design world, so the magazine used French terms. For instance, a corsage is the bodice of the dress. A fichu drapery is basically a lightweight scarf worn over the shoulders, sometimes crossed over the chest. A ceinture is a waistband or belt... in this case, the ribbon around the waist of the dress. The term en suite means that all the bows and ribbons would match.

In the fashion plate, the little girl's frock matches her mother's ball dress. As was the fashion back then, a young girl was not old enough to wear a full-length gown. The pantaloons she is wearing under the dress would cover her legs to the ankle, to fit the standards of modesty.

Clara is wearing the dress shown in the fashion plate, but with some pretty big changes. Her shoulders do not match the curve of those in the drawing, and her waist is not painfully thin. I hope they did not put girls that young into corsets! (I had to change the width of the neck to cover Clara's swimsuit.)

Clara has her hair in ringlets, tied up with ribbons. She also has a fashionable neck knot in place of a necklace.

The slippers from this era were very thin and fragile and would only be worn at a dance. The slippers are tied with bows, making them look like ballet shoes.

Stockings were common in this time frame, and were usually made of a light cotton. The stockings were knit into a tube, and then the sole was cut and sewn into place. Because Clara is wearing ribbons on her ankles, I have given her plain stockings, but some of the stockings from this time were embroidered with beautiful florals or other designs. It was interesting for me to look at stockings from the 1830s, including these from the Kyoto Costume Museum.

You can see the original colors of the dress in the fashion plate above: white with pink ribbons. The original shoes were a beautiful leaf green, and must have gone with a green ball gown, since most outfits were "en suite," or carefully color matched.

You may also be interested to know that along with white, ivory, and gray, these were some of the popular colors for clothing in the 1830s:


To print Clara's Dress, use this PDF file:
Clara's Dress 15 (622k)

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.