Bright Boho With Summer Styles

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I wanted to draw a sort of trendy paper doll. Two trends inspired this paper doll, one from Summer 2023 (boho) and one from fall 2023 (red). However, while I try to keep my paper dolls up to date (as best as I can), the fact is that there’s a bit of lag between when I draw a paper doll and when I actually finish a paper doll. Things move fast in the fashion world.

Fashion is a world that is pretty alien to me, as I live in Alaska and mostly wear hiking boots, cardigans, and hoodies, though the resurgence of grudge means I am marginally in style these days. It’s very weird. I’m not used to that at all.

Most of the paper dolls that I say were inspired by previous work, I think it’s kinda obvious. This one is a little more subtle, because it really took a very different turn than the original set. Wings and Petals, a paper doll set from 2010, inspired this set.

African dutch wax print patterns inspired the colors of today’s trendy paper doll. If you’ve never checked them out, I love dutch wax print fabric. I just adore the color combinations.

A Colorful Tropical Beach Printable Paper Doll

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I rarely get a chance to do something that has this many different outfit possibilities while also being just a one page set. This has 19 different outfits while also being only 10 mix and match pieces. Could it be more? Yes, I did the math once and realized that the most outfits you could ever get from 10 pieces was 25. That would be 5 tops and 5 bottoms which gets you 25 different clothing options.

I have a whole post about calculating clothing options if you feel like having some fun with math. There’s a formula. My best friend in college went on to become a math teacher and while I never will be a big math person, whenever math comes up I think of her.

I got some great name suggestions, but ended up deciding on Ensemble Eclectica, after trying out a few different options including “Wardrobe Wonderland Wanderings” or “Fashion Fantasy Frolics”. I think those two were a little too long.

Anyway, for technical reasons (and because I had a fantasy dress that I could not fit on the page), I ended up resizing these dolls down a bit and redoing some of the formatting. So, the next few after this one will looking a wee bit different. I already updated the PDF files and things from last week’s version.

Amethyst Goes to the Beach in the Early 1960s

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I started these 1960s paper dolls around the same time there was a bit of a medical crisis in my family. It’s all resolved now, but I finished what I thought was going to be the three 1960s dolls, got home, and promptly stopped working on them or looking at them for four months. 

When I finally came back to them, I decided I didn’t like any of their underwear (it all got redrawn). Then I decided I didn’t like the themes I’d originally planned to do and I wasn’t sure about the hair and I thought the…

Well, you get the idea. 

Looking at this now, I’m still not 100% sure how I feel. I really wanted to do the 1960s, because I did the 1940s, 1970s, and 1950s and it seemed weird not to have the 1960s. However, I’m still not 100% happy with any of the things I drew. Maybe I’ve been staring at them for too long. 

For this set, I wanted to embrace the beach wear I kept seeing in sewing patterns and I wanted to do something that would capture the more casual side of the 1960s styles. I didn’t really want to go mod, but I did want to explore the simple shapes. 

Color-wise, I noticed at lot of yellow and orange and a lot of pink and orange. So, those were the major influences for the color choices. 

In the Tropics with Pearl

A printable paper doll  coloring page with a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe of tropical patterned fashion pieces to print.
A printable paper doll with a 9 piece mix and match wardrobe of tropical patterned fashion pieces to print.

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Tropical patterns seem to be here and they don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. I actually had a lot of fun expanding my Jewels and Gemstones 1.0 version mini-dresses with some more pieces to fill out a tropical pattern fun wardrobe. I also had more fun than I should maybe admit designing Pearl’s swimsuit.

When people ask me my “favorite thing” to draw, I’m always a little stumped. I tend to be most proud of my historical work (hence why the Historical Gallery exists), but when I see these complicated patterns and I think about how much fun they are, I confess that they do have a special place in my heart.

The leaves might be changing and there might be termination dust (an Alaskan term for the fresh snow on the mountain tops that indicates that winter is coming) on the mountains, but I can still bask in the tropical warmth of these paper doll patterns.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

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Flowers and Showers: A Colorful Paper Doll Fashionista

Spring showers bring summer flowers, or something like that. It might be snowing out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like my summery floral fashionista paper doll options. Jade has a glorious garden inspired wardrobe of both older pieces and a few new ones for added fun. The dress is new, for example and I am super in love with it.

A fashionista paper doll coloring page featuring a curvy black doll and her wardrobe of floral inspired fashions.

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I first created this version of Jade to go with a formal gown, but I decided to separate her from her evening gown and pair her with a more casual wardrobe for a bit of mix and match fun. I am super happy with how her hair came out. There’s nine pieces here with make over 20 different combinations which isn’t bad for one paper doll.

A fashionista paper doll featuring a curvy black doll and her wardrobe of floral inspired fashions.

