A Mermaid for the 2017 Collaborative Paper Doll Project


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Mermaids! Because I like ’em.

So, this isn’t as inspired as Sekhmet by Boots or Julie Williams amazing centaur or Miss Missy’s Lamia/Naga, but this month has been crazy, so I went for a mermaid.

I like mermaids.

The truth is that I was sick at the start of this week and then I had some blog related problems, but I have been assured those are fixed.

However, if anyone has an issue, please email me at paperthinpersonas(at)gmail.com. It seems the blocking issue was only impacting people in specific geographic regions, so it was really hard to track down.

Of course, when the blog is down, I tend to stress out about it and it makes it hard to want to create new content. Luckily, things should be back to normal next week.

This collaborative paper doll project has been so much fun. When we came up with the idea, I confess that I wasn’t sure we’d be able to make it through the whole year, but here we are in June and we’re still going!

That’s very exciting.

Be sure to check out Popculture and Paper DollsMiss. Missy and Paper Doll School for three other literature inspired paper doll outfits.

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

Mini-Maiden’s Paper Doll Sci-Fi Dress & Serious Boots to Print


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Dark Matter and My Sci-fi Fashion Pinterest Board

So, when I drew today’s printable paper doll outfit, I thought to myself, “Man, those are some serious boots.”

And I think I like the serious boots.

I love sci-fi shows. Currently, I’m watching Dark Matter. I started Dark Matter a few weeks ago and I just about done with season 1. It is a good paper doll drawing show- engaging, but not so complex that I can’t look away from the screen for inking purposes.

The costuming, however, is uninspired thus far. It’s a lot of very basic pieces and I find myself wishing for a little more interest. I suppose it is more realistic, but then I’m honestly not sure.

Is the assumption that people would be wearing basically what we wear today in the far future really that realistic? I mean, this is what people were wearing a 100 years ago. Certainly not what I am wearing as I type this blog post.

(In fact, any self respecting Edwardian would be scandalized by my sweats and over-sized t-shirt.)

The truth is that science fiction is more about the present than it is about the future, but that’s true about just about every art form on the planet, I suppose. Still would like some more interesting costuming though. Any shows out there with really stellar costumes I should check out?

Anyway, I had fun designing this strange dress. It was partly inspired by my Sci-fi Pinterest board, but mostly just kinda a random fun piece.

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

Marisole Monday’s 1820s Morning Dress With Cap in White


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Cap from 1825-1830 and This Morning Dress Circa 1827

An 1820s morning dress for the Marisole Monday & Friends printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com. Free to print and play with.

An 1820s morning dress for the Marisole Monday & Friends printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com. Free to print and play with.

I wanted to make an 1820s dress and I wanted to do a morning dress, because morning dresses kinda fascinate me. I knew it I was drawing a morning dress, than I would have to draw a cap. So, today’s 1820s morning dress was born.

First thing, I kinda messed up. I wrote in my notes that the source image which I printed to draw from was from 1828, but actually it is from 1827. This error got repeated on the image of the dress, so I will fix it as soon as I have a chance, but that might be a while since I am traveling this week.

Anyway, here is the 1820s morning dress that I based today’s printable paper doll dress on from the Met. It had the most wonderful delicate flowers on it that I simply could not render to scale. Morning dresses were a private piece of clothing worn usually just for family members. They were classified as undress which was a least formal form of clothing in the 1800s. There was also half-dress and full-dress, if you’re interested.

No lady would be seen without a hat of some kind and caps were basically indoor hats. I based the paper doll’s cap off one from the McCord Museum in Canada and you can see it here.

Today’s dress from 1828 will eventually evolve into this style from 1830. The skirts will widen, the waist will drop and the sleeves will get yet bigger. The late 1820s is such an interesting period, because it is evolving into the 1830s.

I hope everyone enjoys today’s foray into the late 1820s for a morning dress. Tomorrow, the week wraps with a sci-fi outfit.

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

Sprites Get Some Summer Paper Doll Clothing


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Vintage Inspired Contemporary Clothing & College StudentsA set of summer paper doll clothing for boy and girl paper dolls in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com. Jeans, t-shirt, shorts and a tank top are all included.

A set of summer paper doll clothing for boy and girl paper dolls in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com. Jeans, t-shirt, shorts and a tank top are all included.

I wanted to make some summer paper doll clothing, but I confess men’s clothing isn’t my gift. Drawing contemporary men’s clothing still is something I find rather challenging, because I struggle to regularly come up with new ideas.

The guy Sprite’s t-shirt today is based off one I saw a student wearing on the campus where I work. The orange shorts are well, just a pair of orange shorts.

