Collaboration 2019: 1940s Carhop

This month’s theme was food, so I took inspiration from this 1940s carhop girl. The short skirt is definitely more 50s-style, but I’m not going to get fussy about the details here. I had originally thought of doing something cheesy like Miss Chiquita, but better sense prevailed. I really should have drawn her a tray with some burger or something on it. Anyway, hope you still enjoy!

For more food-related fashions, don’t forget to visit the participating blogs:

In grouchy news: I recently upgraded the blog because it pesters me literally every day with update this and update that. And now it’s fighting me tooth and nail. The new posting interface makes absolutely no sense and is a bear to work with. I feel like I am reminded every month why I no longer like blogging. : o p

That said, I’m still happy to be part of this collaborative!

Collaboration 2019: Awards Season!

February is Oscars month! Will your favorites win? I’m lazily rooting for Sam Elliot and Adam Driver but doubt either of them will get it. Oh well!

I chose two red carpet outfits for this plate, both inspired by formal wear worn to the Golden Globes this year. The first dress is Vera Wang gown and it was worn by Taraji P. Henson. The second is a Valentina gown worn by Gemma Chan. I loved the dark colors on both these original gowns, but one of the joys of the black and white plates is that you get to color them however you like!

For more awards season fashions, don’t forget to visit all the participating blogs:

As a side note, I know there’s some jiggy things going on with the way the site looks (recent updates wrecked the banner and I finally fixed it–so frustrating). I might end up overhauling the template entirely because this latest version is driving me crazy.

Collaboration 2019: Trends of the New Year

I can’t believe it’s been more than a year since I last updated this blog. Life gets busy, doesn’t it?

But thanks to the good folks of the paper doll community I am back to posting for the 2019 Collaborative! You can find all the other great participants at the following sites:

The theme for January was “Trends for 2019”. I wouldn’t know a trend if I sat on it. Fortunately Google is our mutual friend. So I picked something from Prada’s Resort collection, which you can see here. Yes, I cheated on the blouse. The designs aren’t that distinctive to my eye, but I loved the color, her hair, and makeup.

You can draw your own tabs, and attach her head by either gluing it so that the hair remains free, or you can attach it non-permanently in order to swap out future heads with different hairstyles.

Click here or on the thumbnail to download a pdf!

Geneviéve: Feminist Hero

This month’s theme of “hero” was surprisingly challenging for me!  Trying to come up with something that was honest to my own values and not too frivolous was harder than I expected. I almost went with a firefighter theme, but the truth is there aren’t many female firefighters. Most women don’t have the upper body strength to do the job. And that’s okay. I didn’t want my Geneviéve to look like some Barbie fake firefighter because that doesn’t work for me at all.

Given current discussions in the media, I’ve been thinking a lot about my relationship with “feminism”. Yes, I deliberately put quotes here because too often I feel like it’s been co-opted by people with whom I disagree. But in its purest spirit, I’m a feminist. And even if it still sometimes feel like there’s so much work to do, I’m very appreciative to all the women who paved the way. So this offering is a tribute to them. Women who would not be told how to dress or live their lives encumbered by societal expectations.

Bloomers had been around since the 1860s, but the bicycle craze of the end of the century normalized them. I still wear skirts most of the time to work, but hats off to you ladies that I slip into my jeans whenever I feel like it.

Find more theme outfits to match this doll at the following fabulous blogs:

[Click on this link or the picture to download a printable .pdf]

Geneviéve: Cihuateteo

I wanted to do something off the beaten path for this month’s vampire theme, so I dug deep and found vampiric creatures from the ancient Aztecs: Cihuateteo. Cihuateotl is truly a gruesome figure (as many Aztec deities are). She represents the spirit of women who die in childbirth (hence the crown of baby skulls and the one around her neck). She preys on women and children, stealing babies and causing their mothers to go mad. Basically not a pleasant creature nor one you would want to invite to tea.

I based my costume here on a bit of statuary (which I included for reference) with some embellishments and liberties. Instead of the typical Aztec stylized skulls, I made them a bit more naturalistic.

Find more theme outfits to match this doll at the following fabulous blogs:

[Click on this link or the picture to download a printable .pdf]

Geneviéve: 1989

Unfortunately for me, I graduated in 1989, which made this month’s theme a real challenge. I was not a fashionable teenager and I hated current trends. If I drew the kinds of clothes I actually wore in 1989, they would not strike anyone as indicative of that particular year. And let’s face it, the 80s were bad for everyone!

So I picked a few things that were ubiquitous then. Bolero jackets, layered flouncy cocktail dresses with ruched mermaid bodices. Giant bows, skinny belts, and somewhat balloony capri pants.

