stockings

Ms Mannequin: Layered Fantasy Gown with an Underbust Corset

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:  Victorian Garters, Folk Art, and Layers, Layers, Layers

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Sometimes when I draw a paper doll outfit, it is really an excuse to explore something artistically. In today’s fantasy paper doll gown, I wanted to practice drawing drapery and layers. One of the things I am always thinking about when it comes to paper doll designs is how different pieces will layer over each other. Clothing, after all, has bulk and drape.

I previewed today’s fantasy paper doll gown way back in June and I actually drew the design back in December of last year. So, this has been a long long time coming, clearly.

There’s a second similar fantasy gown for the Ms. Mannequin series over on my Patreon page that everyone, not just Patrons, can download in color or black and white, so check that out over on my Patreon page and consider joining. It’s a great way to support the blog.

The corset designs are based on folk art designs which I love. I’ve always liked folk art florals and traditional crewel embroidery designs. The garters are, as I said above, based on Victorian garters which often closed with a clasp.

Meanwhile, please let me know what you think of today’s paper doll gown in a comment.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick out a Ms. Mannequin Paper Doll Here

Faye in the Woods: Accessory Thursday With a Cape & Boots

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Three pairs of printable paper doll shoes, a cape and a book for the Mini-Maiden paper doll series for coloring

Happy Accessory Thursday! One of my favorite features of this new paper doll blog format is Accessory Thursday. I am finally at the stage where I am designing paper doll sets specifically for this new format and I find I always have to think about what I should post for Thursday.

Now, the cape with the hood is maybe my favorite piece from this set of paper doll accessory pieces. I love the pattern and the shape. It is the piece that made me think of Little Red Riding-hood. It’s floral motifs were in part inspired by Jacobean floral embroidery designs. I’ve always loved that style.

And of course any paper doll I create is going to have shoes. So, Monday’s paper doll is getting two pairs of boots, all designed to go over the leggings she’s gotten. She also has some tulip patterned stockings and slippers. I really had fun making all these tiny patterns up and I wanted to show them off. I actually had a few more pattern motifs that never made it as far as these paper dolls.

So, if you missed this week’s paper doll, she’s in Monday’s post. I used Faye, my Asian Mini-Maiden this week.

As always, if you like the blog and want to see behind the scenes more (plus get to listen to me complain about fleas) then consider supporting the blog through Patreon.

Need a Mini-Maiden paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Mini-Maiden Paper Doll Here.

Bodacious & Buxom: A Curvy Fantasy Paper Doll’s Accessories

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Today’s Accessory Thursday post is a little late and I feel guilty about that, but in my defense, let me explain.

So, remember how I said I was moving? And I did move and I love my new place. However, the previous tenant had pets.

And I discovered Monday that those pets left behind some… friends. Small jumping biting friends.

Fleas.

I reported my unwanted roommates on Monday. They sprayed the unit yesterday and I spent most of yesterday evening either out or sitting on the back patio while the unit aired out. But seriously, I have never been more happy to smell the scent of pesticide in my life.

Anyway, with all the laundry and other things I’ve been doing, there just wasn’t time to work on this blog post much.

So, that’s why its a little late.

Anyway, enough about my Adventures with Fleas! Let’s talk about paper dolls.

Today, we have three pairs of shoes. Each one is colored to match one of the three dresses, including the paper doll dress that goes up on Friday. There’s also a book and a musical instrument and some papers. I struggle a little with scale sometimes with the B&B dolls, because they have such huge heads.

(Don’t get me wrong, I like huge heads, but it makes some stuff challenging.)

Two usual pieces of housekeeping: The doll was posted Monday and the black and white versions are at the top of the post. Enjoy!

Hazel Visits the 1940s: Girdles, Purses and Gloves, Oh My!

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Black and white printable paper doll coloring sheet with 1940s underwear, shoes, purses and other accessories for the Min-Maiden paper doll series. Free to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com

It’s Accessory Thursday! See, I didn’t have one last week, but it wasn’t abandoned for long. Today, we have some 1940’s girdles, a long-line bra, two purses, beads and a pair of ever important gloves. If you ever thought to yourself, “I need some 1940s underwear for a paper doll” than here you go!

(I find it hard to imagine anyone ever thought that, but maybe I’m wrong.)

The shoes on the left are based on a blue suede pair from 1941. The other pair is from the 1942 Spiegel Holiday Catalog. The “lower” purse is based on a Gucci model from 1949 while the other is from 1944. See, I said back on Monday one 1949 item slipped into this week’s early 1940s paper doll series.