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It might be snowing outside, but I could use some summery thoughts. So, the color scheme for this paper doll embraces all the colors the world isn’t currently experiencing up here in Alaska. No snowy shades for our fashionista paper doll.

The problem with where I live is not that it snows. It is that is snows and then never melts until like March. That’s the problem.

A few of this paper dolls pieces were Patron pieces last year. Joins us over there for even more fun paper doll content each week.

Pretty Party Dresses for Ruby

Today’s paper doll set would be a great rainy day activity for kids. These formal gown sets are particularly popular for children, because my readers have told me they are. I don’t have children and my niece and nephew are a little young for paper dolls.

The dress to the far right used to be green for example and of course, this version of Ruby was the first version I ever posted. You can see that one, too. SO very long ago, that feels. (It wasn’t that long ago.) The two short dresses were a Patron only piece from last year. I don’t plan reuse all my patron pieces, but some of them will show up in some of these sets I construct from Jewels and Gemstones 1.0.

A beautiful black and white paper doll with four evening gowns and three shoes. She's curvy and lovely and super fun to print if you want a fun rainy day activity for kids.

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I love drawing formal gowns for paper dolls. Probably for the simplicity of drawing from reference photos and the fun of locating those reference photos.

However, I do listen to what my readers tell me.

Fun curvy printable paper doll with four evening gowns. Super fun rainy day activity for kids.

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I went with a soft of soft smoky color scheme for this set. Briefly, I considered not making Ruby a redhead again, but I love red hair so much. I always wanted red hair. My hair is sometimes called “dishwater blond” and while I think other terms like “honey blond” sound a lot nicer, I’ve never forgotten having my hair called “dishwater” as a child. Not really the best way for people to make a child like their hair color!

Anyway, I love my hair today. For a long period, I wished for red hair. So, I share it a lot. My grandmother was a redhead before her hair went white and I often wish I had gotten those genes. Anyway, every time I make a redhead paper doll, I think of it as a nod to her.

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1950s Dresses with Sapphire

If I had to pick one period of fashion that I think I would look pretty good in it would be the 1950s. In the real world, I might be a strictly hoodies and jeans sort of girl, but if I do dress up, the the 1950s tight waist, full skirt, is my go-to silhouette.

Also, historical paper dolls are what I mostly collect and were my favorites as a child. So, it is a win-win all around for me. I did this series last year for the larger scale Jewels and Gemstones. It was fun to put them together as a set. I have even more 1950s stuff, so there will be another set of these.

Let’s talk some sources. Her dresses are Vogue 8596, Simplicity 3572 and Simplicity 4966. Two of the hats are from the Montgomery Ward Spring Summer 1950.. All of the other Accessory inspirations are from the Met including- this purse, these shoesthis hat, and these shoes. Her underwear is this corset from the V&A. 

A 1950s black fashion paper doll to color with retro dresses and underwear. She has three dresses, three hats and two pairs of shoes.

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For Sapphire’s hair, I based her style off the hair styles worn by Dorothy Dandridge and Leana Horne two black stars from the 1950s. These photos of Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge (Here’s the same hair again on Dorothy Dandridge in 1954) were my inspiration.

They were also super interesting people. Dorothy Dandridge was an actress who was the first African-American woman to on the cover of Life magazine. She died quite young, sadly. Lena Horne was a wildly successful singer. She got blacklisted after being accused of being a communist.

A 1950s black fashion paper doll to print with vintage dresses and underwear. She has three dresses, three hats and two pairs of shoes.

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I tend to love the color red. However, for this set, I chose to try to avoid using it, even though I tend to always want to. Her only red is the lipstick. I love the idea of wearing hats, even though I don’t. So, the hats as universal as possible, so I matched them to shoes.

The show Lovecraft Country made me want to finish this set. The character Ruby has the most amazing outfits. I love seeing a curvy, black woman dressed up in the finest 1950s fashion. The actress Wunmi Mosaku does an amazing job with the character and I love the costuming choices like this dress and this dress. Seriously, I want her all clothes.

I don’t know if I’d universally recommend Lovecraft Country, because it is a horror show and there’s some pretty graphic violence. I like it, but I know it won’t be everyone’s taste. Plus, it is uneven- hits well when it hits, but when it doesn’t… (much like Lovecraft’s writing) it’s a little painful. There’s also some transphobic stuff which I found pretty troubling. I think the show has good and bad things about it.

I digress. Enjoy today’s paper doll and if you love the blog (and want more paper dolls) join us over on Patreon.

The 1980s & Corset Tops: A 2020 Fashion Trend

One of the major trends of 2020 is polka-dots (and I did a paper doll celebrating that already) and then my other trend that I have been super interested in is the 1980s and the tendency as corset tops. Plus, I think when it comes to celebrating fashion, paper dolls are pretty much the perfect fashion paper craft. They allow us to not just explore trends, but kids can draw their own paper doll clothing.

