The April theme for the Paper Doll Collaboration was to draw a dress or outfit based on our favorite flowers. My favorite flower is hard to pick out, because I love so many. I love peonies, gerber daisies and tulips. I chose the tulip for this dress.
Stylistically, this dress is based on the 1960s little swing dress. To really complete the look, I drew the paper doll some 1960s hair.
For more of the paper doll collaboration, check out Paper Doll School and Miss Missy Paper Dolls for more paper doll content. I can’t wait to see what other folks have done with this wonderful fun theme.
So, I grew up watching Xena: Warrior Princess. I blame my love this old TV show for my love of totally improbable fantasy and pulpy warrior armor. I do realize that this armor would be completely useless in a fight, but that didn’t mean it doesn’t look cool and wasn’t fun to draw. This is my second set of pulpy armor and I think I should really draw some real plate armor one of these days.
For this armor, I wanted a thematic shape that could hold the whole design together and I chose this very simplified paisley/leaf motif that you’ll see on the belts on her trousers and in the pummels of the weapons. Once I had that shape, I tried to add color and create something that felt like it could be from one of the old Prince Valiant comics. I confess that I ended up thinking there was something a little East Asian in the whole design, but I can’t really explain why it feels that way to me. It certainly wasn’t my intention when I started.
Few things I should mention, I am traveling over the weekend and my life is about a crazy as it can be right now. I am really trying to avoid putting the blog on haitus as I work through the end of the semester and some major work things. So, wish me luck as I juggle flaming swords and/or herd my ducks into a corral. (My ducks are never in rows, but on good days I get them corralled.)
Meanwhile, support the blog through Patreon if you enjoy it.
And I am curious, should I draw some full plate armor for my lady and gent paper dolls? Let me know what you think in a comment.
I usually try not to copy things as closely as I did on this one, but I just really loved the tunic design. I changed the colors to green (though there’s a blue version on my Patreon page for Patrons).
That’s really all I got. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I always love hearing from you guys.
I posted the prompt on Facebook, the Patreon Page and here to ask me a question and that I’d answer it in a blog post. So far, Melissa and Laura Jay have taken me up on it.
Laura Jay asked: Where do you get your inspiration?
Well, Laura, that’s a short answer to that and a long answer. The short answer is: Everywhere, but mostly Pinterest.
The Long Answer is: I believe inspiration is a myth. We become inspired by doing. Don’t know what to draw? Just start drawing. Don’t know what to cook? Just start cooking. The word ‘inspiration’ conjours images of fairies who come and provide the perfect idea.
There is no perfect idea.
Take today’s 1940s paper doll dresses. The sources were Simplicity 1628, McCall 4280, and a hat and purse from The Met. But those weren’t what inspired me in the first place.
What inspired me in the first place was that I drew the straw hat, because I was looking for 1940s hats and I thought it was super cute. But I didn’t think it went well with Wednesday’s dark eggplant dress, by the time it was done. So, I decided to draw a pair of summery dresses to go with the straw hat. That meant pouring through the Vintage Pattern Wiki until I found two dresses I liked- McCall 4280 came first and then Simplicity 1628.
Once they were done, I realized I needed a purse or something and I went looking for a 1940s purse that felt summery. I was completely unsuccessful and on a deadline, so I used this purse and made it white. I still think that was cheating a little. I store all the things I see on Pinterest boards, like my 1940s fashion one.
I’m not sure I did a very good job answering your question, but I hope I gave some insight in how my brain works when I’m putting together a set. Meanwhile, don’t forget that on Monday there was a 1940s paper doll to go with today’s 1940 dresses and Wednesday there were two other dress options.
Meanwhile, let me know what you think of today’s dresses in a comment whenever you have a moment and if you’d like to ask me a question, please do!
Need a doll for today’s paper doll clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing, but I would recommend the 1940s Beatrix if you want period underwear to match the era of these dresses.
This whole week of 1940s fashion would not have happened if it weren’t for the suit on the left from LACMA. Seriously, I feel in love with that suit and then I was like, Welp, I guess I’m going to draw a paper doll with 1940s underwear and things… they spiraled from there.
You can see the suit in photos here and it was designed by Gilbert Adrian. Who was Gilbert Adrian? Well, it was one of the names used by Adrian Adolph Greenberg, a costume designing legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Even if you’ve never heard the name Adrian, you have seen his work. He designed costumes for The Wizard of Oz,the 1938 Marie Antoinette and over 250 other films. During the 1940s, he began a commercial fashion line from which I assume this suit is related, based on the date.
Now, the dress on the right shouldn’t be neglected, just because it’s not from a famous designer. It’s from the McCall sewing pattern company, McCall 6533 to be specific. I liked how contemporary it felt, despite being from the 1940s. I am regretting that I didn’t draw a matching hat to go with it. Clearly, I need to do more 1940s clothing to fix that act of neglect.
