Dolls Du Jour

Greek Fantasy Dresses with Evening

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We had out first super hard frost a few days ago and now there’s been some snow mixed with rain. Winter is coming! I can tell as the days keep getting shorter. Sigh. Well, that’s the downside of living as close to the arctic circle as I do. Let’s move on.

So, there’s a lot of Xena Warrior Princess/Hercules and the Legendary Journeys wrapped up in this set. Not gonna lie. I wanted an autumnal color scheme without feeling too obvious and I figured the jewelry could help tie together the colors of the dresses. Evening here hasn’t gotten as many sets as some of the other dolls. She’s the newest, but she’s catching up fast.

As I mentioned in my last goals review post, this is my 7th Dolls Du Jour doll this year. Woot!

I want to do a few more historical themes for Dolls Du Jour. I’ve been asked for 1950s. Is there another period people would like to see? I’m leaning towards either 1950s (because someone asked) or 1400s (like this, if you’re wondering.)

By the way, did you know I have a newsletter? You can sign up for that Newsletter here. There’s going to be some super cute Halloween content in there come October. I’m excited, at least.

Post-Apocalyptic Fashion With Dawn

A black and white printable paper doll with seven clothing pieces based on post-apocalyptic fashion.
A printable post-apocalyptic paper doll with a mix and match wardrove of seven different clothing pieces. The doll has many tattoos.

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At the height of the pandemic, I just couldn’t draw post-apocalyptic fashion. It felt somehow too much.

But now that things are starting to feel “normalish” again, I decided I could maybe slip back into that genre for a little paper doll set for the Dolls Du Jour. So, here’s Dawn and her post-apocalyptic fashions.

Also, is post-apocalyptic an oxymoron? Isn’t there not supposed to be anything left after an apocalypses by definition? That maybe overly pedantic.

Let’s move on.

The styles were inspired by my Post-Apocalyptic Fashion pinterest board which is, in turn, inspired by things like Mad Max and Tank Girl and Fall Out (even though I’ve never played Fall Out.)

I need to get to work on the OPDAG prompt for plaids. I am not much of a plaid drawing person, but I have an idea of how I might be able to make plaid work. Julie Matthews has a plaids in photoshop tutorial.

For those keeping count (which I am 95% sure is just me), this is Dolls Du Jour paper doll number seven. Three to go before I hit my 2022 goal.

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.

DDJ: Dawn & “Ancient Chinese” Inspired Fantasy Gowns

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Sometimes I draw printable paper dolls and then by the time I get ready to share them on PTP, I find myself looking at them vaguely and being like, “Why did I draw this? What was I thinking about?”

My hunch, just because I know me, is that there was a distinctly Asian thing happening with this paper doll probably inspired by this weird “ancient Chinese” costumes thing I’ve seen on Pinterest. I find it fascinating, because China has a long and varied dress history (just like everywhere else), but (maybe in part thanks to Video games) there’s a sort of generic “ancient China” look. It’s super cool looking, but kinda like the Victorian view of medieval dress, probably hasn’t got much in common with what people were actually wearing in China a thousand years ago.

I don’t know enough about the history of Chinese dress to speak with any authority, but I don’t think anyone was running around in these, but that’s okay! It’s fun and beautiful. Sometimes, fun and beautiful is enough, you know?

As they do on NPR, I tend to wrap up my posts with two reminders to folks that these paper dolls are made possible by the generous support for my Patrons, so consider joining if you wish.

Happy 4th of July with Paper Dolls

A 4th of July paper doll coloring page and her vintage styles with a nine piece wardrobe. Fun kid's activity for the 4th of July holiday.
A 4th of July paper doll and her vintage styles with a nine piece wardrobe. Fun kid's activity for the 4th of July holiday. Blue hair and stars abound here.

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Creating a 4th of July paper doll was hard this year, but I have been wanting to try to get a paper doll done for all the major holidays I can. The thing about these holiday paper dolls is that they are super handy to have around (like instant social media content) and easy to draw (theme’s kind of done for you). However, I confess that I’ve been pretty angry and depressed about the current state of affairs in the United States. So, it was harder to build up enthusiasm to draw Americana then usual.

Still, I have so many fond memories of the 4th of July. It’s a big holiday in my hometown. There’s two parades, fireworks at midnight on the 3rd (the sun doesn’t go down until 10pm) and huge bonfire organized by our family friends. I do mean huge- it’s like several stories high and designed by architects and engineers made from pallets. There’s usually a theme for the bonfire- it’s been a T-rex, the throne of swords from Game of Thrones, and many other structures.

We make our own fun up here in the Northland.

Anyway, today’s paper doll is a riff on my Valentine’s Day vintage themed paper doll. She originally had different hair, but it did not look good. I didn’t have time to redraw it, so I borrowed the hair from the Valentine’s doll. Of course, I made a few little changes in photoshop, but it’s basically the same . I’m still trying to hit my 10 DDJ paper dolls in 2022 goal and this gets me a little closer!

By the way, there are some changes coming to Patreon (more on that later). So, just an early heads up for folks. You might start seeing posts on the site like these which are blocked unless you’re a Patron. Basically, I’m slowly adding old Patreon content to the blog in the months when it appeared on Patreon. Just so no one is super confused as to what is happening.

DDJ: A Medieval Inspired Set of Fantasy Gowns

A paper doll printable coloring page with fantasy gowns.

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So, I tend to categorize my fantasy paper dolls in my head based on the time periods that inspired them. This paper doll is vaguely medieval while last year I did a Renaissance inspired Twilight paper doll set. Evening is my newest member of the Dolls Du Jour family who I created because I wanted a more medium-brown skin-tone.

