Edwardian Mia: A Printable Paper Doll’s Promenade Dress

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A lavender paper doll promenade dress from the Edwardian era. Also available in black and white for coloring from paperthinpersonas.com.

Today’s printable paper doll dress is a promenade dress from 1908.

The gown is based on this illustration from an 1908 Macy’s Catalog. Macy’s was founded in about 1858 and had a thriving mail order business. Their catalogs are just a great source of information. I chose to not try to illustrate the stripes on the original dress fabric. I confess I am not too pleased with how the pleating on the skirt turned out. It should look much stiffer than it does, as taffeta is a very stiff fabric.

Oh well, no dress drawing is perfect.

In fact, a big reason I picked the Edwardian period was because I don’t have a lot of experience drawing these styles of dresses. One of the great challenges of this era is to capture the “pigeon breasted” look of the era. Bodices had a great deal of fullness in the front and then came into a narrow waist. This is actually a pretty challenging thing for me to illustrate in paper doll form.

Still, you get better at nothing unless you practice. So, this is me practicing.

While I chose lavender for today’s dress, the black and white version could be any color. The catalog describes this dress as a two-piece jumper model available in blue, red, green, brown or lavender. I think it would be stunning in red, too.

As always, I recommend printing from the PDF versions at the top of the post.

If you love the blog, than please consider supporting it on Patreon.

Hope everyone has a lovely Wednesday and remember: Accessory Thursday tomorrow!

One last little thing, I am trying to decide what to work on this weekend. I’m out of backlog and have a ton of stuff in process, so to help me focus I am asking my readers what they think.

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Edwardian Mia: A Paper Doll’s 1908 Walking Suit

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An Edwardian paper doll's walking suit in navy blue. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

Today’s installment for Mia’s Edwardian Wardrobe is a walking suit. I figure every paper doll needs a good suit, just like every person needs one good suit.

Suits were very much in fashion for ladies at the turn of the 20th century. This one is a navy blue wool and trimmed in gold braid and grey velveteen.

Here’s the 1908 suit that today’s paper doll outfit is based on a page from this 1908 Macy’s catalog. Suits could be ordered in a variety of styles and in a variety of fabrics. The fabric selection dictated the cost of the suit- a more expensive tweed made for a more expensive suit than simple wool.

I’ll confess this is not a literal re-drawing of the source material. I ended up simplifying the suit a fair bit and I sorta designed my own hat based on some others from the era. Hats in this period got to be a bit much sometimes.  In case, you’ve never made a hat like this, here are some instructions I wrote up a while ago.

If you missed the doll to go along with this paper wardrobe, here she is from Monday.

Also, as a friendly reminder, I have printing instructions here and you can find the black and white versions of the paper doll for coloring at the top of the post.

There, I think that’s all the housekeeping for the day.

Enjoy the paper doll! As always, I love to hear what you think. 🙂

Edwardian Mia: The Paper Doll and Her Underwear

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An Asian American paper doll with a set of Edwardian underwear. Also available in black and white for coloring from paperthinpersonas.com.

I was trying to decide which of the Marisole Monday & Friend’s paper dolls would model this series of Edwardian dresses and I settled on Mia.

I was inspired to use her as the model when I found this wonderful photograph of an Asian woman, just called Alice, wearing a suit from probably the 1890s or early 1900s.

Today, Mia gets just a set of Edwardian underwear and, I confess, not even a complete set. Women in this era wore, in order, a chemise and drawers, or a combination, under a corset. Over the corset, she would have worn a corset cover and over that a petticoat. I decided to just show her corset cover and petticoat, thereby skipping a few layers. Seriously, ladies in this era wore a lot of underwear!

I based her underwear on this page from a catalog from 1902-1903. Her hair is the best I could do trying to draw a Gibson girl kinda bun like these. Drawing Gibson girl buns is clearly not my strength.

Though out the week I’ll be posting outfits for Mia and accessories on Thursday (as usual). I hope you all enjoy this little foray into the first decade of the 1900s.

By the way, if you love the blog, consider becoming a patron. It’s really appreciated.

So, my question for all of you is, what to you think of this week’s theme?

