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Pastel Winter Printable Paper Doll

September 11, 2023September 8, 2023

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Paper Dolls from the Ensemble Eclectica Series

Something about winter and pastel colors makes me really happy. I think it might be that where I grew up in Alaska, there was a very long dusk, especially in winter. The sun would never get very high in the sky and so the snow on the mountains would turn the most brilliant pink color as it reflected the light.

Maybe that’s why I associate pastel colors with winter. They feel softer and somehow more mellow and quiet- all things I also associate with winter.

The truth is, if I maybe honest, I wanted to do this set in pastel, because I had this idea of experimenting with texture and I wanted to see how the texture would look on different color schemes. So, this is the first of several dolls I made for this purpose.

Now, since I don’t think I should call this series “Texture Experiment 2.0”, please let me know if you have a series name suggestion. There will be, at least, three of these ladies.

Edit: For a million reasons involving layout and dresses and other things, I ended up resizing and redoing the layout on these paper dolls, so I’ve updated the PDF files. – Rachel 9/12/2023

Galactic Fashions: Another Printable Paper Doll

October 3, 2023August 28, 2023

Download 2 Page PDF | More July Project Paper Dolls

So, I wanted to experiment with texture and style. I wanted to see if I still liked the effect of noise texture if the style was less romantic and more something else.

And well, clearly, that something else should be space princesses.

I’m actually really happy with how it came out. I played around with the texture in a way that I think worked well- a larger scale noise effect in the background, but something more subtle for the doll herself. I’m actually very pleased with that part.

Something about this paper doll keeps making me think of 1980s and 1990s cartoons of my childhood like the X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and She-ra. I was a huge She-ra fan as a kid. One of my friends had a bunch of the She-ra action figures and we would play with them for hours in her bedroom and on her porch. I have a lot of fond memories of that.

All in all this was an successful experiment. I confess I’ve been frustrated a bit with working in Procreate lately (which I think is 100% normal when trying to learn a new skill), so we’ll see how I feel about everything in a few more days.

Nordic Winter Wishes: The February Printable Paper Doll

April 30, 2023February 24, 2023

Download 3 Page Black and White PDF | Download 3 Page Color PDF | More 365 Paper Dolls

For those of you who have been following along in my newsletter, you’ll likely notice there’s a few extra pieces on this set (specifcally the winter coat and one pair of the shoes). I went back and forth about what to do with that coat. I’m not 100% sure it will layer over all the sweaters and I didn’t feel right giving just one of the dolls a coat (what if the other dolls get cold?). So, I thought- I’ll just keep it as a fun extra for folks when they get the whole set.

Another little detail I didn’t talk about in the newsletters was the coffee cups. I don’t know why I thought it was a fun idea to draw a mug for every paper doll with a different motif, but I did and so I drew one. To give a secret look at my process- I actually did all this layout and design work before I split it up for the newsletters. I’m very happy with how it turned out.

A few differences in these dolls and my usual stuff- I gave the dolls permanent shoes. I go back and forth on this a lot. I used to be strictly anti-attached shoes. But then I spoke with my 5 year old niece and she was deeply bothered by my paper dolls that didn’t have shoes.

So, I realized that shoes were more important than I had often thought. If you’re an attached shoes fan, you can thank her for showing me the error of my ways (though I still think I’m a bit ambivalent on the subject.) And I tend to think it depends on the paper doll- like mermaids SHOULD not have attached shoes.

That’s just silly.

Speaking of shoes- largely thanks to the shoes, there’s over 85 outfit combinations- well over 100 if you add in the scarf or the coat into the mix. So, that’s super fun!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this collection of paper dolls as much I enjoyed drawing and sharing them all with you!

And now, the Late 1950s with Jade!

June 16, 2026December 14, 2022

A black 1950s paper doll coloring page with five dresses from the later part of the decade.

A black 1950s paper doll to print with five dresses from the later part of the decade.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

And the 1950s styles continue with Jade here. In the Late 1950s, you start to see the 1960s silhouette sneaking in with the higher waisted dresses and the shape of the skirts. So, our paper doll is more about that easing into the transitional era of the early 1950s. I did some digging around into black fashion magazines of this era and tried to match the colors I saw in those sources when deciding what colors to use on today’s black 1950s paper doll.

Let’s talk sources!

The red dress came from this catalog page from 1958 Sears and the pink dress is from this Vogue 9137 from 1957. Her swimsuit is from the Spring/Summer Sears from 1957. The yellow dress is from this 1959 Sears Spring Summer Catalog, but I don’t think I got the skirt quite right. You can see more of this style here. The whole thing is that there was a distinct silhouette change going on as the decade changed. The goal was to show off how the shape of dresses as transitional at this point.

