Ursula’s Modern Clothes: A Printable Paper Doll


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  What I see College Girl’s wearing
A black paper doll with her dreads in an updo and cute contemporary clothing. Free to print in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com.

First off, my favorite thing about this Ursula paper doll is her hair. I love dreads and I particularly think they look cool when they are styled up into an updo.

Because the lady Sprites have much smaller stands then the guy sprites, I could fit two pairs of shoes onto this page with with Ursula. So, I did a pair of white shoes and a pair of black shoes. I figured that covered all the basic shoes a person might need.

All the Ursula dolls have the same skintone, so she had borrow some sandals from her mermaid version if she wants too. If there are more Ursula paper dolls (and there probably will be eventually), then you can pick out shoes from those dolls as well. Any of the shoes that don’t show skin tone, of course, will fit any of the Sprites ladies.

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Looking for something for today’s Sprite paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Zachary: A Modern African-American Guy Paper Doll


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  What I see College Guys Wearing, But With More Color
A casually dressed African-American guy paper doll with shorts, sandals and short hair. Part of the Sprites series, he can share clothing with of the other Sprites guys. Free to print in color or black and white.

Back when the Sprites started, I had planned to start with a lady paper doll as the first Sprite. However, I’d decided to name them in reverse alphabetical order. I find if I have a naming scheme it makes coming up with paper doll names easier.

So, I was stuck with starting with Z. There just aren’t that many names that start with Z, so I started with Zachary here instead of starting with Yumiko.

I’m sure you all really cared about this random piece of paper doll blog history.

Anyway, I do think there are advantages to contemporary dolls. I think they sort of act as basic options. There’s no colorful hair here, so this version of Zachary could be a mermaid or he could be going to the park or borrowing this nifty elf armor, The point is that he’s a bit more neutral than the two pervious Zachary versions I have created.

Tomorrow, there will be a contemporary fashion Ursula to join Zachary.

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Looking for something for today’s Sprite paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Collaborative Paper Doll Project 2017: The Year I was Born


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:A Dress from 1985

A paper doll coloring page with a dress from 1985, complete with a wig. Inspired by Barbie dresses designed by Oscar De La Renta. Free to print.

The first theme for our collaborative project was a dress from the year we were each born. So, for me that meant drawing something from 1985.

So, I went loooking for clothing from 1885 and came cross this Barbie dresses from Oscar De La Renta. I love Oscar De La Renta’s designs and I had no idea he’d done a series of Barbie clothing. Inspired, I combined this dress and this dress. You can see more of his Barbie designs here and here.

My mother was pretty anti-Barbie when I was a kid. She felt that it wasn’t a healthy body type for girls to aspire too, so she mostly bought me Ginny dolls. I did have a few Barbies, of course, but they weren’t my favorites.

Anyway, I’m sure Julie and Boots are posting great outfits over on Popculture & Paper Dolls and Paper Doll School, so go check those out to flash out your Collaborative Paper Doll Project wardrobe.

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Need a doll to wear this stylish outfit? Grab the Doll here.

Ms. Mannequin: On Future Streets, Again


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Cyberpunk Fashion and my 2014 paper doll set- On Future Streets
A bright and colorful set of cyberpunk paper doll clothing. Fits any of the Ms. Mannequin paper dolls. Download and print for free.

Last year, I decided I would draw some paper dolls based on older sets I have as a way to revisiting older work. So, today’s Ms. Mannequin outfit was inspired by this cyberpunk paper doll clothing set called “On Future Streets” that I created in 2014.

The amount of cyberpunk stuff I draw for the paper dolls is directly proportional to the amount of Shadowrun I am playing at any given time. So, given that my usual group has gathered once more to play, I suspect 2017 will have more in the cyperpunk paper doll clothing genre.

I like revisiting my older sets for two reasons:

  1. It helps me get ideas when I don’t have any ideas. A totally blank piece of paper is both the most inspiring and the most scary thing in the world.
  2. It helps me write about the post when I have to write the post. Because writing about these paper doll outfits is sometimes the hardest thing.

So, I have the following things to say about this paper doll outfit today.

  1. I did wanted to make something that could be cyberpunk, but could also just be scifi. I totally can imagine someone from 5th Element wearing this get up. Actually, all the costumes in the 5th Element are amazing. I love that movie.
  2. Making things look shiny is a skill I was really out of practice at. I used to be so good at it. I shall have to practice more. Shiny things here I come!
  3. Writing blog posts as numbered lists is actually kinda fun. I should do this more often.