Ursula & Zarchary Under the Sea: A Last Pair of Tails

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Paper doll mermaids get some wonderful paper tails! Free to print for the Sprites paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

While I liked all the mermaid paper doll tails this week, I’ll confess openly that this is my favorite set of the bunch. It seems fitting to end the week on my favorite, doesn’t it?

Zachary’s tail was based on the eel and then Ursula’s tail as made to match. Of course, any of the Sprites can wear these tails.

I ran out of shirts for Zachary, so he doesn’t get one this round, but Ursula gets two to make up for it. And he does get a stylish knife and trident, though I suppose either of them could be wielding those weapons. I thought of him when I made them.

As I said with several of the other mermaid tails, I would recommend strongly adding floating tabs to the back of the tails as needed to secure them to the paper doll’s body. Also, if you missed Zachary and Ursula, I posted them on Monday. Any of the Sprites Dolls can wear these tails or any of the other tails! You can see the whole week’s work below.

Mix and Match Black Mermaid Paper Dolls!

I posted a blog on my Patreon page about finding inspiration a couple of days ago. You can read it over there for the next few days, but I’m closing it to non-Patrons on Monday. So hop over there and consider joining if you’s like to support the blog.

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Ursula & Zarchary Under the Sea: Clothes for Dry Land

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A set of paper doll clothing for the beach! Designed for the Sprites paper doll series and also available in black and white for coloring.
Happy Thursday everyone! It’s just one more day until the weekend.

I know this is “mermaid week”, but it seemed to me that even mermaid’s might need to step off onto dry-land once in a while.

So, instead of Accessory Thursday, this week we have “shoes and dry land clothes” Thursday. That title just doesn’t roll off the tongue very well, does it?

But y’all know what I mean.

So, I have been traveling so much this last few weeks, I feel like I can’t keep track of where I am or what I am doing anymore. I colored this week’s paper dolls while visiting my Sister in Alaska and I am writing this post in Georgia where I am for a professional conference. I can’t wait to get a week where I don’t travel and can just have my quite at home routine of groceries, work, friends and art.

A few days ago, I posted a blog on my Patreon page about finding inspiration. You can read it here for the next few days, but I’m closing it to non-Patrons on Monday.

Ursula & Zarchary Under the Sea: More Mermaid Tails

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A pair of paper doll mermaid tails with tops for the Sprite paper doll series. Also available in black and white. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com.

May I make a confession? I always liked my mermaids more dark and creepy than sweet an innocent. A lot more drowning sailors and a lot less singing songs with hermit crabs.

However, I’m not really good at drawing creepy paper dolls, so these are a bit more “singing songs with hermit crabs” than they are “drowning sailors.”

If you missed the paper dolls to wear theses colorful mermaid tails then slip over to Monday’s post for them, but any of the Spite paper dolls can fit the tails. I should also mention that the tails may need floating tabs to be really secure. I confess I didn’t play-test them.

If you want paper doll updates on Twitter, I’ve split my person and “blog” twitter accounts, so follow here:@paperpersonas. And if you like the blog, than consider becoming a Patron.

All right my readers, how do you like your mermaids? Sweet and musical or dark and creepy?

Ursula & Zachary Under the Sea: Mermaids Tails!

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Mermaid tails and tops for the Sprites paper doll series. Also available in black and white. Free to print from paperthinpersonas.com

As promised, today we have mermaid tails and the shirt that inspired this entire set. There are shirts like this all over the interwebs, but I liked the idea of a modern mermaid with a tongue in cheek style who wears a printed shirt with seashells, rather than the “real” thing. So, all my mermaid tops this week will be based on bikinis rather then the assumption that mermaids simply wear seashells.

Because, honestly, am I the only one who imagines wearing hard seashells as a bra would be really really uncomfortable? I bet any smart mermaid would take a well made swimsuit top in an instant.

Designing male paper doll mermaid tops is a little harder. I think they would mostly get in the way, but in the interest of being fair to Zachary and Ursula, I have included one.

If you missed the paper dolls to wear theses smashing tails then hop over to Monday’s post for them.

Today is also National Coloring Book Day, apparently. I don’t really get the appeal of coloring books (try as I might), but if you’re looking for a paper doll coloring page than here are all of mine. Even the posts that only show a colored version, there is a black and white version linked in the post, just like the black and white version for this set which is at the top of the post. (I hope that makes sense.)

