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Cyberpunk Fashion Time! Green Goddess

Today's paper doll outfit is a cybergoth dress with boots and furry leg-warmers. It's meant to be printed in color or black and white for coloring.

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Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll
As we continue our cybergoth theme, I thought it would be fun to share a little fact that I don’t know how many of my readers know. My first cybergoth paper doll, Circuits and Fishnet, remains to this day the only paper doll I’ve ever had someone tell me was not appropriate for children.

As I said that the time, if you don’t think the paper doll is appropriate for children than might I suggest not giving it to any? That’ll solve the problem.

Seriously though, I’m fascinated that a paper doll (of all things) got an angry email from a reader.

I guess you never can tell what will set someone off.

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
I didn’t have a lot of specific reference images. The dress was based on my own design, though I did use a lot of source images for aesthetic reasons. I’ve linked two below.

Specific Source Images: This Fierce Fashionista (her furry leg warmers) and this Other Fierce Fashionista (the top on the left) from Pinterest

Learn/See More
On the Blog: My other Foray into Cybergoth & More Jewels & Gemstones Paper Dolls
Around the Internet: Wikipedia’s Article on Cybergoth, Cyberdog (clothing brand), Lip Service (clothing brand) & Cyber Goth (Tumblr, Maybe NSFW)

Last Thoughts
One of the challenges of cybergoth fashion for me is the styles love of pvc which is very shiny. So, this whole set was a great challenge for me in my “shiny” reflection skills. I love to challenge myself.

This week would have been random stuff, but my patrons voted for cybergoth. Supporting the blog through Patreon keeps it on the interwebs.

Also, when ever I see those furry leg warmers, my thought is- “Omg, someone skinned a Muppet.”

Lapis is Celebrating Cybergoth

A cybergoth fashion paper doll named Lapis with a dress and two pairs of shoes. She's free to print in color or as a coloring page.

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Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll
This week every post on the blog (and the Friday post for my patrons) will be cybergoth themed. I’m sort of excited, because I haven’t done cybergoth paper dolls in a long time- the last one was in 2012.

So, based on my limited understanding, Cybergoth is largely a European fashion style. It’s basically what might happen if rave fashion and goth fashion had a love child with an obsession with crazy hair pieces. Think a lot of torn fishnet and pvc, plus gas masks and googles. It’s not a style I would ever wear (but like, neither are 99% of my paper dolls) and that’s okay!

The hair pieces are really important to the style, so I knew I needed to make sure I had one.

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
A lot of cybergoth clothing style is very close to being cyberpunk or rave fashion. The hairpieces are a big differentiator, so I spent a fair bit of time researching what are often called “cyberlox” which is a combination of the words cyber and dreadlocks. Some of them are even made of fiberoptic materials or rubber.

I rarely put a NSFW disclaimer on anything, because I draw paper dolls and they’re hardly X rated, but I will openly state that some of the Tumblrs I have linked too, while I didn’t see any nudity, there’s a fair bit of fetish fashion and sexy content. So, don’t be surprised by that.

Specific Source Images: These Lovely Ladies (one in the center) & these Amazing Shoes from Cryoflesh

Learn/See More
On the Blog: My Other Foray into Cybergoth & More Jewels & Gemstones Paper Dolls
Around the Internet: Wikipedia’s Article on Cybergoth, Cyberdog (clothing brand), Lip Service (clothing brand), Cryoflesh (clothing brand), F*** Yeah Cyberlox (Tumblr site devoted to Cyberlox) & Cyber Goth (Another Tumblr)

Last Thoughts
Tomorrow, cybergoth week will continue with some clothing. I hope you tune in. I had a lot of fun designing these pieces.

A thank you to my patrons who voted for this week’s theme. Your support makes all the difference.

Lastly, cybergoth, what do you think? Strange? Okay, but not your taste? Super cool? Let me know in a comment!

Opal In Sailor Lolita Fashion

Today's paper doll is a foray into sailor Lolita fashion which is a Japanese street style based on Victorian children's clothing.

