Toile de Jouy loveliness!

I have always been a big fan of toile de Jouy patterns, and they have featured quite prominently in some of my projects.  Their delicate appearance is reminiscent of old blue and white porcelain, and reflects my love of 18th century fashion.

The name 'toile de Jouy' translates as 'cloth from Jouy-en-Josas', referring to the town Jouy-en-Josas, near Versailles where the fabric was manufactured in the late 18th century.  The typical features are a repeated pattern, usually in black, red or blue, depicting florals, figures or pastoral scenes on a white background.

Blue and white toile de Jouy features in two of my current projects: the toile de jouy paper corset sculpture, where I carefully decoupaged blue and white toile de jouy patterned paper onto a papier mache corset; and a smaller version of this, the blue and white toile de jouy papier mache corset shadow box, which I placed into a 'scene', complete with mannequin stand, royal blue velvet effect 'wallpaper' and white picture frames.

Toile de Jouy paper corset sculpture by ThePaperBoudoir

Blue and white toile de jouy papier mache corset shadow box by ThePaperBoudoir

Looking around Etsy for inspiration, I came across some beautiful examples of toile de Jouy-inspired items.  Enjoy!

I love this Clementine and pink toile de jouy cushion by TheNeonLoop, which has a slightly different take on the traditional blue and white theme.

Clementine and pink toile de jouy cushion by TheNeonLoop

I also spotted this wonderful Toile de Jouy saucer hat by FraserAnnand.

Toile de Jouy saucer hat by FraserAnnand

And, this beautiful cat eiderdown nest bed by FeatherPetBeds, which would be wasted on my two cats, but I love it nevertheless.

Cat eiderdown nest bed by FeatherPetBeds

Until next time, bye for now x

Outlander's back!

I'm so excited for the new season of 'Outlander' which started this weekend on Amazon Prime.  I loved the first season which I discovered last year.  Starring Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, the series is based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, and follows the story of Claire Randall, a married World War II combat nurse who mysteriously gets transported back to 18th century Scotland, where she meets, and falls in love with the dashing Jamie Fraser, a Highland warrior.  I loved the chemistry between the two lead characters, but also the wonderful performances from the supporting cast.

Sam Heughan as Jamie and Caitriona Balfe as Claire in 'Outlander'

It was also lovely to experience a show set in my homeland of Scotland, and witness the beautiful scenery.  I've been away for over 20 years now, but I fell in love with the place all over again just through watching the show.  Much of Season 2 will be set in Paris, and I'm particularly looking forward to seeing some of the amazing costumes, designed by Terry Dresbach.  The historically accurate outfits were incredible during Season 1, and Season 2 promises to be even more flamboyant.  It's provided great inspiration for corset-lovers, and has helped influence my collection of 18th century corsets which I'll be adding to The Paper Boudoir over the next few weeks, so please do take a look.

In the meantime, if you get a chance to watch 'Outlander', I can thoroughly recommend it.

Until next time, bye for now x

The vintage appeal of the cherry print

Public Domain Cherries Image courtesy The Graphics Fairy

I'm currently somewhat obsessed with cherry prints, which have found their way into some of my latest projects.  They have a lovely vintage appeal, and add a touch of fun to an outfit.  Sadly, my appreciation of the fruit only goes as far as admiring its visual appearance - a childhood experience involving cherry cake at a neighbour's birthday party put me off eating cherries for life - but they have been used in print form to wonderful effect on all manner of clothing and accessories.



The cherry print has been used on clothing for centuries.  I came across this wonderful image of an 1898 dress by Jean-Philippe Worth, from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, featuring an early example of the cherry print.

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

More recent examples of the cherry print include Marilyn Monroe's cherry print dress, worn in 'The Misfits' (1961), and this wonderful vintage advert for swimsuits.

Image courtesy of Cosmosonic Tumblr

Image courtesy of Mad Men Art Vintage Ad Art Collection

The vintage influence of the cherry print is everywhere once you start looking and these are just some of my favourites.

    
Retro 50s style Cherry Print Swimdress Swim set by MyVintage on Etsy.

'50s Halterneck Cherry Print Dress by OhMyHoneyShop on Etsy.

Super Cute Retro Red Bottlecap Necklace with Rockabilly Cherry Print Design by LittleMissMadeIt on Etsy.


 

The cherry print has inspired some of my latest projects, including this vintage-style corset plaque.  I painstakingly painted the cherries on with acrylics before varnishing, attaching ribbons and lace trims, and mounting on bookcloth-covered board.

I'm also working on a dress in a similar style.  Hopefully they'll be added to the shop in a few weeks.

Until next time, bye for now x

Unique paper sculptures inspired by vintage fashion

Hello...and welcome to my blog.  My Etsy shop 'The Paper Boudoir' was inspired by a lifelong love of paper, vintage fashion, historical costume, and in particular, the corset.  Why paper, and not fabric?  As much as I have tried my hand at many creative crafts, I have never had an affinity with fabric and dressmaking.  Having previously opened a shop on Etsy, selling my handmade books, my work frequently incorporated a vintage theme - often in the form of floral, vintage-style fabric, or a cut-out from a 1950s dress pattern embossed on the front cover.

The somewhat tenuous link between my vocation as a would-be bookbinder and paper sculptor originated when I spotted a book on creating sculptures from the pages of unwanted books. And there on the cover of this advertised book, was a picture of the bodice of a dress, made from paper. Somehow it captured my imagination, and having learned the basics of papier mache to construct a dress form, I realised the endless possibilities of this medium, and the chance to indulge my passion of vintage fashion, a passion which went way back to my childhood when I first discovered old MGM musicals in glorious technicolour and the movie stars of the 1940s and 50s.

Although I wore vintage clothing in my youth, these days, I have neither the figure or the confidence to get way with it.  However, I love and appreciate vintage clothing styles as though they were mini works of art, which is, I suppose, what I've attempted to create with my paper sculptures.  I hope my passion makes up for my lack of expertise in corsetry, vintage fashion or papier mache.  My sculptures aren't intended to be strictly authentic copies of certain fashions: I prefer to think of them as my own interpretations of favourite fashion pieces: little mementoes of my appreciation of fashions of the past, my own particular favourite eras including 18th century, 1930s and 1950s. 

My inspirations are many and various, but perhaps my greatest inspiration is my own mother, who sadly passed away just over 2 years ago.  Looking back through old photographs from the 1950s, I realised what a beautiful, stylish and sophisticated woman she was, with a love of clothes and a passion for style, which she managed to retain right up until the day she died.  In memory of my mum, I'm hoping to post regularly on this blog, looking at particular favourite eras, styles, inspirations and highlighting the work of people I admire.  I hope you'll join me.