St. Patrick’s Day Paper Doll for 2024

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I usually save Holiday paper dolls for the actual date of the holiday. The Saint’s Day for St. Patrick is March 17th, which is a few days from now. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that folks might want these paper dolls early. That way they can print them and actually give them kids on St. Patrick’s Day. So, it makes more sense to post it early, I think.

Plus, I can post on social media on the day of the actual holiday, because that’s how social media works. (I’m still learning how social media works.)

St. Patrick’s Day is the feast day for St. Patrick, patron Saint of Ireland. From what I’ve seen it is mostly celebrated in the United States by parades, dying the Chicago river green, and drinking green dyed beer. Now, you might be wondering why I like drawing St. Patrick’s Day paper dolls when I am neither Irish nor Catholic, and don’t drink beer (green or otherwise). The thing is I studied in Illinois and became friends with many very Irish-Catholic people and I started drawing St. Patrick’s Day paper dolls.

And then I got requests for more of them when I missed a few years, so there you have it.

Since I don’t know enough (read: anything) about the actual traditions of St. Patrick’s Day from a religious perspective, I keep my St. Patrick’s Day paper dolls strictly secular. I chose rainbows and clovers as the primary motifs.

By the way, my favorite St. Patrick’s Day paper doll ever was this one, where I drew clothing from historical eras that connected to the holiday. I should really re-draw that one… I think I’d have fun with it. Well, there’s always next year.

Jade in Circus Inspired Fashions

A printable circus paper doll coloring page with a 12 part wardrobe. Her clothing can mix and match.
A circus paper doll to print for free. Her mix and match wardrobe was inspired by vintage circus posters.

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I really love the visuals of circuses. I always have. After all, I have a whole pinterest board devoted to them, after all. So, sometimes I draw a circus paper doll like today’s to play with those visual motifs. One of the challenges of circus paper dolls is the color scheme. Generally, I do a black, white, and red for a circus paper doll, but I have played around with pink and blue as well.

For this circus paper doll’s color scheme, I decided to go with more a muted, softer cream over using black and added a moss green to add some depth to the whole thing. I wanted her swimsuit/bodysuit to be really a part of the set, so you can easily layer the skirts or hats with it. There’s no floating tabs for the top-hats, so you may need to make your own. I have faith in you all.

I hoped the addition of the green and the cream would make the whole thing feel more vintage. You might have seen the prototype for today’s paper doll a few weeks ago. In that version, I had played around with some weird lipstick for the doll, but I ended up scrapping it. Sometimes I think something will work and then realize… no, no it really doesn’t. Also, I got rid of the face makeup, because it read “evil clown” to me and that was not the vibe I was going for.

Another inspiration for all this was clowns. I don’t mean creepy party clowns or something, I mean traditional masked clowning which is super hard and very old. Goes back to commedia dell’artethat semi-improvised form of Italian masked theater which dates back to the 1500s. I mean, we’re talking old old forms of art here. There’s something universal about masked theater. It seems to show up in most cultures in various forms.

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Talia Tuesday is Having Adventures

Inspired by the high fantasy medieval gowns from movies like LoTR, this two page free printable paper doll coloring set has a wardrobe of elegant gowns and practical adventuring clothing.
Inspired by the high fantasy medieval gowns from movies like LoTR, this two page free printable paper doll has a wardrobe of elegant gowns and practical adventuring clothing.

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Last week was a lot of “housekeeping” sorts of posts- announcing changes to Patreon, letting people know about the new 1960s paper doll set– and I don’t mind those posts. They have to happen. Plus, I am proud of what I put on Etsy and I like getting to share it with you all.

But my Etsy products are always a a little higher stakes for me. Does everything fit? Do all the instruction make sense? Will someone who doesn’t know me really love the printable paper dolls as much as I hope they will?

I figure you are all my fans and will likely forgive me a foible for two.

So, I’m excited to return to a week of just sharing some printable paper dolls. It’s nice to get back to basic. Starting off with this fantasy set for Talia Tuesday feels right to me. Sometimes I do fantasy paper doll sets and I 100% know the narrative, but it’s not very common. It’s much more common for me to chose an element (in this case the scalloped sleeve detail) and think- how do I apply this across several things. You’ll see it in the sleeves of the gowns, but also repeated in the tunic trims.

I drew this paper doll at the same time as I drew my Tanya Elegant Empress paper doll. My original plan was to do a set that was all gowns and a set that was all pants. However, once I got down to the nitty-gritty of layout, I had too many gowns and not enough pants. Oops. I decided to call this printable paper doll “Having Adventures,” because the combination of nice gowns and more casual tunics made sense for someone who goes out and has an adventure. So, there’s a bow and arrows, but also an elegant gown. At least, that’s my justification after the fact.

