But anyway, here's some new Judy costumes (still from Volume 26, but appropriate for the month, so that worked out). Have no idea what onions have to do with Saint David (that's what I believe that thing on the first dress is). The Spring Costume is likewise fanciful with carrots and a bird's nest for a hat. I think I mentioned this before, but the artist gets sillier and sillier the longer the feature runs, so you can expect all shades of crazy as I continue.
The good news (great news!) is that I finally have a new scanner (huzzah!). The not-so-great news is that I have not really been doing much in the down time, so I haven't got tons of new things to share with you (though I had hoped to). It's just amazing to me how much I can let technology cripple me sometimes ~ hence my Luddite tendencies.
But anyway, here's some new Judy costumes (still from Volume 26, but appropriate for the month, so that worked out). Have no idea what onions have to do with Saint David (that's what I believe that thing on the first dress is). The Spring Costume is likewise fanciful with carrots and a bird's nest for a hat. I think I mentioned this before, but the artist gets sillier and sillier the longer the feature runs, so you can expect all shades of crazy as I continue. Today, a lovely European paper doll on auction at eBay. Because the title is in multiple languages, it's hard to know its place of origin. I am going to guess German because German is the first language represented on the box. The seller thinks it's French. Either way, we both agree that it's from the 1850s and it's lovely! Has a few other dresses and some hats, but this is the best representative image and besides, that decorative box is just way cool. Typical of the style of that era, this doll is printed both front and back and pieces like the veil shown here go over the head and around the shoulders; sometimes these designs were wonderfully complex for playthings; but cheap paper dolls were still another decade or so away, so the rich little girls who played with these expected the full monty (so to speak). UPDATE: This auction ended on 3/9 and netted $431.99! Another astonishing Worth creation from 1882. This image comes from The Opulent Era: Fashions of Worth, Doucet and Pingat by Elizabeth Ann Coleman. Just in case we needed further proof of Worth's brilliance. In truth I don't love everything by Worth (some, in fact, make me cringe), but as mentioned before on this blog, this is probably my favorite era of fashion in the 19th century. This is absolutely nothing I would ever want to wear ~ too froo froo with all those flowers, but I do appreciate it as quite the phenomenon of silk and tulle and layers and sculpting! Scanner still kaput, no relief in sight (it's a tragedy, I know). But I thought I better update with some small thing at least just so you know I have not disappeared off the planet. This is an English set of dolls from the 1860s which I found at Bibliopolis. And just think! It can be yours for the bargain price of $8,500! Totally insane price, but the set does sound very nice: "two adult paper dolls are accompanied by ten costumes, including outerwear, elegant evening dress, and a long bridal veil. One gown, fit for a ball, has three tiers of blue satin and white floral lace, and short lace-trimmed sleeves. Wrist-length kid gloves and a fan complete the ensemble. Each of the child figures has four costumes, including a boy's tunic with a tamed squirrel perched on the shoulder. Also included are fourteen hats and two stands for the dolls. All costumes are vibrantly colored and partially varnished and are also two-sided. Housed in the original gilt-trimmed, printed box". Wish they had shared more pictures. Here is yet another gorgeous Worth gown from 1884 which I found at Ye Olde Fashion. The gold and black is exquisite and somehow manages to not look garish. As always, click the picture to see more details up close. And check out that tumblr account (it is chock full of amazing things!). As for me and why I have been rather absent here, as usual I have very few good excuses, though my scanner has died once and for all and I will have to get a replacement before I can post any new work, which has put a major crimp in everything. Hopefully I will find a scanner to my liking and get it set up soon. I tried to find one this weekend, but didn't really care for the models available in the stores. I don't want to be too picky, but I also want something that will serve me well as my last one did for nearly ten years. Rest in peace, old friend.
In other news, I am clearly falling into bad habits again. I haven't been working on stuff lately due to either stress or tiredness (or both), and this past weekend I just felt too burned out to bother with anything. But I am trying to climb out of the proverbial hole, so thank you for your patience. I shall have more Judy for you this weekend to make up for my delinquency.
