Free Paper Doll Tennis Ensemble

Victoria's Seaside Lawn Tennis Costume

NOTE: This paper doll outfit is for the earlier doll design.
While I hope to have a new tennis outfit for the new doll here soon, I have not been able to find just the right one. Fitting the dress to the new doll should work out well. It is the hat that concerns me.
~Rose

As some of you may already know, our young lady, Victoria Lacey, is currently visiting an American relative in Virginia Beach, VA, USA. She has had some adventures playing by the shore, and now is enjoying spending her time in equally fun pursuits.

Today's activities included a rousing lawn tennis tournament at a party given for her and all their friends by her Aunt Martha. For this, our Victoria's outfit was most fetching and fashionable, wouldn't you agree?

This particular paper doll outfit actually took days to make, owing to a time constraint, but it will hopefully have been well worth it. It had to be completely altered from its original fashion plate in black and white on browning old paper. We did this by easy stages, remaking all until it would actually fit Victoria herself, although the shoulder and sleeve areas made this a bit tricky for tabs. 

Remaking old fashion plates as paper doll clothes can really be a challenge! Thank goodness for Photoshop products! The original artist even had drawn her racquet really too, too small. We are still uncertain as to the best size, but have chosen to publish now that her racquet has been enlarged at least somewhat by the studio Photoshop process.

{Some tips:
And as for the hat, this should fit, although I wouldn't bet my life it would fit perfectly. Printer problems have prevented the usual testing this time. The hat will require a good bit of "fussy cutting" so it is recommended that a pair of small fingernail or cuticle scissors be employed for this task. I suppose a utility knife might work just as well, although such a project requires a certain amount of manipulation during cutting. Reinforcing from behind using cellophane tape might even make this cutting process a little easier, and also keep the tabs from tearing later on.}

The doll herself (that we re-worked until she was fresher looking and also more workable for young fingers) may be found HERE.

Her striped dress has shorter sleeves than usual for a more sporty look. Young ladies back in the 1890's were often interested in sporting activities, and many in her station or class could play tennis. Please note the wide collar as well as the lace-bedecked hat, built for shading the face. The wearing of gloves with the shorter sleeves seems silly to yours truly, yet these were fashion rules which simply were never to be bent. Paler skin on the hands was considered more "ladylike" then, and tanning was not necessarily something a woman would have then tried for.

She most likely would also be wearing a sporting corset (or set of stays) along with a camisole, corset cover, petticoats, drawers and heavy stockings for this outing. It all must have felt stifling to the ladies of that era!

All the same, it was a grand day out for our Victoria in her lovely new Lawn Tennis Dress.

Happy Creativity!
:)

Victoria's Seaside Lawn Tennis Outfit

may be downloaded HERE

Here is a Display Copy 

(at a lower resolution for storage purposes)

Credits: NYPL online for original dress imagery.

Alterations: PPS™ generated!

You are free to:

use our paper doll clothes in art for fun or profit

provided you will credit us for our work

or

simply for playtime.

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Thank you.