Her 1940s underwear is based on two different 1940s gridles. The first is from 1942 and the second is from between 1942 and 1949. After I drew these, a freind remarked that he thought they were a bit racy for a paper doll, but I think paper dolls can be sexy if they want to be. Besides, it’s not that racy.

Now, if you need a paper doll to wear these lovely girdles, than Hazel from Monday has the hair for the era, but any of the Mini-Maiden‘s can pull off the looks, I’m sure.

By the way, if you are a twitter person (I am) than follow the blog’s feed and hear all about the movies I watch while I draw and other thrilling details on @paperpersonas. I’ve also been trying out Instagram, but I’ll confess I’m not very good at it yet. And of course, there’s always Patreon if you want to help pay the blogs operating costs.

And who doesn’t want to help with that?

So, what do you think of this weeks set? Are you enjoying this foray into the 1940s? Let me know in a comment!

Need a Mini-Maiden paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Mini-Maiden Paper Doll Here.

Alice & The Mad Hatter Paper Dolls: Accessory Thursday

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Hat and shoes for Alice and the Mad Hatter paper dolls! Plus lots of tea accessories. “Who are YOU?” said the Caterpillar.

This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I–I hardly know, sir, just at present– at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.” — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 5

Well, my friends, it is Accessory Thursday! And today, we have shoes and hats for Alice and the Mad hatter.

I had a great deal of fun designing sock patterns for the Mad Hatter and shoes for them both. Designing hats was also fun, but I need to get better at drawing top hats. Still, you get better by practicing, so I got in a lot of practice with this week’s sets.

If you missed the dolls, here is Alice and here is the Mad Hatter. Shoes with a pink base are for Alice and the teal based ones are for the Mad Hatter. I’d think that would be obvious based on the leg poses, but I thought I should clarify in case there was any confusion.

If you’re a lover of the blog, then please considering supporting it on Patreon, plus there’s an extra outfit for my Patrons this week and who doesn’t want some of that?

And, as always, I love to hear what y’all think, so comments are always appreciated.

Alice & The Mad Hatter Paper Dolls: The Mad Hatter & His Yellow Suit

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A Mad Hatter paper doll with a three piece suit and shoes. He'd available in color and black and white. Free to print.

The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, “Why is a raven like a writing-desk?” — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 7

Victor, one of the Sprite guy paper dolls, is getting to be the Mad Hatter today. The Mad Hatter is one of the well known characters from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Back in the Victorian era, when the book was written, certain types of fur and leather were cured using Mercury, which is toxic. The ‘hatters’ who worked with these materials to make hats often ended up victims of Mercury poisoning. So, this brought about the phrase “mad as a hatter.”

Despite the somewhat depressing origins of the term, the character is highly memorable. I think in part, because of the Disney version where the Mad Hatter is voiced by Ed Wynn. Love that guy.

Anyway, for the rest of the week, Alice from Monday and the Mad Hatter will each be getting an outfits and accessories. As always, the black and white version is linked at the top of the post.

So, feel free to follow the blog on Twitter and, if you like it, support it on Patreon.

Alice & The Mad Hatter Paper Dolls: Alice & Her Yellow Dress

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An Alice paper doll with a yellow dress in color and black and white for coloring. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

“Curiouser and curiouser!” — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 2

As many of you might recall, I love Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and I love Alice in Wonderland paper dolls. It’s a story I have gone back to over and over again.

This time, the Sprites are getting into the action with Willow as my Alice paper doll today. Tomorrow, the Mad Hatter with make an appearance. Than there will be two more outfits for each of them and, of course, Accessory Thursday!

I made my Alice paper doll brunette as a nod to the actually girl for whom the story was written, Alice Liddell. Most people picture Alice in a blue dress (and I do have that color scheme over on my Patreon page), but the earliest color illustration is The Nursery Alice and in this version she wears yellow.

The playing card motifs are a reference, of course, to the playing card themes in the book. Some scholars think the whole book’s plot is based on the randomness of the rules of cards.

If you like the blog and you wanna know when I update or see selected stuff from my archives, than follow me on twitter! It’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Though that does bring up a good point… how much fun would a barrel of monkeys really be? And who put them in a barrel? And isn’t that cruel and unusual treatment of monkeys?

Anyway… There’s an different color scheme for today’s Alice in Wonderland paper doll on my Patreon page. It’ll be available to everyone until Friday. Patrons will also get an extra outfit for this week’s series later this week, so join if you haven’t!