I managed to get these scanned sooner than anticipated, so here we have (well before Friday!) two new costumes for Judy that you can download and color. After scouring the earlier volumes of the serial from which these costumes originate, I discovered a few scattered through Volume 25 which I may pick up to add here, but the "costume of the week" feature really didn't seem to be fully established until Volume 28 or so; but don't worry ~ there is a veritable trove of material to work from given the long-running status of the journal. Some of the almanacs also have wonderful outfits which I may also use. I think you can be safely assured that I won't run out of Judy material any time soon. Many of these early costumes are somewhat conventional, but trust me, they get a lot weirder and wilder as the years go by (the artist, A. Chasemore, clearly had fun with this). Click to download the .pdf! Visit the Gallery to see the new plates. I have been really behind in the posting of updates, so there's not much new (James' outfit in four pieces shown assembled here). I have a coat and bonnet for Emmaline as well, but it didn't fit on the plate (so: next time). The really good news is that I have been working on all manner of paper doll stuff for the last two weeks. The bad news is I haven't been sharing any of it yet! I am in the process of getting a new computer and scanner, so my world is a little topsy turvy at the moment, but presumably will run a lot smoother once everything is in place. Anticipating a new system in early February. It had to be done ~ I am rather tired of struggling with this poor old thing. For whatever reason I have been struggling with these plates too. I think my mind is a bit unfocused, but that's pretty typical at the beginning of a New Year, so hopefully I will get into a groove. I am definitely getting better at letting go of some of my horrid perfectionism. Now I just need to work on my color palette (could I possibly use more yellow???). I may not have anything very bold for the next two plates, but I will try to splash a little more variation in color where I can (if I can). I am still apparently very myopic in the realm of color. I am working on a project to try to help with that. Also, more Judy to come. Lots more! I will be sure to post her by Friday at the latest. Perhaps the best way to post these interim pictures (before the plates are uploaded) is to show the clothing on the doll as it is supposed to fit. I am still completely disorganized when it comes to posting, but I'd rather post disorganized than not post at all. Emmaline's traveling dress went through about 187 permutations and I am still not entirely happy with it, but once again, it's an exercise in "get over it and move on". My goal since last year (and topping my list this year) is to quit over-thinking everything and reaching for impossible perfection; just create, pop things off into the world and keep on creating. So far this has worked wonderfully. I have been very productive despite my inner-critic. After doing this for so many years, I can see measurable improvement and that is encouraging. Even if I am not 100% crazy about this dress, I like it 100 times more than the dress I painted for her the last time ~ and in another year or so, whatever dress I am working will be even all that much better. While RLC is gearing up to meet the challenge of creating a male paper doll for her blog this year (grin), I thought I would also likewise challenge myself to do something I've been wanting to do inspired by her Paper Thin Personas: draw a black & white doll that you can download to color. Some background: from 1867 to 1907, a weekly periodical by the name Judy; or the London serio-comic journal was published. One of its regular cartoonists was A. Chasemore, who drew the "Fashion for the week". This illustration was generally a fantasy concoction; nothing anyone would have really worn except perhaps in a theatrical or masquerade ball. The costumes were sometimes allegorical, sometimes political, and mostly just whimsical. And since they were drawn in ink and published in black & white, sky's the limit on the color interpretations! The model for the outfits was just an "everywoman" but I have taken the liberty of naming her after the publication. Judy the magazine, of course, was a competing journal to the much more popular Punch. Since I am posting plates for Reconstruction every two weeks, I will try to post Judy in between. My access to the Judy journal is all over the map, so I am not drawing her outfits in any particular order. I started with Volume 26 by pure randomness. It was the first volume that I was able to absolutely confirm the "Fashion for the week" illustration, but I may find it started before. In fact, I skipped the January 14th issue by accident and will go back to pick it up in the next post. Click the image to download the .pdf. I haven't decided yet whether I will build Judy her own gallery. We'll see how she goes. |
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