stockings

Marisole Monday’s Fantasy Peasant Costume

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Um… Not Suew What to Put Here
A paper doll fantasy dress with a corset top and full skirt. Matching shoes with white stockings from paperthinpersonas.com. Free to print in color or black and white.

A paper doll fantasy dress with a corset top and full skirt. Matching shoes with white stockings from paperthinpersonas.com. Free to print in color or black and white.

I’m not entirely sure how to describe today’s paper doll outfit. It’s a fantasy outfit, but it is not really a princess theme. I tend to think of princesses as being more formal. This is less princess and more something a charming milk maid wears in an opera.

Opera costumes are on the list of things I’ve never drawn, but kinda want to draw someday.

Anyway, I’d love to say something deep and meaning full about this one, but I really don’t have anything. I don’t even remember if there was a specific inspiration.

I’d love to say it was operatic milk maids, but it wasn’t.

(Also, is it just me or would Operatic Milk Maids be a pretty good name for some sort of feminist punk band? Sort of Emilie Autumn, but with more cows.)

Anyway, the top is kinda 18th century-ish. The skirt is sort of 1980s. The stockings and shoes have a vague 19th century thing going on. Mostly with the garters, as elasticized garters with metal fasteners were a thing in the 1890s.

Elastic is actually much older than most people think. It was invented in the 1820s for fastening gloves and such.

Oh, before I forget, there’s a second version of today’s design on the Patreon page for my Patrons.

By the way, this week is a themed week. I really enjoy sorting things and organizing them into themes. (Yeah, not really shocking given that I’m a professional librarian.) This week’s theme is fantasy and especially different styles of fantasy. So, today we have a fantasy peasant dress, tomorrow there will be an entry into the B&B Sorceress series and on Friday a medieval fantasy set for the Sprites.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here. 

The Mini-Maidens Get Some Bloomers & a Top Hat in Today’s Paper Doll Steampunk Coloring Page

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: This Steampunk Outfit
A printable paper doll steampunk coloring page from paperthinpersonas.com. The paper doll outfit can fit any one of the dozens of Mini-Maidens paper dolls

While I was never a big colorer as a kid, I do love creating black and white paper dolls, like today’s steampunk coloring page. I never liked coloring big expanses when I did color. So, the paper doll designs with more detail would be, I think, more fun to color.

(I maybe wrong of course. I don’t work in non-computer media much anymore. Someone who does should feel free to correct me in the comments about my coloring assumptions.)

So, I was very much feeling that I didn’t want to draw another steampunk fashion paper doll set when I saw this wonderful steampunk outfit on Pinterest and changed my mind. At first, I confess, it was the hair that got me, but I also adore the bodice.

So, I set to work on the paper doll’s bodice and the bloomers. Then I did the tights and invented some shoes. Striped stockings might be cliche, but I still really like them.

The hat was a last minute edition, because I thought the outfit needed something else. The set just didn’t feel complete without it.

Personally, the garters at the top of her stockings make me smile the most. I think they are just so fun! Though potentially impractical, because if you must lock on your garters that would just be a pain in the butt.

Still, as I have often said, paper dolls are not a place for practicality. If they did, I don’t know if I could draw them anymore. Half the fun is creating things I think look cool but would never wear.

So, love today’s paper doll steampunk coloring page? Hate it? Let me know in a comment! I always love to hear from you guys.

Need a Mini-Maiden paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Mini-Maiden Paper Doll Here.

A Floral Fantasy Princess Gown for the B&B Paper Doll Series

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Renaissance Dresses & Princess Gowns

A fantasy paper doll gown inspired by the renaissance with stockings and shoes with a book as an accessory.

A fantasy paper doll gown inspired by the renaissance with stockings and shoes.

Confession time: I didn’t keep really good notes on this princess gown- I think of it as one even though there is no crown. I usually try to write down where an idea comes from or what images I look at as source material, but in this case, I really don’t have much of an answer. I know I wanted to do something renaissance inspired and fantasy gown, but with a very different aesthetic than the Sorceress Gowns Project.

I think of the Sorceress gowns as being all about layers and flow.

This gown, on the other hand, is very much a renaissance inspired gown, though it’s not historically accurate in anyway.

And I love, love, love the colors.

