1930's French Paper Dolls

Mid-1930's French Paper Dolls from Viintage.com

Paper dolls have always seemed more interesting to me than dimensional dolls. There is so much more imagination that needs to be applied when playing with the flat form. And perhaps my fascination with paper dolls has been a contributing factor in my love of vintage pattern illustration. These 1935 - 1936 paper dolls were spotted in an online archive by my husband. Aren't these garments fabulous?!! They are available as a public domain free download HERE. Introduce your child or grandchild to the wonderful world of paper dolls with Les Robes De Suzy.

Paper Dolls with Real Clothes

Paper Dolls with Real Fabric Clothes Woman's Day August 1954

When I was a kid I played with paper dolls. I cut out Betsy McCall, pasted her to tagboard and dressed her with the fashions of the day... all in paper. Paper dolls, to my mind, left much more scope for the imagination (to quote Anne Shirley) than three dimensional dolls. And it was so much easier to design your own "garments" in two dimensions on paper. Add the little tabs and your doll is ready to go.

This 1954 Cut Out Dolly, from Woman's Day Magazine, includes Dolly and outfits made with fabric and photographed. Using each of the outfits as a guide, make your own fabric clothes for Dolly. This would be a wonderful Mother Daughter project, and with today's technology, you could print out photos of the two of you and make wardrobes that match. Download Dolly HERE. Prints on two 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper.

Dressing in vintage fashions is easy if you sew. Find vintage sewing patterns for mom and daughter at my Cynicalgirl shop on Goodsmiths and Etsy.