Here Comes the Bride… A Paper Doll Wedding Dress

Black and White Paper Doll PDF Paper Doll Collaboration 2018

Despite being more than a trifle obsessed with the idea bridal trousseaux, I very rarely draw wedding dresses. I think I just have never been that into weddings. Despite living the South (which tends to give a whole new meaning to the idea of big white wedding), I just don’t really get the appeal. I’ve never been one of those girls who was planning my wedding day since age ten or something.

So, when I draw wedding dresses they tend to be historical (regency or 1870s) or fantasy like this steampunk one. I don’t think I’ve ever actually drawn a contemporary wedding dress until today. I probably still wouldn’t have, but that was the theme for this month’s Collaborative paper doll. The whole point is to break out of comfort zones, so this is certainly breaking out of mine. 

So, for this paper doll wedding dress, I knew I wanted a few specific things. I wanted a crown of flowers, as that was what my mother and my sister both wore at their weddings. Also, I wanted sleeves. Personally, I really like wedding dresses with sleeves. I didn’t want to go “modest” wedding dress (because a lot of those just look dowdy to me), but I did want sleeves. I like sleeves and I think wedding dresses shouldn’t look like a prom dress in white. They should have some elegance.

If you want to see more bridal paper doll fashions, check out Paper Doll School and Miss Missy Paper Dolls my partners in this collaboration.

Need a paper doll to wear these clothes? Grab her and more clothing here.

A Summer Time Princess Paper Doll Dress With Matching Hat

A fantasy princess paper doll dress with matching hat decorated with roses and ribbons. Available to print in color or as a paper doll coloring page.

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I always think of these big full skirted dresses as ‘princess dresses’ even though princesses wear all sorts of different dresses across time. It’s probably the influence of the 1980s on my childhood along with movies from Disney that makes me think of these dresses in that context.

I’d say there’s a bit of the 1860’s in today’s summer paper doll dress, but I’m not really sure there is. No lady of the 1860s would be caught dead during the day in a dress that showed off this much shoulder.

Usually, this is the point where I link my inspiration, but frankly this one came mostly out of my head. I don’t even think I did a thumbnail pre-sketch, which is a bit unusual for me. I do remember drawing the top of the dress first and then deciding I needed something on the skirt to fill up the empty space beneath the over skirt.

I wanted this dress to feel summery like my last foray into this style (back in February) felt wintery. I do think both this dress and the February dress come from the same universe, so to speak. I see them as sister dresses.  

I have been debating drawing more of these dresses. I think there needs to be an autumn and a spring version as well. What do you think? Big skirted princess dresses? Let me know in a comment. 

Need  a doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

And This is Abigail! A New Black Paper Doll To Print With Her Toga Inspired Gown

A black fantasy paper doll to print with a toga inspired dress and two pairs of sandals. She can wear any of the A Pose printable paper doll clothing.

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I am super happy to be back! I was traveling and wrapped up in work. I got to go to New Orleans which was so much fun. It was a work trip, but I ate plenty of beinets, gumbo and red beans over rice. I do love a good bowl of gumbo.

As fun as it was to be in the city, it is also so very nice to have returned home to Alabama. 

Anyway, today’s paper doll is a new face for the A Pose dames. I think this will be the last new A Pose face for a while. I had a mental goal of getting four faces for each pose (A, B and C) done before I let myself work more on versions and less on faces. There is another version of Abigail already done. It’s a contemporary version with sandals. 

I chose the name Abigail for today’s paper doll, because I’ve always liked the name. It’s a Biblical name, for those who aren’t aware, and was the name of King David’s third wife. I’ve known several Abigails in my life and liked them all, so I figured the name was a winner.

Her fantasy dress was inspired by togas and Ancient Greece. Not actual historical Ancient Greece, more like Xena: Warrior Princess. I loved the idea of a loose, graceful, draped garment. Originally, I imagined it would be white (there is a white version over on my Patreon page you can go print), but I thought the white wasn’t as interesting as a color.

Yes, I colored the paper dolls lips to match the dress. Don’t judge me. 

Her micro braids were fun. I always feel like they get a bit lost when I color them black (black on black being a thing), I made them purple in the Patreon page version. So, if you think you’d rather have a purple haired version, pop over there and you can download and print that version. 

Need some clothing for today’s paper doll? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing

Hiatus Until June 25th

All right, I thought I would clear the end of the fiscal year without too much trouble, but travel and work has reared it’s head, so I am pausing things here to build up a strong buffer of content to coast (I hope) though the rest of the year.

There will be updates on my Patreon page while I work on this. Some public, some Patrons only.

As always, thank you so much for all your support.

