Warmest Wishes: A Cozy Winter Paper Doll

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When I was designing this winter paper doll, I wanted her to have glasses (because I hadn’t done any Ensemble Eclectica dolls with glasses yet) and I wanted her to feel distinctly different from my other winter paper doll in pastels. I also wanted to make sure things could layer well, because on thing about winter clothing is that layering is critical.

I basically live in layers in the winter- lots of long underwear, lots of socks. So, everyone I know has at least two parkas, sometimes more. I have my “wet weather” set up- which is a fleece under a raincoat. I have my light weight parka, which I wear until it gets below -10 and then I have my heavy parka, which I bust out for colder weather. If I end up needing it, I also have a variety of layering pieces I can add- wool and silk long underwear and heavy socks.

But up here in my part of Alaska, this winter has been weirdly mild, until this week when it’s finally dropped down to -30 where it should be this time of year. Since it’s been above 10 degrees several days this January, which is not normal, everyone is sort of relieved to get some actual winter. I actually busted out my big parka, finally. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised- climate change- but I don’t love the increase of snow. Usually, it’s too cold to snow here and the roads stay pretty dry and easy to drive on. I’m not a snow lover, even if I don’t mind the cold.

Anyway, I do try to match my paper dolls to the seasons, but this is hard, because it can take me a long time to finish things. Working digitally has sped me up a bit, but I’m still someone who tends to ink a bunch and then color and bunch and then do layout and then… etc.

Do you have a favorite season? Let me know in a comment. Despite the cold, I really don’t mind winter. However, I think autumn is my favorite.

Bows & Pearls in Mauve, Cream, and Green

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A few thoughts on today’s Asian girl paper doll and her romantic wardrobe – I wanted to do a paper doll that would have a pearl feeling color scheme, but I also wanted her to not use pink. I really love pink, but I wanted to get away from pink for this set. Pink just feels like the “easy” way to make things feel feminine. So, instead, I decided to lean into mauve, cream and shades of leaf green. This Design Seeds color palette inspired me.

Honestly, I love all these colors, but I think the clothing is a little too feminine for me. However, I am hardly the most fashionable person on the planet. I went back and forth about the hair style. On one hand, putting a bob on an Asian paper doll feels a little cliche. On the other hand, I really liked the smooth hard lines of the hair in contrast with the hyper-feminine fashions.

Much like Retro Spring some of this paper doll’s clothing comes from the same set Hearts Denims and Bows. I really liked the bow graphic t-shirt in that set and I used it as a jumping off point for the rest of the clothing in this set. With 7 tops and 4 bottoms, there are 28 different outfit combinations here. I guess if I really wanted to maximize my clothing combos, I would draw nothing but crop tops, shorts, and shoes. However, I am trying to be a little more diverse then that.

Personally, I’d really love to get to 100 different pieces of mix and match contemporary paper doll clothing. I think that would be a nice round number for this series, plus I think then I could put together a book or something with all those pieces. I’ll get there eventually, but in the mean time, enjoy this latest addition to the Ensemble Eclectica series.

By the way, if there is a contemporary clothing theme you’d really like to see for these little ladies, let me know in a comment. Right now, I am thinking about a gothic set (because drawing skulls is a good challenge and also October seems the right month for that) and something sci-fi with cute little aliens.

A Little 1970s Retro Inspired Floral Spring

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Today’s member of the Ensemble Eclectica is a cute little redhead with a retro paper doll clothes vibe. She’s not from any specific decade, but there’s something that feels 1970s about the color scheme to me.

I’m having a bit of artists block over the last few weeks. I wanted to draw, but I had no idea what to draw and the idea of trying to think of something to draw just made me sort freeze. So, instead of torturing myself with indecision, I decided to go back to my own archives and draw some things inspired by pervious sets I’ve created.

This set was inspired by Hearts Denims and Bows, a set I first drew a decade ago. One thing I did miss while I was drawing this set was having a paper doll with a side facing foot, so I could really have more fun with shoes. I like drawing shoes. Anyway, given that I have over a thousand paper dolls on this site, I might as well use my own work to feed new work.

Part of the purpose of Ensemble Eclectica is to try out color schemes. So, I turned a little retro for these paper doll clothes.

One of the things I’ve been trying to mimic is the printing styles of vintage materials and since I’ve been trying to play with that and what better way to do that than with some vintage color inspiration. I was heavily influenced when coloring this set by the shades of the 1970s- mustard and coral and a little avocado (though not too much, I leaned into teal instead, which is also a color I associate with that decade.)

Anyway, a fun part of the continuing Ensemble Eclectica series has been color. I love picking out color schemes for my paper doll and trying them out. I’m always fascinated at how color really changes the feel of a paper doll set.

And now, the Late 1950s with Jade!

A black 1950s paper doll coloring page with five dresses from the later part of the decade.
A black 1950s paper doll to print with five dresses from the later part of the decade.

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And the 1950s styles continue with Jade here. In the Late 1950s, you start to see the 1960s silhouette sneaking in with the higher waisted dresses and the shape of the skirts. So, our paper doll is more about that easing into the transitional era of the early 1950s. I did some digging around into black fashion magazines of this era and tried to match the colors I saw in those sources when deciding what colors to use on today’s black 1950s paper doll.

Let’s talk sources!

The red dress came from this catalog page from 1958 Sears and the pink dress is from this Vogue 9137 from 1957. Her swimsuit is from the Spring/Summer Sears from 1957. The yellow dress is from this 1959 Sears Spring Summer Catalog, but I don’t think I got the skirt quite right. You can see more of this style here. The whole thing is that there was a distinct silhouette change going on as the decade changed. The goal was to show off how the shape of dresses as transitional at this point.

