Mini Maidens

Faye in Fall Fashions: Printable Paper Doll

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Fall Fashions 2016 and… Well, not much else

An elegant contemporary outfit based on the Fall fashion magazines with a black and white Asian paper doll. Free to print.

I love September fashion magazines. It’s when all the fall fashion magazines come out and it such a great time to see what is currently “on trend.” I am a huge believer in classic dressing, but I also believe you can’t start to understand fashion unless you know what is going on in it.

So, today’s Faye paper doll of the Mini-Maiden series is based on the September fashion magazines.

There is a real trend this year for romantic blouses. To go with that, I created a pair of skinny trousers and some ankle boots. I tend to think a person can’t have enough pairs of basic ankle boots.

My question for all of you is this: What is your favorite fall fashion item?

I am a sucker for tweed trousers and getting to pull out my oxford shoes.

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Need a more outfits for today’s Mini-Maiden Paper Doll? Find More Clothing Here. 

An Evening Paper Doll Dress with Shoes

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1930s Evening Gowns, Brooches and Strappy Shoes
A 1930s inspired printable paper doll evening gown with strappy formal shoes in black and white for coloring. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com
Not every paper doll outfit I draw has some great origin story. Some are just the result of needing to draw something. Today’s printable paper doll evening dress I fear falls much more into that category than any other.

I will confess that after I drew the dress, I did end up thinking that it reminded me a little of 1930s evening gowns like this one and this one. There’s something so slinky about 1930’s bias cut evening wear. But I’ll admit that inspiration source is a bit of a stretch for today’s printable evening dress.

So, I created this gown at the same time to created several other Mini-Maiden paper doll sets. I was trying to create a diverse set of outfits, so I just felt like I “needed” a gown.

It feels a little strange trying to write about a gown that I don’t have much to say about. I suppose I could talk about the weather instead.

Alabama is in a drought. It has been hot and dry here, but it is finally getting cold. Actually, I broke out one of my fall cardigans today. Very exciting.

See, no much their either?

Well, not very paper doll dress post can be perfect and thrilling.

In the meantime, happy Thursday!

And, as always, if you like the blog, consider supporting it through Patreon.

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

Retro Suit from 1954 for Paper Dolls

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: 1950s Suits, Obviously

A retro suit design from 1954 for the Mini-Maidens paper doll series along with slingback shoes and a beret.

When you think of the 1950s, there are really two common silhouettes. The first is the nipped in waist and the full skirt. That look is pretty flattering on myself and one I enjoy drawing, but there is another look that was equally popular.

That is the narrow skirted silhouette, like today’s suit from 1954 for the Mini-Maiden paper doll series. This design is featured in the Complete Fashion Sourcebook by John Peacock and is identified as being from 1954. My major problem with Peacock’s works is that he rarely states where he found the images he is illustrating, so it is very hard to know what the context of the suit is.

However, very similar designs can be found in many other places including the Everyday Fashions of the Fifties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs book from Dover publishing. Dover has a series of these books, one for each decade, and I could not recommend them enough.

A few more examples of this style from the 1950s can be seen in this vintage pattern cover, this vintage pattern cover and this vintage pattern cover. More 1950s fashion fun can be found on my 1950s fashion Pinterest board.

Sometimes, I think I wouldn’t mind wearing suits very day, because I love how they look. I don’t want to go back to the 1950s though, because as much as I like the clothing, I also like living in a era where the Civil Rights Act exists.

We’re on day three of our variety week and I want to know what you all think, so please let me know in a comment.

And, as always, if you like the blog, consider supporting it through Patreon.

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

Faye in the Woods: Fantasy Folkloric Paper Doll Fashions

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A folkloric fantasy paper doll fashion to print and color from paperthinpersonas.com

This is the last of Faye’s Folkloric Fantasy Fashions (say that ten times fast) and I am pretty pleased. I love the tulip circular border patters and I think every printable paper needs a blouse with checkerboard sleeves and flower design over her cleavage. Actually, this is probably my favorite blouses of all of them, I only make fun of what I really like.

Still, this has been a long week. Ever have one of those weeks when you hit Friday and you think, “Oh, I am so ready for this weekend!”

The funny bit is that I didn’t really have a super busy week. I got an oil change, vacuumed daily to work on the Flea Removal Project (FRP for short) and got addicted to the show Penny Dreaful on Netflix. Not really the most intense week I’ve ever had.

And yet, perhaps because I’ve been living in my new place for less than a month or perhaps because, well, fleas, but I am bone tired. I am ready to go home, watch a movie and eat popcorn while I don’t do anything. Of course, I will have to do something. I have to sort out what paper doll content goes up next week. 🙂

Faye’s Folkloric Fantasy Fashions: A Paper Doll to Print and Color

Normally, this is the point where I’d offer some kinda preview like, “Next week there will be…” But as I have no idea what there will be next week, I fear I am going to have to let this one go.

Anyway, I would love to hear what you all, my readers, thought of this week’s theme and paper dolls and everything, so leave a comment and tell me what you think of this week.

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.