Evening has two dresses which in my head are a Winter Dress and a Summer Dress, though I suppose they could be anything you might want them to be. I had particular fun with this color scheme that I wanted to feel soft and muted, but also rich. I am of the Lord of the Rings Movies generation, so those costume designs have long impacted the way I have thought about fantasy gowns for paper dolls.

Evening, like all the Dolls Du Jour, was named with the help of my Patrons. So, as always a big thank you to those folks without whom this site would be a lot less fun. Also, tomorrow is a newsletter day, so sign up here if you want to get that sent straight to your inbox.

DDJ: It is Pirate Paper Doll Time!

A pirate coloring page paper doll to print with a mix and match wardrobe.
A printable paper doll pirate with mix and match clothing, a map and swords. She has dark skin and dreadlocks.

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Happy March!

There are paper doll themes I think I’ve done a lot of- like pirates-, but then when I actually go through my own archives I realize- I really haven’t done that very many pirate paper doll sets. (I have a similar relationship with fairy paper dolls.)

The problem, I suspect, is that I don’t feel like there are that many ways to draw a pirate. So, I guess that’s a factor. I should expand more into space pirates or steampunk pirates or… I dunno… Need to think on it.

Anyway, one of the things I am doing over on Patreon is working on my goals for 2022. One of those goals is more Dolls Du Jour, I was slightly embarrassed to realize I only did 4 last year. Plus, they were nearly all based on things I actually drew in 2020. (This isn’t super uncommon. Some things sit on my computer a long time before I finish them, because I am fickle and have more ideas than time.)

So, anyway, one goal is more Dolls Du Jour. I have been finishing up my Goals post. The hope is to get that up later this week, so it’ll be “Official”. I like having all that sort of thing in one place, because I will refer to it later. I know I will.

More and more over the last few years, I havecome to think of the blog as a long form sort of art project. I like having most things here, because I know I own this space. No algorithm can interfere with what I’ve built here.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to support the blog, then there’s a way to do over on Patreon. My Patreon projects for this year is a gothic/steampunk fantasy thing for Vivian and a set of Antique Doll paper dolls. I’m super excited about both.

Happy Valentine’s Day with a Rockabilly Vintage Paper Doll

A Valentine's Day printable paper doll coloring page with a mix and match wardrobe. Great idea for kids crafting over the holiday!
A Valentine's Day printable paper doll with a mix and match wardrobe in teals and pinks. Great idea for kids crafting over the holiday!

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I have a deep fondness for Valentine’s Day paper dolls despite having a long history of having truly awful Valentine’s Days. However, my grandmother used to send me and my sister cards for Valentine’s Day and they often included paper dolls, so I like to continue that tradition here in her honor.

So, first off, Happy Valentine’s Day. I hope it is, if not great, at least uneventful and, tomorrow, there’s a lot of cheap chocolate available which always seems like a nice perk. It’s also a good time to get some roses on sale if you like roses. I confess to being more of a peonies person myself, but each to their own.

For today’s Valentine’s Day paper doll I wanted try out something I hadn’t done before, so I slipped into the world of vintage inspired rockabilly fashion. If that wasn’t a stretch enough, I then gave myself the challenge of coloring the whole thing without using any red, because I do think the color schemes for Valentine’s Day can get a little boring. How. much pink and red does one person need?

If you’re looking for even more Valentine’s Day fun, I did a Valentine’s Paper Doll Coloring Page in my first newsletter of 2022. (Sign up here if you’d like to get it.)

Meanwhile, you can get any number of additional Valentine’s Day paper dolls from previous years here and let me know if you’ve got plans for the holiday in a comment.

DDJ: Sweet Summer Scallops with Dusk

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While all of my paper dolls have themes, I think my contemporary fashion paper dolls have themes that are sometimes more subtle or more defined by color than anything else. After all, there’s only so many ways a person can draw a pair of blue jeans. This set was inspired by summer florals and a pair of polka-dot jeans my sister used to own. In my head, I was thinking feminine silhouettes (hence the flutter, tulip and puffed sleeves) and scallops. I included the long denim skirt, because I feel like 1990s fashions are having a revival and long denim skirts feel so 1990s to me.

I wanted to keep the colors soft and pastel without feeling too… childish. I think pastels can go nursery room really fast. For those keeping count at home, this is my 7th Dolls Du Jour paper doll and my second one with Dusk. The last one was this very fancy evening gown set.

There’s also a new paper doll set up on Etsy if you’d like to go check that one out. It’s a three doll set with five pages of fantasy clothing. I imagine it would be super fun to color.

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DDJ: Color Blocking with Twilight

A black and white paper doll with a mix and match wardrobe of 8 clothing pieces.

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A black paper doll with a mix and match wardrobe of 8 clothing pieces.

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Color blocking is one of my favorite fashion themes. I just love how it lets me play with different colors and experiment with how different lines look on a set of garments. I first drew this paper doll set last year, but didn’t manage to actually get it done until a few weeks ago. Sometimes, I am a little slow on finishing up my own artwork.

Let’s not talk about the large number of 80% finished projects lurking on my hard-drive.

By the way, this is only my 6th Dolls Du Jour paper doll. I created this series in May of 2020 as part of my move towards drawing more diverse figures. Figure drawing is my least favorite part of paper doll making and it is the part I think I am worse at. There’s dozens of abandoned attempts at figure drawing in my notebooks. I still don’t think my figures are as diverse as they could be, but I also can only bang my head against the things I don’t like doing so long.

Just let me draw silly shoes and ignore when my people look off, which they often do.

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