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    • Paper Doll Set: Young Girl with Nine Outfits

    One of Ray’s main interests in her teenage years was fashion illustration. She made this paper doll when she was a student at Sacramento High School, where she was a member of the Art Club. The clothes she designed for her small model, with the proportions of a child, demonstrate Ray’s attention to the details and intricacies of women’s fashion, as well as her proficiency as an artist. Among the nine outfits, Ray included a range of formal and casual dresses, some with the dropped waistline popular in the 1920s. With a distinctly modern sensibility, Ray translated current trends into a set of designs that could be practically used by children. Ray would later go on to design and make her own dresses.

    Artifact
    A.2019.2.007
    Materials
    Ink, watercolor, and graphite on paper
    Artist / Designer
    Ray Kaiser
    Framed
    15 ¾ × 12 ⅛ in
    40 × 30.8 cm
    Date
    c. 1928

    The young girl in this paper doll set with a charming wardrobe displayed around her would have been one fashionable child. The variety of detailed garments—from daywear to party dresses, for different seasons, and in a variety of fabric from a knit sweater to a soft, semi-sheer party dress—show the meticulous attention to detail seen in later fashion drawings done by Ray. Perhaps this was done for a “Little Sister” for whom Ray was a “Big Sister” in high school, or just for her own amusement. Ray was already very skilled at rendering different types of fabric—from wool to chiffon. Certainly, any little girl given this paper doll set to play with would be delighted.

    Dale Carolyn Gluckman