I mean, sometimes even guys want non-neutral pants, right? (I have no idea if this is true, actually.)

The Sprites ladies top is from a contemporary catalog. Her jeans are flares which I have been told are in fashion. I added the designs to the bottom when I decided there was something sorta vintage 1970s going on. Those designs were originally going to go on her top, but I thought that was too busy. The

Sprites, just like every series, I think think need a mix of clothing. I really enjoyed contemporary paper dolls when I was kid, usually ones from Golden Books which had punch out dolls and clothing. I preferred the cut out books, because with the punch out books the tabs often got ripped.

So, when I design contemporary stuff I’m always thinking of those old books, though today’s summer paper doll clothing owes more to what I see on the college campus where I work.

Speaking of all clothing types, tomorrow there will be a historical dress and then Friday there will be something sci-fi. I’m super busy this week and will be traveling a bit, so I will try to respond to comments and emails and such, but that might not happen.

What types of paper doll clothing do you like best? Let me know in a comment!

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

Poppet’s Paper Dolls Go A Bit Tom-Boy & There are Rocketships


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Little Boys Clothing & Rocket Ships

A printable paper doll clothing set with two shirts and a pair of pants for the Poppet paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

A printable paper doll clothing set with two shirts and a pair of pants for the Poppet paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

I will confess that I tend to like girly clothing for the Poppets. Lots of skirts and ruffles and things, but I realized not every one shares my feelings, so I wanted to do some tom-boy clothing for them as well.

I’m not sure about the rocket. I think it would not make it to space, but oh well… not every rocket is a winner, as they say.

I want to give the pants deep pockets for collecting important things, like interesting rocks and other treasures of childhood. The colors were chosen to be masculine without feeling stodgy or old. It’s a riff on a primary color scheme, really, with some orange added in for good measure.

The scheme was my original plan for the Asian Poppet paper doll that I posted earlier in the month, but I didn’t like the yellow being in both the clothing and on the doll’s stand. But, since I did like the color scheme, I used it in today’s set of paper doll clothing.

I am all about recycling and limiting the work I have to do.

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

B&B Curvy Paper Dolls Visit the Groovy 1970s


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1970s and Platform Shoes and Afros and People Whose Blogs I Admire
A black paper doll with an afro and 1970s fashion with shoes and a dress. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

A paper doll Princess Lolita outfit with thigh high socks from paperthinpersonas.com. Available in color or black and white for coloring.

Years ago, Debbie of Black Doll Collecting asked for a 1970s fashion inspired black paper doll with a huge afro. It’s one of those ideas that has been percolating for a long long time.

But I super respect Debbie as the authority on black dolls that she is. She has opened my eyes to examples of early black dolls that are super rare like Cynthia from the 1950s and these early Effanbee dolls.

So, I decided that my ignorance was no excuse to not give it a go. I did some research on 1970s black culture and set to work on creating today’s paper doll.

The 1970s were an interesting era for black culture. The Black is Beautiful movement was in full force bringing with it respect for traditional hairstyles like the afro and dutch wax print fabrics. There were even Black is Beautiful paper dolls produced in 1969, another thing I learned from Debbie’s blog. Black owned toy companies, like Shindana, were bringing out black dolls for children. Meanwhile, blaxploitation films began flourishing in Hollywood when Shaft came out in 1971.

Now, that we’ve all learned about the 1970s, let’s talk today’s paper doll.

Her hair is the first afro I have drawn that I am actually pretty proud of. It’s a little big perhaps for the 1970s, but maybe not? There is that famous scene in Foxy Brown where Pam Grier pulls a gun from her afro.

Her dress is from McCall’s 2316 sewing pattern from 1970 and her shoes are both from the early 1970s as well. Both shoe designs were taken from 20th Century Fashion by John Peacock.

Normally, I steer clear of brown shoes on brown skin, but I actually really liked how the shoes colors (from Peacock’s book) coordinated with the paper doll’s ebony skin-tone.

In my research, I watched Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair, which wasn’t very helpful about historical black fashion, but it was a fascinating window into a world I know nearly nothing about. It also made me feel super cheap for complaining at how much my hair cuts cost. If you haven’t seen it and you’re interested in fashion or culture, I strongly recommend it.

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear what you think of today’s paper doll in a comment. I love to hear from y’all.

Need to get some more clothing for this Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear? Pick out some clothing here.

Sprites Go Steampunk Fashion for Today


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Post Apocalyptic Fashions and Such 

Steampunk paper doll fashions for men and women designed for the Sprites paper doll collection on paperthinpersonas.com. One of hundreds of free paper dolls to print and play with.

