This summer I had a dream come true – I got to work on a project that brought my paper dolls to life, thanks to a dream client, Bloomingdale’s!

Pippa is a line of chic, career-girl-friendly separates, and the paper doll is a fun way to show how easy it is to mix and match.  Visit the site and click on Mix & Match to play.

Thanks so much to the team at Bloomingdale’s, I think the site looks amazing and I am so proud to be a part of it.

For my final paper doll of the Fall 2010 season, I selected Chanel Haute Couture.  The shapes recall the over-padded, grown-up, rich-people clothes of the 1980s, but the styling was modern rock-chic at its very best.  Karl Lagerfeld’s genius is quite apparent when going through the collection, and the clothes sketched so easily, perhaps because they were cut and sewn based on sketches in the first place.  The doll is based on model Anna Selevezna.

You can buy this paper doll as a high-resolution, printable PDF to cut out and play with! Only $5 CDN. Just click the button below.

For those who want to play with paper dolls, I have created a little paper doll PDF shop.  Check them out by clicking the thumbnails below.

A PDF is a high-resolution, printable file.  Unlike the JPGs you see online, these will print clearly with no pixellation.  These PDFs are in standard letter format and can be printed on any printer, on any type of paper you desire.  For just 3$ to 5$ per doll, download and print as many times as you like, cut out and play and display to your heart’s content.

A little bit about the thinking behind paper dolls in PDF format…

Over the last year, I’ve experimented with various ways of selling paper dolls, and despite a huge amount of enthusiasm and publicity for the book format, it simply was not as successful as the PDF format.  I think the non-precious nature of an image file makes it easier for people to do what they want to do with paper dolls – print them off multiple times, cut them out with scissors, modify them, wreck them without guilt, whatever.

Though print-on-demand books are easy, POD is also still a relatively new technology, expensive and sometimes unreliable. I’m often encouraged by friends to pursue printed products – like gift cards, fancy prints to hang on the wall, or whatever – the truth is that I’m not interested enough in being a wholesaler or retailer to deal with that side of the business, not that I’ve ever received enough demand to make it worth pursuing.  Inventory and trips to the post office… lets just say I can live without these things.  I like being a fashion illustrator/blogger, and I’d rather leave the physical-product-making and selling part of the business to those with the enthusiasm for it.  So, want to hook me up with your book-publishing, letter-press-printing, t-shirt-wholesaling, tchotchke-manufacturing friends? I’m into it – let’s do business.

I’ve decided to take a hint from iTunes, so you can pick and choose your favourite dolls.  Could someone rip me off?  It is conceivable that they could, and I’ve decided that’s a moral hazard worth the risk. Just having a PDF for personal use means you can make your own on-demand books, print the stuff on whatever you want, even modify the drawings on your own computer, but it does not give you any copyright over the image, so if you try and use it to make money without paying me, that’s illegal. I believe you are law abiding people with at least $5 and the ability to spend it.  Prove me right!

Paper dolls are something that I love to do, so I will, over time, be posting more dolls.  I am thinking about making multiple PDFs for sale at a discount if there is a demand for that. Feel free to make requests, send suggestions and ideas, I can’t guarantee that I’ll do them but I definitely appreciate and consider all your comments and contributions.  Thank you!

It has been a while since I’ve done a paper doll, and the gorgeous shapes and colours in the Christian Dior Fall 2010 Couture show were too beautiful to resist.  I changed the pose of the doll a bit to feature the shoes in case I feel like doing more of these.  The doll is based on the model Liu Wen.

You can buy this paper doll as a high-resolution, printable PDF to cut out and play with! Only $3 CDN. Just click the button below.

What a thrill to get to work with Juan Carlos of Magnolia to create an exclusive paper doll, and an even bigger thrill to blow up the doll 800% to create a window display!  We had an intimate little party last night, made a little smaller by torrential rain, and so I freely enhanced the picture above to give you a sense of how the window really looks… below is the non-enhanced version.

Its fun, you can get a peek under her Carrie dress as you walk towards the shop.

I spent the evening cutting out paper dolls and chatting with some of my favourite people – above this is Carrie Hayes, who designed the dress the doll wears in the window.  If you visit Magnolia, you will find books, giclee prints, and laser prints of the dolls for sale, so you too can cut out and play with designer paper dolls.  The exclusive Magnolia doll herself is a gift-with-purchase – and since her wardrobe is inspired by the spring merchandise, you can choose a matching item for yourself if you like.

Thank you to all our brave friends who didn’t let the rain stop them from coming to share the night with us.

Here I am, visiting Magnolia the doll in her window while my party is in full swing.  The window will be up for the month of June, if you are in Toronto you should go visit the shop and take a closer look!  These photos (except for the top two) are all by Raymund Galsim.  Thanks Raymund!

Big thank yous and hugs to Juan Carlos and Magnolia for such an amazing project!

Here it is, by request. For those who want a hardcover book of this season’s paper dolls, I’ve uploaded it to Blurb.

You can also buy five of these paper dolls as individual prints. And as my gift to you, you can download the Preloved Paper doll as a PDF to print yourself. Have fun!

For those who want to play or display paper dolls, I have created a little paper doll PDF shop.  Check them out by clicking the thumbnails below.

A PDF is a high-resolution, printable file.  These PDFs are in standard letter format and can be printed on any printer, on any type of paper you desire.  For just 3$ to 5$ per doll, download and print as many times as you like, cut out and play.

New to the shop – special edition  Vionnet Paper Dolls

To everyone who has supported my paper doll passion project – thank you so much!

Many of you have requested a Lucian Matis paper doll, so for my final doll of this season’s series, I am happy to oblige.  Matis’  Fall 2010 collection was a romantic gesture towards his heritage, executed with a sense of lavishness unique on the runways of Toronto.

You can buy this paper doll as a high-resolution, printable PDF to cut out and play with! Only $5 CDN. Just click the button below.

I have to rush, because its fashion week and I’m going to be late, but I really wanted to post this doll I made of Preloved‘s Fall 2010 collection that I saw on Monday.  The collection was so much of what Preloved does so well – cozy cut and sew knits, deconstructed men’s clothing, etcetera – and I was particularly inspired with the simple styling of the models, without fussy hair and makeup they just looked so cute.  I love a paper doll in glasses.

As my gift to you, you can download the Preloved Paper doll as a PDF to print yourself. Have fun!

The fall 2010 Greta Constantine show, hosted at the Audi flagship in Toronto, was a full-on fierceness festival on and off the runway.  The signature drapery was glamorous as always, and the leather leggings gave the models the sleek look, like the interior of a luxury car, as they sped down the long runway at top speed.  The totality of the designers’ vision is a privilege to see in person.  The show starred all of my favorite Elmer Olsen models, including Serbian stunner Bojana Reljic, who I based this paper doll on.

You can buy this paper doll as a high-resolution, printable PDF to cut out and play with! Only $3 CDN. Just click the button below.