Don’t forget to cut between the doll’s shoulders and her hair for best results when trying to dress her up.

A 14th Century Fashion Paper Doll With Citrine

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It has been a while since we had a Jewels and Gemstones 2.0 paper doll, hasn’t it? It feels weird to have taken a two week break from them, but here we are.

So, I actually had this drawn last year, but I needed one more piece of clothing to fill out the set, so I had to draw some last minute shoes which delayed it’s debut until now. But I technically meant this to go along with my 14th century Pearl set. While I never meant for the 14th century to become such a common time period on this site, every time I draw another 14th century paper doll set, I feel like I learn more about the period and get better at rendering it. And I like the learning aspect.

So, Citrine here has two patterned dresses, a veil, a hood, and an extra pair of shoes. The paper doll’s shift is based one illustrated in Roman de Giron le Courtois (fol. 87v.) at the National Library of France from around 1370-1380. I’ve used the same one for my 12th century and 13th century paper dolls, so they can all share clothing. Shifts are not the easiest thing to find reference images for in this era, let me tell you. Her shoes come from Stepping Through Time by Olaf Goubitz (my usual shoe source for anything this early.

The dress on the left is a sleeveless surcoat (unlike a sideless surcoat, sleeveless surcoats didn’t have huge armholes). I based the pattern on it from BNF Arsenal 3481 Ci commence li livres de Lancelot du Lac (fol. 65r). However, I’ve noticed these lines and dots patterns show a lot in medieval manuscripts and I don’t know if that is because they were easy to paint or if that is because they were commonly worn. The sleeveless surcoat shows up all over the place in early 14th century manuscripts. Here it is in Français 761: Artus le Restauré (fol. 25v) from between 1325 and 1350, in BNF Français 1433 Le Chevalier au Lion (fol. 67) from 1300-1350, and in BL Yates Thompson 13 The Taymouth Hours (fol. 107v). I think it is reasonable to say the style was super popular.

The dress on the right is a patterned surcoat with buttons which I sometimes see referred to as a Cotehardie. I don’t know enough to know if that term is correct (it is for men, I know). I was inspired to draw the pattern, because Roman de Giron le Courtois is full of these elaborate patterned dresses. The text is Italian and I wonder if that is why. Anyway, was the specific inspiration for this one was Folio 44v and Folio 75r. I have no idea what the manuscript is about, but there’s a lot of decapitated heads in it. In case you’re wondering, medieval manuscripts use Folio rather than page number, because most of them lack numbered pages.

Now that I’ve done two 1300s Jewels and Gemstones paper dolls (see Pearl here), I feel like I should do something from the 1400s, which is not a period I know as much about. However, the only way to learn is to try and so I guess I’ll add that to my to do list.

On Patreon I have a poll right now about the next time period to tackle. So, if you join us there, you can vote.

Ruby, A Steampunk Fashion Paper Doll in Stripes

A printable steampunk fashion paper doll coloring page and a 13 piece mix and match wardrobe with over 30 outfit combinations
A printable steampunk fashion paper doll with dark hair and a 13 piece mix and match wardrobe with over 30 outfit combinations

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Back in March I did a steampunk fashion paper doll set. This feels like a lifetime ago when I thought the pandemic would be over by now and I would be once again frolicking through life mask-free. This clearly hasn’t happened, but you know, back in March I was living the dream. I digress.

So, this set is made up from some things I did a few years ago, few new items and some Patreon things. I did a second color scheme just for my patrons, but you don’t need to pay for Patreon to see it. Just set up an account and you can view them.

Like all my steampunk fashion paper dolls, I try to design sets where there is some mix and match options making it a little micro-wardrobe and I think that really worked in this set in ways I am quite proud of. This isn’t my most Halloween paper doll ever, but stay tuned. I do have one ready for later this month.

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Fantasy Princesses and Their Gowns with Lapis

If I had to pick one thing I like drawing the most, I would have a lot of trouble, but it would probably be a tie between historical paper dolls and fantasy paper dolls. Historical because I love doing research and I am big costume history buff. Fantasy because sometimes I really don’t want to do so much research before I draw a paper doll. Of the fantasy things I draw, I think dresses are probably my favorite thing to create. I’m a sucker for a fantasy gown, what can I say?

This is funny, because in the real world, I am very much a jeans and t-shirts kinda girl.

Last year, I started a whole series of princess fantasy gowns I called the Princess and Their Gowns Collection. So far, there are two princesses and today’s paper doll is the third. They can not only share clothing, but the dresses are all in the same color scheme. Many mix and match options, I think.

A paper doll with fantasy princess gowns to color. Printable from paperthinpersonas.com.

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The specific inspirations for these two gowns are lost to me, though I did share this doodle and sketchbook version of the House Dress on Patreon. The House Dress was a Patreon piece from last year. Since it’s been over a year, I figure I can share it.

