For fashion plate Friday I have two lovely things to offer from two distinct periods.

The first, to the left is from the Revue de la Mode (obviously a French fashion journal) from it appears to be 1886 (that seems right given the style of the bustles ~ my eyesight is kinda killing me at this point so it's hard to read the tiny faded print in the lower left.

I love the gold and green dress most, but the evening gown with the satin or velvet bodice and then the contrasting gold overskirt and purplish flowers. It works, I guess, but this is one of those places where I just know my sense of color is "off". I would never imagine deliberately making such a combination!

The other image for the day comes from 1837 and shows various women in evening or mourning dress. Because mourning was such a huge part of the culture, it's always interesting to see how women tried to make it fashionable as well (within reason, of course ~ ostentation would have been grossly boorish). 

It's also interesting to note that black was actually popular in fashion during various periods, which helped alleviate it of its reputation for being the color of mourning. Though we still associate it with funerals today, it's also known as common party or cocktail wear: that "little black dress" for any and all occasions.

Apologies for the ongoing sluggishness of my posts. Internet woes continue, and this makes it hard for me to keep my promises (always excuses, I know!). Here we are at the end of the month and I have hardly posted a darn thing.

The good news is that there's no lack of cool things to post about! Today I bring you some interesting new paper dolls from Noble Rose press. Though I have not seen any of these dolls up close and personal, they look like a very nice collection and there's a huge variety to choose from (and from all different periods in history). Among the 19th century choices are: Mary Anna Jackson, wife of General “Stonewall” Jackson, and Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles H. Spurgeon (both shown at left).

This series looks like a nice educational series aimed at homeschooling Christian mothers (for their daughters), and appear to be nicely painted and produced with good quality.

I will (most likely) acquire the above set eventually and maybe share more at another time. It appears that each doll only comes with three dresses, so they aren't very extensive, but nevertheless they look fun (I would have loved them as a child). I hope the sisters who pr might make more dolls from the Victorian period as their collection grows.

Today's quickie Fashion Plate Friday is a trio of gents hanging out from a Winter 1856 plate out of Gentleman's Magazine.

We see here a nice array of evening wear, formal wear, and after-dinner wear (a robe for smoking, lounging, etc.). Obviously these are well-to-do fellas who have the leisure and money to spend on fancy clothes and a variety of pieces that would be far above and beyond the casual 19th century man.

Too bad there aren't any fashion plates for the "other half" as the non-wealthy class was termed (though they were hardly half ~ more like 80% or even more). I should look into that and see if I can find more common dress. Typically you can find fashion plates for the "peasantry" of other countries, but I can't say I've ever seen such for America. Also, even the lower classes who couldn't afford fancy clothes tried to dress in the basic style of the rich (where they could). So their textiles might be more pragmatic or even shabby, but the general cut of the cloth was usually emulated wherever and whenever possible. One gets a better sense of the regular clothes of the day from photographs ~ of which I will have to remember to share more!

Today we have a doll from National Doll World that was published in the summer of 1984. She's a bisque-looking critter with a stuffed body (popular in the 19th century), and looks to be dress for the 50s or 60s.

What's interesting about her is that she's got interchangeable heads! So if you like your dolls blonde or red-headed, you can cover up her brunette locks. Putting a new head on a paper doll always has seemed sort of counter to the point of having the doll to begin with (it being the stationary base on which to hang other things), but in this case I think it's kind of funny.

Sadly there's no artist identified on this piece, but at least the dolls have names: Sally, Meg, and Nell. I came across this in my random wanderings on eBay. I don't have many magazine dolls in my collection and am always finding interesting ones when I have time to browse. Don't know if there was originally a second page to this (as most magazine dolls are double-spreads). The other page may have had more information about the work. As always, click on the image to see a slightly larger version that will show some the details.

The good news is: it's 2011 and with a new year comes a new opportunity to get things off to a good start (renewal and all that). The bad news is: my home internet problems continue, alarmingly, and though I wanted to post while I was on break, I was not able to. So it may be that I can only post when I am at the university and have time. Boo on that, but it's better than nothing, right?

Anyway, today's offering is a little McLoughlin dog from the late 1800s. Victorians were no less ridiculous about their pets than we are today and generations of lap dogs and "ratters" such as this adorable little doggie were made to endure foolish dressing up at the hands of their mistresses (and some masters, I'm sure). Anyway, this doggie is a tad more anthropomorphic, since she's got a lorgnette. Either way, she's hilarious.

I have resolutions for the new year, but I am in a dash to post this, so they will have to wait until I have more time. As a consolation I offer this lovely little play piece, a French theater from 1890 in the collection of Eric G. Bernard, which is on display at the Bruce Museum. To see more amazing images of 19th century theaters, check out this fabulous link!