This category gathers all Paper Thin Personas printable paper doll designs available in black and white, featuring original artwork created for easy printing, cutting, and coloring. Because it includes many styles and eras, the list is long—feel free to browse at your own pace, or use the Master Paper Doll Index to find something more specific.
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll Happy Halloween everyone! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some tricker-treaters this year. I don’t always get them, but I’m hopeful for this year. I finally live in a spot with lots of kids.
Anyway, it’s already super cold here, since I do live in the interior of Alaska. So, while it hasn’t snowed much, it is below freezing most days. Which basically means that while I enjoyed drawing this paper doll’s Halloween outfit, it would be way way to chilly to wear up here. I should have drawn a Halloween parka.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll Okay, so anyone whose been following this blog for any amount of time has probably figured out that I love drawing elegant gothic themed things for Halloween. I couldn’t not draw one for this Halloween. I ended up settling on a jack-o-lantern pattern for the skirt.
Last Thoughts I hope everyone has a super safe, super fun Halloween. I’ll be passing out candy and keeping an eye on my cat, who might try to make a run for it. Or she’ll hide under the couch the whole time. You never can be sure with her.
My Patreon supporters are getting their extra paper doll for the week a day early, because it’s also Halloween themed. Consider joining us! It’s a fun group.
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll When I was making my list of Halloween monsters to draw as paper dolls, I really wanted to do some I’d never done before and I’ve never done a Frankenstein’s Monster paper doll before. And what says Halloween paper doll more than that?
I chose Diamond as the model for today’s paper doll. I am pretty happy with how she came out, though part of me thinks her hair looks a little too much like a skunk, but maybe that’s just me.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll The original novel Frankenstein was published in 1818, though it is set in the 18th century. I sort of abandoned that source material pretty quickly and went more to the Herman Munster direction pretty quickly. I considered for about 15 minutes the idea of drawing historical clothing for today’s paper doll, but decided I really wasn’t that excited to draw 1818 or 1700s dresses.
Her “dress” was meant to look a little like a lab coat. One thing you might notice with all of my Halloween paper doll creations is a lack of source images. The truth is that part of the fun of this time of the year, is that I don’t do research. I just sort of draw and see what happens.
Specific Source Images: Nothing specific this time I can point to.
Last Thoughts When I was a kid, the Munsters played in Nick at Nite and it was one of my favorite shows. I don’t really recall much of the plots, but even then I had a fondness for supernatural plots. Something which later lead to my love of Buffy and continued affection for those sorts of TV shows and books.
Big thank you to all my Patreon supporters. With out you, the blog wouldn’t be around, so you’re all the best!
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll I wanted to create a mermaid outfit that was a costume, not an actual mermaid. Usually when I draw mermaids, they are mermaids, not people dressing up like mermaids.
So, yeah, that’s a thing I think about sometimes.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll I wanted to think in terms of what would a dress for a mermaid costume look like. I thought about as mermaid shaped dress, of course, and then I remembered Liana’s beautiful mermaid paper dolls and that was one of my big inspirations to draw a mermaid at all.
Last Thoughts Tomorrow, my Patreon supporters who have signed up at a 2 dollar a month and more category, will get a super cute little Devil paper doll. She’s darling, if I do say so myself.
Also, I finally live in a place where there are kids! I’m super exciting to get to maybe actually have trick or treaters this year.
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll When I was brainstorming what I wanted to draw for Halloween, I worked out a list of themes for the Jewels and Gemstones dolls. I wanted to do a series of sort of cute monsters that were still a bit wicked. I settled on a ghost paper doll, a devil paper doll (for my patrons) and a Frankenstein’s monster paper doll for my set of three.
I’m super happy to be sharing the first- my blood footed ghost here.
I thought about designing all new faces for these dolls, since Pearl can’t really share shoes with the rest of the Pearl paper dolls, but I decided against it. Mostly, because I have such a nice range of Gemstone dolls, I didn’t really want to draw more faces just for the sake of it. I confess I was being a little lazy. No shame.
