wigs

Fashion Doll Friday: Flora’s French Ballgown from 1812

I usually don’t go for Rose Ballgowns but I liked the grace of this costume and I really liked the sleeves. I didn’t mimic the plate exactly and I sort of invented the front of the dress since I only saw the back of the dress. I included gloves, which were needed since the sleeves of this era were so short, shoes to match and a wig styled with roses. So, it’s pretty much a whole Flora outfit.

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series} {Click Here for the Doll to Dress}

Really this outfit happened because I have wonderful friends. As I wrote before, I have supportive friends who seem to be fairly relaxed when I say things like “Yeah, I’m thinking about buying Instyle so I have some paper doll fodder.” And they nod as though this is a normal thing to say while standing in a drug store at 10 pm on a light night chips run. In fact, sometimes they go through it with me telling me what I should draw though usually their picks are more hilarious than practical.

(I don’t really fancy the idea of drawing nine million sequins. Sorry guys.)

But when one of them told me this was the dress I should draw of a set of dresses I was looking at, I decided to go for it. It was the right period and fun, if a little fancier then what I usually draw

Fashion Doll Friday: Flora’s Promenade Dress and Ballgown

So, we’re a little late today and I am sorry about that, but as I’ve said a few times around here. School comes first. Flora’s costumes are often challenging, because I like to have lots of reference images before I try to draw anything. I’m always looking for more information on the right era of costumes for the paper doll.

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series} {Click Here for the Doll to Dress}

The ballgown on the left is based on a plate from 1812. It is one of the costumes I have wanted to draw for a long time, but it was a challenge for me. I love the yellow trim. Her promenade costume is based on a different plate from 1814. The popularity of the ruffs around the necks of costumes in this era are very interesting. I don’t know if I like the look, but I feel like I have to include them as a matter of keeping things accurate.

Gallery Updates

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{Download a PDF of this paper doll}

I swear I do have some Flora things in progress, but the truth is that life hasn’t gotten less busy over the last few days. I keep meaning to sit down and ink them up, but school work and job applications and everything else has to come first. So, I’m a little behind on this, I will admit. To appease the masses, I’ve taken a page out of Liana’s book and am posting an individual paper doll. Along with my usual filler Doodle.

Download a PDF of this paper doll, if you want it.

I have a soft spot for the late 18th century, you know… right before they started cutting off people’s heads. There’s something about the Rococo period that just feels fantasy and over the top and slightly absurd. Have you seen Liana’s wallstreet dress? A fantastic example of what I mean.

I know people aren’t huge fans of filler doodles, but the truth is the other option is not posting anything at all. And I’m not willing to do that. I try very hard not to just disappear on people.

Fashion Doll Friday: Flora’s Half-Dress and Day Dress

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Series} {Click Here for the Doll to Dress}

The dress on the left is not based on anything, really, but the one on the right is based on a fashion plate from the Casey Fashion Plate Index. The Casey Fashion Plate Index demonstrates both what I love and what I hate about a lot of library digitization projects. It’s a wonderful resource, but navigating it can be a real chore. And the lack of searching flexibility annoys me. Still, you win some and you lose some in the land of digital print indexes.

I know someone asked for wigs with this paper doll, so here is one. The design is based on illustrations from Corson’s Fashions In Hair which is the seminal text on hair. An absolutely amazing text. And on my wishlist of things I want someday.

Maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for a good looking trousseau for a paper doll, but I love this 1940’s paper doll from The Paper Collector. If you’re not a regular reader of The Paper Collector, then you are missing out on daily updates of neat printed paper things from postcards to some dynamite paper dolls. It’s one of my not so guilty pleasures each day.

CyberGirl 4: Paper Doll Clothes of the Future!

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Set}

It has been one of those weekends in which nothing seems to get done. I ran errands yesterday, payed some bills and did my dishes, but I don’t feel as though I’ve accomplished anything. And I didn’t get as many dishes done as I should have.

This is the last of the “Cybergirl” series which has taken me a while to get through. Probably cause I flaked off for a while there… Never the less, it’s done and next Saturday there will be a new Shortrun paper doll. I need to dig through my sketchbooks and see what I have done or at least close to done to scan in.