Personally, I don’t really remember the 1980s, because I was both very young and living in Alaska. Alaska is not exactly trendy as a other parts of the country. We’re a little behind in fashion. Also, we all wear lots of rainboots, polar-fleece and puffer vests. Puffer vests might have trended last year, but we were wearing them long before they were trendy.

Anyway, the big trends in this paper doll are the 1980s styles, corsets, bra tops, and Bermuda shorts. The bra tops and corset tops seemed like similar ideas to collapse together. The suit jacket works with either the lose trousers or the skirt, but I colored it as though these were separates for more flexibility. You can, of course, color them any way you choose.

A fun fashion paper craft. A paper doll coloring page with her wardrobe of mix and match separates.

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Color wise, I wanted to use the Pantone 2020 palette called Snorkle. I’m not a huge fan of pantone’s color of the year– Classic Blue. It’s just kind of… boring? Can I admit that. I’m not against it, but it’s not super exciting to me. I guess given how 2020 has gone people are not super into exciting these days. Anyway, there’s also a trend for the return of some neon colors and the bright green was my nod to that trend.

A fun fashion paper craft. A paper doll printable with her wardrobe of mix and match separates.

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Among my favorite things about this version of Pearl is her hair. I’m always working to learn to draw hair better and I feel like this hair came out particularly nice. It’s a process, after all.

Are you into fashion trends? I confess I’m pretty boring in my clothing choices, but I do like drawing them for paper dolls. I try to stay at least aware of what’s happening in the world of trendy clothing.

Polka-Dots: Celebrating a 2020 Fashion Trend

I love reading the fashion magazines in March when they publish the big spring fashion reports. It’s probably my second favorite time to buy fashion magazines. September is my other favorite time. So, one of the things I look for in those magazines are the trends for inspiration when drawing paper dolls with clothes.

One of the trends of 2020 it polka-dots. I knew I wanted to draw some! I love polka-dots. They’re whimsical and playful which is the best way to create paper dolls. There should be something playful about them, don’t you think?

Paper dolls with clothes coloring page, featuring a black paper doll and her polka-dot inspired wardrobe.

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Each of the clothing items I drew for this paper doll was a bit girly-ruffles for sleeves, pleats and such. The grey and coral is a color combination I love and there’s something feminine about polka-dots. Hence the pinks and ruffles.

I also wanted to repeat the circular shape in the dolls hair and her purse. I thought the afro would be a fun match to the polka-dots. Plus, while I have drawn a fair number of black paper dolls, not very many of them have afros.

Paper dolls with clothes printable paper toy, featuring a black paper doll and her polka-dot inspired wardrobe.

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A few of my other favorite polka-dot paper dolls over the years include this fun red dress, these gothic leggings, some sandals with this paper doll and Dot, a paper doll from back in 2010.

If you want more original paper dolls, join us if you like on Patreon.

I also used polka-dots when I was showing how I put patterns on my paper doll clothes. So, if you’re wondering how this paper doll with clothes got her polka-dots, read this tutorial. I still use this method.

What do you think of polka-dots? Are you a fan? I confess I love them, but I rarely wear them.

By the way, you might notice there’s some new layout things around here. I’m trying out a new theme to try to speed up the sites load time- which tends towards the awful. Let me know if anyone notices the change!

Spring Evening Gowns for Paper Dolls

I like starting paper doll series with evening gowns. I don’t 100% know why, but I think because they are fun to draw and everyone needs a few amazing evening gowns, don’t they?

Plus a lot of things I like draw are evening gown adjacent like fantasy dresses and evening gowns help me plot out how many pieces I can fit in a single paper doll page.

See… there is a method to my madness.

A paper doll coloring page with three evening gowns and three pairs of shoes.

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These dresses are all based on designs from David’s Bridal and other online retailers. I could spend hours looking at fancy dresses that I have no reason to wear. My life is not that exciting.

Anyway, some of the inspirational dresses were this corset bodice and this one. Other dresses included this one shoulder gown and several other dresses like this one and this one.

I guess this paper doll could be subtitled: Rachel Spent Time on David’s Bridal Website while Social Distancing!

A paper doll with contemporary spring evening gowns, dark skin and blond hair. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

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And since it is spring, or so the calendar tells me, even if there’s 24 inches of snow on the ground outside, I wanted to focus on a color scheme that was spring colors- pastels mostly, but since I find a lot of pastels overly saccharine, these are pretty smoky.

I am excited by the fact that I can fit three pairs of shoes along the bottom of each paper doll sheet! This is a little thing, but I get joy out of small things.

I hope everyone is staying safe and doing okay in this strange time we’re all living in.

By the way, I am still sharing weekly extra Jewels and Gemstones outfits with my Patrons.