I started buying Tierney's American Family series as a reference so that I can better imagine the typical people of a particular period. The more usual documenting of high fashion isn't useful for that purpose, although Tierney usually has a paper doll book for that, too. These are also in full color, whereas contemporary illustrations often are not. I have read costume designers who says that Tierney's books are very helpful to when trying to determine exactly what the customer wants. I wonder how many people buy these books not to play with the dolls, but because they are such a useful and economical reference source. As paper dolls, they look moderately difficult to cut out, owing to all the detail, if one is determined to leave no waste paper.

In these books, Tierney starts with a succinct and well-written description of the era. He creates a story about the family, usually includes three generations of moderately wealthy Americans so that he can display fashions typical of various age groups. He shows clothing suitable for a variety of leisure, work and dress-up occasions, usually including a wedding. Since he focuses on only one or two decades, they are more informative than most general costume reference books. Each costume has explanatory notes specifying such details as fabrics, hair-styles and precise time period. ( )