A Fantasy Dress Design for the B Pose Paper Dolls

Today's paper doll dress is a fantasy dress design with a surcoat over a under-dress in black and white or in color. The accessories are a pair of boots, a book and a necklace.

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Some people develop elaborate backstories for their paper doll designs. I’ve always wished my brain worked that way, but generally I end up tapping into my history background. So, I find my inspiration for each fantasy dress design there. For today’s paper doll design, I was thinking of 14th century medieval dresses of Europe. Dresses back then usually had a kirtle (under-dress) which as worn with a surcoat (over-dress) on top.

When I was working on this fantasy dress design, I wanted an over-dress that would feel more decorated than the under-dress. Basically, the opposite of putting children wore pinafores in the 19th century to keep their dresses clean. 

Her chain belt owes something to the 12th century and the leather pouch I copied from this one I saw on Pinterest. I have no idea if that chain belt set up would work in the real world (I suspect not), but I did think it looked neat. And looking neat is really a more important priority in my paper doll drawing universe.

So, I’ve decided to take on The 100 Day Project on Instagram. Basically, I am drawing one dress a day (or more realistically several dresses and spacing them out over several days- I know me) for the next 100 days. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, you can here. You can also follow the hashtag #100dressesproject if you want to just see what I’ve drawn so far.

Will some of these become paper doll dresses later? I deeply suspect so. But I’m intentionally only spending a few minutes per dress. My goal is under 10 minutes, because this is a thing I’m doing on the side. It is not my life.

Also, I have an alternative color scheme for today’s gown on Patreon for anyone who’d like to view it. It’s not just for Patrons this time. 🙂

Need a paper doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing.

A Set of Steampunk Style Paper Doll Clothing Designs

A set of steampunk style paper doll clothing designs consisting of a vest over blouse, a skirt with pleated details, boots, stockings, a purse and matching hat in browns and teals or in black and white for you to color any way you like.

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I’ve loved Victorian fashions for as long as I can remember. I think it was probably early paper doll exposure, but what child doesn’t see the ruffles and the puffed sleeves and think, “I want to wear something like that?”

So, for me steampunk style paper doll clothing is a natural evolution of my love of all things Victorian. I’d happily draw steampunk quasi-Victorian outfits every day. I just adore them. When I started the Dames and Dandies paper doll series back in January, I knew I’d be drawing some fashions that embraced my love of all things Victorian. 

Today’s steampunk style foray consists of a pair of boots with vertical striped stockings, a skirt trimmed in pleats and a vest over a blouse. There’s also a tiny top hat and a purse to flesh out the outfit. One thing I love about steampunk style paper doll fashions is the little details- the buckles, the studs and the little pleats. Sometimes I don’t want to draw detail, but usually I enjoy the tiny things that make a paper doll outfit unique.

Don’t worry. There is a floating tab designed to help keep that tiny hat on the paper doll’s head. Everything is better with tiny top hats. 

Anyway, I always love to hear from y’all, so let me know what you think of today’s paper doll set in a comment. Should I do more steampunk? Less steampunk?

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

And This is Cyrus, a White Guy Paper Doll

A white male paper doll with longish brown hair with three pairs of shoes to print in color or black and white. He can wear any of the clothing from the C Pose paper doll series.

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Part of the fun of the Dames and Dandies has been restarting from scratch, but that also has been a point of tension. I want to already have done all sorts of things I just haven’t gotten around to yet. I value diversity in my paper dolls. I want paper doll aliens, cyborgs and mermaids that are all the colors of humanity (and some colors that humans aren’t- blue anyone?)

But since this series is only three months old, I’m settling for just trying to get a variety of human skin-tones and then branching out. Don’t worry, I plan to create my fairies and aliens soon. I’m just not there yet.

So, today I’m pleased to introduce the first white C Pose Dandy. This is Cyrus. I went through a bunch of names for him before I settled on Cyrus. I originally was going to name him Chester, but I decided I didn’t want another ‘Ch’ name.

Now that I have a set of four C pose guy paper dolls finished, you can expect to see some more versions of them soon. I really want to do some elven versions with pointy ears and some pirates and maybe a cyborg or two. This is all in the planning stages, so it might be a while before I can roll them out.

Wednesday, there will be some steampunk action for the A Pose Dames and then some medieval fantasy fun for the B Pose Dames. I finally have enough backlog to feel comfortable and I am some much more relaxed. Let the paper dolls continue. 

And, of course, I always love to hear from you, so leave me a comment.

Need a clothing for today’s paper doll? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

Collaborative Paper Doll 2018: Now & Then

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The challenge for March to our little collaborative paper doll group was to create two paper doll outfits- one based on a historical period and one adapting that period dress to another time. I had all sorts of ideas in my head, but when I saw a tunic that really reminded me of the sleeves of the 1300s, I thought- perfect choice.