– Rachel

More Casual Paper Doll Clothing For the Gents

A set of casual clothing for the guy paper dolls consisting of a pair of slacks, Henley shirt and polo. Also a cell phone accessory. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

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Since it’s Friday, C Pose Guy Paper Dolls Week is wrapping with this set of casual guy paper doll clothing. I feel like I haven’t done as many contemporary paper doll clothing sets for the Dames and Dandies as usual, but maybe that’s the three day a week updating schedule playing tricks on me. I am really hoping I can return to a daily updating schedule soon. I really do miss it.

Okay, so today’s paper doll set was inspired by the realization that I hadn’t drawn any slacks for the C pose gents. They have jeans and short, but no slacks. So, I felt like a bit of a slacker in that regard. (Sorry, not sorry.)

Anyway, so that’s kinda it. I’d love to be like, “Here’s the deep reason I drew some pants.” But honestly, I felt like drawing pants.

The fact is that guy paper dolls just aren’t as easy for me to work on than lady paper dolls. I tend to have sudden flashes of inspiration for the ladies, but that rarely happens for the guy paper dolls. Maybe I need to read more men’s fashion magazines or something. I mean, men like being fashionable, too.

Plus, there’s a second color scheme for today’s casual set over on my Patreon page for patrons. Join if you want to help keep the blog running and see more content!

Need a paper doll to wear today’s clothing? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Set of Pirate Paper Doll Clothing for Sailing the Seas

A set of pirate paper doll clothing designed for the C Pose guy paper dolls in color and black and white for coloring. Pirate paper dolls are so much fun!

Printable Black & White PDF Printable Color PDF More Paper Dolls & Clothes

C Pose guy paper doll week continues today with a pirate paper doll outfit.

There are themes I tend to come back to a lot- cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic, contemporary fashion, medieval inspired fantasy, and steampunk, of course. And then there are themes I like, but I don’t seem to feel the same connection too. Pirates are firmly in this category. I love a good pirate movie and I’m all for swashbuckling and adventure, but I tend to not go back to pirates with the same regularity as I do some other themes.

I’m not entirely sure why.

A bunch of illustrations on Pinterest inspired today’s pirate paper doll. You can make sub-boards and you can see my Pirate board which is a sub-board of my Fantasy Clothing board. This image was a specific inspiration, but I also looked at lots of photos of flint lock pistols. They are hard to draw.

When working on pirate paper doll clothing I tend to think in layers. I imagine pirate outfits as sort of pieced together from different items that don’t totally match. Plus, I try to give at least a nod to the 18th century when pirates sailed the high seas. Of course, there’s no scurvy in my paper doll universe and it’s generally a much cleaner time period.

Being an actual pirate, I suspect, would be a rather horrible existence, but the fantasy Hollywood version is very romantic. There’s boats and freedom and swords, after all.

If you’d like to see more of my pirate creations, I have a whole tag devoted to pirates, some of which are space pirates. 

So, my question to all of you is, do the ladies need pirate outfits too? Let me know in a comment. 

Need a doll to wear today’s clothing? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

C Pose Guys Get Some Summer Paper Doll Clothes

A summery set of guy paper doll clothing with cargo shorts, a tank top and t-shirt. Free to print in color or black and white for coloring!

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People who have been following this blog for a while know that I like to work in batches. For my sanity, I usually try to keep my batches to four or five paper doll outfits at most. I recently finished a big batch of C Pose guy paper doll clothing. So, since I think they’ve been a bit neglected as of late (the last C Pose set was back in April), I thought I would devote this whole week to guy paper doll clothing.

That’s right. A whole week of guy stuff!

And we’re starting with some contemporary summer clothing.

Last night, I was chatting with a friend as I colored this set and I was like, “I need a color scheme.”

And he said, “Purple and pink.”

So, today’s colorful set of guy clothing is thanks to my friend and his liberal views of men’s clothing colors. I confess I am kinda conservative in the guy clothing color schemes. I am trying to spread my wings and go for something different today. After all, everyone should get to wear whatever colors they like.

By the way, if you missed it, Friday’s paper doll was this fun B Pose superhero and there’s an second color scheme for that on my Patreon page for anyone to download and print if you want. It’s also in a purple and pink color scheme. 

I guess I’ve just been in a purple mood as of late!

Need a doll to wear today’s clothing? All the C Pose Dolls & Clothing

A Superhero Costume Paper Doll, Because Superhero’s Should be Fashionable

A superherp paper doll costume to print for the Dames and Dandies paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.

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I think I read last October that for the first time, superhero costumes outsold princess costumes. This makes me a little sad, because I am sucker for a good princess dress. It also highlights the popularity of superheros and helps explain today’s superhero costume paper doll.

I love a good superhero movie. I happily watched Deadpool 2 last weekend and Infinity War the weekend before that. I enjoy the splash and the explosions. I like seeing things blow up and I like seeing adventure.

When I design a superhero costume for my paper dolls I try to keep things fairly neutral. I don’t really want to decide too much about the superhero powers or anything. I want the person who colors the paper doll or cuts it out to be able to decide what she can do. It should be for them to decide.

