historical

A 14th Century Surcoat With Tibbets and Headdresses

Dress up a paper doll in historically accurate 1300s clothing including a surcoat over a kirtle and two head-dresses.

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First off 14th Century week continues with today’s surcoat over a kirtle and some headdresses. Second off Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrated yesterday.

Surcoats were worn over kirtles (I did one of those on Wednesday). Like a lot of surcoats, today’s has slits in the front that provided access to the purse worn off the girdle underneath. Think of it as the 14th century solution to pockets.

Today’s paper doll surcoat with kirtle was inspired by the Romance of Alexander from the Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 264. There’s a bunch of different examples of this short sleeved surcoat in there, but I based this dress off the red dress in this miniature and the blue dress (and pink dress) in this miniature.

One of the interesting things about those miniatures and many others from this era (check out my 14th Century Dress Pinterest board for more) is how many of them show women with their hair uncovered. Unlike later eras (and some earlier ones) the 14th century seems to be a time when women could go around without covering their hair.

(Women shown with uncovered hair in miniatures from other eras are often depicting vice and/or wickedness and this is indicated by the uncovered hair. The scandal of showing one’s hair in the 15th century was intense. )

However, some women did still cover their hair. Here’s one miniature with some hair covered and here’s another and here’s a third one. You also see head coverings in statuary. One thing I do when I am trying to decide what to include in these historical sets is to try to find multiple examples of something. That’s why you see some duplication of types of images on my 14th Century Dress Pinterest board.

That’s also why when I am dealing with an era I don’t know much about it can take me a long long time before I am comfortable drawing a paper doll of it. I learned a lot of history from Tom Tierney’s historical paper dolls and I want mine to be as helpful and accurate as I can make them. 

If you want some say in the time periods I create paper dolls for, think about supporting the blog on Patreon. I tend to listen to my Patrons when they make requests. Here’s a post about what patrons have made possible from earlier this week. 

Have you enjoyed 14th Century week? Let me know. I love to hear from you. 

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

A 14th Century European Kirtle & Shoes

A 1300s kirtle for a paper doll with matching shoes and headdress from paperthinpersoas.com. A great way to teach kids history and a super fun coloring activity.

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In the world of 14th century dress in Europe, there’s a lot of layers. On Monday, you got to see the shift, the stockings and the shoes which were the first layers. Over that, women wore a kirtle.

Technically, add a girdle (belt) to keep your purse (which was also as close as anyone got to having pockets in the 14th century) and you were fulling dressed. This kirtle example has a spiral laced front and buttons on the cuffs.

Her girdle is based on this example. I looked at a lot of carved sculptures of the Virgin Mary when designing this set like this one and this one.

Her shoes come from Stepping Through Time by Olaf Goubitz. It’s a great resource. Her stockings would have been held up by garters, because bias cut wool doesn’t stay up on its own. However, based on my current understanding, the stockings would be rolled down over the garters to cover them, so that’s why the garter’s aren’t visible. 

If you want a historical doll to wear this example of 1300s clothing, than you can go grab Alice whose wearing a shift and has many pair of period shoes. 

Right now, I am thinking about what to do with Paper Thin Personas in 2019. I have a poll and please answer it if you haven’t. 

[poll id=”22″]

And leave me a comment if you like or consider supporting the blog on Patreon if you want to pledge. Here’s a post about how Patrons have helped. 

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

A 14th Century Version of Alice

A historical paper doll with shoes and underwear from the 1300s. A great way to learn about 14th century women's clothing and teach history to kids!

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I have had several requests for early fashion history paper dolls and this week I am sharing a whole week of 14th century clothing from Europe. This is not how they were dressing in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties of China, for example. Though someday maybe I’ll feel confident enough to try out historical Chinese dress (it’s really interesting).

Okay, so about today’s paper doll…

The 14th century is one of the last eras in which women could get away with having their heads uncovered which I think is kinda nice. Her hairstyle was based on manuscript illustrations like this one and busts like this one.