Faye in the Woods: Another Fantasy Maiden Paper Doll Outfit

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A folkloric fantasy printable paper doll outfit for the Mini-Maiden paper doll series featuring a blouse and leggings. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

Continuing our folkloric fantasy week, today’s printable paper doll outfit is leggings with another lavishly decorated blouse. I decided to go with leggings, because I feel like fairy tale woodcutter’s daughters need practical clothing to hike through the woods in.

Or at least as practical as anything I design for paper dolls ever gets.

If you’re thinking, “But I need a doll to wear this stylish getup.”

Than I would recommend popping over to Monday’s post and picking up Faye there; however, any of the Mini-Maiden dolls can wear these outfits which is kinda fun. I think the Hazel paper doll from Beauty in Bloomers would be really cute in these outfits, plus I love her glasses. Alternatively, Faye paper dolls from Runic Adventures or Meet Faye would be alternatives to Monday’s Faye paper doll. Not to leave Greta or Isadora out of the picture, I think Greta from her Steampunk set would be fun or Isadora’s Medieval Fantasy or when she went to a ball would also work well.

A big part of why I create paper dolls who can exchange clothing is because I remember being a kid and having a favorite paper doll from a set and being super annoyed that my favorite paper doll couldn’t wear my favorite outfit.

Plus, I tend to think versatility is always best practice.

So, thinking in terms of versatility, what would you think would be the best paper doll to wear this outfit? Monday’s doll or is there another Mini-Maiden you would like to see rock some of these outfits.

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

Faye in the Woods: A Fantasy Maiden Paper Doll Dresses

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A folk costume inspired fantasy paper doll outfit in black and white for coloring. Designed to fit the Mini-Maiden paper doll series.

On Monday, I posted Faye and the first of her folk art inspired outfits. Continuing our folk costumes inspired theme for paper dolls this week, today we have a fantasy paper doll outfit featuring a blouse and skirt. The blouse is decorated with a tulip inspired pattern and abstracted tulip decorations on the sleeves.

The skirt has a stencil inspired rose motif. Every paper doll needs a skirt covered in roses.

Both of these designs remind me a little of rosemaling. Rosemaling is a Norwegian technique of painted curves, spirals and floral designs. Back home in Alaska, there is a town called Petersburg which is very proud of it’s Scandinavian heritage. I remember some of the buildings having rosemaling on them.

So, I’m trying out Instagram, but I’m not that good at it. Still, follow me if you want. And there’s always Patreon if you want to help support PTP.

The blog is also on twitter @paperpersonas. I am sometimes reminded that my Blog is better at Social Media than I am.

Oh, well.

So, what do you think of today’s outfit? Would you wear it? I think it’s lovely, but I probably can’t pull off the skirt or the blouse.

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

Faye in the Woods: A Fantasy Maiden Paper Doll

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mini-maiden-ridinghood-doll

This week we have Faye dressed up in some fantasy clothes.

Some paper dolls are easier to write about than others. Often this has to do with how long ago I drew the paper doll and how much I remember about the original conception. I confess I try to make notes, but I don’t often succeed at that.

I seem to remember thinking of Little Red Ridinghood when I designed these garments, but really it could have been any maiden in the woods. It seems to me there’s always in fairy tales, a young woman who lives in the woods and then there’s a woodcutter or something else.

Often there’s an evil stepmother eventually who sends the maiden out to find something and we all know how that goes. Or she is kind to an old woman and then gets something like gems every time she speaks.

I think a bit part of the pleasure of black and white paper dolls is coloring them in. I wasn’t much into coloring books as a child, but I liked details when I did color. In these costumes, I tried to add details that a person would like to color.

Plus, I’ve always loved how lavished embroidered folk costumes looked.

Hazel Visits the 1940s: Afternoon Dress from 1940

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mini-maiden-paper-doll-dress-1940

I think it’s a little fitting that at the end of this 1940s paper doll to print week, we are returning to the early part of the decade with this 1940s afternoon dress, especially since we started with a 1940s afternoon dress on Monday. Today’s dress is based on this afternoon dress from 1940 which I found from the New York Public Library Digital Collections.

This dress has many of the details I associated with the 1940s including puffed sleeves, a natural waistline and a gored skirt that falls to the knees, but the ruching details on the bodice are very much of the 1930s. Fashion doesn’t change on a dime, so it’s a nice example of the transition of styles.

The truth is that the 1940s is a fascinating era for fashion. World War II influences everything, of course, but there’s also more women entering the work force, the end of the Depression and Rayon, invented in the 1930s, becaming mainstream. Paris, which was occupied by German forces, was no longer the center of fashion and New York came into its own.

Now you might be wondering, if all that’s true, where can I see more cool 1940’s fashions? Well, I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to the decade. I will confess it’s a little bit of a harder decade to research, because much of the material is still in copyright. However, you can still find stuff around if you dig.

Hazel & Her Wardrobe: A 1940s Paper Doll to Print & Color

In other news, I signed a lease, so I am now in the midst of hard core packing. I think I have enough backlog saved up that the blog will continue as usual, but I will be slow to reply to comments or emails and such until the end of September, I think.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I’ll be spending mine packing up boxes.

As always, I love to hear what people think in the comments.

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.