So, with this superhero costume paper doll I went with a star motif (which I tend to use) and I made a magical sword for smiting evil doers. I chose colors based on the old three color printed comics, so red yellow and blue. All bright bold primaries.

I’m not totally pleased with the color scheme, but I think it works pretty well. Besides, this is just the first superhero costume paper doll, I can always make more. That’s the wonderful about paper dolls. 

Let me know what you think of today’s paper doll in a comment. I always love hearing from you guys. 

Need  a doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

Let’s Go to the Circus! A B Pose Outfit

I love circuses. So, today's printable paper doll clothes are inspired by the shapes and colors of the circus. Free to print in color or black and white for coloring.

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I don’t have a lot of familiarity with circuses, but I really like the colors and the shapes. I think the drama is awfully fun. I decided to create something fun and funky and maybe not very practical for average wearing.

Of course, the whole the idea of a circus based outfit, I suppose is that it isn’t very practical, but rather very showy. I mean, one doesn’t really associate circus with practicality.

Not that I know much about circuses except what I’ve seen on television.

There’s another version of today’s outfit over on my Patreon page for my patrons. Join if you would like to support the blog. 

Need  a doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

Paper Doll Collaboration May 2018 Animals and Pets

A paper doll clothing coloring page featuring an evening gown and snake wrapped around the paper doll's shoulders. Part of the 2018 paper doll collaboration.

Black and White Paper Doll PDF Paper Doll Collaboration 2018
This month just got away from me. I meant to get this one up on Friday, but it has been a whirl of a week.

This month’s theme was animals or pets. I have a pet cat named Dewey (who ends up on my Instagram on occasion) and I adore her, but I didn’t want to do a cat based set. I’m not a huge pet person. I spoil my cat, but it’s sort of like the different between loving kids and loving your own kids. I love my cat, but I don’t always love other people’s cats.

Instead of going cat themed (which I felt like might be cliche) I went with an animal who is much more maligned, but who I’ve always had an affection for. I’ve always loved snakes. They are both fascinating and largely misunderstood.

Plus what paper doll doesn’t want to accessorize their evening gown with a snake?

If you’re still feeling cat deprived, there was a cat sweater in my February outfit for this paper doll.

For more of our paper doll collaboration, check out Paper Doll School and Miss Missy Paper Dolls for more animal and pet inspired paper doll outfits.

Need a paper doll to wear these clothes? Grab her and more clothing here.

Gothic Fashions (And a Little Momento Mori and a Little Rockabilly)

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I’ve always had a place in my heart for gothic fashion. Perhaps, because I grew up in the late 1990s gothic fashion revival. Or just because I really like all things Momento Mori and always have.

When I am working on coloring gothic fashions, I do worry all the shades of dark grey I used to make things look black can end up obscuring some of the details. That’s why I’ve put the black and white version in front of the colored version this time, so you can really see the ruffles and a pleats.

I chose black, because black is the most common gothic color. I accented it in lavender, because in Victorian mourning traditions, lavender (or mauve) was considered half-mourning. In case you’re wondering, the complexity of mourning dress half myth and half real. There’s tons of references to it in fashion magazines and etiquette manuals, but how closely it was actually observed is hard to say.

Anyway, the purse is a bit of a reference to Momento Mori art (which I love) and also a bit retro. I suppose it’s a nod to retro rockabilly sensibilities. The shoes, blouse and skirt all owe a lot to the Victorians, though no Victorian would wear such a low cut garment during the day.

In case you are wondering- “Hey, where is your collab paper doll?” Well, life got busy and I lost track of time, so my contribution will be up Monday. But you can check out Julie’s and Missy’s contributions in the meantime. 

I promise I didn’t forget. Things just got crazy.

Need  a doll for today’s clothing? All the B Pose Dolls & Clothing

An Elegant Piece of Evening Wear for the A Pose Printable Paper Dolls

An elegant purple evening gown for the A pose printable paper dolls.

Printable Black & White PDF Printable Color PDF More Paper Dolls & Clothes
Today’s printable paper doll ball gown was inspired by this evening gown I saw on Pinterest. I loved the off the shoulder shape and the fullness in the skirt. I chose to make this version purple, but there’s a red version over on my Patreon page anyone can download to print if they prefer the original color scheme.

To go with the evening gown, there’s a little clutch bag, but I confess the dress is really the fun part of today’s post.

I enjoy drawing evening dresses, but after a while I get tired of the strapless simple gowns. I find I am attracted to evening gowns with interesting shapes or draping. I really want a dress that I think would be fun to draw, as much as anything else. I totally realize that “fun to draw” doesn’t mean “flattering to wear”, but I am completely cool with that. 

Paper dolls, as I have often observed, never complain about their clothing. 

Friday there will be a circus themed set, which I think is pretty exciting. 

If you love the blog, consider supporting it on Patreon. It helps offset the costs of keeping up this little corner of the internet. 

Need a doll to wear today’s paper doll clothing? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing