I am back home in Alaska for the 4th and I am very excited about it. There will be fireworks at 12:01am on the Fourth, because it doesn’t get dark until then in Alaska. I am very excited about that. There’s always a big bon fire on the beach as well.
I decided to do a set of contemporary summery clothing for my 4th of July themed paper doll clothing set. I realized quickly that shorts and a t-shirt didn’t seem like quite “enough” so I drew an outfit for each of the Dames and Dandies paper dolls.
For the A pose, I did shorts and a boat-necked shirt. For the B pose, I did a blue dress with white polka-dots. For the C pose, guys I drew surf shorts and a t-shirt. All summer time clothing.
Anyway, enjoy the 4th of July if you are celebrating (or just have a wonderful Wednesday) either way!
I wanted to draw a suit for the C Pose Dandies of the Dames and Dandies paper doll series, because I think a suit is just a basic piece of clothing every person (male or female) probably needs. Most of us don’t wear them daily (though I would if I could), but I think a good suit is handy. It’s great for dates, cocktail parties, weddings, job interviews or just because you want to feel dashing.
There is nothing quite as dashing as a well cut suit. As my mother is fond of saying, “A well cut suit can hide a multitude of sins.” So, any man (or paper doll man) needs a good suit. Plus I find drawing men’s suits a little intimidating, so it is good practice for me to work on them.
In fact, both a suit and a tuxedo (which I haven’t drawn yet) were on my initial brainstorm of paper doll clothing “basics” that I thought I needed for the gents. That original list also included pirates and post-apocalyptic, so I have gotten a lot of it drawn. Despite my best efforts, the C Pose boy paper dolls still trail behind the ladies in numbers of sets. I just can’t help it. I like drawing ladies clothing more than gent’s clothing.
Well, what do you think? Are you a a fan of suits? Hate them? What else do does the well outfitted paper doll man need? Let me know in a comment. I love to hear from you.
I always think of these big full skirted dresses as ‘princess dresses’ even though princesses wear all sorts of different dresses across time. It’s probably the influence of the 1980s on my childhood along with movies from Disney that makes me think of these dresses in that context.
I’d say there’s a bit of the 1860’s in today’s summer paper doll dress, but I’m not really sure there is. No lady of the 1860s would be caught dead during the day in a dress that showed off this much shoulder.
Usually, this is the point where I link my inspiration, but frankly this one came mostly out of my head. I don’t even think I did a thumbnail pre-sketch, which is a bit unusual for me. I do remember drawing the top of the dress first and then deciding I needed something on the skirt to fill up the empty space beneath the over skirt.
I wanted this dress to feel summery like my last foray into this style (back in February) felt wintery. I do think both this dress and the February dress come from the same universe, so to speak. I see them as sister dresses.
I have been debating drawing more of these dresses. I think there needs to be an autumn and a spring version as well. What do you think? Big skirted princess dresses? Let me know in a comment.
Since it’s Friday, C Pose Guy Paper Dolls Week is wrapping with this set of casual guy paper doll clothing. I feel like I haven’t done as many contemporary paper doll clothing sets for the Dames and Dandies as usual, but maybe that’s the three day a week updating schedule playing tricks on me. I am really hoping I can return to a daily updating schedule soon. I really do miss it.
Okay, so today’s paper doll set was inspired by the realization that I hadn’t drawn any slacks for the C pose gents. They have jeans and short, but no slacks. So, I felt like a bit of a slacker in that regard. (Sorry, not sorry.)
Anyway, so that’s kinda it. I’d love to be like, “Here’s the deep reason I drew some pants.” But honestly, I felt like drawing pants.
The fact is that guy paper dolls just aren’t as easy for me to work on than lady paper dolls. I tend to have sudden flashes of inspiration for the ladies, but that rarely happens for the guy paper dolls. Maybe I need to read more men’s fashion magazines or something. I mean, men like being fashionable, too.
Plus, there’s a second color scheme for today’s casual set over on my Patreon page for patrons. Join if you want to help keep the blog running and see more content!
C Pose guy paper doll week continues today with a pirate paper doll outfit.
