white paper dolls

An 1830s Paper Doll Printable with her Historical Underwear for Ensemble Eclectica

An 1830s printable paper doll coloring page wearing a set of 1830s underwear consisting of a corset, pantalettes, and chemise. Her hair is up in curls and her shoes are tied with ribbon laces. Commentary on the image describes each of these parts.
An 1830s printable paper doll with a set of 1830s underwear consisting of a red corset, drawers, and chemise. Her brunette hair is up in curls and her shoes are tied with ribbon laces.

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The Backstory of All This

I originally planned to spend all of December on a big project. It was going to be a series of paper dolls from 1830 to 1859. Julie Matthews’ December themes (like this one from 2015) inspired this idea, back when I started thinking about it. However, that didn’t quite go as planned — life happens. And that’s okay. My new plan is slightly smaller in scope. I’ll be posting paper dolls with historical clothing from the 1830s (and maybe 1840s and 1850s) on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the rest of December and possibly into January. Who can say? Not me.

I tend to hesitate about sharing things before they’re complete, because I dislike leaving projects undone. But lately, I’ve realized that’s a bit silly. Drawing paper dolls isn’t life or death, and it’s okay if things don’t go exactly as planned. I’d rather share what I’ve done and keep moving forward than leave the work sitting unfinished on my laptop. Plus, I think you’ll enjoy seeing the project even if it doesn’t work out like I had originally imagined it would.

In fact, no one would know I’d planned to do the 1840s and 1850s, if I hadn’t said anything. But here I am, being very honest. (I haven’t even started collecting reference images for the 1850s, so I am quite behind on that one. Probably won’t happen, which makes me sort of sad, honestly.)

Women’s Underwear In the Early 1830s

So, let’s talk a little about 1830’s women’s underwear, since today’s 1830s paper doll printable is a lady with some undies on. I based her underwear off this set from the V&A museum, though I made the stays/corset colorful based on this one.

In the 1830s, women’s underwear primarily consisted of a chemise, pantalettes, petticoats and a corset/stays. (Fun fact: The words “corset” and “stays” are both used in the 1830s, but the term “stays” largely falls out of use by the end of the decade.) Generally, these corsets used seams and cording providing support, rather then boning. (Also, boneing doesn’t mean bones- it means whale baleen.)

The chemise was a loose, knee-length garment made from lightweight cotton or linen, worn directly against the skin to safeguard outer garments from perspiration. Chemise’s had wide necklines. Pantalettes (also spelled pantaletes) or drawers covered the legs and provided some more modesty. I can’t seem to definitively determine which is the more precise term. Both terms seem to have been employed to describe similar garments and I’m not an expert on 1830s clothing.

Though not appearing in this 1830s paper doll printable, petticoats supported the wide skirts of the era. Here’s a lovely example from the Met. This is before anyone invented hoopskirts, so women wore lots of petticoats. Additionally, women often wore sleeve supports (like this or these) to get the right shape for the huge puffed sleeves of the era called, “sleeve puffs” which is the most wonderful name. I didn’t add sleeve puffs to the paper doll, because I wanted flexibility with sleeve shape, as it changes throughout the decade, and the puffs would have made that more difficult. Sometimes with paper dolls, functionality has to trump historical accuracy. (But man… I really do want to draw sleeve puffs someday.)

Celestial Night Blooming: A Fantasy Paper Doll

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I have no clue where to start when talking about today’s paper doll. I rarely give up on paper dolls (semi-finished projects not withstanding, that’s using a loss of interest, not frustration), but this fantasy princess night blooming paper doll came close. Twice.

To start with, there were serious layout issues. Confession: I don’t plan my layouts while I’m drawing my paper dolls.

(I had a lovely chat with at a pervious paper doll event and got advice that planning layouts while penciling is a much easier way to get around layout issues. This was such brilliant advice! And then I absolutely failed in all ways imaginable to actually follow through on the advice in anyway what-so-ever. Anyway, I should do it that way and I totally don’t. This is entirely a “me” problem.)

So, anyhow, when it came time to do the layout, I realized that none of these paper doll pieces were going to fit on the page! The dresses were too big. The wig/crown was weirdly sized. The extra bodice… anyway, I wracked my brain to sort out how to make this all happen. It was miserable. It took seven tries.

In the end, my solution was to go right up to the edge of my layout, because I work on an 8 by 10.5 inch canvas and surely no one needs more than a 1/4 inch margin on the page, right? Right… I got it done.

So, yay! Time to color. That would be easy, right? Wrong.

It started well. I found this beautiful color scheme from Sarah Renae Clark. When I saw it, I thought “What a perfect color scheme. It’s dark, but also kind of fun and unlike the colors I usually use.” But halfway through coloring, I thought it looked so awful I nearly threw up my hands and abandoned the entire thing. I came so close to just saying- Welp, this one was a dud.