The colors were inspired by a sunset, but I really wanted to embrace the idea of rich yellows, oranges and greens. The cream blouse and socks are meant to counter the rich color scheme of the rest of the dress. The garters are orange, of course, to march the flowers. I trimmed everything in black to counter balance the bright yellow and orange.

Playing with color is such a fun part of creating paper doll fashions.

Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out here.

Regency Paper Doll Clothing For the Sprites Printable Paper Dolls

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: I looked at a lot of stuff to design these, but here are a few this fashion plate, this jacket, this dress and these shoes
A set of regency paper doll clothing to print from paperthinpersonas.com with a man's suit and a woman's day dress and shoes. The pieces are designed to fit the Sprite paper doll series.

A set of regency paper doll clothing to print from paperthinpersonas.com with a man's suit and a woman's day dress and shoes. The pieces are designed to fit the Sprite paper doll series..

I wanted to dabble in regnecy men’s fashion today. In part, because I have been reading a lot of regency romance novels lately. The Regency is also an era where I really love the men’s clothing. I think the women’s clothing is pretty nice, but the men’s clothing really enchants me.

As many of you know, I’m not quite as comfortable with men’s fashions as I am with women’s fashions in history. I can pretty well eyeball women’s clothing from the last 300 years and make a good guess at the era, but men’s clothing remains harder.

It’s partly that I find the changes more subtle and partly that I’ve never had a much of a passion for it.

But since I do love drawing for the Sprites, so I have been slowly trying to face my fears of men’s historical clothing. Which brings me to back to today’s set of regency paper doll clothing, that I created using a variety of reference images.

The man’s suit was based on this suit, this jacket, this suit and this suit. The dress is based on this dress, this dress, this dress and this dress. Her shoes are based on this pair, this pair and this pair. Because the dates on the source pieces range from the early 1800s until about 1820, I chose circa 1810 as the best middle ground date to describe these pieces of regency paper doll clothing.

Every time I post something “new” to me, I feel a little nervous, especially because I know that this is a era of fashion history that many people are very passionate about. Still, I hope to do what I do which is learn more and keep improving my understanding of the fashions of the era.

After all, every paper doll I create is a work in progress.

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

The Poppet’s Printable Paper Dolls New Dress from 1923

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Children’s Fashions 1900-1950 As Pictured in Sears Catalogs
A 1920s doll dress from Sears catalog designed to fit the Poppet's printable paper doll series. The drop waisted blue dress with white medalions around the skirt that feature flowers in the center. The dress has a dark blue sash and white collars and cuffs. White shoes with knee high socks complete the outfit.

A 1960s inspired vintage paper doll outfit with a jumper over tights. The jumper is over a puffed sleeved blouse. The jumper is trimmed in piping and the shoes have cross cross straps. Sized to fit the Poppet paper doll series.

First up, I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words on Monday. I meant a lot to me to hear from you.

So, I promised myself that the next batch of 1920s clothing for the Poppets paper dolls, I would make sure to note where each dress came from. Today’s 1920s doll dress is from a 1923 Sears catalog. Children’s Fashions 1900-1950 As Pictured in Sears Catalogs provided the reference image for today’s 1923 paper doll dress.

Sadly, the Children’s Fashions book is out of print. I wish there were more good reference works on children’s historical clothing, but that’s a different problem.

The original 1920s dress illustration was in black and white, as most of the illustrations in catalogs were in those days. The description just says a crepe dress which really doesn’t mean much.

I decided on a monochromatic blue color scheme, because I wanted to do something a little unexpected. I tend towards traditional when I think of flowers, but I love how this came out.

Meanwhile, you can see all the other 1920s Children’s Wardrobe Collection dresses and see what else your 1920s Poppet needs. I just bought a new book on the 1920s, Montgomery Ward Fashions of the Twenties, so there will no doubt be more of this series as I look through that one for inspiration.

If you have a moment, think about becoming a Patron or liking it on facebook. It really does help.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

A Fantasy Gown for the Ms. Mannequin Printable Paper Doll Series

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Baroque Maiden

An elegant medieval inspired fantasy gown with stockings and shoes for the Ms. Mannequin printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com. The gown has double puffed sleeves, a long skirt and a corset over top of it which is accented in piping. The shoes are multi-strapped high heels with stockings and garters.