There are themes I tend to come back to a lot- cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic, contemporary fashion, medieval inspired fantasy, and steampunk, of course. And then there are themes I like, but I don’t seem to feel the same connection too. Pirates are firmly in this category. I love a good pirate movie and I’m all for swashbuckling and adventure, but I tend to not go back to pirates with the same regularity as I do some other themes.
I’m not entirely sure why.
A bunch of illustrations on Pinterest inspired today’s pirate paper doll. You can make sub-boards and you can see my Pirate board which is a sub-board of my Fantasy Clothing board. This image was a specific inspiration, but I also looked at lots of photos of flint lock pistols. They are hard to draw.
When working on pirate paper doll clothing I tend to think in layers. I imagine pirate outfits as sort of pieced together from different items that don’t totally match. Plus, I try to give at least a nod to the 18th century when pirates sailed the high seas. Of course, there’s no scurvy in my paper doll universe and it’s generally a much cleaner time period.
Being an actual pirate, I suspect, would be a rather horrible existence, but the fantasy Hollywood version is very romantic. There’s boats and freedom and swords, after all.
If you’d like to see more of my pirate creations, I have a whole tag devoted to pirates, some of which are space pirates.
So, my question to all of you is, do the ladies need pirate outfits too? Let me know in a comment.
Today’s printable paper doll ball gown was inspired by this evening gown I saw on Pinterest. I loved the off the shoulder shape and the fullness in the skirt. I chose to make this version purple, but there’s a red version over on my Patreon page anyone can download to print if they prefer the original color scheme.
To go with the evening gown, there’s a little clutch bag, but I confess the dress is really the fun part of today’s post.
I enjoy drawing evening dresses, but after a while I get tired of the strapless simple gowns. I find I am attracted to evening gowns with interesting shapes or draping. I really want a dress that I think would be fun to draw, as much as anything else. I totally realize that “fun to draw” doesn’t mean “flattering to wear”, but I am completely cool with that.
Paper dolls, as I have often observed, never complain about their clothing.
Friday there will be a circus themed set, which I think is pretty exciting.
If you love the blog, consider supporting it on Patreon. It helps offset the costs of keeping up this little corner of the internet.
A secret fact about me a lot of people don’t know is how much I love classic 1970s punk. I’m talking classic stuff- The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Clash and Blondie (though their exact genre is a subject of debate). Anyway, this is the fact people rarely guess about me.
I suppose I just don’t seem like a punk rock fan.
Needless to say, I am. So, I knew I wanted to draw some punk paper doll clothing for the Dames and Dandies. One of the interesting things about Punk is that I really do believe it is a fashion movement that is tied to a place and time. 1970’s classic punk fashion is as unreproducible in the 21st century as 1890s fashion is.
Women in heavy eyeliner, torn clothing and bondage accessories just doesn’t carry the same punch as it did almost 50 years ago.
So, I don’t think this set of punk paper doll clothing is really 1970s punk (or I would have put it in the historical category). Rather this is some contemporary clothing with a nod to those styles. The truth is that the clothing worn by Punks was startling at the time. Today, I don’t think it has the same impact, as mentioned above.
The cropped biker jacket, torn tank and zipper skirt were all fun to draw. I really fell in love with both the skirt and the boots which you can see on my Punk Fashion Pinterst board.
My cousin Keri wore punk clothing and I remember I always admired her guts. I never had the guts to wear much that wasn’t mainstream. I thought of her a lot while I was drawing this set.
So, am I the only punk music fan out there? Are there other folks who enjoy it as well? Let me know in the comments.
P.S. I wrote this whole post while listening to Ramones songs. Just FYI.
I posted the prompt on Facebook, the Patreon Page and here to ask me a question and that I’d answer it in a blog post. So far, Melissa and Laura Jay have taken me up on it.
Laura Jay asked: Where do you get your inspiration?
Well, Laura, that’s a short answer to that and a long answer. The short answer is: Everywhere, but mostly Pinterest.