If you want paper doll updates on Twitter, I’ve split my person and “blog” twitter accounts, so follow here:@paperpersonas.

Ursula & Zachary Under the Sea: Mermaid Paper Dolls (Tails to Come!)

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A pair of black paper dolls with blue hair and multi-colored dreadlocks.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Mermaid paper dolls? Where are the tails?”

So, yeah, there are no tails. This wasn’t my original plan.

My original plan was to have Zachary with a tail on Monday and Ursula with a tail on Tuesday. Then to post joint outfits for them on the following days. I thought this was a great plan, until I realized I could not fit the tail and the Zachary paper doll on the same page together. It simply did not fit.

And to think my layout problems were a thing of the past? Sigh.

So, instead we get two paper dolls and a promise of tails tomorrow. I swear these are mermaids. They’re just tailless mermaids.

Reminder that the black and white versions are linked up at the top of the post, if anyone is looking for it.

Anyway, Zachary and Ursula are both from the Sprites series which I introduced WAY back in January. As some of you may recall, I have been naming the Sprite faces in reverse alphabetical and I had gotten to the letter U, so Ursula it was.

I realized later that making the first Ursula paper doll a mermaid does bring up connotations of Disney’s A Little Mermaid, but that wasn’t my intention. I named the paper doll LONG before I picked out a theme and I could have started with a modern set, but mermaids were more fun. Her hair was inspired by this pin of a woman with teal hair on Pinterest.

Lastly, you love the blog, consider supporting it on Patreon. If you want paper doll updates on Twitter, I’ve moved them over to @paperpersonas.

Peony in the 1860s: A Dress from January 1864

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I seemed to me that I should close up the week with a winter dress from 1864. A dress that speaks to snow and city streets. In my head, I picture Peony wrapping up in this velvet coat trimmed in soft white fur and heading out to shop for the holidays. I had looked for a plate from 1865 (that’s when the Civil War ended), but I fell in love with this winter dress from 1864. A year early, but I hope people don’t mind. Technically, the war ended in May 1865, so I guess I’m still safely in my Civil War era theme.

And to go with the coat, I had to create a muff. I love muffs, but don’t think they would be practical today since I need my fingers for driving and things.

I simplified the coat a bit, because I couldn’t seem to figure-out what was going on with the sleeves in the fashion plate. I thought they were maybe bracelet length, but then maybe not, based on her raised arm… Anyway, in the end, you can’t really see the sleeves thanks to the width of the skirt. One advantage of those wide skirts from Civil War era children’s clothing.

Fashion plate This particular coat comes from a fashion plate from Le Follet. Le Follet is yet another French fashion publication. It came out weekly from 1829 to 1871, making it useful for tracing 19th century French fashions. Like all fashion magazines, it is important to remember that the plates show an idealized and fantasy version of contemporary fashion.

Women didn’t actually dress in these outfits anymore than women today dress like what we see in Vogue. However, these images offer a window into what women aspired to look like. In short, the these images are a fantasy of the idealized world of glorious dresses and domestic life.

So, this ends our little foray into 1860s or Civil War era children’s clothing for the Poppet Paper Doll series. I’m a little sad to see it wrap as I have had a lot fun showing the fashion plates and talking about the era. If you missed a post, they are all linked below.

A Printable Paper Doll & Her Wardrobe of Civil War Era Children’s Clothing

I’ve had some questions about printing, so I want to mention this: When you print, you must make sure “fit to page” is NOT selected. That should give you the same size prints as before. I also do not recommend printing from the PNGs, because you can not control how your printer treats the file. This lack of control makes sizing a problem.

Importnat announcement: I’ve split up my personal and blog related twitter feeds. The new twitter feed for the blog is here. So, that will be home for the blog updates from now on.

As always, if you love the blog, consider supporting it on Patreon or just leave a comment. I always love comments. 🙂

Poppets Visit the 1860s: Accessory Thursday with Shoes and Underwear

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Guess what day it is?

It’s Accessory Thursday!

The whole point of Accessory Thursday is to allow me to show off some of the smaller pieces that make up a paper doll collection.