As long as you’re here and reading this post, consider voting in my poll about what I should do for my new Fashion Doll Friday series. More information can be found on the last Florence post I did. The poll will be open until November 1st. I’ll have it on the posts for the rest of the week and then it’ll live in the sidebar.

 

Cybergirl 3:Black and White Paper Doll to Print

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Set}
I try not to have favorites among my paper dolls, but I do have favorites. And these are two of my favorite of Cybergirl’s costumes. They feature all the things I sort of love- straps, tweed, crazy hair, a little bit Victorian, wacky jewelry, absurdly impossible to wear…

The joys of fantasy dressing through paper dolls.

So, I got a couple good responses about Fashion Doll Friday and what I should do about my apathy towards Florence. Since I have a few dresses already penciled, scanned or ready to post for her, things won’t be changing for a while, I assure you. I spent last night drawing and inking and working away on paper doll things, so Marisole will get some cute Ancient Greek inspired duds tomorrow. I also put some time in on a new paper doll, possibly a serial one. I wish I knew where my digital camera was so I could preview her. Maybe another time.

Until then, enjoy the future of fashion in this set of paper doll dresses.

CyberGirl 2: Printable Paper Doll Coloring Page

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Set}
One of the stranger things about posting older paper dolls is that fishing them out of my files brings back memories. When I was in college, I had two wonderful roommates, one of whom was a fantastic cook (the other couldn’t boil water, bless her heart). And I remember working on this paper doll while eating homemade sausage and mushroom lasagna. Of course, I got some of the grease on my notebook and ruined the page I was working on. I ended up re-drawing two pages of paper dolls because of that mistake.

These days I eat or I paper doll. I don’t usually try to do both.

Though I do think this is sort of cyberpunk, I’m not sure how much it really is. It’s mostly an excuse to draw the clothing of the near future vs. the far future where, as we all know from early 90’s tv shows, they wear jump suits.

Lady of the Manor: Fantasy Paper Doll Part 3

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Set}

So, since someone is threatening to color this paper doll series, I figured I better finish posting it. There’s another paper doll outfit, maybe two, after this. It depends if the paper doll dress I don’t like becomes one I do like. I think I’ll keep not liking it, but I might surprise myself.

It’s Mother’s Day here in the states. I called my mom, of course, but spent the day doing homework at the library. I miss being at home with family for the holiday. Last year, I had a ball taking my mom around Juneau, picking up dirt for the garden and helping her cook dinner. It was a blast. So, being far from home, I miss family more and more.

Fantasy Printable Paper Doll: Lady of the Manor Part 2

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I don’t usually think about what sort of stories surround my paper dolls. I rarely draw a paper doll and then think… Hmm… she’s a nice girl with a love of beets who has a long lost sister whose actually a hired gun for the mafia. These just aren’t really the way I work. I know people who do think this way about their work, but I am not one of them.

Except some paper dolls seem like they should have back stories, and the lady is one of them. She is not a princess. She is the lady of the manor. What are her days full of? Is she happy? Is she sad? Is she scheming to poison her husband and run off with a knight? I kinda want a soap opera complex back-story where people have multiple personalities and long lost time traveling children.

Hmmm… I think if there was a paper doll with time traveling children and amnesia and evil twin sisters, I would read it religiously.

Of course, I read most paper doll blogs religiously even if I am bad about commenting, so I guess I’m easy to please.

The Lady of the Manor: Part One

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{Click Here for a PDF to Print} {Click Here for a 150 dpi PNG to Print} {Click Here for The Rest of this Set}

So, usually I carefully plan out my short run paper dolls. I know how many posts they are going to be. I calculate how much work I’m going to have to do. I do all of these things.

But I scanned this doll at nearly 10pm and it was a rush to get her up tonight, so really I have no idea how many posts she’s going to take up, but I like her and hope you’ll like her too.

Now, it is past my bedtime and tomorrow the library calls with the siren song of homework to do and readings to finish. Man… Graduate school is hard work sometimes.