The Dinner Dress owes a lot to the dresses of the 18th century with the petticoat and the sleeves with ruffles. The “Rococo/Big Skirted Absurdity” section on my Fantasy Pinterest Board has more stuff in this genre. I have a fondness for 18th century inspired paper doll gowns.

A brunette paper doll with fantasy princess gowns. One of hundreds of printable paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com.

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I’m really happy with how Lapis’ hair came out and I am glad to have her joining Sapphire and Opal. Between the three of them, there are six dresses which I think is a good beginning. I need to draw more though. I’m thinking maybe a sports outfit, perhaps hiking? And also maybe something for the seaside. I haven’t totally decided yet. Is there a theme for a gown you’d like to see?

Let me know in a comment.

A Magical Girl Paper Doll

Let me start with this disclaimer: I do not watch Anime. As my partner would attest, I know nothing about magical girls, except what I vaguely remember from having friends obsessed with Sailor Moon in the 1990s. I wasn’t super into Sailor Moon, but they sure as heck were.

Magical girls, as I understand it, is a sub-genre of Japanese anime/manga/other stuff that feature girls using magic. (Yeah, you might have guessed that from the title, huh?) The primary feature of Magical Girl anime is the idea of a transformation. Most Magical Girl characters have a magic object (called a compact, I think?) which they use to transform into their magical selves.

Then- they fight evil/crime/playing cards? This genre mystifies me on occasion.

Features of Magical Girl outfits seem to be lots of ribbons, ruffles and asymmetry. Our magical girl, Dawn, has double buns (a nod to Sailor Moon), a compact version of her staff (as seen in both Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura) and several outfits.

A magical girl paper doll with curves! And three outfits to print and play with.

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So, the primary source for inspiration for her costumes was Cardcapture Sakura. There is also some Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica in there as well. One of the things I liked about Cardcapture Sakura was that it has lots of different outfits. That was a fun thing to look up. I noticed asymmetry in many of the outfits, hence the knee sock and the ankle sock with ruffles and a ribbon.

The baggy shorts were my attempt to draw something not a dress (there’s lots of dresses in the world of Magical Girls), but I openly admit this set is less mix and match then I like. Still, dresses tend not be very mix and match. I can live with that. She can always borrow jeans from this set.

Printable magical girl paper doll with buns and three dresses

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Drawing a genre I know so little about it both fun and a bit scary. I don’t know what I don’t know, but I had fun finding images and adapting them. I hope folks who do know more about this style than I do will let me know how I did in my foray into the land of Magical Girls.

Anyway, if you like what you see around here, consider popping over to Patreon and supporting it. If you’d like to let me know what you think about today’s paper doll, I always love to read comments.

Sideless Surcoat Paper Doll Fantasy Dress

A sideless surcoat (or surcote) inspired paper doll dress for the curvy Jewels and Gemstones paper dolls. Medieval fantasy at its best.

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Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll

Sideless surcoats look strange to me. They will probably always strike me as odd. Sometimes, I look a specific eras of fashion and I feel like- Well, isn’t that peculiar.

My personal favorite on the peculiar scale being the whole of the 1830s. I mean…. the giant sleeves, the strange Apollo-knot hair, the odd shoulder coverings/off the shoulder thing. It’s just so bananas to me. This 1830s fashion plate proves what I mean.

Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who said that fashion was a form of ugliness so abhorrent that it had to be changed every six months? I could look that up, but that’s just more work than I feel like putting into it tonight.

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
As I was amusing myself doing research into medieval surcoats for my 12th-14th century paper dolls, I kept doodling surcoats. I confess these very narrow surcoats seem odd to me, but they were the inspiration for today’s paper doll and did exist. Well, not like this, but there are real ones out there, or at least illustrations of something that could be one.

By the way, I do realize most people don’t paw around medieval manuscripts looking for surcoat illustrations for fun, but that’s their loss.

Specific Source Images: This sideless surcote and this other sideless surcoat are not exactly what I looked at, but are the right theme.

Learn/See More
On the Blog: More Jewels & Gemstones paper dolls & More Medieval Inspired Paper Dolls
Around the Internet: Nice overview of surcoats or surcotes

Last Thoughts
As far as I can tell surcoats and surcotes are the same thing, just one with more pretentious spelling. However, I am open to being proved wrong if someone would like to enlighten me.

For my patrons, there’s an different color scheme for this outfit over on Patreon today. Join us for more paper doll content each week.

Since it’s nearly Thanksgiving here in the US, I wanted to take a moment to say how grateful I am to my Patrons and my readers. You all keep me going and I deeply appreciate you.

12 Century Bliaut with Girdle

A printable paper doll with 12th century clothing including a bliaut, girdle, headdress, stockings and shoes. A great homeschooling history activity or just a fun paper doll for anyone who likes medieval fashions.