For a child’s wardrobe in the 1860s, accessories meant shoes and underwear. Now, kids back in this era wore a lot of underwear, but I decided to focus just on a pantaloons and camisoles. Staybands where also very common. Staybands were like a corset, but they weren’t boned the same way. The idea was to keep the spine straight and help with development.

If you feel that you need a stayband, than check out Promenade & Play which features one from the 1870s.

Shoe-wise, she’s got brown leather boots with a bow detail and some black and white button up boots. I think I just like the idea of two-tone boots. I confess I don’t know how popular they actually were back in the day.

As always, I’d love to know what y’all think of the continuing trend of Accessory Thursdays!

Also, if you love the blog and want to help support it, consider joining my Patreon page.

Peony in the 1860s: A Paper Doll Dress from May 1860

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This is the paper doll dress that started it all. One fashion plate from 1860 inspired this whole week of 1860s children’s paper doll dresses. Isn’t it funny how that can happen? I came across this fantastic plate from Le Bon Ton (another 1860s women’s fashion magazine) and I just knew I wanted to dive into this era. It helps, I suspect, that I’ve always had a soft place in my heart for Victorian children’s clothing.

Mostly, I think it is more true to say that I’ve always had a place in my heart for antique dolls and that has led me to a soft place for children’s clothing.

Just like yesterday’s 1860s dress, today’s paper doll dress features a dress over a guimpe. (Yesterday, I got into a whole definition of the guimpe which I am not repeating here.)

Fashion plate from Le Bon Ton dated May 1869. Originally found on the Casey Fashion Plate index.

As you might notice from the fashion plate to the left is that you can see her pantelettes or pantaloons. Tomorrow, there will be two pairs of 1860s children’s underwear, so you two can create that look along with two pairs of shoes.

The fashion plates from the Casey Fashion Plate Index which is such a great resource. I will keep repeating how much I love it probably until the end of time, or at least this week.

As a friendly reminder, the black and white versions are linked above with the PDFs. Also, if you need a doll, here she is from Monday.

If you love the blog, than think about supporting me on Patreon or leaving a comment. As always, I love to hear from everyone.

Peony In the 1860s: A Dress from August 1864

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Poppets paper dolls dress with pink and black color scheme from August of 1864. From paperthinpersonas.com.

It’s day two of our Civil War children’s clothing week. Today’s paper doll dress is a mix of two dresses from the 1860s. A fashion plate from August 1864 inspired the dress design. The color scheme is from a different fashion plate from June 1865. The pink and black combination from that fashion plate was so contemporary that I wanted to use it. I think it is easy to forget how bold the Victorians could be.

This dress would have been in several parts. It’s not clear from the illustration, but I think the bodice and skirt are meant to be separate pieces. Underneath the bodice, a guimpe is worn. While It is also possible that the bodice and skirt connect, like a jumper, that is not how adult women’s dresses in this era were made.

fashion-plate2-1864
The dress design comes from this fashion plate.

If you’ve never heard the word guimpe before, don’t fret. It’s not a word that gets tossed around in most conversations. A guimpe was a high necked blouse-like garment women and children wore underneath a low-necked dress. Think of it like like a dickie or a camisole today. A guimpe was never supposed to be seen without a something over it. Some weren’t even complete blouses, but were just dickies and matching sleeves. Part of the appeal of the guimpe, I suspect, was that washing it was more easy than washing the entire dress.

(If you ever have a time and interest, laundry practices of the 19th century are actually fascinating if, you know, you’re me.)

fashion-plate3-1865
The color scheme comes from this fashion plate.

Both of the inspirational fashion plates come from the same publication Magasin des Demoiselles. This French fashion magazine in the 19th century was very popular. Many of the 1860s plates from Magasin des Demoiselles include children, along with the ladies. It’s a great resource for what the fashionable girl, or, more rarely, boy, would have worn while running about and being a kid.

Not that running around being a kid was really condoned too much in this era.

Both fashion plates are from the Casey Fashion Plate index which is an excellent resource for 19th century fashion plates.

As a friendly reminder, the black and white versions are linked above with the PDFs. Also, if you need a doll, here she is from Monday.

So, what do you think of my pink and black color scheme? Too bold for the era or okay? I always love to know what you think. Love the blog? Consider supporting it by becoming a Patron, every dollar is lovely.