The purse is a bit of a mystery to me. I noted the date 1940s next to it and usually I also write down the source, but I guess I didn’t. I’ve been through my 1940s Fashion Pinterest Board, where I try to keep these things, several times with no luck. I’m sure there was a source and I am going to leave things at that.
I tried to capture the strong shoulder of the 1940s with both these pieces, though I’m not entirely sure I was successful. The 1940s is much like the 1980s in that the shoulders are broad. If you missed it, on Monday, there was a 1940s version of Beatrix. Friday there will be summery 1940s dresses to round out the set.
Meanwhile, let me know what you think about today’s 1940s dresses in a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
Need a doll for today’s paper doll clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing, but I would recommend the 1940s Beatrix if you want period underwear to match the era of these dresses.
So, one thing I’ve kinda missed doing were theme weeks. So this week is all 1940s! We’re starting with a 1940s paper doll in this version of Beatrix, wearing a girdle and bra and with her four pairs of shoes. Wednesday and Friday will be 1940s dresses to go with Beatrix.
When I asked last week what people wanted to know more about, a lot of folks here and on the Patreon page said inspirations and sources. So, let’s start with Beatrix, her Hollywood inspired hair and 1940s underwear. I own several books on historical hair, but none of them discuss black hair styles. In fact, I don’t know of one that does (does anyone know of one?)
So, I went to look for the hairstyles of Hollywood black actresses of the time, as Hollywood was a leader in fashion during this era. I settled on this image of Theresa Harris. The still is from the 1948 thriller, “The Velvet Touch.” I don’t know much about Harris, except what I read on her Wikipedia page. She sounds like a strong interesting woman.
The paper doll’s 1940s underwear is based on a set sold from Sears in 1947. I used the Dover book, Everyday Fashions of the Forties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs. I chose this underwear to draw because I could draw the paper doll pants, someday. Most girdles I saw would not have made pants very viable and pants were finally coming into their own in the 1940s.
I’ve stopped doing full paper doll sets with complex layouts, but I’ve found I missed the mix and match modern sets I used to create, specifically keeping to a limited color palette. So, I decided to create a little micro-summer wardrobe here for the A Pose paper dolls. These five pieces can all mix and match. They also share color from the Spring 2018 color report.
I love color. This should shock no one. One of my favorite things is looking at Pantones color reports each season to see what they’ve predicted for the coming season. The Spring 2018 color report had some really lovely colors in it. Ultra-violet is the Pantone 2018 color of the year. Since I love purple, I’m perfectly content with this choice. I’m not sure I buy all of Pantone’s hype about the color, but I think it’s pretty.
So, I used the Ulta-Violet color in every piece, except the pants (which I made one of Pantones suggested ‘classic’ colors) and the purse which is a very pale petal sort of mauve color. It looks white, I know, but I swear it’s a light pink. Very light pink.
I tried to be trendy as I could in these pieces. I’ve been seeing a lot of fringe on handbags and a lot of abstract, but almost tropical feeling florals. The off the shoulder top is still in, I think? And sleeve detail is still very hot. I enjoy sleeve detail, but I always worry I’m going to accidentally put a bell sleeve into my soup.
So, I’ve been having trouble coming up with things to write in these blog posts lately (I dunno why). So, I am asking for help. If you have a question they have been wanting to ask, or a topic you’re curious about, write it the comments and I’ll answer it.
Of course, you’re also welcome to just comment about today’s paper doll or any of the paper dolls. I love to hear from y’all.
So, I wanted to try to draw some formal fantasy paper doll clothing. I originally created this fantasy outfit for the C Pose guys and I think of it as a kinda classic fantasy outfit in a style I draw a lot. I wanted to do a spin-off outfit that would feel more formal and refined- like if this was a peasant outfit, than today’s outfit would be a prince or something.
In my head, the tunic is velvet over a silk shirt. I’m not sure what the pants are made of. Maybe something like really thin fine leather? Or perhaps a very nice soft wool? Silk wouldn’t stand up well to any sort of wear. Rather than my usual sword accessories, I decided a book was more fitting, though I’m sure he can borrow a weapon from here if he needs one.
There’s an alternative color scheme available for my Patrons over on my Patreon page. Join if you want. It’s a fun group and I try to post content there every week from my sketchbook or other sources.
When I first decided I was going to create paper dolls in period underwear, I knew it would slow down my historical paper doll dress drawing. After all, once you put a paper doll in period underwear you have to make sure that the clothing you create for the paper doll fits over whatever the period undergarments are. It’s much easier to work from the bottom layers to the top layers in paper dolls. You draw the doll and then the underwear and then whatever goes over the underwear and then you do coats or whatever.
I also knew if I was going to go to all the trouble of drawing underwear and affixing that underwear in Photoshop and printing the doll again, I was darn well going to make more than 18th century paper doll gown to go over it. After all, if I only drew one dress than the return on paper doll underwear time investment would be fairly low.