Jade’s hair is based on this photo of a very young Diahann Carroll from 1955. The paper doll’s swimsuit is from the Spring/Summer Sears from 1957. As usual, I find movie stars to be a super useful way to track down hairstyles. Her lipstick color is also based on what I was seeing in fashion magazines from the era- lots of very red or very pink lipstick.

So there you have it, a few of the sources of this 1950s paper doll and her five dresses from five different years. That last bit was not on purpose- it just sort of worked out that way.

Enjoy!

In upcoming paper doll news, I am going to share a Patreon treat on Friday and then take a bit of a vacation until sometime in January, when I hope to return full of pluck, persistence, and paper dolls.

Citrine Wearing Some 1950s Styles

June 16, 2026November 23, 2022

A 1950s vintage fashion paper doll coloring page with four dresses and two pairs of shoes and other accessories.

A vintage fashion paper doll from the 1950s with four dresses and two pairs of shoes in color. This printable paper doll can share clothing with many other paper dolls in the series.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

This week is going to be quiet. It is Thanksgiving week here in the states and I am on pie duty. Personally, I love to bake, so it’s no trouble to dive into the world of pie. The only thing I don’t like is the crowds at the grocery store this time of year. I really dislike grocery shopping in general. Grocery pick-up might be the one good thing to come out of the pandemic.

Anyway, today’s 1950s vintage fashion paper doll is the first in large collection of 1950s dolls that I’ll be sharing. Citrine has a wide range of 1950s fashions from a pair of jeans with a casual blouse to a smart wool suit from Vogue. Her underwear is from 1955, but since the dolls all need to share clothing it doesn’t quite give the pointy boob effect that was popular in the era. Maidenform being the big name in that genre. Anyway, I don’t feel like linking every single source image. You can find many of them on my 1950s Pinterest Board.

Coloring these pieces are always a challenge for me, because my modern eye does not seen the same things in a black and white image as people at the time might see. So, I try to base the colors on the catalog descriptions as much as possible, especially because the catalogs are mostly produced in black and white. It’s tough for me, because I love color.

One thing I really wanted was to be sure to draw some trousers for these paper dolls. I tend to like drawing dresses more than trousers, but they were popular in the 1950s. I did some for my 1940s Jewels and Gemstones, but they never made it onto the blog’s version (they are included in the Etsy set). Trousers were still pretty strictly a casual garment in the 1950s. Never the less, I wanted to be sure to include jeans, shorts, and a playsuit. Stay tuned for more 1950s clothing over the next few weeks as I finish up the other sets.

Don’t forget, there’s an older Sapphire 1950s set which fits right in with the aesthetic.

Tanya has a Formal Evening

November 13, 2022September 13, 2022

Printable paper doll coloring pages with a black paper doll and her five evening gowns and three pairs of shoes. The dolls has an afro-puff.

Printable black paper doll with her five evening gowns and three pairs of shoes. The dolls has an afro-puff.

Download the 2 Page Black and White PDF | Download the 2 Page Color PDF | More Talia Tuesday & Friends Dolls

Today, we have Tanya with some evening gowns. This set has actually been sitting on my computer for way longer than I like to admit. However, it’s done now, so that’s okay.

Tanya’s last collection was very fantasy themed, so I thought she should get some more modern things, but I confess now I feel like the poor girl needs some pants. I’m not 100% in love with how her afro-puff came out, but I can live with that. I think that angle is wrong…

I digress.

All right, so yeah, paper doll! I know for like Search Engine Optimization I should really try to write between 300 and 500 words per post, but I haven’t got that much to say here. It’s a cute printable black paper doll. That’s kinda all I got today.

The Vivian Doll Herself

September 3, 2022

Post-Apocalyptic Fashion With Dawn

August 22, 2022

A black and white printable paper doll with seven clothing pieces based on post-apocalyptic fashion.

A printable post-apocalyptic paper doll with a mix and match wardrove of seven different clothing pieces. The doll has many tattoos.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Dolls Du Jour Paper Dolls

At the height of the pandemic, I just couldn’t draw post-apocalyptic fashion. It felt somehow too much.

But now that things are starting to feel “normalish” again, I decided I could maybe slip back into that genre for a little paper doll set for the Dolls Du Jour. So, here’s Dawn and her post-apocalyptic fashions.

Also, is post-apocalyptic an oxymoron? Isn’t there not supposed to be anything left after an apocalypses by definition? That maybe overly pedantic.

Let’s move on.

The styles were inspired by my Post-Apocalyptic Fashion pinterest board which is, in turn, inspired by things like Mad Max and Tank Girl and Fall Out (even though I’ve never played Fall Out.)

