Achterzijde van een jurk voor een uitknippop 1825 - 1875

This paper doll dress was made by an anonymous artist, and we can see it is composed of paper and watercolor. The dress’s materiality influences its appearance, since it is delicately painted to imitate the ruffles and ribbons of a fashionable gown. The image would have been printed, possibly using lithography, and then finished with watercolor. It is interesting to see how techniques like these could belong to histories of creative practices and aesthetics. A paper doll like this would have been relatively inexpensive, but it still evokes the dressmaking trade. It also echoes the fashion plates that were popular at the time. Though this dress doesn't require labor to make or wear, it certainly points towards wider issues of politics and consumption. This artwork invites us to consider the amount of work involved in the production of fashion, and how even a simple paper doll can embody complex social meanings.