As always, if you love PTP and want to donate to keep it up on the internets, please consider becoming a Patron. If you just want to know what I’m up too then you can follow it on Twitter. And if you want to make me feel less alone on the internet, leave a comment.

Tell me- Are you excited about more cyberpunk paper doll clothing?

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick out a Ms. Mannequin Paper Doll Here

Poppet’s Snowy Fantasy Burgundian Gown


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Burgundian gowns, Like this one

Today's fantasy paper doll gown was inspired by the Burgundian gowns of the mid to late 1400s, snowflakes and the color lavender. Download and print for free!

Today’s fantasy gown was inspired by the Burgundian gowns of the mid to late 1400s. The style was worn by women of wealth and status. This manuscript illustration of Fortune and her Wheel is particularly nice.

Now, my fantasy version hasn’t got a lot in common with this, but I really wanted to capture the spirit of the gown which, when I was a child, was something I always thought was worn by Princesses.

So, let’s talk about “Burgundian Gowns”, shall we? Here’s a nice article about how to make your own, plus some good pictures from A Damsel In This Dress. The term “Burgundian Gown” refers to the Duchy of Burgundy which was the leading fashion center of the time.

In the 1400s, the Duchy of Burgundy was Belguim, the Netherlands and parts of northern France. While England and France were busy duking it out in the Hundred Years War, this area became the cultural center of Europe.

The gowns, in the real world, consist of two parts. The kirtle and then a gown over it. The gown was lined in fur that showed when it was folded back to reveal the kirtle underneath. In my fantasy version, that’s the lace and ribbon trimmed part that’s visible in the deep v-neck of the outer gown.

Since it is winter outside, I chose to decorate my gown with a snowflake pattern.

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Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Sprites as Superheroes


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  The Golden Age of Superheros
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Every year, I ask my Patrons to for ideas in December. I try to get to all their suggestions over the course of the year. And some of their suggestions were already in the works! That works out well for me and for them, because no one wants to wait eight months for a paper doll request to happen.

(Of course, sometimes people do, because that’s just how the cookie crumbles, but I do my best to be responsive to my Patrons.)

The Steger Family, some of my Patrons, asked for Superheroes. Well, today there are some. I don’t really know why Superheroes are required to wear absurd jumpsuits, but that seems to be the thing they do.

I try to draw what my Patron’s request. They, after all, giving me money. Join if you want to here.

When I was designing this set, I wanted to do a call back to classic comics. Back in the old days, comics could only be printed in a limited collection of colors- red, blue, yellow and black. Back in those days, the colors were printed as tiny dots and the dots overlapped each other creating the other colors.

The limitations of this printing style often meant that the color schemes for heroes and villains were very boldly defined by their colors. The Joker, for example, wears green and purple. Superman wears red and blue for the same reason. As a nod to that practice, I wanted to do this set of Sprites paper dolls in a limited color collection.

I was inspired to draw this set when I read that Superheroes out sold Princesses for Halloween in 2016. I have no idea where I read it, but there you go.

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Collaborative Paper Doll Project 2017


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: A Collaborative Project with Boots & Julie

A black and white paper doll

In December, I reached out to Boots and Julie, two other active paper doll bloggers. We discussed doing another collaboration, like the October Halloween Paper Doll from a few years ago, but we thought it might be neat to do something for the whole year.

So, assuming we don’t abandon the whole project in a few months, here’s the plan. Every last week in January, we will all post outfits that will fit today’s paper doll. The pose was beautifully drawn by Julie, of Paper Doll School, and each of us created our own heads for the doll. I also added some decoration to her swimsuit, because I can’t just leave things well enough alone.

In theory, every outfit each of us draws SHOULD fit each of the three dolls. I mean, assuming we haven’t messed this whole thing up already. 🙂

We also came up with a list of themes for the rest of the year. Our first theme was to draw a dress from the Year we were born. So, my 1985 dress will post on Friday. Until then, you’ll just have to deal with a cold paper doll, since the poor girl doesn’t have any clothing yet.

Here is Boots‘, of Pop Culture and Paper Dolls, version of the doll and here is Julie’s, of Paper Doll School, version of the doll.

