Marisole Monday & Friends Archives • Page 2 of 28 • Paper Thin Personas

1920s Pajamas for Marisole Monday & Her Printable Paper Doll Friends

July 18, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1920s Fashions from B. Altman & Company

So, it was pointed out to me earlier this year that I had done very few sets of paper doll pajamas. As a result, I’ve been working on creating paper doll pajamas for the various series over the last year. Every paper doll needs pajamas, after all.

One of the things that always surprises me in my costume research is when I see something and I think, “Well, I didn’t know that was a thing.”

All of us, myself included, suffer from the tendency to see what we want to see in historical evidence. It’s very easy to get so used to a time period as to stop noticing it. When I found this pajamas in 1920s Fashions from B. Altman & Company, I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s awfully modern looking.”

Sadly, the illustration was in black and white, so I have no idea the true color of these pajamas. However, I know coral was a popular shade in the 1920s, so that is what I went with. I love the art deco floral design on the right side of them.

One pair a pajamas is hardly enough to make up for years of pajama paper doll neglect, but hopefully this pair helps a bit.

And I think it could pass as super comfortable lounge wear in the 21st century. I’d wear it.

(And I can’t say that about all the paper doll clothes I create.)

What do you think? Would you wear it? Let me know in a comment.

And if you want to support the blog, think about donating through Patreon.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

New Romantics Paper Doll Fashions

July 11, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: A Patron Request for New Romantic Fashions

While I was researching New Romantics fashion for yesterday’s printable paper doll, I discovered that it was a lot easier to identify men’s clothing that was influenced by the style than it was women’s clothing.

This picture was my primary inspiration for the outfit. Because I knew I wanted to tuck the poet’s shirt into the trousers, I had to make it all in one piece

I do sort of regret not going further and doing like an Adam Ant sort of outfit… but there is always next time.

This isn’t the usual way I design paper doll clothing, but I do think you have to the adapt to the medium as it makes sense. In fact, I just finished penciling a regency Sprite’s men’s suit that does the same thing.

Sometimes, it is easiest to draw outfits in one piece, even if that’s not my natural instinct.

Now, I will admit that while I don’t know much about New Romantic fashion, I do have a soft place in my heart for a man in a poet shirt. Can’t lie about that one.

I should add my favorite Adam and the Ants song is Stand and Deliver, but I should say in the interest of full disclosure that his music is more New Wave Punk than New Romantics, or so I’ve been told.

(I still listen to that song while I clean my apartment and dance around, so I will not be deterred from liking it.)

Meanwhile, I don’t really have a guy paper doll with quite the right hair for this outfit, but I might actually recommend Marcus The Warrior. The beads in his hair seem apropos of the style. Super long haired Mikhail might also work, but not as well.

As always, let me know what you think of poet shirts or paper dolls or anything else in the comments.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Guy Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

Marisole Monday & Friends: A New Romantics Paper Doll & Her Outfit

July 10, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: A Patron Request for New Romantic Fashions

One of my patrons asked me last year for some New Romantics paper dolls and I was stumped a little.

First of all, the New Romantics music and fashion movement was born in London and I’m not from there. Secondly, it’s actually tough to research fashion from the 1980s. It just hasn’t been long enough for there to be a lot of scholarly work on the subject.

So, nearly two years passed while I tried to figure out what I was doing.

But now I am pleased to present the first of two New Romantics paper dolls.

The second piece of this set is a set of clothing for the guys of the Marisole Monday and friend’s family.

For those you who, like me, aren’t an expert on these things, the New Romantics or New Romanticism was a movement in the early 1980s. Music wise think David Bowie, Adam Ant and Visage. There’s a decent article about the while thing from the Guardian.

Fashion wise, think poet shirts for men and lots of lace for women. Exotic makeup was also a big trend and wild hair. In fact, I don’t think the makeup I did here was nearly wild enough, but I did the best I could given some of the limitations of pen and ink.

Okay, so I know some of my readers lived through this era (and I did, technically, but I was very very little), how did I do? Let me know in a comment!