An elegant medieval inspired fantasy gown with stockings and shoes for the Ms. Mannequin printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com. The gown has double puffed sleeves, a long skirt and a corset over top of it which is accented in piping. The shoes are multi-strapped high heels with stockings and garters.

Today’s printable paper doll gown for the Ms. Mannequin paper dolls was based on a Marisole Monday & Friends set called, “Baroque Maiden.”

Even years after I did them, there are a few specific paper doll sets that I don’t like that much. Usually not because of my drawing skill, I can let those problems go. I mean, I always do the best I can at that moment which isn’t the best I could do today, but skills improve with time. No, it’s usually color choices that I regret after the fact.

One of the nice things about the project I’ve taken on to drew new paper doll content inspired by old paper doll content is that I can rectify some of those sets that I have mixed feelings about.

One such set is Baroque Maiden. I did the color scheme that way I did it, because I wanted to experiment with darker color schemes. However, I really hate the color scheme now that I’ve had to live with it for 5 years.

And the darkness of the colors means that there is no way to extract the line-work easily to make a black and white version.

Plus it is one of the few pale skinned Marisole versions and those always look off to me. I much prefer Marisole with her original skin-tone.

Anyway, I hope you like today’s re-imagining of Baroque Maiden.

If you hop over to the Patreon page, I posted my sketchbook photo of this dress a few days ago. The post is open to the public, so check it out if you’re interested.

And, as always, consider donating if you’d like to support the blog!

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick out a Ms. Mannequin Paper Doll Here

Some Post-Apocalyptic Paper Doll Fashions for the Sprites

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Mad Max: Fury Road and Post-Apocalyptic Fashions from my Pinterest Board

A set of post-apocalyptic fashions for paper doll inspired by all things end of the world. Designed to fit the Sprites paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

A set of summer paper doll clothing for boy and girl paper dolls in color or black and white from paperthinpersonas.com. Jeans, t-shirt, shorts and a tank top are all included.

Some of you may recall that I posted a pair of post apocalyptic Sprites a few weeks ago- Willow and Shirou. Around the same time I drew them, which was around the same time I rewatched Mad Max: Fury Road, I ended up drawing this set of clothing as well. I decided to wait a little while to post it, because really, how much post-apocalyptic fashion is too much?

There may not be a good answer to that question, I confess.

While I do enjoy the post apocalyptic stuff, I find the color schemes are often intensely limited. Things tend to be army green, camo colors and khaki. For this set, I really wanted to embrace the colors of the desert, so I chose a light teal, purple-brown and a oxblood red. The teal reminded me of succulents and the purple-brown of rocks.

Along wit Mad Max: Fury Road, which inspired a round of sketching for post-apocalyptic paper doll attire, I also used my own Post-Apocalyptic pinterest board for inspiration.

While I have doubts about the practicality of most of this clothing, I think we all can agree that practicality is never the hallmark of  my paper doll creations.

As always, let me know what  you think in a comment and have a great day!

Looking for some Sprite paper dolls to wear these outfits? Pick out Sprite paper dolls here.

Poppet Printable Paper Doll’s Little Miss Muffet Costume

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations:Little Miss Muffet and Kate Greenaway

An late 18th century inspired Little Miss Muffet costume in pink and cream with grey shoes for the Poppet's printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

An late 18th century inspired Little Miss Muffet costume to color and play with for the Poppet's printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

Today’s Poppet paper doll dress is a Little Miss Muffet costume. In case anyone doesn’t remember the nursery rhyme, it goes like this:

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

So, I did a little research on the rhyme. It turns out that its origins are unclear (not uncommon in nursery rhymes) and it was first published in 1805. The truth is that you will sing ANYTHING to a baby to get it to stop crying (trust me, I know) which means many nursery songs have their origins in popular or political ballads.

When designing today’s Little Miss Muffet costume, I wanted something that was colored with cream accents, rather than cream with colored accents. I was inspired by Kate Greenaway‘s illustrations, but only in the sense that I like her work and always tend to think of it when I start drawing late 18th century inspired children’s clothing.

Okay, I know the rhyme involves a spider, but I am not a big fan of spiders and I was not about to draw one. Deal with it. Instead I made a bowl of curds and whey, which is a dish I’ve never eaten or really know anyone who has eaten.