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Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll
So, I am still working on the 1100s, 1200s and 1300s paper dolls. The 1300s paper dolls aren’t even drawn yet. So, I’m sticking with the 1100s and 1200s. I’ll get to the 1300s when I have a moment.

Anyway, meanwhile, there’s this 1100s gown known as a bliaut. Can I confess that I’m not sure how to pronounce that word? Anyway, it’s the wide sleeved garment that most of us associate with the medieval era. Despite being popular in pop culture, it’s actually gown there’s a lot of debate about how it was constructed.

The bliaut was worn by men and women, often in layers. The length seems to have been regional. In France, they look really long, but in Germany there’s often a shorter bliaunt illustrated over a longer kirtle. So, there seems to be some variation in the regional styles.

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
Okay, so I looked at a lot of pictures and a lot of statues and I read a bit. Here’s what I understand: The bliaut is the subject of a lot of debate, as I mentioned above. Statues of the time show a very wrinkled, almost pleated fabric effect (like this), but illustrations by and large don’t. When they do show horizontal wrinkles across the abdomen they tend to be more subtle (like this). Additionally, smaller statuary (like this one) doesn’t show wrinkles across the abdomen.

There are, at the moment, several theories as to why and how wrinkles abdomens got formed, from cutting the fabric on the bias and lacing the sides (to create wrinkles across the stomach) to making a separate bodice and attaching it to the skirt.

I chose to go with a more subtle wrinkled look in my illustration, because outside of the giant statuary outside French cathedrals,  the wrinkles just don’t seem the tight or distinct in the art of the time.

Specific Source Images: Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres Statuary (see this picture) & Stuttgart WLB, cod. bibl. fol. 57, origin: Zwiefalten abbey circa 1125-1130, f. 55 as pictured here (retrieved 9/9/2019).

Learn/See More
On the Blog: More Jewels & Gemstones paper dolls, more paper dolls from the Medieval era, Topaz with her 1100s underwear
Around the Internet: Illumanu (a tumblr devoted to manuscript illustrations of clothing & dress), an interesting webpage with lots of pictures, and an interesting site with lots of pictures in German (I think?)

Last Thoughts
While I don’t have a real opinion on how bliauts were constructed, I do find it interesting the amount of debate there seems to be out there on the topic. The only theory I find least plausible is the separate bodice with skirt theory. I’ve seen some illustrations that seem to back it up, but never with proper citation. Cite your sources people! Additionally, separate bodices  would have had to have been invented and then ignored for like 300 years and that just seems implausible. Not impossible, mind you, but implausible. However, I always love to hear from folks to know more than me on these topics, so share away in the comments.

(But do try to keep it polite. I’ve had strange debates and oddly angry emails over medieval clothing before which, odd the true, still boggles my mind.)

Mean while, on Patreon, there’s an extra paper doll outfit every Friday! Plus previews of what I’m working on, polls and whole different paper doll series called Vivian. It’s a fun group. Check it out!

And if you need a paper doll with proper hair and undies for this era, grab Topaz in her 1100s underwear. The 1200s Lapis can also do in a pinch, if you’re more partial to redheads.

A Super Pretty Empire Fantasy Gown

A pretty fantasy gown with an empire silhouette and over the shoulder puffed sleeves. Printable in color or black and white for coloring.

Black and White PDF | Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones Paper Dolls

Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll
Occasionally, I just kinda want to draw a pretty dress. I mean, sometimes I like to draw complex things with nuance and stuff, but sometimes, I just want to draw a pretty dress. Years ago, I read an article about Oscar De La Renta (an amazing fashion designer) who when asked what he did, he said something like, I make pretty dresses.

And well, sometimes I want to draw pretty dresses. Nothing more, nothing less. Remember that I draw extra pretty dresses (and other things) for my Patrons.

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
As I said above, I just kinda wanted a pretty dress. There’s something sort of 1980s fantasy princess happening here, I think, but I don’t recall a specific source of any kind.

Specific Source Images: Nothing that I remember.

Learn/See More
On the Blog: More Jewels & Gemstones paper dolls
Around the Internet: Hmmmm…. I’m not sure. If you want to see more pretty dresses, I do keep a board of Fantasy Clothing on Pinterest which is full of them.

Last Thoughts
Clearly, this isn’t my most “complex” blog post. Sometimes I think a lot about what I create and sometimes I just draw. Not everything has a complex history.

I’d like to take a moment here to thank everyone who pledges on Patreon. You make this little corner of the web possible and I am very grateful to you all.

By the way, at the moment, there’s a lot going on with my world, so please know that while I love the blog and I love creating paper dolls, I’m keeping a lot of plates spinning at the moment.