My Curvy Paper Dolls And A Dress from 1820


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Dress from 1820 in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and these shoes from 1815-1825 in the Bata Shoe Museum 

A dress from 1820 for the B&B curvy paper doll series based on a gown from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

A dress from 1820 for the B&B curvy paper doll series based on a gown from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to color and print.

The 1820s fascinate me as a fashion era, because there is a clear evolution from the beginning of the decade to the end of the decade. In the beginning of the 1820s, the era this dress comes from, the waist was still quite high as you can see from this 1820 fashion plate. By the end of the decade, it has dropped to the natural waist, as you can see from this 1829 fashion plate.

The green gown for the B&B series is based off this dress from 1820, though I added the clasp detail on the belt. I love the three-dimensional padded appliques that were a common form of decoration in this era. I wanted to make it clear in my paper doll dress from 1820 that the designs were raised. I think that part of it came out well. I did not keep the striped pattern on the original dress. I thought it would be way to hard to not lose the applique leaf pattern if I did that. So, my version is a bit simpler in style. The shoes are based on this pair from the Bata Shoe Museum in Canada.

A few other notes about today’s dress. I’m not sure what the formality of a dress like this would have been in 1820. I am included to think it is a formal dress, but not really a ballgown. I think maybe a dinner dress? Something for half-dress, anyway. It’s not as informal as undress and not as formal as full-dress. Any thoughts from y’all?

Short sleeves would indicate evening wear after the 1820s, but during the era it is such a transitional period that I am hard pressed to guess exactly what the “rules” were for ladies. As I often say in these situations, I should do more research!

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Poppets: Ice Skating in 1927


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Everyday Fashions of the Twenties: As Pictured in Sears and Other Catalogs, Bobble Hats

A 1920s ice skating outfit for a child paper doll from paperthinpersonas.com

This is the first of a bunch of 1920s clothing I have drawn for the Poppets, so I hope everyone loves this era as much as I do. I originally drew the outfits last year when I was still doing sets and then I kinda forgot about them for a few months and rediscovered them while I was cleaning up my files at the end of the year.

I always do an annual file clean up and I often discover things I kinda forgot about or abandoned because they weren’t something I really liked. Boots wrote a really brave post on her blog, Pop Culture Looking Land,  about failed projects. I wrote a follow-up over on my Patreon page for my Patrons.

Moral of the story: Sometimes, I abandon stuff and then find it again and go, “Actually, that’s not so bad.”

And this one of those things. I don’t even remember what I didn’t like about it. I think it was the ice skates.

Still now I look at them and I am like, “They’re okay. What was my problem?”

The human mind is a funny thing.

Can I make a confession? I have no idea how to ice skate. I think I have been on ice skates exactly three times and every time I ended up on my butt. It was not much fun. Still, I like watching other people ice skate, so that should be worth something.

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Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Marisole Monday & Friends in 1830s Fashion


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This 1830 fashion plate, Bonnets
A green 1830s paper doll dress based on a fashion plate from 1830 with a matching bonnet and shoes from paperthinpersonas.com.

I’ve written before that the 1830s are a period of fashion I find a little absurd looking. Yet, the more I draw clothing from those years, the more it grows on me.

I am starting to almost like the era. Just almost.

So, a quick overview of the fashions of this era shows an abundance of sleeves and bonnets. If the three decades from 1800 to 1830 were the era of the column silhouette, than the 1830s were the era of the oval. The sloping shoulders, wide-sleeves, round bonnets, and full skirts all give a oval shape to the silhouette.

Plus, the wide skirts and sleeves also emphasized the desirable small waist, often accented with a belt.  The invention of metal eyelets in 1828 allowed for a much tighter fit on a corset. There was no longer the danger of the lacing cutting through the hand-sewn eyelet due to tight lacing. So, waists got smaller.

Like the earlier part of the century, people were still super into the Ancient Civilizations.  So, references to the Roman and Greek civilizations abound. Hairstyles have names like Apollo’s Knot, one of the dumbest looking hairstyles ever. The hair in this fashion plate is an Apollo’s Knot style and so is this. It was very popular. And, clearly, not one of my favorites.

Anyway, this 1830 fashion plate from the Casey Fashion Plate Index inspired today’s outfit.  As hard as it is to believe, I actually simplified the bonnet from the original drawing. Bonnets are not my forte, so I have mixed feelings about how this one turned out.

All in all, however, I think I didn’t do a bad job on today’s foray into 1830s fashion.

What do you think? More of this era in order? Not a favorite?

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Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here