So, when I drew Alice in her 18th century underthings I drew two dresses. The first was the classic very formal gown I shared several weeks ago. Today’s 18th century paper doll gown is a lot less complex and generally seen as less formal. Today’s 18th century paper doll gown is a round gown. Round gowns were gowns that fastened in the front and had no stomacher.
But don’t be fooled, a round gown could be plenty formal if made of a sufficiently expensive fabric. The gown this dress is based off of is from The Met and is made of green Chinese silk. It’s lovely. Under the gown, she wears a chemise. The other round gown inspiration was styled this way from the FIT Museum. (They call it a Robe à l’anglaise which technically it is, but it is also a round gown. Aren’t clothing terms confusing?)
The bonnet with the dress is based on this portrait and lots of examples from my costume history collection. The matching shoes were also inspired by the Met dress, because that gown also has shoes that were made to match.
One more quick thing, if you hope over and grab 18th Century Alice, because an 18th century doll down might need an 18th century looking paper doll, the hoops will not fit under this dress. Round gowns did not have the huge wide skirts that those hoops were designed to support. So, just bare that in mind. Also the bonnet is designed to fit over Alice’s hair, I don’t know how well if would fit over the hair of any of the other A Pose paper dolls.
Some people develop elaborate backstories for their paper doll designs. I’ve always wished my brain worked that way, but generally I end up tapping into my history background. So, I find my inspiration for each fantasy dress design there. For today’s paper doll design, I was thinking of 14th century medieval dresses of Europe. Dresses back then usually had a kirtle (under-dress) which as worn with a surcoat (over-dress) on top.
When I was working on this fantasy dress design, I wanted an over-dress that would feel more decorated than the under-dress. Basically, the opposite of putting children wore pinafores in the 19th century to keep their dresses clean.
Her chain belt owes something to the 12th century and the leather pouch I copied from this one I saw on Pinterest. I have no idea if that chain belt set up would work in the real world (I suspect not), but I did think it looked neat. And looking neat is really a more important priority in my paper doll drawing universe.
So, I’ve decided to take on The 100 Day Project on Instagram. Basically, I am drawing one dress a day (or more realistically several dresses and spacing them out over several days- I know me) for the next 100 days. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, you can here. You can also follow the hashtag #100dressesproject if you want to just see what I’ve drawn so far.
Will some of these become paper doll dresses later? I deeply suspect so. But I’m intentionally only spending a few minutes per dress. My goal is under 10 minutes, because this is a thing I’m doing on the side. It is not my life.
Also, I have an alternative color scheme for today’s gown on Patreon for anyone who’d like to view it. It’s not just for Patrons this time. 🙂
I’ve loved Victorian fashions for as long as I can remember. I think it was probably early paper doll exposure, but what child doesn’t see the ruffles and the puffed sleeves and think, “I want to wear something like that?”
So, for me steampunk style paper doll clothing is a natural evolution of my love of all things Victorian. I’d happily draw steampunk quasi-Victorian outfits every day. I just adore them. When I started the Dames and Dandies paper doll series back in January, I knew I’d be drawing some fashions that embraced my love of all things Victorian.
Today’s steampunk style foray consists of a pair of boots with vertical striped stockings, a skirt trimmed in pleats and a vest over a blouse. There’s also a tiny top hat and a purse to flesh out the outfit. One thing I love about steampunk style paper doll fashions is the little details- the buckles, the studs and the little pleats. Sometimes I don’t want to draw detail, but usually I enjoy the tiny things that make a paper doll outfit unique.
Don’t worry. There is a floating tab designed to help keep that tiny hat on the paper doll’s head. Everything is better with tiny top hats.
Anyway, I always love to hear from y’all, so let me know what you think of today’s paper doll set in a comment. Should I do more steampunk? Less steampunk?
Part of the fun of the Dames and Dandies has been restarting from scratch, but that also has been a point of tension. I want to already have done all sorts of things I just haven’t gotten around to yet. I value diversity in my paper dolls. I want paper doll aliens, cyborgs and mermaids that are all the colors of humanity (and some colors that humans aren’t- blue anyone?)
But since this series is only three months old, I’m settling for just trying to get a variety of human skin-tones and then branching out. Don’t worry, I plan to create my fairies and aliens soon. I’m just not there yet.
So, today I’m pleased to introduce the first white C Pose Dandy. This is Cyrus. I went through a bunch of names for him before I settled on Cyrus. I originally was going to name him Chester, but I decided I didn’t want another ‘Ch’ name.
Now that I have a set of four C pose guy paper dolls finished, you can expect to see some more versions of them soon. I really want to do some elven versions with pointy ears and some pirates and maybe a cyborg or two. This is all in the planning stages, so it might be a while before I can roll them out.
Wednesday, there will be some steampunk action for the A Pose Dames and then some medieval fantasy fun for the B Pose Dames. I finally have enough backlog to feel comfortable and I am some much more relaxed. Let the paper dolls continue.
And, of course, I always love to hear from you, so leave me a comment.
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