Jade’s hair is based on this photo of a very young Diahann Carroll from 1955. The paper doll’s swimsuit is from the Spring/Summer Sears from 1957. As usual, I find movie stars to be a super useful way to track down hairstyles. Her lipstick color is also based on what I was seeing in fashion magazines from the era- lots of very red or very pink lipstick.

So there you have it, a few of the sources of this 1950s paper doll and her five dresses from five different years. That last bit was not on purpose- it just sort of worked out that way.

Enjoy!

In upcoming paper doll news, I am going to share a Patreon treat on Friday and then take a bit of a vacation until sometime in January, when I hope to return full of pluck, persistence, and paper dolls.

Coastal Grandmother with Ruby!

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My mother very rarely makes paper doll suggestions. So, I was super surprised when she brought up the coastal grandmother trend. And since she is my mom, I had to draw it. Being my mom gets you special paper doll privileges as it should.

Coastal grandmother is a trend that focuses on really nice basics in neutral colors that can be easily interchanged with each other. It’s linen pants and crisp white shirts. Think very neutral, classic staples in light shades and hats, though I didn’t include one. While the grandmother’s I know who live on the coast are more xtratuf boots than nice leather sandals, I think the basic idea holds- it’s a casual style that also emphasizes the value of really classic clothing.

In honor of the grandmother theme, I did a rare grey haired paper doll which I’ve had request for through Patreon. Being a Patron also gets you special request privileges.

Anyhow, here’s the paper doll! I hope you enjoy.

And, unless my math is wrong (and it 100% might be), I think this paper doll gets us to 99 Jewels and Gemstones 2.0 sets.

Evening with her 1920s Dresses

A free 1920s printable paper doll coloring page with two dresses, three hats and purses.
A free 1920s printable paper doll with fashions. She can be printed and played with.

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So, today’s 1920s printable paper doll was something I drew, because I was a little tired and the great thing about historical paper dolls from time periods I know pretty well is that they aren’t a ton of work. Especially because resources like Good House Keeping can be found online in their complete run. It makes this fun!

Some of you may recall from my Goals of 2022 was more historical paper dolls and more Dolls Du Jour, so I am super psyched that I got to kill two birds with one stone. Metaphorically speaking, I do not condone bird stoning.

This is my 10th historical paper doll for 2022! I reached my goal and it’s only August. It’s only my 6th DDJ paper doll, I still need four more to reach my goal. I like goals.

I digress.

So, today’s 1920s printable paper doll has two gowns designed to fit in with the theme of a 1920s wardrobe. The dress on the left is a blue and cream day dress and the dress on the right is a coral colored evening dress. It’s not really a super formal evening dress- more like something for an evening garden party. You know, if you have a lifestyle where evening garden parties are your thing.

The blue dress was based on this McCall 5120 sewing pattern from 1927. I assume this is a day dress, but I don’t know for certain. It seems to be more casual daywear. That’s a guess based on other dresses I’ve seen. Her clutch was based on this one, but I modified it to match the dress better.

The coral colored evening gown is from 1924 and was first published in Good House Keeping from June 1924. The dress is described as a light weight option for summer parties. I am always playing around with how to show transparency in linework. The purse comes from a French design and I made the color match the dress.

The paper dolls underwear was inspired by this combination from the Met Museum. You can see similar styles here and here. These teddies or combinations seem to have been pretty popular given the number that have survived.

Sometimes people ask me if my paper dolls are historically accurate and I wince a little. Not because I can’t tell you my sources (I clearly can, I just did), but because the entire idea of historical accuracy is sort of impossible. We simply don’t know enough about the past and we never will. So much about the clothing a person choses to wear has to do with unwritten rules that people conform to in society.

I have no idea how an actual woman from the 1920s would feel about these dresses and I never will. That’s impossible. As a result, I have no idea how accurate anything I draw really is. All I can do is tell you where I found my sources and what decisions I made.

And I hope you enjoy these little expeditions into historical clothing as much as I do.

A 1980s Fashion Paper Doll Ready to Rock the Board Room

A 1980s fashion paper doll coloring page with a mix and match wardrobe of professional working woman's clothing of the era.
A 1980s fashion paper doll printable with a mix and match wardrobe of professional working woman's clothing of the era.

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I fell in love with the 1980s power fashion clothing as I was looking through these old catalogs. So, clearly, the thing I needed to do was draw a 1980s fashion paper doll ready to take over the board room.

The mix and match options seemed really cool here, because so many pf these clothing pieces were designed to match with the black pencil skirts and black trousers, specifically pleated ones. Pleated trousers are super comfortable, so I can get behind that. One perk of this was that just doing two bottoms and then five tops gives a lot of options which I think is a big part of paper doll functionality- which is a passion of mine. This paper doll has 11 outfits, which is a lot for 9 pieces of clothing.

Listen, some people contemplate how to make the perfect pulled pork bbq, I think about how to make a functional one sheet paper doll. We all have our hobbies.

Patrons can, of course, mix and match these with last months’ 1980s paper doll. I don’t think my workout paper doll really mixes well with these, but Jazzercise clothing was super fun to draw.

A few other thoughts- one thing that really struck me about 1980s clothing was how color was used. If you look at the black and white sweater (original here), it’s really the way the shirt is color blocked that makes it 1980s. The pattern could be today, but something about the color blocking really dates it to the decade of the 1980s.

So now Amethyst is ready to go rock the corporate world in huge shoulder pads!

Honestly, the 1940s and the 1980s are both super into the giant shoulder pad thing and I try to get it (I do), but I just don’t. I guess if I’m going to draw a 1980s fashion paper doll I just need to get into the whole shoulder pad thing, but… Oh well, I barely understand modern fashion. I just like drawing paper dolls.