Clothing Archives • Page 2 of 32 • Paper Thin Personas

Marisole Monday’s Qi Lolita Inspired Paper Doll Dress

July 8, 2017July 6, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Child’s Vests from China Like This One and 1930s Cheongsam Like This One

Most of my Asian fantasy stuff is inspired by kimonos, because I really love kimonos.

However, this one is actually very much not about the kimono. It was heavily influenced by vests like this one from the Met, this one from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and this other one from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And some really fun vintage cheongsam like this one and this one. You can see more traditional Chinese clothing on my Pinterest board devoted to it.

The other major influence was Qi Lolita, which is a style of Lolita fashion which adapts traditional Chinese outfits like qipao and combines them with the classic full skirted Lolita fashion silhouette.

Basically, imagine if a cheongsam and a big skirted prom dress had a love child.

Initially, I’d planned to use the floral pattern on the top of the dress. I didn’t actually like the flowers on the top of the dress, so I ended up placing them on the two tiered skirt.

The shoes I have mixed feelings about, I confess.

I created them to try to “fill-out” the post, but I am not really in love with them.

So, what do you think about today’s fantasy paper doll dress? Let me know in a comment.

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

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

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017

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

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.

Marisole Monday Rocking Some World Ending Fashion

June 9, 2017June 8, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: My Post-Apocalyptic Fashion Pinterest Board

So, I tend to think of paper doll clothing I create as falling into several large genre categories- historical, contemporary, traditional fantasy, Asian inspired fantasy, steampunk/neo Victorian, sci-fi/futuristic/cyberpunk, or post-apocalyptic. When I am drawing for a specific series, I try to dip into several of these categories usually based what I have or haven’t drawn recently for that series.

Clear as mud? Excellent.

So, I was working on Marisole Monday and Friend’s clothes and I realized that I hadn’t drawn Post-Apocalyptic fashions for them for a while. I did a Mikhail pair last year in color and in black and white, but it has been a while since then.

So, here is a Marisole Monday & Friend’s lady paper doll outfit. Of course, it’s about as practical as yesterday’s Space Pirates, but we all know that practicality is never a criteria when I draw paper doll clothing.

I would never draw anything if practicality was a criteria.

She has a sweater at least, so maybe we can ignore her tragic lack of pants? Or maybe not. Hard to say, really.

I keep a Pinterest boards for most of my various paper doll obsessions- fantasy clothing, fantasy armor, cyberpunk/futuristic stuff, steampunk, and, of course, post-apocalyptic. So, if you want to see what is interesting me at any given moment, then feel free to check those out.

What do you think of today’s paper doll post-apocalyptic fashion? Let me know in a comment. I always love to hear from you all.

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

Marisole Monday’s 1920s Party Dress In Teal

June 2, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1920s party dresses- Classic French Fashions of the Twenties, a book from Dover

So, sometimes I drew things and upload them and then I kinda forget they exist. This 1920s party dress was one of those things, I’m afraid. I finished it around the same time that I finished the 1920s golf outfit and then I completely forgot about it. I didn’t want to post it right after the gold outfit, I recall, because I wanted some variety.

I try to space out my paper doll posts. While I might get on a kick and draw several similar things, I know some readers come here for the historical stuff, some for the fantasy stuff, and some for the contemporary stuff. So, I try to make sure there’s something for everyone.

This week alone we’ve had Monday and Tuesday post apocalyptic paper dolls, Wednesday an Archivist paper doll and Thursday was a Lolita dress for a paper doll. And now, here we are on Friday (Happy Friday!) and there’s a 1920s party dress for a paper doll.

After looking through every 1920s fashion book I own, I retraced that the model I based this dress on came from this book, Classic French Fashions of the Twenties. The original dress was patterned, but I sort of decided that it was a lot of work to draw a pattern. There was no way that was going to happen.

Classic French Fashions of the Twenties is one of my favorite Dover fashion books. It is a reprint of all the plates from a French fashion catalog from 1929. Like most fashion catalogs of that era, it starts with casual day wear goes through evening wear and then ends with coats.

I have, at this point, built up a pretty solid backlog of content. So, my goal is to try to get the next few weeks scheduled quickly, so I can take a few days off to rest and recoup.