Think about supporting the blog by becoming a patron. Not only do you get to help keep the blog around, but I am also way more likely to actually draw requests from Patrons. Even if sometimes it takes, you know, a few years.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Ladies Clothing Here.

Marisole Monday’s Qi Lolita Inspired Paper Doll Dress

July 8, 2017July 6, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Child’s Vests from China Like This One and 1930s Cheongsam Like This One

Most of my Asian fantasy stuff is inspired by kimonos, because I really love kimonos.

However, this one is actually very much not about the kimono. It was heavily influenced by vests like this one from the Met, this one from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and this other one from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And some really fun vintage cheongsam like this one and this one. You can see more traditional Chinese clothing on my Pinterest board devoted to it.

The other major influence was Qi Lolita, which is a style of Lolita fashion which adapts traditional Chinese outfits like qipao and combines them with the classic full skirted Lolita fashion silhouette.

Basically, imagine if a cheongsam and a big skirted prom dress had a love child.

Initially, I’d planned to use the floral pattern on the top of the dress. I didn’t actually like the flowers on the top of the dress, so I ended up placing them on the two tiered skirt.

The shoes I have mixed feelings about, I confess.

I created them to try to “fill-out” the post, but I am not really in love with them.

So, what do you think about today’s fantasy paper doll dress? Let me know in a comment.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

Marisole Monday’s 1820s Morning Dress With Cap in White

June 22, 2017June 22, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Cap from 1825-1830 and This Morning Dress Circa 1827

I wanted to make an 1820s dress and I wanted to do a morning dress, because morning dresses kinda fascinate me. I knew it I was drawing a morning dress, than I would have to draw a cap. So, today’s 1820s morning dress was born.

First thing, I kinda messed up. I wrote in my notes that the source image which I printed to draw from was from 1828, but actually it is from 1827. This error got repeated on the image of the dress, so I will fix it as soon as I have a chance, but that might be a while since I am traveling this week.

Anyway, here is the 1820s morning dress that I based today’s printable paper doll dress on from the Met. It had the most wonderful delicate flowers on it that I simply could not render to scale. Morning dresses were a private piece of clothing worn usually just for family members. They were classified as undress which was a least formal form of clothing in the 1800s. There was also half-dress and full-dress, if you’re interested.

No lady would be seen without a hat of some kind and caps were basically indoor hats. I based the paper doll’s cap off one from the McCord Museum in Canada and you can see it here.

Today’s dress from 1828 will eventually evolve into this style from 1830. The skirts will widen, the waist will drop and the sleeves will get yet bigger. The late 1820s is such an interesting period, because it is evolving into the 1830s.

I hope everyone enjoys today’s foray into the late 1820s for a morning dress. Tomorrow, the week wraps with a sci-fi outfit.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

Marisole Monday Rocking Some World Ending Fashion

June 9, 2017June 8, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: My Post-Apocalyptic Fashion Pinterest Board

So, I tend to think of paper doll clothing I create as falling into several large genre categories- historical, contemporary, traditional fantasy, Asian inspired fantasy, steampunk/neo Victorian, sci-fi/futuristic/cyberpunk, or post-apocalyptic. When I am drawing for a specific series, I try to dip into several of these categories usually based what I have or haven’t drawn recently for that series.

Clear as mud? Excellent.

So, I was working on Marisole Monday and Friend’s clothes and I realized that I hadn’t drawn Post-Apocalyptic fashions for them for a while. I did a Mikhail pair last year in color and in black and white, but it has been a while since then.

So, here is a Marisole Monday & Friend’s lady paper doll outfit. Of course, it’s about as practical as yesterday’s Space Pirates, but we all know that practicality is never a criteria when I draw paper doll clothing.

I would never draw anything if practicality was a criteria.

She has a sweater at least, so maybe we can ignore her tragic lack of pants? Or maybe not. Hard to say, really.

I keep a Pinterest boards for most of my various paper doll obsessions- fantasy clothing, fantasy armor, cyberpunk/futuristic stuff, steampunk, and, of course, post-apocalyptic. So, if you want to see what is interesting me at any given moment, then feel free to check those out.