Her shift is a bit more fitted than they probably would have been in the real world, but that’s because paper dolls don’t have the benefit of fabric and the layering gets to be an issue. It’s based on one of the few shifts I could find in manuscript illustration. It comes from Roman de Giron the Courtois which is a manuscript held in the National Museum of France under the call number NAF 5243. The illustration I used is on folio 87v. It’s also on a few other pages as well.

Her shoes all come from the excellent, though rather dry, book Stepping Through Time by Olaf Goubitz. It took me months to find a copy at a reasonable price, but it’s an excellent source full of drawings of archaeological footwear finds. If you know, that’s your kinda thing.

As always, a big thank you to my Patrons and if you’d like to help out the blog by making a donation, you can do that over on the Patreon page.

Also, I’m doing a poll! I posted this on my Patreon page, but I didn’t get a lot of responses, so I am hoping if I post it here I might get more. Plus I know Monday is my highest traffic day.

[poll id=”22″]

As always I reserve the right to ignore the outcome if I feel like it. 🙂 Anyway, enjoy today’s paper doll and if you have a moment, let me know what you think about 2019.

Need some clothing for today’s paper doll? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

A 1920s Paper Doll Dress With Hats Based on Designs from Catalog Pages

1920s paper doll dress and hats based on the catalogs of B. Altman and Company and Sears from paperthinpersonas.com. Available to print in color or in black and white.

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And once more into the 1920s my friends. Once more.

Today’s dress, hat and purse are both based on a design from B. Altman and Company. B. Altman and Company was a luxury department store, so the clothing tends to be very fashionable and on the more expensive side. 1920s Fashions from B. Altman & Company is a collection of reprints from their catalogs from Dover Publishers that I used.

The other hat was adapted from a design from Sears, another major department store of the era. Also from a Dover book, but that time I used Everyday Fashions of the Twenties: As Pictured in Sears and Other Catalogs also from Dover. Both of these books are pretty easy to find on the secondary market for reasonable prices.

In case you’ve missed any of my 1920s paper doll series, here’s what I’ve created so far.

The 1920’s Doll & Her Dresses

In the works is some 1960s clothing for the paper dolls (as voted on by my Patrons), but I have no idea when those dolls will be done. I also really want to do some more older historical styles like the 13th century, but I haven’t really tried to tackle that yet. Soon, I hope.

Meanwhile, enjoy my foray into the 1920s.

And if you’d like to help support the blog (I very much run PTP through the NPR model- no ads and maybe people will be nice enough to help me offset costs) consider becoming a Patron.

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

Celebrating the 1960s with the August Collaborative Paper Doll Post

A vintage styled paper doll dress coloring page based on a design from 1968 with matching shoes and wig for the 2018 Collaborative paper doll from paperthinpersonas.com.

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So, the theme for August was Favorite Decade and I almost did the 1920s, because as you know, I love the 1920s so much. I just adore that era.

But then I thought, “But the 1920s is so expected.”

And you know, I have been drawing a fair bit of 1920s stuff for my 1920s Akiko.

Then I thought about other decades I really love- the 1880s and 1960s. Trying to draw a bustle dress was, frankly, more than I thought I could handle this month. Between my allergies (thanks Ragweed) and the start of school again (Hi, students), I just didn’t have the complex layers of the 1880s in me.

I did, however, have a simplicity of a 1960s shift dress in me. Today’s 1960s dress is based on Simplicity 7587 from 1968. The dress came in two lengths. Her shoes are based on this pair from 1962. And, of course, she has a big flipped hair style which you may need to add some floating tabs too.

If you want to see more “favorite decades” head over to Paper Doll School and Miss Missy Paper Dolls to see their August posts. I have no idea what decades they chose and I am looking forward to seeing myself.

Meanwhile, back in April, I started a project to draw 100 dresses and post my drawings on Instagram. It was more about completing my #100dressesproject than any kind of timeline. Of course, I did take a few weeks off in the middle. However, I am super happy that I posted dress 100 today! So, go check out all 100 dresses and let me know what you think of them in a comment there or here.

And, as always, I’d love to know what you think of today’s 1960s paper doll dress.