Plus, play with my cat whose frustration at my laptop consuming prime lap space is tangible.

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

Marisole Monday & Friends in a Kimono and Qipao Inspired Fantasy Gown

May 19, 2017May 19, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Kimono, Qipao and This Chinese Fan

In my original plan, today’s dress went with a paper doll, but I just couldn’t seem to draw a hair style that I liked to go with it. So, in the end, I decided to just post the dress all by its lonesome. However, there are a lot of dolls that could go with this set like this one or this one or this one.

The color scheme is based on this Chinese fan from the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. I often like to look for color schemes from cultures that are not my own. Which colors go with which other colors is often a matter of cultural preferences, so I like to sometimes look for a combination that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Although, for all my dabbling in different parts of the world, my love of teal and red together is well documented. It is entirely possible that’s the make up of my living room color scheme.

Other inspirations include this wa lolita outfit, a Chines informal robe covered in butterflies, this kimono and this kimono.I tend to collect my sources on Pinterest, so feel free to follow me there if you want some glimpses into what I’m interested in for any given afternoon.

The shoes have tabi style socks, because I wanted them to be wearable by any of the paper dolls skin tones.

So, what do you think about today’s paper doll dress? Let me know in a comment.

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

Marisole Monday & Friends: A Tudor Inspired Printable Paper Doll Dress

April 20, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Fashion Plate from 1880 and Things the Scare Me

Yesterday I posted fantasy garments based on some traditional Asian attire. Today I am hopping back to Europe to post a riff on 15th and 16th century dress.

Today’s Marisole Monday & Friend’s paper doll dress crosses Italian clothing in the late 1400s with English costume in the mid-1500s. There’s a definite Spanish Farthingale thing going on in that skirt shape. Spanish Farthngales were hoop skirts of their era and gave dresses a distinct cone shape. It was all the rage in England towards the end of the 1500s. Here’s an example of what I talking about.

The sleeves of today’s paper doll gown are pretty Italian. The style in Italy at the very end of the 1400s and the beginning of the 1500s. It was considered fashionable to have the shift sticking out through the spaces the sleeves- my paper dolls are nothing if not fashionable. Here is an example of the sleeves I mean and here is another one.

When it came time to color today’s paper doll, I fell back on the colors I tend to like when it comes to Tudor feeling things. I settled on copper and black for the color scheme. While I experimented with brighter options, I loved the sophistication these colors created.

As with many of my fantasy paper dolls, I added shoes and stockings to round out the outfit. After all, I do love to draw shoes. These shoes are neither English nor Italian, but more a pair of modern ones. So, that continues the cross-cultural experience here.

So, what do people think of my English-Italian Renaissance love child of a paper doll dress? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog, then think about donating through Patreon.

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

Marisole Monday & Friends Get A Walking Dress from 1880

April 14, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Fashion Plate from 1880 and Things the Scare Me

I am not from the south and while I use y’all, because I have picked it up after five years in below the Mason-Dixon line, I am not a local by any means. Still, there is a saying down here I’ve adopted which goes, “Can’t Never Could.”

In sort, if you say you can’t do something then you won’t try and you are dooming yourself to failure.

One of my long standing “can’t” do things has been drawing 1880s bustle skirts.

I’ve told myself I can’t draw a bustle skirt so many times, that I’ve convinced myself this is true. But I decided I was going to face my fear of 1880s bustle skirts by actually drawing one.

Step 1 was finding a fashion plate at the same angle as the paper doll to practice with. After a bit of hunting, I found this plate from 1880.

Next step was doing a draft on cheap lined paper and then doing a final on my nice sketchbook paper.

I’m actually very pleased how it came out. I might even try another one or two, but I have to find another fashion plate at just the right angle.

Not having to rotate something in my head really makes drawing it easier.

I have been thinking about trying the dress on the left of this plate, but rotating the plate before I print it so it is facing the right direction for Marisole Monday lady paper dolls. I prefer to draw from printed images rather than digital ones.

So, how did I do? Should I work on more 1880s stuff? Or is this a period that you’re not to keen on? Let me know in a comment.

Want to see sketchbook drafts of this dress? There’s up on Patreon. Join to check it out! And, you know, help keep the blog on the interwebs.