Have any of you, fair readers, actually eaten it? I know it’s a dairy dish, since curds and whey are both part of the cheese making process.

Her shoes are pretty classic 18th century style (you can see a bunch more like them on my 18th Century Clothing Pinterest Board). She also has a mob-cap which may or may not fit depending on which Poppet doll you put it on.

You can check out my Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes board on Pinterest to see some more of my inspirational images and, of course, you can check out the rest of the Fairy Tale and Nursery Rhyme series for more fairy tale and nursery rhyme inspired paper dolls and outfits.

Need a paper doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick a Poppet Paper Doll Here.

Marisole Monday Rocking Some World Ending Fashion

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: My Post-Apocalyptic Fashion Pinterest Board
Paper doll post-apocalyptic fashion with boots, stockings and a sweater for the Marisole Monday and Friends printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

Paper doll post-apocalyptic fashion with boots, stockings and a sweater for the Marisole Monday and Friends printable paper doll series from paperthinpersonas.com.

So, I tend to think of paper doll clothing I create as falling into several large genre categories- historical, contemporary, traditional fantasy, Asian inspired fantasy, steampunk/neo Victorian, sci-fi/futuristic/cyberpunk, or post-apocalyptic. When I am drawing for a specific series, I try to dip into several of these categories usually based what I have or haven’t drawn recently for that series.

Clear as mud? Excellent.

So, I was working on Marisole Monday and Friend’s clothes and I realized that I hadn’t drawn Post-Apocalyptic fashions for them for a while. I did a Mikhail pair last year in color and in black and white, but it has been a while since then.

So, here is a Marisole Monday & Friend’s lady paper doll outfit. Of course, it’s about as practical as yesterday’s Space Pirates, but we all know that practicality is never a criteria when I draw paper doll clothing.

I would never draw anything if practicality was a criteria.

She has a sweater at least, so maybe we can ignore her tragic lack of pants? Or maybe not. Hard to say, really.

I keep a Pinterest boards for most of my various paper doll obsessions- fantasy clothing, fantasy armor, cyberpunk/futuristic stuff, steampunk, and, of course, post-apocalyptic. So, if you want to see what is interesting me at any given moment, then feel free to check those out.

What do you think of today’s paper doll post-apocalyptic fashion? Let me know in a comment. I always love to hear from you all.

Need a Marisole Monday & Friends Lady Paper Doll to wear today’s outfit? Pick One Out Here. 

A Princess or Hime Lolita Dress for the B&B Printable Paper Dolls

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Today’s Printable Paper Doll Inspirations: Princess Lolita Or Hime Lolita Dresses

A printable paper doll Princess Lolita or Hime Lolita dress with thigh high socks from paperthinpersonas.com. Available in color or black and white for coloring.

A paper doll Princess Lolita outfit with thigh high socks from paperthinpersonas.com. Available in color or black and white for coloring.

Today’s paper doll dress is my first attempt at Hime Lolita or Princess Lolita, because a Patron asked for it and I believe in doing what my Patrons ask for. Princess or Hime Lolita dress is even more over the top than regular Lolita and is often accessorized with crowns, gloves, and that sort of thing.

I decided for my foray into Hime Lolita to keep it a bit sedate. A lot of the dresses designed for this style feel a bit 18th century to me, so I designed this dress to have the look with flounced sleeves and a false stomacher. I chose yellow for the roses, because I liked how it looked with the teal dress. I’ve always had an affection for yellow roses. I based today’s dress on this dress and this dress.

Like most street styles, Lolita is rife with nuance and narrow variation.

Nearly everything in the world is more complex than it seems on the surface. Years ago, I was good friends with a guy who worked in a record store, back when such things still existed.

He was a huge fan of metal music, so one day I confess that I knew very little about metal music and asked him to explain the genre to me. I discovered, to my surprise, dozens of sub-genres that I had never known existed. It was actually totally fascinating.

I feel the same way about Lolita fashion. I’ll probably never “get it” as much as an insider would, but I’m always up to the challenge of learning something new.

My question for all of you is, what do you love that has nuances in it that might surprise people?

For me, I can wax for hours about historical books. I love the tiny details. I realize most people don’t get super excited by goffered edges or booksellers stamps, but it makes me happy.

Need to get a Bodacious & Buxom paper doll to wear these fabulous clothes? Pick one out here.