If I hadn’t done this in such a quick heat toward completion, I could have made my senior dance dress. A good friend sewed it for me. Beautiful, wine-red velvet and lace–maybe almost even in style.

Find more theme outfits to match this doll at the following fabulous blogs:

[Click on this link or the picture to download a printable .pdf]

Geneviéve: 1880s

This month’s theme is about our favorite era. Mine was always going to be the 19th century and the 1880s is my favorite decade of that century. This was an easy pick for me!

I have always loved the hourglass silhouette of this era: the long sleeves, the high collars, and the embroidery, patterned fabrics, and other detailing on clothes of this period. I am less fond of the bustles. These varied widely through the 80s from enormous to almost non-existent heading into the 90s. Also love all the accessories of this era: the buttons, jewelry, gloves, shoes (oh my God, the shoes!), and other frippery.

For Geneviéve I kept things relatively simple. I imagined the bodice here might be a solid dark velvet perhaps, but I left it blank for you to decorate as you like. The two pieces will layer for an afternoon and evening look (which was common then).

Find more theme outfits to match this doll at the following fabulous blogs:

[Click on this link or the picture to download a printable .pdf]

 

Geneviéve: Baile Folklorico

For this month’s challenge I wanted to do something off the wall like make a cello dress, but I’m just not that creative when it comes to designing things. So instead, I just went on the spur-of-the-moment and drew the first thing that suggested music to me.

I chose the traditional dress of the Baile Folklorico, which is a dance that I grew up with. The colorful fanning dresses and the beautiful braids and lacy shawls, etc., were common in my childhood and I always loved the sheer variety of colors used in these garments: the bolder the better!

My line work here is a little shaky; I’ve fallen out of practice and desperately need to get back into it. I’m glad I have these monthly themes to keep me going!

Find more theme outfits to match this doll at the following fabulous blogs:

[Click on this link or the picture to download a printable .pdf

Geneviéve: Sekhmet

I’m struggling with an update that blows chunks and backend problems the likes of which make me sigh, but I’m posting this last Geneviéve anyway.

The theme was mythological creatures, so here she is as the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. I was going to draw her sun-disk “crown”, but when I logged in, I found all these black beans in my soup and so didn’t have time to make that final piece. But at least she has a scepter!

Had a lot of interesting things to say about Sekhmet and why I chose her, but am too irritated to bother at the moment. Download and enjoy while I determine whether this blog might need to be nuked.

I hope if I give it a break for a few days I can come back to this more rationally and maybe solve the backend problem and save its sad little life. For the moment I haven’t lost any of the content, so at least that’s a positive thing, right?

Find more theme outfits to match this doll at the following fabulous blogs:

[Click on this link or the picture to download a printable .pdf plate!]

Star Wars Paper Dolls: General Hux 1 & 2

I’ve been on a roller coaster with General Hux since The Force Awakens came out in 2015. I took an immediate dislike to the character: his costume, his crazy Starkiller Base speech performance. He’s a caricature. Later I realized I had actually seen Domhnall Gleeson in a number of movies in which he was quite good (Frank, About Time). I started to have a better appreciation for him as an actor. I think JJ Abrams did him no favors in this particular film, however.

Hux seems awful to the core. As played in the film, he hasn’t a scrap of redeeming value. Same is true of the book. He’s smart, but stone-hearted. His father Brendol (a known quantity in the Star Wars universe) was a brutal man. But Hux has suffered. In the Aftermath series by Chuck Wendig, it’s revealed that worse than just being the child of a ruthless imperial, Armitage Hux is actually Brendol’s bastard, whom he loathes. At age four he’s taken from his mother and forced along with Brendol into fleeing the galaxy. Brendol psychologically and physically abuses the boy. Heart-breakingly, Hux is quick to learn that power and violence are necessary for his survival.

We don’t know yet what has happened to him over the next twenty-some-odd years of his life, but with a start like that, it’s not hard to see why he turned out the way he did.

The idea of imperiled children has emerged as a major theme of the new Star Wars: all of the principal characters are dealing with abandonment and abuse issues. I doubt there’s much hope for Hux, though. It’s clear he’s set aside as the worst-case-scenario under adverse circumstances. That, to me, is at least pitiable. I dislike him much less now.

The second plate includes Hux’s greatcoat, which he wears in the movie, but the other pieces on that plate are just for fun: an Admiral’s uniform (like the one Krennic wears in Rogue One), and Hux’s “fanon” pet cat Millicent, the subject of much meme-ing. The cat started out as a joke, but she’s so ubiquitous now she might as well be canon.

[click on each image to download a printable .pdf copy of each plate]