The Long Answer is: I believe inspiration is a myth. We become inspired by doing. Don’t know what to draw? Just start drawing. Don’t know what to cook? Just start cooking. The word ‘inspiration’ conjours images of fairies who come and provide the perfect idea.
There is no perfect idea.
Take today’s 1940s paper doll dresses. The sources were Simplicity 1628, McCall 4280, and a hat and purse from The Met. But those weren’t what inspired me in the first place.
What inspired me in the first place was that I drew the straw hat, because I was looking for 1940s hats and I thought it was super cute. But I didn’t think it went well with Wednesday’s dark eggplant dress, by the time it was done. So, I decided to draw a pair of summery dresses to go with the straw hat. That meant pouring through the Vintage Pattern Wiki until I found two dresses I liked- McCall 4280 came first and then Simplicity 1628.
Once they were done, I realized I needed a purse or something and I went looking for a 1940s purse that felt summery. I was completely unsuccessful and on a deadline, so I used this purse and made it white. I still think that was cheating a little. I store all the things I see on Pinterest boards, like my 1940s fashion one.
I’m not sure I did a very good job answering your question, but I hope I gave some insight in how my brain works when I’m putting together a set. Meanwhile, don’t forget that on Monday there was a 1940s paper doll to go with today’s 1940 dresses and Wednesday there were two other dress options.
Meanwhile, let me know what you think of today’s dresses in a comment whenever you have a moment and if you’d like to ask me a question, please do!
Need a doll for today’s paper doll clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing, but I would recommend the 1940s Beatrix if you want period underwear to match the era of these dresses.
This whole week of 1940s fashion would not have happened if it weren’t for the suit on the left from LACMA. Seriously, I feel in love with that suit and then I was like, Welp, I guess I’m going to draw a paper doll with 1940s underwear and things… they spiraled from there.
You can see the suit in photos here and it was designed by Gilbert Adrian. Who was Gilbert Adrian? Well, it was one of the names used by Adrian Adolph Greenberg, a costume designing legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Even if you’ve never heard the name Adrian, you have seen his work. He designed costumes for The Wizard of Oz,the 1938 Marie Antoinette and over 250 other films. During the 1940s, he began a commercial fashion line from which I assume this suit is related, based on the date.
Now, the dress on the right shouldn’t be neglected, just because it’s not from a famous designer. It’s from the McCall sewing pattern company, McCall 6533 to be specific. I liked how contemporary it felt, despite being from the 1940s. I am regretting that I didn’t draw a matching hat to go with it. Clearly, I need to do more 1940s clothing to fix that act of neglect.
The purse is a bit of a mystery to me. I noted the date 1940s next to it and usually I also write down the source, but I guess I didn’t. I’ve been through my 1940s Fashion Pinterest Board, where I try to keep these things, several times with no luck. I’m sure there was a source and I am going to leave things at that.
I tried to capture the strong shoulder of the 1940s with both these pieces, though I’m not entirely sure I was successful. The 1940s is much like the 1980s in that the shoulders are broad. If you missed it, on Monday, there was a 1940s version of Beatrix. Friday there will be summery 1940s dresses to round out the set.
Meanwhile, let me know what you think about today’s 1940s dresses in a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
Need a doll for today’s paper doll clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing, but I would recommend the 1940s Beatrix if you want period underwear to match the era of these dresses.
So, I wanted to try to draw some formal fantasy paper doll clothing. I originally created this fantasy outfit for the C Pose guys and I think of it as a kinda classic fantasy outfit in a style I draw a lot. I wanted to do a spin-off outfit that would feel more formal and refined- like if this was a peasant outfit, than today’s outfit would be a prince or something.
In my head, the tunic is velvet over a silk shirt. I’m not sure what the pants are made of. Maybe something like really thin fine leather? Or perhaps a very nice soft wool? Silk wouldn’t stand up well to any sort of wear. Rather than my usual sword accessories, I decided a book was more fitting, though I’m sure he can borrow a weapon from here if he needs one.
There’s an alternative color scheme available for my Patrons over on my Patreon page. Join if you want. It’s a fun group and I try to post content there every week from my sketchbook or other sources.