Edwardian Mia: Accessory Thursday

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Edwardian paper doll accessories including shoes, hats, purses, furs, gloves and a parasol. Who doesn't need a parasol? Free to print for the Marisole Monday & Friends paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

Accessories are tough. I always struggle to decide how many pieces is “enough” pieces. Part of learning to work in this new daily format has been about deciding, “How much makes up a post?”

Anyway, that’s all by way of saying, I might have gotten a little carried away on this one.

I have a lot of sources to site for this eclectic collection of pieces. The shoes in this accessory set come from two different sources. The white pair of shoes comes from Philadelphia Art Museum. The boots are from this advertisement from The NYPL Digital Library. Both pairs are from 1908, sticking them right at the end of the era I’m interested in. The purses come from this particular page from the 1902-1903 catalog of the Chas. A. Stevens & Bros out of Chicago. Her parasol was based on this one, sort of. I think the resemblance is a little spotty.

The hats come from a range of sources. The lavender and blue roses trimmed hat comes from this image from the NYPL Digital Gallery. Her furs and another hat come from this page from National Cloak & Suit Co‘s 1907 catalog. The truth is that hats of this era were very flamboyant. That makes them fun and challenging to draw.

If you like the blog, than consider supporting it on Patreon. None of this happens for free and every little bit helps keep things rolling along here.

Lastly, just because I’m super curious, what are your favorite paper doll accessories? Hats? Shoes? Books? Swords? What makes your experience more fun?

Also, I swear I did nothing but scan last night, so I am trying to decide what to work on this weekend. There’s a poll!

[poll id=”18″]

Poppets Visit the 1860s: Accessory Thursday with Shoes and Underwear

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Guess what day it is?

It’s Accessory Thursday!

The whole point of Accessory Thursday is to allow me to show off some of the smaller pieces that make up a paper doll collection.

For a child’s wardrobe in the 1860s, accessories meant shoes and underwear. Now, kids back in this era wore a lot of underwear, but I decided to focus just on a pantaloons and camisoles. Staybands where also very common. Staybands were like a corset, but they weren’t boned the same way. The idea was to keep the spine straight and help with development.

If you feel that you need a stayband, than check out Promenade & Play which features one from the 1870s.

Shoe-wise, she’s got brown leather boots with a bow detail and some black and white button up boots. I think I just like the idea of two-tone boots. I confess I don’t know how popular they actually were back in the day.

As always, I’d love to know what y’all think of the continuing trend of Accessory Thursdays!

Also, if you love the blog and want to help support it, consider joining my Patreon page.

Peony in the 1860s: A Paper Doll Dress from August 1862

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A paper doll with a dress from August 1862, boots and a hat from paperthinpersonas.com. Part of a week of civil war children's clothing designs for the Poppets paper doll series.This week I’m diving into civil war children’s clothing with the help of the Casey Fashion Plate Index from the Los Angeles Public Library. This fantastic resource has literally hundreds of fashion plates. Today’s Poppet dress comes from Magasin des Demoiselles, a French fashion magazine of the 19th century.

I named today’s Poppet paper doll Peony. I thought I was out of P flower names, but I never did a Peony, so Peony it is! Then I’ll have to decide what to do about Poppet paper dolls and their P names.

Despite what I was once told in a costume history class, children of the 19th century didn’t dress like miniature adults. There were, in fact, many complex social rules governing how children were dressed.

While adult women did not expose their arms unless they were attending a ball (or swimming, sometimes), children could have short sleeves, especially in the heat of summer. Today’s dress is and example of this from August 1862. I simplified some of the trimming and chose blue tonal color scheme over the red and black scheme of the original Civil War children’s clothing dress design.

Fashion plate from Casey fashion plate collection from August 1862 featuring two women and a child.

Alternatively, you can download the black and white version from the links at the top of the post.

Peony’s hat is trimmed in contrasting yellow roses and matching blue ribbon. Her boots are flat soled and side lacing, which was typical for civil war era shoes. Side laced and button up boots were both worn in the 1860s, but by the end of the decade button boots were much more popular. Her stockings should really be tights or held up by a garter belt, but in the interest of making things simpler, I decided to ignore that particular fact of history.

Should you be worried about her going commando, than fear not- she’ll get some proper undergarments on Accessory Thursday.

If you need another set of dolls to wear this clothing, here’s more of the Poppet family, just be sure to print them from the PDF without fit to page and everything should work out.

Thoughts? Comments? Solutions to my “P flower names” problem? As always, I love to hear from y’all and if you like the blog, consider supporting it by becoming a Patron.