Wednesday 28 January 2015

PANDORA DOLL

                                                            18th century Pandora doll.


        
pandora dolls- used by dress makers to style and design garments.

                             

Pandoras dolls were used from the 14th century and became more popular in the 18th century. The dolls had become more common, and were used as fashion templates were they were then sent all over Europe and America to dress markers to use and share. The dolls were made and designed purely for fashion purposes so that dress makers could use less fabric to create a garment and see how their design would work.

The dolls had a wooden head and where 

This is a wooden pandora doll dressed in a silk sack back robe with a matching petticoat. She has all the accessories and of a fashionable lady of the late 1750s. The original headed pins suggest that the garments have remained in position since the 18th century and the figure may never have been played with.
The dolls weren't made for playing purposes but most of them during the 18th century were reused as toys for young children after they had fulfilled the purpose.
I love this design as I think it is a really clever invention and is very useful when wanting to design a garment without having to to use loads of fabric for it to potentially go wrong, wasting time money and materials. 
I have used a 1/2 scale manikin which works the same as the pandora dolls, and I found very useful as it's easier to play around with getting the shape of your garment and allows you to use up less fabric.
             

I think the dolls were a great invention for designers and dress makers and would have saved them a lot of money and fabrics they may not have been able to afford to practice on. 

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