What do you think of today’s paper doll post-apocalyptic fashion? Let me know in a comment. I always love to hear from you all.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

Marisole Monday’s 1920s Party Dress In Teal

June 2, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1920s party dresses- Classic French Fashions of the Twenties, a book from Dover

So, sometimes I drew things and upload them and then I kinda forget they exist. This 1920s party dress was one of those things, I’m afraid. I finished it around the same time that I finished the 1920s golf outfit and then I completely forgot about it. I didn’t want to post it right after the gold outfit, I recall, because I wanted some variety.

I try to space out my paper doll posts. While I might get on a kick and draw several similar things, I know some readers come here for the historical stuff, some for the fantasy stuff, and some for the contemporary stuff. So, I try to make sure there’s something for everyone.

This week alone we’ve had Monday and Tuesday post apocalyptic paper dolls, Wednesday an Archivist paper doll and Thursday was a Lolita dress for a paper doll. And now, here we are on Friday (Happy Friday!) and there’s a 1920s party dress for a paper doll.

After looking through every 1920s fashion book I own, I retraced that the model I based this dress on came from this book, Classic French Fashions of the Twenties. The original dress was patterned, but I sort of decided that it was a lot of work to draw a pattern. There was no way that was going to happen.

Classic French Fashions of the Twenties is one of my favorite Dover fashion books. It is a reprint of all the plates from a French fashion catalog from 1929. Like most fashion catalogs of that era, it starts with casual day wear goes through evening wear and then ends with coats.

I have, at this point, built up a pretty solid backlog of content. So, my goal is to try to get the next few weeks scheduled quickly, so I can take a few days off to rest and recoup.

Plus, play with my cat whose frustration at my laptop consuming prime lap space is tangible.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

A Mia Paper Doll and Her Printable Summer Clothing

December 6, 2020May 22, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Pantone 2017 Color Report

I had the realization that the last time I had posted a Mia paper doll was back in November of 2016 when I was doing my Bird Masquerade series. She got a masquerade gown based on a Loon. I loved that gown.

Anyway, I felt pretty strongly that I wanted to create a new Mia, since it has been six months. I went back and forth about a style for her. I thought about doing a fantasy set or a cyberpunk set, but I ended up settling on a casual summer set.

Color scheme wise, I based these colors Pantone’s 2017 Spring color report. I set a personal rule for myself that I couldn’t use any warm colors- no pinks, yellows or reds. Those are some of my favorite colors, so saying no to them was hard.

However, limitations sometimes create better stuff and I really love the peaceful feeling that this Mia clothing set has without the warm colors.

To give credit where credit is due, the blouse on the left was inspired by one I saw a student wearing at the college where I work. Hers was in reds and yellows, but since I was on a “no warm colors” kick, I ended up doing with blues and greens.

Well, what do you think of Mia’s outfit? Love those colors? Wish I’d gone with my tendency towards pink? Let me know in a comment. I always love to hear from you.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Ladies Clothing Here.

Marisole Monday & Friends in a Kimono and Qipao Inspired Fantasy Gown

May 19, 2017May 19, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Kimono, Qipao and This Chinese Fan

In my original plan, today’s dress went with a paper doll, but I just couldn’t seem to draw a hair style that I liked to go with it. So, in the end, I decided to just post the dress all by its lonesome. However, there are a lot of dolls that could go with this set like this one or this one or this one.

The color scheme is based on this Chinese fan from the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. I often like to look for color schemes from cultures that are not my own. Which colors go with which other colors is often a matter of cultural preferences, so I like to sometimes look for a combination that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Although, for all my dabbling in different parts of the world, my love of teal and red together is well documented. It is entirely possible that’s the make up of my living room color scheme.

Other inspirations include this wa lolita outfit, a Chines informal robe covered in butterflies, this kimono and this kimono.I tend to collect my sources on Pinterest, so feel free to follow me there if you want some glimpses into what I’m interested in for any given afternoon.

The shoes have tabi style socks, because I wanted them to be wearable by any of the paper dolls skin tones.