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

A Printable Paper Doll Dress from 1870 for Marisole Monday & Friends

March 22, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Fashion Plate from January 1870

If I had to pick a favorite period of fashion history, I’m not sure I could. I love the 18th century, the 1920s, 1960s, the Regency, the 1300s… I could go on and on, clearly. However, if I had to pick a favorite era of the Victorian period, then the bustles absolutely win.

I love them all. I love the soft draped bustle of the early 1870s, the narrow skirted bustle of the early 1880s and the tea-tray supporting bustle of the late 1880s. I don’t care how absurd they look.

I just think they are so much darn fun.

Despite that, I have drawn very few paper dolls with dresses from 1870. I think the reason is that I’ve also been intimidated by the bustle. So many loops of fabric. So much drapery. The angle has to be just right to show off the fit. But I decided to try it this time, so here she is- a dress from 1870 for Marisole Monday & Her Friends.

Just the ladies. This won’t fit the gents.

It is based off this dress from 1870 published in The Queen, the Ladies’ Newspaper in January. Queen was an English fashion magazine that published French fashion plates and started in 1861. In 1968, it was purchased by Harpers Bazaar. Until 2006, in England anyway, Harper’s Bazaar was published as Harpers & Queen. I’ve yet to find a good online archive of The Queen, the Ladies’ Newspaper full-text, but if anyone locates one let me know. Their fashion plates are lovely.

Without the accompanying information, it is hard to know what exactly this dress was intended for. Based on the style, I am thinking a seaside nautical thing. January magazines often published the first Spring plates, so I suspect this is a Springtime outfit.

Oh, and there’s a patron only blue version, too. Join to check it out! And, you know, help keep the blog on the interwebs.

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

Marisole Monday & Friends Now Have an 1820s Inspired Winter Walking Dress

March 21, 2017March 17, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Pelisses from the 1820s, such as this one from 1822

First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day and this paper doll has nothing to do with it. 🙂

Last Friday, I shared a ballgown inspired by the late 1860s, but today I have a winter walking costume inspired by the 1820s pelisse like this one from 1822, this one from 1818 and this one from 1825. It is the companion piece to last week’s printable paper doll dress.

The pelisse from 1822 was the one that was today’s paper doll gown’s strongest influence.

I went back and forth about the color scheme for a while, but I really wanted to do something in the red family. As it happens, I super like red.

Monochrome color schemes aren’t something I do much, but maybe I should play with them more. I find I often go back to the same colors for paper doll clothing over and over again.

I was trying to get all my wintery paper doll stuff backlog taken care off before it gets too warm, but frankly the weather has been freakish.

It keeps switching between Spring, in the 70s, and Winter, in the 30s and 40s. I don’t really care which one it chooses, but I dislike having to check my phone every morning to see if I need to grab my coat.

That’s enough complaining about Alabama’s wacky spring weather.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog, then think about donating through Patreon. I’ve opened up two example behind the scenes blog posts one with sketchbook photos and one where I talk about how I decide what to work on, so if you like those then seeing more just costs a dollar a month.

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

The Victorian Inspired Ballgown for Marisole Monday & Friend’s Printable Paper Dolls

March 10, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: A fashion plate I totally can’t find now

So, this is like research rule 1: Write Down Your Sources.

And normally, I am super diligent about recording everything I use in Pinterest, so I can find it again when it comes time to write one of these fascinating blog posts.

This time though? So much of the not so much. I have a distinct recollection of look at a fashion plate which I think was late 1860s (because that’s when waists when up and skirts got all conical), but now for the life of me I can’t find the plate that was my inspiration.

Clearly, I am a bad librarian.

Needless to say, I hope I can distract y’all from my poor research habits by pointing out: Hey, there’s a pretty ballgown over there.

The truth is that I never meant for this to be a historical piece. It was part of a series of dresses in this silhouette that I designed back when I was doing the same theme for a whole week. I ended up just coloring two of them and you’ll see this one today and next Friday there will be a matching winter walking costume.

While the dress was inspired by a fashion plate from the late 1860s (I think), it looks much more 1820s to me, since I narrowed the skirt quite a bit.

Meanwhile, if you love the blog, then consider following it on Facebook or donating through Patreon.

There’s still my Reader2017 coupon running in the Etsy store good for 25% off.

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

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