Anyway, yesterday, I knew I didn’t have anything to post to the blog for this week and I said, “Just color it. Even if you hate it at the end, at least it will be done and you can never look at it again.”

I set a timer (I work well under the pressure of a timer) and I pushed through.

And you know what?

I absolutely love it. The gold and yellow I think goes beautiful with the black and pink. I really think it feels “night” but doesn’t feel gothic at all. I wanted night, but whimsy. Night, but also floral.

So, yes, this paper doll gave me fits. And yes, I nearly gave up, but here I am and I am so happy with how it came out.

Ensemble Eclectica: Vacationing in 1936

A 1930s fashion paper doll with clothing from a 1936 issue of McCall's style news including a six piece mix and match wardrobe to color.
A 1930s fashion paper doll with clothing from a 1936 issue of McCall's style news including a six piece mix and match wardrobe to cut out and play with. She has blond hair and a summer inspired color palette.

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Happy Labor day! I can’t quite believe August is over. Wow. That was an unexpected month off! But life has quieted down a tiny bit (okay, not very much). The least I think I can do is share the last of my 1930s sets, before I potentially disappear again.

(Nothing bad, but I’m teaching this semester for the first time and it’s a lot!)

Out of every 1930s fashion paper doll I’ve created, this one stands out with the most cohesive theme. This paper doll design hopefully captures the essence of a vacation wardrobe in around 1936. She showcases clothing for sports and summer activities. I keep thinking beach vacation, probably because of the swimsuit. (I could have labeled things here, but I’ve delayed in so long in sharing this that I decided to share and move on.)

For my 1930s fashion paper doll, I picked out pieces from the McCall’s Style News magazines of 1936. I really wanted to try to make a cohesive set. So, the mini-wardrobe has a stylish sports dress, ideal for casual daytime activities, with matching jacket. There is also a playful split skirt romper, which I assume you wear while playing tennis or other athletic activities. The trousers with top are there for golf or whatever a girl might do in trousers at the time. I’d say horseback riding, but an actual riding habit would be more for that.

To complement these outfits, I added a straw hat. It can be mix and matched with any of the clothing pieces. I decided on just one hat, though of course, hats were crucial for the era of the 1930s. Feel free to draw more or steal them from other paper doll sets.

This 1936 photo of Carol Lombard inspired this paper doll’s hair. Just in case you were curious about where that came from.

I have an amazing time at the 2024 Paper Doll Convention in Indianapolis. I didn’t take nearly as many photos as I should have, but I will try to put together the small number I have into something. Overwhelmed for a million non-paper doll reasons at the event by other “real life” things that were happening at the same time, I just haven’t managed to quite get my feet back under me.

(Real life should not intrude on paper dolls, darn it! Though I am trying hard to be kind to myself about it, because as one very nice and friendly blog reader reassured me at the convention with something like, “I’ve been following along since the beginning and I know your life has gotten more complicated. Please don’t feel bad about missing posts.” )

As with all my 1930s paper dolls so far, I have a second page I’ll be sharing for my patrons at some point this month.

Enchanted Elegance: A Fantasy Paper Doll

A printable medieval princess paper doll coloring page with two fantasy gowns and accessories. She has braided hair and two fantasy gowns, along with other accessories.
A printable medieval princess paper doll with two fantasy gowns and accessories. She has long blond hair and two fantasy gowns.

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I don’t know why this paper doll looks Russian to me. I have no explanation for that one, but something about the hair just screamed “slavic fairytale” to me. Once I decided that, than she needed to be blond, because if I was going to go slavic fairy tale, I might as well lean into all the stereotypes.

For some reason, and I don’t know why, I’ve found that working digitally means I am less drawn to doing fantasy as I was in pencil. Again, I’m not sure why. I suppose I’ll figure it out.

Actually, I’ve been frightfully unproductive over the last few weeks/months. I mean, I’ve been very productive, but not paper doll related. I’ve been working on a million other things. I have some work to get done for the convention and so that’ll get me motivated I hope.

Meanwhile I do have lots of thing “in-progress”, but I am struggling quite a lot to get those things over the finish line. We’ll see where it all ends up, I suppose.

Retro Refinement: A Vintage Fashion Inspired Paper Doll for my Patrons

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Fall Fashionista:A Printable Brunette Paper Doll

A printable paper doll coloring page with a mix and match wardrobe.
A Printable Brunette Paper Doll with a mix and match wardrobe.

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I worked on this printable paper doll while I was visiting my family for a week. My niece helped me pick out the colors for her and I was happy to create a printable brunette paper doll for her.

