I did actually work on some original designs this weekend, but they are still in the pencil stage. I don't know why I get so perfectionist about this stuff. I am hoping, once I get back from San Diego (next Tuesday), I will find a way to streamline this process so that I will just move from design to drawing to painting without all of this fretting in between.

I half-considered just rendering the clothes in sepia since I know it would be so much easier. It's the whole color thing that's holding me back.

Color paralyzes me. I don't know why I don't just get rid of it and do monochromatic work instead. Then, if people want to color the clothes, they can do so themselves. I am trapped somewhere between going in this direction and fighting the good fight to not let the color thing beat me.

While I duke it out psychologically, do enjoy this fashion plate from Le Follet (1849). Men's clothes were certainly more interesting in the first part of the Victorian Era (I love the long vests and the fabulous trims). They got a lot more maudlin as the century wore on: mostly black and neutral colors. styles in America prior to the Civil War generally seemed a lot dandier. We wouldn't see a lot of color back in men's clothes until the 20th century, alas.

Likewise, enjoy this blog by Dorothy Jane Landgren Williams, which posts fashion-related items (including plates) from time to time. While the focus is mostly Regency-Era stuff, there's lots of other fun things to look at as well: Paraphernalia.

I will return next week (and once again, hopefully more often).

Here's a site with some downloadable/ printable vintage paper dolls. While most of these can be dated post-1900, some of them closer to the turn of the century might be of some interest, including the one I have shared here.

This one (click the picture to enlarge) includes a variety of fun costumes including a Santa Claus outfit and a fireman uniform (complete with hat). it was mostly for the fireman outfit that I wanted to share this. I also like the football uniform (it's amazing what people used to wear while playing football, though I guess it wasn't quite as violent a contact sport back then as it is now ~ violent, but the men playing it were a lot smaller and less likely to do as serious damage at these days).

it is very hopeful that I will work on some original paper dolls this weekend. In the meantime, visit the link above to enjoy more examples of turn-of-the-century dolls!

I've been gone a long time, busy with countless other projects and occasionally fretting about this seemingly abandoned blog. But I'm hoping to get back to making dolls very soon and finally have the time to do it. I don't really have any good excuses ~ my priorities have just been elsewhere.

In the meantime, I offer some 1850s children's fashions I found while browsing this morning. Came across a site with a Regency & Victorian Paper Dolls CD for sale. It's a bit pricey, but an interesting collection of reproductions of early 19th century ephemera that you can print. Not much by way of samples shown, but it does provide a list of the contents, so I thought I would share the link at least.