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Thoughts on Today’s Paper Doll
Caveat: I am not Japanese. I have never been to Japan. I don’t really know what I am doing here.

I am fascinated by Japanese street fashion, specifically Lolita. Lolita is a Japanese street style heavily influenced by Victorian children’s clothing. It relies on outfits, known as coordinates, usually around a specific theme. Part of why I find Lolita interesting is that I am very familiar with how Europe reinterprets Asian styles. However, Lolita is how Japan reinterprets Western styles.

From a paper doll perspective, the heavy coordination that underlies the aesthetic is super fun. It’s not a strawberry covered dress, for example, but a strawberry dress with matching bag, tights, shoes and headpiece. Who doesn’t want to draw that?

Inspiration for Today’s Paper Doll
There are dozens of sub-genres in Lolita fashion. I chose sailor Lolita for today’s paper doll. It’s a nautical inspired style, not to be confused with pirate Lolita or actual Japanese school uniforms which often are also sailor influenced.

Specific Source Images: Sailor Lolita Dress by Dear Margaret, Sailor Hat from Alice & the Pirates, & Shoes by CodeNoir (technically for a BJD, but I can live with that)

Learn/See More
On the Blog: More Lolita Paper Dolls & More Jewels & Gemstones Paper Dolls
Around the Internet: Wikipedia’s Lolita Article, My Pinterest Board of Lolita Fashion, Magical Girl Me (Fashion Blog), F Yeah Lolita (Fashion blog), & Lolilibrary (An Archive of Lolita clothing, very much work in progress)

Last Thoughts
You can see exclusive content & help support Paper Thin Peronas on Patreon.

Be sure to let me know what you think of the new paper doll series in the comments.

And this is certainly not my last foray into Lolita fashion. I love this style.

A Foray Into Goth Paper Doll Fashions

A set of goth paper doll fashions for the A pose paper dolls from paperthinpersonas.com. The set includes a black picture hat, scull covered leggings, a t-shirt with a coffin on it and a black tunic with a corset belt. You can print them in color or black and white for coloring.

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All fashion styles (main-steam and not) go through evolution. The goth fashion of my teenage years is not the goth fashion of today. Sure, there is some similarities- lots of black, references to death, and corsets. However, like all fashion, it has trends like anything else. When I was younger, goth fashion was a lot of long flared skirts, corsets, crop tops to show off belly-button rings and boot-cut vinyl pants.

Today’s goth fashion (as far as I have observed) is a lot more leggings, tunic tops and large picture hats.

So, I wanted to capture that when I was designing today’s set of goth paper doll clothing. The first challenge was the leggings. A lot of Gothic style leggings are heavily patterned. I chose skulls (something I’m not great at drawing) and roses to go on mine with a background of polka-dots. Conceptually, I wanted the shoes to feel a bit Victorian boot like, but I’m not sure I succeeded in that. I think I should have made them more chunky.

The blouse is based on several I saw online, primarily this one. The hat comes from images like this and this. I wanted it to be clear that the corset belt it part of the blouse, not a separate piece, but I’m not sure I succeeded. Frankly, this whole set is one that I feel like I could have done better on.

The red shirt with the coffin was really my attempt at a gothic t-shirt that wasn’t a band reference, a pentagram (I have several pagan friends and I try not to depict religious symbols in my art that aren’t my own) or a sarcastic saying. Lettering is challenging at the scale I tend to work at.

I made the shirt red, so I could make the coffin black. Otherwise, you can’t really tell it is a coffin.

And on the coffin is a wee little skull.

So, that’s how I ended up with today’s goth paper doll fashions.

All right, so how did I do with my goth fashion attempt? Are there any goth fashion affection-adios out there who can tell me if I am totally off the mark? Let me know in a comment.

And if you love the blog and want to support it, I’m always happy to get more Patrons. You can sign up here.