There’s a second, patron exclusive, 1960s dress over on my Patreon page. So, if you are a patron (thank you) and enjoy! If you aren’t a patron, consider joining. Any amount really does help keep the blog’s costs down.

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

Two Summery Paper Doll Dresses from the 1930s

A pair of 1930s paper dolls dresses with matching hats based on the designs from home sewing patterns. The dress on the left is from the early 1930s and the dress on the left is from the mid-1930s. Both dresses have matching hats.

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So, I tend to work in spurts. I suddenly decide that I want to draw 1930s clothing (as I did recently) and then I draw several and then I don’t draw any for months. This is just how I am. I try to build enough of a backlog that I can space out these posts in such a way that people who want to see 1930s clothing don’t feel disappointed when it takes months for it to show up again.

Today’s dresses are both appropriate for any 1930s paper dolls out there. I used my favorite source for these things- The Vintage Pattern Wiki. It’s amazing and so fun to dig through (if you’re a clothing lover like me.) So, the dress on the left is based on Simplicity 1091. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a way to see if there was a more precise copyright date on the pattern other then the cover art which is distinctly 1930s. The second dress is based on Vogue 7316 C from 1936. The  hats and gloves are based on a variety of sources, including the pattern covers.

In my head these are summery dresses, but I suppose there’s no reason they have to be, through the one on the right would be awfully cold come winter time.

Just for fun, in case you missed any of the 1930s pieces so far, here’s a round up of all the 1930s posts so far…

The 1930s Paper Doll Collection So Far..

I’m excited to say that I just drew a new set of 1930s underwear and so soon there will be a second 1930s paper doll to join Benedita. Of course, given my turn around times, “soon” might equal sometime in the next six months. I am a bit slow at these things. Meanwhile, the 1930s dresses will fit any of the B Pose dolls, they just might back the right shoes and hair for a period look.

As always, I love to hear from you guys, so leave a comment and a huge thank you to my Patrons and if you’d like to help out the blog by making a donation, you can do that over on the Patreon page. 

Need a Doll to wear today’s outfit? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

An Evening Gown from 1933 for the B Pose Dames

A paper doll 1930s evening wear illustration with a black dress from 1933, gloves and a purse.

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So, I knew when I was working on a 1930s paper doll collection, I was going to illustrate some a 1930s evening wear. Day wear is important too, but I have some of that and evening wear seemed like the next step. I rarely do black evening gowns, because I think the line-work gets lost, but I really liked the idea of black and pink for today’s paper doll dress. 

So, this attempt at 1930s evening wear is a complete outfit for a lady, except shoes. I didn’t want to deal with strappy 1930s shoes and the skintone. The evening gown is based on Butterick 5095 a dress pattern circa 1933. I designed her gloves like on the pattern illustration, but lest you think pink gloves are a little odd- here’s a pair of purple ones. Her purse is based on this beaded evening bag from 1930-1935.

If you’re thinking that you need a paper doll to model today’s slinky black evening dress, than might I recommend Benedita’s 1930s Version? She even has period underwear.

If you’d like to support the blog, think about donating through Patreon. It really does help keep it up on the internet and ad free. I think of the blog has having the NPR marketing strategy. Maybe, if people like it, they’ll help me off set the costs.

Speaking of NPR, if you haven’t seen it, the Mr. Rodgers documentary Will You Be Me Neighbor? made me cry. It’s not a perfect movie. It had some flaws, but I really really enjoyed it. So, I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet. 

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

Paper Doll Dress From the Late 1920s With Two Hats

A paper doll dress from 1929 with two different cloche style hats.

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Since I am a librarian, I would be neglectful if I didn’t start out with some sources. Today’s 1929 paper doll dress is based on the design on a sewing pattern from McCall. Specifically, McCall 1517 and it’s very much the end of the 1920s. The skirt lenght is a short as it would get, right below the knee, before it drops in the 1930s to mid-calf. The long narrow neckline with collar detail would have been elongating and flattering.

The feathered hat comes from Liberty of London in 1928 and was based on this one held at the V&A Museum. It’s one of my all time favorite 1920s hats. Her other cloche was inspired by several different hats including this one and this one.