Last Thoughts I love a good (and by good I mean creepy) ghost story. I just love them. I don’t know why they appeal so strongly, but they do. I hate horror movies, but I love ghost stories and therefore will watch a few IF they are previewed by my horror loving best friend and IF I can watch them at noon with the lights on and IF I can read a summary ahead of time, so I’m not too scared. The Others is a great ghost horror film I super enjoyed.
Tomorrow for most of my Patreon supporters there will be an additional paper doll outfit for the Jewels and Gemstones.
By the way, I really went back and forth about the toenails on this paper doll. I wasn’t sure if I should erase them. I couldn’t decide. Am I weird in that I really think toenails belong on ghosts?
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll In a continuing theme of Rachel draws paper doll outfits based on topics of which she knows very little, I am pleased to share my latest dance creation. I made a big list of dance styles and one I knew I wanted to draw was hip-hop dance.
I also rapidly discovered I don’t know much about dance. However, I did my research (as much as Googling- Hip-Hop Dance counts as research) and went from there.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll Anyway, here’s my attempt at a hip-hop dance outfit based on styles from Discount Dance, a dance supply store. Also, I know stage makeup is a thing, but children photographed in stage makeup look… surreal. Under bright lights, the makeup makes sense. In the regular world, it’s kinda creepy.
Last Thoughts By the way, my Patreon supporters get extra paper dolls every Friday. So, consider subscribing if you’d like to help support the blog.
Friday there will be a round up of paper dolls I’ve created in Regency dress. I am running a little low on round up ideas, so anyone have something they’d love to see? Let me know in the comments.
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll Melissa of Miss. Missy’s Paper Dolls and Julie of Paper Doll School have done such a better job of keeping up with this collaboration than I have. I confess I have several months drawn, but never finished.
My natural instinct is to feel guilty about this (I have an overdeveloped since of responsibility), but since in the last three months I have moved across the country, gotten a new job and moved in with my partner. I really don’t think I should feel the least bit guilty about any of it.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll The theme for September was pattern and I was super excited to explore that theme. I really love working with patterns, though I think some patterns are easier for me to draw than others. My fights with plaid are a thing that I wish I didn’t have quite so much. I also think some types of patterns render bettern in my style of pen and ink than others.
Anyway, since I knew the patterns were going to take center stage, I chose to do two very simple silhouettes for my paper doll outfits- a pair of a-line dresses. Neither of these pieces would be warm enough for Alaska in February without some serious tights. There was ice on my car last week! But they’re both fun and I can pretend warm weather is going to continue a little longer.
Specific Source Images: Well, I did look at some gourds, but… nothing I can point to today!
So, I’m still deep in the world of medieval paper dolls, specifically the 1100s and 1200s. The 1300s dolls haven’t even made it to the sketchpad yet, so for now, I’m sticking with what’s drawn and researched.
In the meantime, let’s talk about a fascinating 12th-century garment: the bliaut. (Can I admit I’m still not totally sure how to pronounce that word?) It’s that wide-sleeved gown that most people associate with medieval ladies. A gown with long, dramatic, and richly draped sleeves. While it’s iconic in pop culture (and the Victorians loved painting it), there’s actually a lot of debate about it.
The bliaut was worn by both men and women, often layered over a kirtle (under dress) or under a cloak. Its length varied by region. In France, they were long and flowing, while in Germany, illustrations often show a shorter bliaut over a longer underdress. These variations hint at distinct regional styles across medieval Europe.
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.
So, what’s going on with the wrinkles?
Costume historians have a few theories:
Cutting fabric on the bias and lacing it at the sides to create horizontal tension.
Constructing a separate bodice and attaching it to the skirt.
Complex pleating or gathering techniques that we no longer use or fully understand.
For my illustration, I chose a more subtle wrinkled look, aligning with the manuscript art. The extreme wrinkles seen in large French cathedral sculptures don’t appear as consistently in other sources, and I’m a librarian, so I decided to go with what I’m most comfortable with, manuscript illustration.
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).
While I don’t claim to have a definitive opinion on how bliauts were constructed, I do find the ongoing debate fascinating. The theory I find least plausible is the “separate bodice and skirt” construction. I’ve seen it floated online without solid citations, and it would require bodices to appear centuries earlier than we typically see them, then disappear again for 300 years. Not impossible — but definitely implausible.