Steampunk paper doll fashions for men and women designed for the Sprites paper doll collection on paperthinpersonas.com. One of hundreds of free paper dolls to print. color, and play with.

This is the second Steampunk set I’ve ever done for the Sprites and one of my goals has been to break away from my love of bustled skirts with steampunk sets. This doesn’t mean bustle skirts are going to go away, because my love of 1870s and 1880s fashion is extreme and will not be denied. You can not deny my love.

Thought totally unintentional these pieces really mix and match well with my last Sprite Steampunk collection that I posted on March 30th of this year. My goal was to make Sprite a focus this year and I am really proud that I have created 13 clothing set and 8 dolls for the Sprites printable paper doll series.

I confess that Sprites can be challenging, because men’s clothing just isn’t my favorite thing, but they have been growing on me and I am trying to get better at the whole male paper doll thing.

Also, I’ve clearly been on a thigh high boots for the Sprites gents kick, because the Space pirates had them too.

I hope everyone has had a great Friday. It’s Father’s Day on Sunday, so I want to give a shout out to my amazing Dad who once (I am not kidding) drew me a halibut paper doll. I love you so much, Dad.

As always, let me know what  you think in a comment and have a great weekend.

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

Ms. Mannequin’s Urban Fashions Are Jeans and Tank Tops


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Summer Dresses

A set of urban fashion inspired printable paper doll clothing from paperthinpersonas.com. One pair of jeans and two tank tops make up today's paper doll outfit.

A set of urban fashion inspired printable paper doll clothing from paperthinpersonas.com. One pair of jeans and two tank tops make up today's paper doll outfit.

I wanted to do something kinda this hip-hop inspired week I did for the Ms. Mann last year.  Unlike last year, I didn’t really do much research this time. I wanted to draw some stuff that would fit into that genre without being specific to anyone of the many hip-hop musicians who have become fashion designers.

Sometimes also called Urban Fashion, the style is defined by being influenced by contemporary city life and African-American culture. The word Urban is often a code-word for Black Inner-City Culture, such as Urban Romance.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this tendency in our society to avoid talking about racial and cultural differences by using euphemistic language. However, Urban Fashion is at least shorter and easier to write than Fashion Influenced and Evolved From Black Inner-City Cultural Elements and Then Made into a Commodity by Free Market Economic Forces.

To return to the paper dolls, I think all of these pieces could mix and match well with what I created last year. The white tank would go well with these green pants, for example. The jeans would look nice wit this black and white tanktop as well. These cutoff shorts would be cute with today’s purple top.

I left the space between the black bra and the white tank uncolored, because it should be colored to match the paper dolls skin-tone OR should be cut out very very carefully with an exacto knife or something. I leave the choice up to you.

We’ll be ending the week with some steampunk styles tomorrow, so be sure to tune in (so to speak) for that and follow the blog on Facebook.

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

Poppet Printable Paper Doll’s Little Miss Muffet Costume


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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Little Miss Muffet and Kate Greenaway

An late 18th century inspired Little Miss Muffet costume in pink and cream with grey shoes for the Poppet's printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

An late 18th century inspired Little Miss Muffet costume to color and play with for the Poppet's printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

Today’s Poppet paper doll dress is a Little Miss Muffet costume. In case anyone doesn’t remember the nursery rhyme, it goes like this:

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

So, I did a little research on the rhyme. It turns out that its origins are unclear (not uncommon in nursery rhymes) and it was first published in 1805. The truth is that you will sing ANYTHING to a baby to get it to stop crying (trust me, I know) which means many nursery songs have their origins in popular or political ballads.

When designing today’s Little Miss Muffet costume, I wanted something that was colored with cream accents, rather than cream with colored accents. I was inspired by Kate Greenaway‘s illustrations, but only in the sense that I like her work and always tend to think of it when I start drawing late 18th century inspired children’s clothing.

Okay, I know the rhyme involves a spider, but I am not a big fan of spiders and I was not about to draw one. Deal with it. Instead I made a bowl of curds and whey, which is a dish I’ve never eaten or really know anyone who has eaten.

Have any of you, fair readers, actually eaten it? I know it’s a dairy dish, since curds and whey are both part of the cheese making process.

Her shoes are pretty classic 18th century style (you can see a bunch more like them on my 18th Century Clothing Pinterest Board). She also has a mob-cap which may or may not fit depending on which Poppet doll you put it on.

You can check out my Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes board on Pinterest to see some more of my inspirational images and, of course, you can check out the rest of the Fairy Tale and Nursery Rhyme series for more fairy tale and nursery rhyme inspired paper dolls and outfits.

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