Carousel Outfit by Bitter Lilly and Fan-Made Dresses from Liana’s Paper Doll Boutique

Click for larger version (PNG); click for PDF version. Click here for the list of dolls.
The drawing on the far left was done by Bitter Lilly for Valentine’s Day. (I’m sorry it took me so long to put it up!) I don’t know the image that inspired her that she refers to on her original post, but I love how soft and ethereal it looks, especially the turtleneck — you can almost feel it, and if I had a turtleneck like that I would always keep petting my own arms and people would look at me strangely.

Bitter Lilly has also colored some of the black and white gowns I have up, as well as drawn a couple more original outfits; check out her DeviantArt page, specifically the “Liana” gallery (although there are some lovely photos on her main page as well!)

These days I don’t get too many fan submissions of outfits that fit my dolls; I suspect a lot of that energy has gone into people creating their own paper doll blogs, as a glance over my blogroll can attest. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love my little subculture? I have high hopes of us landing on the xkcd Map of Online Communities someday, on a little island right near “Diary Blogs” and “Writing/Poetry”.) But back when I did the Boutique, I did have some people send in some great outfits.

Click for the doll.

The blue gown and the yellow jacket with a white skirt are actually by my cousin Becky; if you’ve been paying attention you may remember her from this purple gown and this fairy dress. The pink and green hoopskirt was by someone who wanted to be called “Anonymous” and of course, I’ve lost the original e-mail so I can’t credit her properly ten years later. I had to go back through my files to place a name on most of these, but the geometric blue evening dress is evidently by Emily. Jedi Guinastasia did quite a few for me, particularly a number of dresses from Titanic; the layered dress from Titanic and the blue gown are by her.

Now, how is that for a really lazy post? I didn’t draw a single part of it! Well, I will be back from my trip soon, so look for a new dress in a couple of days!


Villager’s Cape with Black Turtleneck and White Pants from The Prisoner

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Lately, my husband, one of our friends and I have been watching The Prisoner, a famous 60s TV series starring Patrick McGoohan as a high-ranking British spy who resigns for unknown reasons and is kidnapped and taken to the Village, where he is known only as Number 6. The Village is like a resort where others in his position — those who knew too much, from both sides of the Cold War — live out their days peacefully, playing chess and sunning themselves on the beach, but only after revealing whatever information in their heads landed them in the Village in the first place. Although escape from the Village seems impossible, Number 6 is determined not just to get away or to keep his secrets from his captors, but to bring down the whole system.

The Village itself is cheerfully surreal, and its inhabitants wear things like these cute little capes as they noodle around the parks, shop for Village-brand staple foods or hatch escape plans that are doomed to failure from the start. Now let’s face it, if I was trapped in the Village, I would probably never escape; there’s a reason it’s called “Spy v.s. Spy” and not “Spy v.s. Paperdoll Artist.” I like to think that I would at least try, though, and one thing I can tell you is that I would be bringing one of those neat Villager capes with me as a souvenir. Well, Ivy gets one even if I don’t, leaving me to wonder just what exactly she got taken there for, and how well she’s been guarding that information from her captors…

My husband wants me to inform you all of two things: first, to shun the recent remake, and second, to watch the original online; A&E has six episodes up at the moment. Enjoy!


Halloween Costume Series Day 9: Black Turtleneck Jumpsuit with Red Energy Dome from Devo’s Whip It video

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Here’s today’s entry, just mildly obscure (and thrown together quickly — there are days where, if the drawing and post take more than an hour combined, it just won’t happen, and today’s one of them). It’s the outfit the members of Devo wear in their video for Whip It, not forgetting, of course, the Energy Dome (and you can pretend there’s a little hard hat liner in there, too, if it pleases you). Brian’s favorite Devo song is Beautiful World but Whip It always puts me into a good mood when I’m feeling grumpy.

There’ll be a new poll soon, so vote in this one now!