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

A Post- Apocalyptic Mini-Wardrobe For A Pose Dames

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So, I knew I weanted to do a mini-wardrobe for the A Pose dolls since my two other mini-wardrobes were for the B Pose paper dolls. It was actually kind of difficult to come up with a theme for one. I wasn’t really interested in doing contemporary fashion, but we are getting close to September and that’s my favorite month for fashion magazines.

Settling on post-apocalyptic, I then thought about mix and match options. Mini-Wardrobes are mini-wardrobes in my head, because they have a variety of outfit options. That usually translates to at least two bottoms and more than two tops. I started with the cropped jacket thing actually and then worked my way through potential layering pieces.

Most of these post-apocalyptic paper doll clothing designs were inspired by things from my Post-Apocalyptic Fashion Pinterest board. The skirt and the cropped jacket thing were both based on these designs. The pants were based on this pair.

The rest of the designs were largely meant to fit in with those piece, rounding things out to increase mix and match options. Mathematically speaking, there are 18 clothing combinations, not including the fact that there are gloves or the fact the that the paper dolls could be barefoot. So, I do think this is a pretty successful paper doll collection, all things considered.

What do you think? Good set of mix and match options? Let me know in a comment. 

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

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

Punk Paper Doll Clothing for the B Pose Paper Dolls

Even paper dolls want to rebel sometimes! Here's a set of printable paper doll clothing inspired by Punk fashion with cut off shorts, boots, a skirt, biker jacket over a tank and an arm warmer. Designed for the B Pose printable paper dolls.

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A secret fact about me a lot of people don’t know is how much I love classic 1970s punk. I’m talking classic stuff- The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Clash and Blondie (though their exact genre is a subject of debate). Anyway, this is the fact people rarely guess about me.

I suppose I just don’t seem like a punk rock fan.

Needless to say, I am. So, I knew I wanted to draw some punk paper doll clothing for the Dames and Dandies. One of the interesting things about Punk is that I really do believe it is a fashion movement that is tied to a place and time. 1970’s classic punk fashion is as unreproducible in the 21st century as 1890s fashion is.

Women in heavy eyeliner, torn clothing and bondage accessories just doesn’t carry the same punch as it did almost 50 years ago. 

So, I don’t think this set of punk paper doll clothing is really 1970s punk (or I would have put it in the historical category). Rather this is some contemporary clothing with a nod to those styles. The truth is that the clothing worn by Punks was startling at the time. Today, I don’t think it has the same impact, as mentioned above. 

The cropped biker jacket, torn tank and zipper skirt were all fun to draw. I really fell in love with both the skirt and the boots which you can see on my Punk Fashion Pinterst board.

My cousin Keri wore punk clothing and I remember I always admired her guts. I never had the guts to wear much that wasn’t mainstream. I thought of her a lot while I was drawing this set. 

So, am I the only punk music fan out there? Are there other folks who enjoy it as well? Let me know in the comments. 

P.S. I wrote this whole post while listening to Ramones songs. Just FYI. 

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

Aisha Goes Cyberpunk, Because She Can

A cyberpunk paper doll to print in color or black and white for coloring with an outfit and two pairs of shoes from paperthinpersonas.com

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Can I level with you? I like you all, so I think I can level with you.

I drew two Aisha paper dolls when I created her. I figured one contemporary sorta neutral design and one fun cyberpunk design would be handy. I did not plan to post these two one a week from the other. I really didn’t.

But somehow between classes ending and homework (so much homework) and real work and travel, I kinda got way behind on my paper doll drawing habits. So, I have four B Pose paper doll outfits, a new A Pose doll (Maybe named Abigail? Still deciding) and two A Pose outfits all in process, but none of them are done yet.

Some will probably be done tomorrow, but they aren’t done tonight. I figured I could stay up for a few more hours trying to get them done and then posted. However, that tends to lead to mistakes and sleep deprivation.

So, I am sharing cyberpunk Aisha a little sooner than I had planned to. But no harm in that, I do love my cyberpunk. The white and pink strappy top was the first thing I drew for this outfit and then the rest of the design kinda followed. For the record, I think I wouldn’t mind living in a world where one could painstakingly match your hair to your outfit.