So, what do you think about today’s paper doll dress? Let me know in a comment.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

Marisole Monday: A Tudor Fantasy Gent

July 23, 2020May 8, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: The Character of Sid from Galavant

There’s a show on Netflix that I adore called Galavant. It’s a musical and it always makes me laugh. The second season is far better than the first season, but both are pretty entertaining. (If you decide to watch it, give it like four or five episodes, the first few are a little rough.) The very good looking Luke Youngblood plays Sid, the squire and inspired this paper doll’s hair. I admit it is not quite as awesome as Sid’s hair, but I did my best.

Drawing male paper dolls will probably never be my favorite option, but I am trying very hard to create more gents in 2017 and the Sprites series has given me more practice in designing and drawing men’s clothing.

I’m trying something different this week. I was going through my media library where all the paper doll content lives before I get it scheduled and ready to go out into the world and I realized that I have a lot more dolls then I have clothing sets ready to go. So, this week I am shaking up my “dolls on Monday” policy and posting nothing but dolls all week!

You can look forward to a Mini-Maiden mermaid, a pair of Medieval fantasy Sprites and a B&B curvy space alien. Should be fun, I hope.

Need a more outfits for today’s Marisole Monday & Friends Paper Doll? Find More Guys Clothing Here.

Marisole Monday & Friends: A Tudor Inspired Printable Paper Doll Dress

April 20, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Fashion Plate from 1880 and Things the Scare Me

Yesterday I posted fantasy garments based on some traditional Asian attire. Today I am hopping back to Europe to post a riff on 15th and 16th century dress.

Today’s Marisole Monday & Friend’s paper doll dress crosses Italian clothing in the late 1400s with English costume in the mid-1500s. There’s a definite Spanish Farthingale thing going on in that skirt shape. Spanish Farthngales were hoop skirts of their era and gave dresses a distinct cone shape. It was all the rage in England towards the end of the 1500s. Here’s an example of what I talking about.

The sleeves of today’s paper doll gown are pretty Italian. The style in Italy at the very end of the 1400s and the beginning of the 1500s. It was considered fashionable to have the shift sticking out through the spaces the sleeves- my paper dolls are nothing if not fashionable. Here is an example of the sleeves I mean and here is another one.

When it came time to color today’s paper doll, I fell back on the colors I tend to like when it comes to Tudor feeling things. I settled on copper and black for the color scheme. While I experimented with brighter options, I loved the sophistication these colors created.

As with many of my fantasy paper dolls, I added shoes and stockings to round out the outfit. After all, I do love to draw shoes. These shoes are neither English nor Italian, but more a pair of modern ones. So, that continues the cross-cultural experience here.

So, what do people think of my English-Italian Renaissance love child of a paper doll dress? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Meanwhile, if you want to support the blog, then think about donating through Patreon.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

Marisole Monday & Friends Get A Walking Dress from 1880

April 14, 2017

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Fashion Plate from 1880 and Things the Scare Me

I am not from the south and while I use y’all, because I have picked it up after five years in below the Mason-Dixon line, I am not a local by any means. Still, there is a saying down here I’ve adopted which goes, “Can’t Never Could.”

In sort, if you say you can’t do something then you won’t try and you are dooming yourself to failure.

One of my long standing “can’t” do things has been drawing 1880s bustle skirts.

I’ve told myself I can’t draw a bustle skirt so many times, that I’ve convinced myself this is true. But I decided I was going to face my fear of 1880s bustle skirts by actually drawing one.

Step 1 was finding a fashion plate at the same angle as the paper doll to practice with. After a bit of hunting, I found this plate from 1880.

Next step was doing a draft on cheap lined paper and then doing a final on my nice sketchbook paper.

I’m actually very pleased how it came out. I might even try another one or two, but I have to find another fashion plate at just the right angle.

Not having to rotate something in my head really makes drawing it easier.

I have been thinking about trying the dress on the left of this plate, but rotating the plate before I print it so it is facing the right direction for Marisole Monday lady paper dolls. I prefer to draw from printed images rather than digital ones.

So, how did I do? Should I work on more 1880s stuff? Or is this a period that you’re not to keen on? Let me know in a comment.

Want to see sketchbook drafts of this dress? There’s up on Patreon. Join to check it out! And, you know, help keep the blog on the interwebs.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here.

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