Because I need another project idea to work on, I have decided that I really want to make more historically accurate and adult versions of the outfits my favorite American Girl, Felicity Merriman, wears. This idea came to me when I was contemplating what to do for Halloween next year (I already have a plan for this year, and yes I do plan Halloween costumes a year in advance!) As a librarian, I like to go as recognizable book characters. With my new obsession with 18th century clothes, I wanted to find a character who would wear those clothes. After thinking for a short time, I remembered some of my love for the American Girl books and dolls as a kid and realized Felicity would be the perfect choice!
There are six main books about Felicity. Their covers have changed over the years, but my focus will be on the original covers and illustrations, which are the ones I read as a child and had the ones that were the basis for the doll outfits I remember.
I would like to eventually make all six of these outfits in more adult/historically accurate versions.
I would also like to make her lovely green riding habit which she never actually wears in the books but was one of my favorite doll outfits when I was a kid and appears in the paper doll sets, as seen at left. The collection of the six outfits from the book covers plus riding habit would make a wonderfully complete 18th century wardrobe. It also has many colors that compliment the outfits I want to make for 18th century Belle, so between the two I would have a very extensive wardrobe of things to choose from with a lot of different mix and match possibilities.
One major challenge with this project is that three of the outfits have very distinctive prints that are not going to be possible to find. I need to decide whether to just use whatever close approximations I can come across or whether to try and recreate the patterns digitally in order to print them from a service like Spoonflower. Right now I am leaning towards the latter because I don't think I'll be satisfied with what I can find otherwise, especially for the Meet Felicity dress. I can find floral prints I like well enough for the Felicity Learns a Lesson and Happy Birthday, Felicity! outfits, but if I'm already digitizing a pattern for one outfit, I might as well go all out!
I will not be reproducing the dresses exactly as they appear on the covers. Most of Felicity's outfits are not terribly historically accurate and even if they were, she is a nine year old girl and I am an adult woman so some changes will have to be made to make them both period and age appropriate.
Click read more for my plans so far!