My niece’s choice of this color scheme from my Pinterest board injected a splash of vibrancy into the project, particularly with her love for the color purple. I found that I needed more than the four colors of the scheme, so added the pink in for coordination. Like many kids, she loves bright colors with strong contrast. She also asked for brown hair and blue eyes.

Any time spent with my niece and nephew are highlights of my trips. We played paper dolls, went swimming, and went to the theater.

While I thought of this paper doll as being autumnal when I drew her, I suppose she could also be a spring paper doll- transitional clothing for the warming weather. I did give her a rather autumn themed title. Anyway, she’s here and she can share clothing with all the other Ensemble Eclectica paper dolls.

The weather is warming where I live, but it’s still very cold. However, it’s above zero and that’s something to celebrate.

Haunting Couture: A Foray into Gothic Fashion

A gothic wardrobe paper doll template printable for coloring. She has a 13 piece mix and match wardrobe. A little Halloween fun.
Gothic wardrobe paper doll template printable. She has blond hair, blue eyes, and a mix and match wardrobe. Some fun halloween things for you to enjoy.

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Today’s paper doll with her gothic wardrobe was inspired by a lot of different things from my my gothic fashion pinterest board, including this corset, this top and this dress. I really wanted to do a take on Morticia Addam’s famous dress, but I added a bit of a puff sleeve, as those are very popular right now. Of course, Morticia Addams is timeless, but I didn’t want to copy the gown in all the details, in part, because I don’t love the bottom of the skirt. It reminds me a little too much of tentacles (true to the comic, but still.)

(Speaking of Morticia Addams, Julie Matthew’s did a nice write up about her paper doll of Morticia Addams.)

Lastly, I wanted to make a gothic baby doll dress which was 65% just a chance to play around with lace and a new procreate brush set. My first plan was to do see through lace sleeves, but then I couldn’t seem to get a version of that which I liked, so I ended up abandoning that idea. I did keep the lace around the neckline with the openings for some detail.

I can’t claim that I meticulously assembled my gothic wardrobe paper doll, because really this was not that organized (am I ever that organized?). I do think of all the pieces of the Ensemble Eclectica: Gothic Glamor Collection as sort of. mixing and matching together. I think the ruffled skirt from Dark Demigoddess, for example, would go well with any of the tops in this collection.

Anyway, stay tuned for more gothic paper doll fun Friday and Tuesday of next week.

A Little 1970s Retro Inspired Floral Spring

Free coloring page featuring a lovely paper doll and her retro paper doll clothes with jeans, funky florals, and matching purse. A free printable coloring sheet for you to enjoy.
A beautiful redheaded paper doll and her retro paper doll clothes with jeans, funky florals, and matching purse. A free printable paper doll for you to enjoy!

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Today’s member of the Ensemble Eclectica is a cute little redhead with a retro paper doll clothes vibe. She’s not from any specific decade, but there’s something that feels 1970s about the color scheme to me.

I’m having a bit of artists block over the last few weeks. I wanted to draw, but I had no idea what to draw and the idea of trying to think of something to draw just made me sort freeze. So, instead of torturing myself with indecision, I decided to go back to my own archives and draw some things inspired by pervious sets I’ve created.

This set was inspired by Hearts Denims and Bows, a set I first drew a decade ago. One thing I did miss while I was drawing this set was having a paper doll with a side facing foot, so I could really have more fun with shoes. I like drawing shoes. Anyway, given that I have over a thousand paper dolls on this site, I might as well use my own work to feed new work.

Part of the purpose of Ensemble Eclectica is to try out color schemes. So, I turned a little retro for these paper doll clothes.

One of the things I’ve been trying to mimic is the printing styles of vintage materials and since I’ve been trying to play with that and what better way to do that than with some vintage color inspiration. I was heavily influenced when coloring this set by the shades of the 1970s- mustard and coral and a little avocado (though not too much, I leaned into teal instead, which is also a color I associate with that decade.)

Anyway, a fun part of the continuing Ensemble Eclectica series has been color. I love picking out color schemes for my paper doll and trying them out. I’m always fascinated at how color really changes the feel of a paper doll set.

Dark Victoriana Printable Paper Doll

A victorian fashion inspired printable paper doll coloring page with an 8 piece mix and match wardrobe.
A victorian fashion inspired printable paper doll with dark hair, fair skin and an 8 piece mix and match wardrobe.

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This weekend was Rosh Hashanah, so I spent some time in synagogue, made challah, heard the shofar, and ate apples and honey. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, so it is now the year 5784. I often get introspective this time of year, but I don’t know that I’m ready to share any of those thoughts.

I wanted to do something a little romantic and with a darker color scheme, but fairer skin, so I could see how the contrast worked with the dark linework and the added texture. I think it works well.