Also for the record, I am super lazy when it comes to dressing and if this was an option, I would probably never do it.

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

Post-Apocalyptic Clothing for the A Pose Paper Dolls

A set of post-apocalyptic fashions for the A Pose paper dolls in color or black and white.

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On Monday, I posted some 1930s paper doll dresses and I wrote about how the 1930s just don’t “do” it for me, unless I see something that intrigues me.

This applies to other fashion themes as well. Post-apocalyptic fashions are a source of some tension for me, because after a while, you can only draw so many torn shirts. Still, I was going through my A Pose paper doll clothing and I noticed that it all felt really feminine and soft to me. So, I said to myself, the A Pose paper dolls need something a little harder and less feminine. So, the end of the world seemed like a logical thing to embrace.

I chose post-apocalyptic, because I found this great picture on Pinterest of some sort of futuristic, post-apocalyptic mechanic and I was intrigued. The mechanic part I didn’t keep, but I totally adapted her pants. I also gave them a hatchet, because sometimes you might need one and a canteen, because all the other post-apocalyptic sets have one, darn it. 

I did notice that I now have a post-apocalyptic outfit for all the different poses. There’s the C pose version and a B Pose version as well. It’s almost turning into a collection, but I don’t know what I’d draw next for it, so I’m not ready to declare it a project, yet.

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

Happy March! Here’s Akiko in her Sweet Lolita JSK

A Sweet Lolita paper doll with a ruffled dress, purse and two pairs of shoes in color or black and white for coloring. Free from paperthinpersonas.com.

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Today, I am pleased to share version 2 of Akiko whose rocking a Sweet Lolita dress and ringlet curls. For those of you not aware of the Japanese alternative street style known as Lolita, here’s a brief run down- It’s a alternative fashion style from Japan- think Gothic fashion or Punk fashion in the United States and the UK. According to Lolita the influences are Victorian children’s clothing. As someone whose seen a lot of Victorian children’s clothing, I don’t quite agree, but you can decide for yourself if you want by looking through my Lolita Fashion pinterest board.

One thing I adore about Lolita is that it is not just about the dresses. Rather, the idea is to put together a “coordinate” which is a perfectly coordinating outfit from the tights to the dress to the bonnet. This is not surprising given that this style came from the country that developed a system of colors and motifs for kimonos based on the seasons when they were to be worn. Talk about matchy-matchy.

Anyway, within Lolita, as within almost every alternative fashion scene on the planet, there’s an endless collection of sub-genres and variants. The three major genres are Sweet Lolita, Gothic Lolita and Classic Lolita. I love this post from F Yeah Lolita with example wardrobes in each genre.

For my first Dames and Dandies foray into Lolita (and not my last, never fear) I went with Sweet Lolita, though there is a Gothic Lolita variant on my Patreon page that I hope you will download and play with as well. I tried to capture the bell shaped skirt and I designed what is known as a JSK (Jumperskirt) which is a sleeveless dress designed to go over a blouse. I made 2 matching pairs of shoes and one purse.

So, I did my usually research hunt for reference photos when I started my latest Lolita fashion paper doll. My previous favorite fashion blog devoted to Lolita, F Yeah Lolita has not updated in a long time. So, I dusted off my librarian searching skills and found a few new ones that I really liked. Magical Girl Me, Lolita Fashion on Tumblr and Miss Carol Belle’s Lolita Fashion Sewing and Pattern Advice all appear to be currently active, if you’re looking for more information on Lolita styles. I also had fun reading through Lolita Tips. Reading through that led me to the amazing Loli Library where I think I could easily get lost for hours staring at pretty dresses.

So, let me know if you like this Sweet version or the Gothic version better in a comment. I’d love to know! And if there’s a great Lolita fashion blog I don’t know about, I’d like to know that too!

Need a Doll to wear today’s outfit? All the A Pose Dolls & Clothing