Paper Dolls

Paper Dolls

I thought for a while as it's summer that I'd write a few blogs about childhood games especially ones we used to see being played when I was growing up but rarely see now.It will make a change.

Today I was thinking about paper dolls. I guess it was because I grew up in a time of scarce resources in the 40s and 50s and there were few toys around and not much money to buy the ones that were appearing in the shops.

One of our favorite things to play with were paper dolls. These were dolls that were printed out on cardboard. You cut them out and then had a great time choosing the outfit and accessories they would wear. These all came in a fairly cheap book and were often given as a special treat to little girls. When you got one it would be kept as a favorite toy and the girls would play with them for hours. The clothes would be attached to the doll by paper tags that you bent over the edges of the doll. I remember sometimes the clothes wouldn't stay on very well. I also remember my sister Babs and I playing with them but she, being older and smarter, designed new dresses for her doll by drawing new outfits and painting or coloring them .I can't remember doing that and I was very envious of her as her dolls were always so much prettier than mine.

These paper dolls were so popular that there was even a pop song very popular at the time being played on the radio

You can hear it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RTzIi4e2CI

“The Mills Brother's” sing “ paper Doll.

If you are old enough I bet you even remember the words.

I looked up this game on the web and found out it has been delighting little girls for ages as it was started sometime in the 1800 in France , where else would a game with fashionable clothes get started. It then spread across Europe and also to the Americas. Paper was expensive at that time so often paper was recycled and paper dolls were made from pieces of cardboard and the dresses from old letters.

Now I think little girls get the real thing. I'm not sure you could buy a paper doll book anymore. I wonder if you can.

But it was a lot of fun making your own doll and dresses.