Still, I’d love to hear from readers who’ve researched this more deeply! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. But kindly, please. I’ve received oddly intense and aggressive emails over medieval fashion debates, and I just don’t want to deal with that.
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.
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll I am super excited about this collection of paper dolls. I love costume history. Sometimes, I feel like despite my love of the topic (or perhaps because of it), I get a little paralyzed feeling like I have to do so much research before I can create something and worrying about the quality of my sources. This worries me less in eras I am confident in, such as the 19th and 20th century, and worries me more in eras I am not confident about.
But then I won’t learn or get better if I don’t practice drawing these periods, so I think it is okay to not be perfect. Even more importantly, I think you have to start with in perfection or you never move forward.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll Like last week’s Lapis, this week’s Topaz is wearing a shift based one illustrated in Roman de Giron le Courtois on Folio 87v. The manuscript dates from between 1370-1380. Illustrations of women in just shifts are exceedingly rare, so even though this is 200 years after the 1100s, I am still using it. I made my version shorter and tighter than the originals probably were to facilitate the paper doll layering clothing over the shift. Paper dolls have to layer.
Additionally, Topaz’s shoes all come from Stepping Through Time by Olaf Goubitz, a book on archeological footwear finds. It’s fascinating, but very densely written work. Women’s Hats, Headdresses and Hairstyles: With 453 Illustrations, Medieval to Modern by Georgine de Courtais was the book I used for her hair and headdress, along with this statue, Enthroned Virgin and Child, from The Met.
Last Thoughts I’d like to give a shout out to my Patreon supporters, because without you all, the blog wouldn’t happen.
Additionally, later this week there will be a gown from the 12th century (aka the 1100s) and I am excited to share that though I am also nervous about how little I know about this era. However, this is how I learn, so there you go!
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll Today’s paper doll dress is a surcoat (over-dress) over another dress. As far as I can tell, this style came into fashion in the second half of the 13th century and sticks around in various forms for over 100 years. As I said when I was showing off Lapis and her 13th century undergarments, I am not an expert on this time period. At best, I am a dabbling amateur. However, one thing I did notice as I looked at many many pictures was that the 13th century is similar to the 14th century, if they hadn’t yet mastered curved seams and tailoring techniques.
So, while in the 14th century they have sideless surcoats over fitted kirtles, that is not what you see in the 13th century. You see their predecessors- a sleeveless surcoat over a dress where just the sleeves are visible and there’s no waist as far as the eye can see. This style does continue into the first part 14th century- here is an example. Later the armholes lengthen, these surcoats are in the later 14th century style.
Clothing rarely confines itself to neat time ranges, but rather tends to ease over years and decade markers.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll As usual, the shoe designs come from Stepping Through Time by Olaf Goubitz, an excellent, in exceedingly dry, book on historical footwear. The surcoat is based on this illustration and this illustration while the headdress comes from here, but also from all the looking at headdresses I did when drawing Lapis.
Last Thoughts I previewed a lot of this collection over on Patreon. So, thank you to all my Patrons to encouraged me to continue even though I was a little nervous. Reminder: There’s an extra paper doll outfit every Friday, plus previews of what I’m working on and polls and things. Check it out!
Rarely have I wished I knew more medieval Latin, but when I am looking for primary source illustrations of clothing I do. It’s very hit and miss, but I do my best with my limited knowledge. I respect people who do recreations of these garments, but I wish more of them properly cited their source images. It’s very frustrating to find a great illustration from an illuminated manuscript, but have no way of knowing where it came from. I won’t use anything that doesn’t properly cite a source. I’m a librarian, after all. I have some standards.
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll There are time periods where I feel like I know a fair amount and then there are time periods of fashion history where I feel (and I am) quite ignorant. The 1200s are one of those time periods. It’s not an era I have a great deal of natural interest in (sorry 1200s) and I don’t really feel like devoting the long hours of research to it. Also, I think the headdresses look funny.
So, all of that is to say that I noticed the basically the only different from the 1100s through the 1300s was headdresses and the undergarments all stayed pretty much the same. There are some documented differences in the 1400s, but I’ll get into that when I get around to drawing it. The result of this discovery was excitement when I realized I could draw the same shift and basically have a period underwear wearing paper doll for a 300 year time period.