So on the left is a gown of the 1300s. It consists of an surcoat over a kirtle or gown. The kirtle and the surcoat were often equally fitted. The surcoat in this case has a draped false sleeves and pockets. The slits in the surcoat would have allowed the wearer to access pockets beneath the surcoat. The tight sleeves of the kirtle below it are buttoned at the cuffs. Check out my 14th century fashion Pinterest board for images from this era.

The tunic is based (sort of) on one I actually own. There is some debate about the construction of 14th century gowns. Some scholars have proposed that the low wide necklines depicted in manuscripts are created by a raglan sleeve construction technique. So I decided to make my tunic raglan sleeved with tulip style flared sleeves and a shark-bite hemline. The pockets I thought were a cute detail, though perhaps not terribly likely (or practical) on a modern garment.

For more of the paper doll collaboration, check out Paper Doll School and Miss Missy Paper Dolls for more paper doll content. I can’t wait to see what other folks have done with this wonderful fun theme.

The idea for the theme came from Boots of Pop Culture and Paper Dolls. She’s paused on her paper doll creation for the moment, but her site is full of wonderful content and well worth a look.

Need a paper doll to wear these clothes? Grab her and more clothing here.

A B Pose Fantasy Gown Inspired by Kaftans

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In my head, probably because I spent too much time researching clothing and dress, I tend to categorize my fantasy clothing based on the sort of “source” material. Nothing exists in a vacuum after all. So, sometimes I look to Medieval Europe and sometimes I borrow from the 18th century in France and sometimes I find myself looking at kaftans. Actually, I was inspired by this Pinterest image and this one. I’m pretty sure they are both kaftans, even if they aren’t labeled entirely in English.

On thing I don’t know is if it is supposed to be spelled kaftan or caftan (or if it’s like Chanukah and several spellings are okay.)

Meanwhile, I’ve been fighting a truly awful few days of allergies. I had forgotten how rough spring is here in Alabama. I’m groggy and stuffed up and otherwise pretty miserable, despite the cocktail of medications I am currently taking. So, I am crawling back into bed and I hope everyone enjoys today’s fantasy gown!

There’s a totally different color scheme over on the Patreon page for my patrons. You donation helps keep the blog on the internet, so join if you would like.

Need a paper doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing.

And Here is Cameron: A Black Guy Paper Doll With Shoes (Many Shoes)

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This is Cameron the new member of the C pose Dandies family. He’s a black guy paper doll, as you can see, and I had a lot of fun researching black men’s hairstyles for him. I noticed this very square hairline seems to be the trending thing (as much as I know anything about men’s trends in hair) and I based the look that Cameron is sporting on this picture and this picture. Drawing men’s hair is something I am still working on getting better at, but I won’t get better if I don’t practice.

Along with his hair, Cameron has three pairs of shoes and can wear any of the C Pose outfits.I wanted to have more skin-tones and ethnicities represented in the Dandies, so along with Cameron here, I have a white paper doll named Cyrus who’ll be shared next Monday. Stay tuned for that.

I always feel bad for my paper dolls who end up with only shoes. I mean, I get it. It’s done so they have shoes, but really… give this poor guy some clothing, stat. Personally, I think he’d look great in the sci-fi set or in this warrior outfit.

Meanwhile, it’s after my bedtime and therefore time to sleep. Let me know what you think of the new paper doll in a comment if you like!

Need a clothing for today’s paper doll? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

Benedita: The 1930s Paper Doll Version

A beautiful 1930s printable paper doll with black hair and period underwear. She has stockings and four different pairs of shoes. Free to print in color or in black and white for coloring.

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On Monday, I posted some 1930s dresses, but paper doll dresses aren’t much use without a 1930s paper doll to wear them. So, here is Benedita, being a 1930s paper doll today! Never has the “dames” title for this printable paper doll collection been more fitting.

Benedita’s 1930s corset was based on this one from The Met. The original corset has a ruffle at the bottom. I had drawn it that way, at first, but to make the slim skirts of the 1930s work over the ruffle was basically impossible, so through the Power of Photoshop, the ruffle went away. Sometimes, paper doll creation requires editing changes, because fabric can fold and paper… doesn’t.

The shoes all came from 1930s shoes in different museums. I love 1930s shoes, but I wanted to try to focus on classic designs that would be versatile for different outfits. Her brown shoes, for example, were based on this pair of purple shoes from Saks Fifth Avenue crica 1934. Her green shoes are a simplified version of this patterned pair from 1935. Her beige and black pair were based on this pair of French sandals. The black pair of the doll is wearing come from this pair of shoes, which is also black.

And yes, today’s 1930s paper doll is wearing shoes. Why? Because I thought it would be easier to put her in shoes than deal with the fact that she can’t be barefoot (she’s wearing stockings) and I didn’t want to deal with the whole “toes under stockings” thing. So, the solution? A nice neutral pair of black shoes.

(And you can always put something over them, if you think she would secretly like to be a fantasy warrior or something.)

Now, just like my 18th Century Alice, 1930s Benedita can’t wear all the clothing I’ve ever drawn for the B Pose paper dolls without her underthings showing. So, if she does decide she wants to go slay a dragon in this ridiculous get up, than she may need need to be okay with her corset showing. Or you can always cut her head off and paste it onto another Benedita’s body. It’s a little gruesome, but no one will judge a bit of paper doll decapitation.