I find hats and purses are a bit harder to research than dresses and shoes. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think fewer of them seem to have survived. Plus, there’s always the question of how to decide what sort of hat goes with what sort of dress. It’s something I probably fret more about than is entirely needed given my medium is paper dolls and I’m not in charge of some sort of exhibit on the topic.

This is the last 1920s dress for a while. I have one more, but it is not entirely finished yet. I don’t think it’ll be done for Monday. Meanwhile, you can print out 1920s Akiko and her other dress to keep you occupied with 1920s styles.

Come back Wednesday for something for the B Pose ladies from the 1930s. I’m trying to decide which decade I could tackle next. I’ve done 1920s, 1930s and 1940s at this point. I am currently divided between the 1950s and the 1960s. Thoughts? Let me know in a comment which one I should do next.

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

A 1920s Paper Doll Dress With Hats to Print

A 1920s paper doll dress with hats for the Dames and Dandies paper doll series. The dress has a dropped waist, side bows and a pleated skirt. The hats are both cloches. The designs come from 1927.

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As promised, today I have a 1920s dress to accompany poor Akiko from last week who needed something to wear over her slip and girdle. Today’s 1920s paper doll dress and hats are from Montgomery Ward Fashions of the Twenties edited by JoAnne Olian. The book is a selection of the 1927 Montgomery Ward catalog. I wouldn’t recommend it as anyone’s only 1920s book, because it only covers one year. However, 1927 is a good year to choose, because the later 1920s are what most people picture when they imagine 1920s styles.

Also, the late 1920s are my preferred part of the decade as well.

I really wanted the hats to coordinate with the 1920s paper doll dress. And if you hop back to Akiko from last week, you’ll see one pair of her shoes match the colors in this dress as well.

Part of why I chose this dress to draw is that I liked it, but also because it has so many elements that are typical of the late 1920s. There’s asymmetrical design elements- the neckline and the bows. The line down the side of the body would be flattering on body. 

And given how hard the dropped waist look of this era was to wear, you need any help you can get. 

I also really like the pleated skirt. Pleated skirts were pretty popular. I think, because they provide some movement in a silhouette that can feel a bit like you’re wearing a sack otherwise. I’ve always wanted a pleated skirt, but I haven’t found the right one yet.

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

Akiko’s 1920s Underwear and Shoes

A set of 1920s underwear and shoes for an Asian paper doll named Akiko. She's free from print in color or black and white for coloring.

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I love 1920s fashion. I love the shapes of the dresses, the hats and the shoes. Seriously, I would wear most late 1920s shoes today if I thought I could get away with it. I love the the hair, the art and the literature. I also realize that I would look awful in 1920s dresses. I have curves and this was the era of no curves.

But that’s what paper dolls are for though, isn’t it?

So, for every Monday for the rest of July there will be a 1920s era paper doll or dress (okay, so one paper doll- this one and then dresses).

Akiko is the model for the 1920s underwear. Her hair is based on the hair cut often sported by Anna May Wong, a Chinese American film actress in the 1920s. She was also considered a major style icon, so borrowing her hair style seemed only fitting.

Her undergarments are not entirely accurate. I based her slip on this brassier from The Met without realizing that the cut of the top was not very accurate for a slip. Slips of the era were mostly straight across like this one from the V&A. Anyway, her girdle is based on designs from the early 1920s from my various reference books on the subject.

Her black shoes are based on this pair of evening shoes from 1924. The originals are brocade, but I made mine simple so they’d match more things. The other shoes are based on these shoes from 1920-1925, these shoes and these shoes.

That’s a lot of shoes, but we all know how much I love shoes. If you want to see more 1920s shoes, underwear and dresses than I would recommend hopping over to my 1920s Pinterest board where those things live. If you think you’d like some more 1920s paper dolls than I’ve got quite a few in my 1920s category.

So, tune in next Monday for the first dress for the A Pose Dames from the 1920s. And if you would like to support the blog, then donate through Patreon. It’s always appreciated.

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