This was very exciting. (Listen, I know this wouldn’t be exciting to normal people, but I make my own fun.)
So, this is the first of a series of paper dolls from the 1100s, 1200s and 1300s.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll Lapis is wearing a shift based one illustrated in Roman de Giron le Courtois on Folio 87v. The manuscript dates from between 1370-1380. Yes, I realize that’s like 100 years later than this paper doll, but here’s the thing- illustrations of women in just shifts are exceedingly rare, so I am going to take what I can get. A few differences in my rendition are that the length is a little shorter and the style is quite fitted. Both of these changes were done to facilitate the paper doll layering clothing over the shift.
Her headdresses are in the style of the barbette and fillet. The barbette is the piece that goes under the chin and the fillet is the pillbox hat looking piece that wraps around the head. One point I couldn’t quite sort out was whether the fillet was open or closed at the top. This manuscript illustration looks closed while this manuscript illustration it could go either way. These ones look closed while this one is definitely open.
In the end, I went with Women’s Hats, Headdresses and Hairstyles: With 453 Illustrations, Medieval to Modern by Georgine de Courtais where fig 13 on shows it closed and that was my decision. I maybe totally wrong. The book was originally published in 1986, which while not super current, is current enough for me to feel fairly confident in it. Unlike, for example, books on historical costume first published in the 19th century when I have serious doubts about the quality of the scholarship.
The designs for her shoes come from Stepping Through Time by Olaf Goubitz, an excellent, in exceedingly dry, book on historical footwear.
Last Thoughts I’m tossing this out to the audience today, because there’s a high chance someone out there knows way more about 1200s clothing than I do. That would not be hard. Was the fillet open on the top or closed? Because I can’t seem to get a clear answer on that one. Thoughts? (And if you tell me your sources on why you think one or the other, I would be eternally grateful.)
Over on Patreon, there’s an extra paper doll outfit every Friday, plus previews of what I’m working on and polls and things. Check it out!
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll Let me start by saying that I don’t really believe in “artist’s block,” because I think the way you get over such things is by actually drawing. I will confess that sometimes when I am stumped on what to draw, I end up looking at my Master Paper Doll Index and picking out a theme I haven’t done yet for the Jewels and Gemstones.
The four I know I need to work on include gothic, punk, astronauts, and ninjas.
Well, gothic, punk and astronauts will have to wait. Today, I decided to explore ninjas.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll One of the perks of having drawn a lot of paper dolls is that sometimes I go back to my own older work for inspiration, but I also wanted to look at other things as well. One thing I knew I didn’t want to do was an all black ninja outfit. Seriously, coloring things in all back is kinda boring. This is likely why I haven’t done that gothic set yet, now that I mention it.
Last Thoughts Mostly, I base my ninjas outfits on wrap designs, but I wanted to draw a qipao inspired piece instead. Maybe I should have said that up under my inspiration…
Joining on Patreon means getting extra paper doll content and now is a great time to join, because I just posted the August rewards.
Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll So, I think of these paper doll posts in two ways. On one hand, each posts needs to be complete in and of itself. Like, I try not to just post a random pair of boots and nothing else, you know? On the flip side, I also think of them as all being part of the Jewels and Gemstones series and therefore part of a large art piece. So, they are not individual creations and bits of a bigger creation.
As a result, I was realizing I didn’t really have a lot of like basics for the Jewels and Gemstones. I’ve only done one pair of jeans so far. That seemed like a hole I should fill.
Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll I feel like someone asked for shorts and a t-shirt, but I also wanted to just draw some basics. Jeans and a shirt and shorts. They can be mixed and matched with all the other Jewels and Gemstones contemporary clothing.
Specific Source Images:This one was a big influence on my Firebird design.
Learn/See More On the Blog: The One Other Pair of Jeans & More Jewels & Gemstones paper dolls Around the Internet: Hmmm… I had no idea what to link here, so let’s just move on!
Last Thoughts I’ve noticed there’s a lot of really unexpected color schemes in floral patterns these days, so I wanted to match that when I picked out colors for today’s set. I really didn’t want to make it a pink flower, though that was my first instinct.
If you’d like an extra paper doll outfit every week, join us on Patreon. It’s super fun.
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