Love her? Hate her? Have an opinion on what decade I should do next? Let me know in a comment!

Need a clothing for today’s Doll? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

Post-Apocalyptic Clothing for the A Pose Paper Dolls

A set of post-apocalyptic fashions for the A Pose paper dolls in color or black and white.

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On Monday, I posted some 1930s paper doll dresses and I wrote about how the 1930s just don’t “do” it for me, unless I see something that intrigues me.

This applies to other fashion themes as well. Post-apocalyptic fashions are a source of some tension for me, because after a while, you can only draw so many torn shirts. Still, I was going through my A Pose paper doll clothing and I noticed that it all felt really feminine and soft to me. So, I said to myself, the A Pose paper dolls need something a little harder and less feminine. So, the end of the world seemed like a logical thing to embrace.

I chose post-apocalyptic, because I found this great picture on Pinterest of some sort of futuristic, post-apocalyptic mechanic and I was intrigued. The mechanic part I didn’t keep, but I totally adapted her pants. I also gave them a hatchet, because sometimes you might need one and a canteen, because all the other post-apocalyptic sets have one, darn it. 

I did notice that I now have a post-apocalyptic outfit for all the different poses. There’s the C pose version and a B Pose version as well. It’s almost turning into a collection, but I don’t know what I’d draw next for it, so I’m not ready to declare it a project, yet.

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Pair of 1930s Paper Doll Dresses From Sewing Pattern Covers

A pair of 1930s paper doll dresses based on 1930s sewing pattern covers in color or in black and white for coloring. Along with the two dresses, there are two hats.

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Some era’s of fashion history I love more than others. I’ve always been a little conflicted about the 1930s. I adore the asymmetry art deco influences of the era, but often find the actual clothing a little dull. Still, once in a while I see a 1930s design and think, “I want to draw that.”

For today’s 1930s paper doll dresses the “thing” I wanted to draw were those sleeves on the dress on the left. That dress is from a McCall 7209, copyrighted in 1932. You can see similar sleeves in McCall 8371 and McCall 8599 from 1935 or Simplicity 1325 from 1933. The sleeve details of the 1930s foreshadow the broad-shouldered silhouette that will become popular at the end of the decade and then take over in the 1940s.

The other of the 1930s paper doll dresses is the one on the right with the scarf. That’s from McCall 8206 and is copyrighted 1935. It’s a more subdued dress and closer to what I think of when I think of the 1930s. The skirt drops quickly from the late 1920s when it’s just below the knee to mid-calve by the early 1930s.

The two hats are based on a soft folded felt hats that were common in this era. I didn’t have a specific example I was copying, but heres a few from a pattern cover and one at the LACMA museum. More examples of 1930s clothing can be seen on my 1930s Fashion Pinterest board

I tried to pick colors schemes that coordinated for these, so that the hats could be worn with either dress. 

If you’re thinking, but there’s no paper doll with historic underwear to go with these dresses, fear not. I have a 1930s Benedita in the works to accompany today’s gowns, but until she’s done any of the B Pose dolls can share these dresses.

Meanwhile, there’s an alternative color scheme on the Patreon page from my Patrons- donate and join if you’d like to support the blog. Now, would be a smart time to join, because I am currently doing my annual “Make requests” poll for my Patrons. If you’ve ever wanted to see a ballerina pirate paper doll dress, now would be the time to ask.

Need a paper doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

Meet Bridget: A St. Patrick’s Day Paper Doll

A super fun St. Patrick Day paper doll to print in color or black and white.

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One of my goals of 2018 was to try to do a paper doll for each of the major holidays. I missed Purim, but I have gotten most of them so far. Today’s paper doll is to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I have only drawn one other St. Patrick’s Day paper doll, so here’s my second one ever.

As many of you know, St. Patrick’s Day is the feast day for St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick was a fifth-century Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. It’s said that he used the clover to illustrate the concept of the trinity (father-son-holy ghost) and that he banished the snakes from Ireland. Interestingly enough, the earliest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States happened in Boston in 1737 and in New York in 1762. That means that the holiday was being observed in the United States before there even was a United States.

Anyway, I had planned to do a St. Patrick’s Day outfit like I did for Valentine’s Day, but then it occurred to me that I didn’t have a redheaded paper doll yet and something about a redhead for St. Patrick’s Day just made sense. So, I did a full St. Patrick’s Day paper doll and an outfit. I named this new B Pose face Bridget, after the other patron Saint of Ireland, and she has jeans, sneakers and a clover t-shirt. She can, of course, wear any of the B Pose clothing, but she has a different skin-tone from Benedita or Beatrix.

I hope anyone celebrating tomorrow has a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day! I’ll probably be having a quiet day at home. Does anyone have neat St. Patrick’s Day plans? Let me know in a comment.

Need a clothing for today’s Doll? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing