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American Family of the 1950s : Paper Dolls

by Tom Tierney

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1821,185,304 (5)None
Carefully researched, accurately detailed collection captures the spirit of the decade after World War II. 10 dolls depict 3 generations of a family whose wardrobe includes beach wear, lounging outfits, dress suits for the men and women and formal wear. Also: a hula hoop and a Davy Crockett coonskin hat. 31 costumes. Notes.… (more)
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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. In this case, it's kind of a hoot for me to be looking at the dimly remembered clothing of early childhood. 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 decade, 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. One of the boys has an extra head of hair for when he tries to adopt the Elvis look.

One disagreement with Tierney: I like the sack dress shown in plate 7! ( )
  PuddinTame | Jul 28, 2009 |
Absolutely! I must have a McCall or Simplicity pattern for almost all of these clothes. And who! who??? would ever think of buying these books to cut out for paper dolls! Are there such people? The clothes are perfect and serve as a reference for me- identifying old photos- although I think the 50s style is pretty much obvious. Love the Davy Crocket hat, but can't connect with Grandpa Patrick's hat. ( )
  HugoReads | Sep 2, 2007 |
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Carefully researched, accurately detailed collection captures the spirit of the decade after World War II. 10 dolls depict 3 generations of a family whose wardrobe includes beach wear, lounging outfits, dress suits for the men and women and formal wear. Also: a hula hoop and a Davy Crockett coonskin hat. 31 costumes. Notes.

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