I need to get to work on the OPDAG prompt for plaids. I am not much of a plaid drawing person, but I have an idea of how I might be able to make plaid work. Julie Matthews has a plaids in photoshop tutorial.

For those keeping count (which I am 95% sure is just me), this is Dolls Du Jour paper doll number seven. Three to go before I hit my 2022 goal.

Pearl’s Lavish Evening Gowns

June 16, 2026August 9, 2022

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

I recently rediscovered the show Ru Paul’s Drag Race All-Stars when it showed up on one of the streaming services and I have been watching through the seasons I missed. I mostly just like getting to see the runway looks at the end, but I have never been much for reality TV show drama. Still, I love seeing the looks the drag queens come up with for the end and they always fascinate me.

So, yeah, that’s the context of today’s printable paper doll- I wanted to draw some slightly over the top dresses that really emphasized her curves. Bright colors and rich designs, I thought would be super fun. Not really inspired by Drag Race, but sort of inspired by the idea of evening gowns gone a little more wild than I usually do.

To give credit where credit is due, these dresses were inspired by the contents of my evening gowns pinterest board. However, none of them were specific to any of those I don’t think. At least, I’m pretty sure they weren’t. Who knows? Sometimes my brain doesn’t remember where I get my ideas. Enjoy!

Regency-Core: A 2022 Fashion Trend

June 16, 2026August 3, 2022

A printable paper doll coloring page with an eight piece mix and match wardrobe of regencycore inspired clothing with trousers, two dresses, shoes and purses.

A printable paper doll with an eight piece mix and match wardrobe of regencycore inspired clothing with trousers, two dresses, shoes and purses.

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Jewels & Gemstones 2.0

Today’s printable paper doll is all about regencycore. Which does lead to the next logical question… So, what is Regencycore?

Well, it’s sort of a hyper feminine style inspired by the Regency. Not the actual regency (I doubt we’ll see a neck-ruff revival), but the ideas people have of the Regency thanks to shows like Bridgerton. I’m a big Bridgerton fan and I was struck at how much I started noticing this trend in my fashion magazines and my online puttering around.

There’s a nice article about Regency-core from Women’s Wear Daily I think I highlighted this in a newsletter a few weeks back. This was my major inspiration as I designed this particular printable paper doll set. I wanted soft pastels, raised waists and lots of puffy sleeves. I also didn’t want to do a paper doll set of nothing, but basic babydoll dresses (there’s just one) and nothing else. That felt boring and not really modernizing regency. As for the puffy sleeves, I tried to get in as many variations on that shape as possible.

Along with the dresses, there’s a pair of high-waisted pleated front trousers (a trend that is returning which I am not so keen on) and I cropped most of these tops to match. I do like the fact that modern cropped tops are being paired with high-waisted pants. It’s a much better look than the hip-huggers of the 1990s.

The paper doll’s hair is based on the hair cut of Daphne from the Bridgerton tv-show. Normally when I see bangs in historical dramas I wince, because straight bangs were really not a thing in the 19th century for ladies. There were like curled ringlet sort of bangs in the Regency (see examples here), but not the bangs the paper doll or Daphne rocks. However, as mentioned, Bridgerton is a fantasy, so I am willing to embrace the bangs.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with how this turned out.

Meanwhile, I want to let my Patrons know there will be patron exclusive content on Friday! So, look forward to that- Vivian is getting another outfit in her steampunk trousseau.

DDJ: Dawn & “Ancient Chinese” Inspired Fantasy Gowns

July 28, 2022

Download Black and White PDF | Download Color PDF | More Dolls Du Jour Paper Dolls

Sometimes I draw printable paper dolls and then by the time I get ready to share them on PTP, I find myself looking at them vaguely and being like, “Why did I draw this? What was I thinking about?”

My hunch, just because I know me, is that there was a distinctly Asian thing happening with this paper doll probably inspired by this weird “ancient Chinese” costumes thing I’ve seen on Pinterest. I find it fascinating, because China has a long and varied dress history (just like everywhere else), but (maybe in part thanks to Video games) there’s a sort of generic “ancient China” look. It’s super cool looking, but kinda like the Victorian view of medieval dress, probably hasn’t got much in common with what people were actually wearing in China a thousand years ago.

I don’t know enough about the history of Chinese dress to speak with any authority, but I don’t think anyone was running around in these, but that’s okay! It’s fun and beautiful. Sometimes, fun and beautiful is enough, you know?

As they do on NPR, I tend to wrap up my posts with two reminders to folks that these paper dolls are made possible by the generous support for my Patrons, so consider joining if you wish.

Vivian’s Steampunk Trousseau Round-Up

April 24, 2023July 26, 2022