All this paper dolls clothing sort of reminds me of the clothing of Regina/Evil Queen in Once Upon a Time when not in the fairytale world. I never got through season 3 last time I watched this, so hopefully I’ll be more engaged this time. I honestly think the show works better when you can binge it and don’t so easily loose track of all the threads (there’s a lot of them.) I do really enjoy most of the costuming. Everytime I argue at the TV that there’s more ethical nuance than the show allows, my husband is like, “It’s fairy tales.”

And I am like, “Okay, fair.”

So, if you look closely at this set, you might notice one of the neat things about working digitally. Two of the blouses (the red sleeveless one and the purple button up) became the templates from which I drew the two other blouses- the cream and black one and the teal cropped one. This adaptation is much more possible, because of the digital nature of the art. It’s not something I’ll probably do all the time- because I honestly like drawing- but the possibility excites me.

Also, like how many ways are there to draw a pair of skinny jeans before it gets absurd? Really?

Oh, and I messed around a little with the layout to facilitate printing and getting more clothing onto the page. Not sure I love the thicker gray line, so that might change.

Let me know what you think in a comment! I love hearing from folks.

A Regency Lady and Her Wardrobe

A two page printable regency paper doll with 5 dresses.

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I’m going to keep this brief, since I wrote a lot of this up in the newsletter already (subscribe here) and I just don’t know if I want to repeat myself (or if anyone wants to read me repeating myself).

One of the weird/interesting things about creating the newsletter has been grappling with the transient/permanent nature of it. I’ve always thought of this blog as both an archive of my work and as a place where if I make a typo and notice three months later (which has 100% happened), I can fix it. However, the newsletters don’t work that way. Once they are sent, they are done.

And while there is an archive, they don’t feel as permanent as a series of blog posts.

Since the whole newsletter thing is an experiment to begin with, I am still trying to grapple with how I feel about all that.

Anyway, let’s talk paper dolls. So, her underwear is a generic set of short stays over a shift with stockings a shoes. My goal here wasn’t to reproduce anything specific, but to get to the basic idea of “generic underwear of this era” rather than getting into specifics. Her hair is a combination of portraits like this one and this one. I wanted a hairstyle that could easily be covered in bonnets or hats, which I knew I was going to be drawing with nearly every dress.

To start with the morning dress is from this November 1813 plate from La Belle Assemblee which, despite a very French sounding name, was published in London and aimed at the fashionable set. People thought all things French were more sophisitcated than all things English. Interestingly, a lot of places will credit La Belle Assemblee fashioj plates to France on the name alone. While many of the plates in the magazine are copies of French fashion plates, the publication was definitely English.

Her cap with the morning dress has a little bit of this one and a little bit of this one, with dash of this one. So, it’s sort of a combination of caps.

The morning walking dress is really just a gown with a pelisse over it. The pelisse and bonnet were inspired by this September 1813 plate from La Belle Assemblee, again. A pelisse was a coat that was cut the same style as the dress. They came in all different styles like this one or this one. Some were made from very lightweight fabrics, but others were warm and designed as coats. Sometimes it’s hard to tell from an illustration if you’re looking at a pelisse or a gown or something in between.

The first gown on the second page (working left to right, top to bottom) is a ballgown. Ballgowns were the most formal gowns women wore with the exception of court dress and court dress has never been a big interest of mine. Court dress was governed by all sort of rules and regulations- a realm I have never wanted to dive into. The ball gown is based on this one from the Museum at FIT. The turban is from this 1815 fashion plate. Turbans were super popular in the 1810s.

The dress with the spencer is basically a walking costume. The Spencer was a jacket version of the pelisse. Both were cut to follow the lines of the dress. Spencers come in all different styles. A few that inspired this one include this 1815 yellow silk version and this March 1812 version from Ladies’ Magazine.

The Ladies’ Magazine was published in London starting in August of 1770. If I am remembering my fashion history correctly, it was the first magazine to publish a fashion plate, though the idea was quickly copied by French and German publications. My understanding is that Ladies’ Magazine was less expensive than some of the other fashion magazines of the era and the quality of the fashion plates shows this difference. Still, it’s a pretty amazing document. I have digressed a lot from our paper doll, so let’s finish up with the dinner dress.

The dinner dress’s hat is from this La Belle Assemblee fashion plate from 1817 showing an evening gown. This 1818 gown from the Met Museum inspired the dress. The color, a smoky purple, came from this fashion plate, though I do like the marine blue.

And that’s it! More, I am certain, than you wanted to know about Regency fashion and inspiration for this regency paper doll set. Tomorrow, I’ll share Vivian’s steampunk traveling suit for my Patrons.