Us Historical Society Dolls Women of Arts and Letters

While everybody wears clothing, not anybody wears way. In choosing to wear mode—rather than just clothing—the wearer makes a statement about herself and her sense of identity. Individuals use mode to place themselves in (or out) of groups, demonstrate their places in society, and communicate not only who they are merely also who they aspire to exist. Simply a drove of individuals makes upward a society. While mode choices are ultimately individual, manner trends reflect society's culture, norms, expectations, and values.

Newspaper dolls equally artifacts illustrate the social expectations for women at particular moments in time. As products of both popular culture and mass marketing, newspaper dolls are intentionally designed to reflect that guild'due south arcadian version of womanhood. The dolls' petty paper wardrobes communicate a wealth of information most the ideal woman of the by.

Pretty Paper Playthings

Paper dolls were pop playthings from the mid-19^th century to the mid-20^th century. Technological advances in the xix^th century dropped the cost of printing and made reproducing pictures much easier, leading to an explosion of illustrated, paper ephemera including prints, books, magazines, and cards. The kickoff American paper doll commercially produced every bit a children's toy was Boston-based J. Belcher's "The History and Adventures of Picayune Henry" in 1812. The dolls accompanied a children's book and were designed to human activity out diverse scenes as the narratives unfolded. Paper dolls only grew in popularity over the century. Newspapers and magazines published newspaper dolls both as playthings and equally vehicles to illustrate current fashions for girls and women.

Children acquire through play, using toys to try out different roles. For little girls, the entreatment of newspaper dolls lay in their extensive wardrobes and the many different scenarios a doll could play out. The dolls and their wardrobes depicted the platonic aspirational lifestyle for their time. Dolls of older teenagers or immature adult women encouraged girls to project themselves into that side by side phase of life. As with almost playthings, newspaper dolls encouraged girls in fantasy role play, only the roles were divers by the dolls' clothing and accessories.

Paper dolls from unlike decades send a message nearly the role of women at the time and what lodge valued. Twentieth-century paper dolls' wardrobes expanded the various potential roles for girls, from college educatee to movie star to Earth War Two WAC. In this, they reflected an expanded horizon of women's opportunities that aligned with what women were doing in real life.

Career-oriented dolls—unless that career was "movie star"—connected to be outnumbered by dolls depicting ladies of leisure. The doll below, published circa 1942, has a broad wardrobe wholly oriented towards leisure activities with outfits for twenty-four hours, evening, and recreation. She reflects the aspirational ideal of a 1940'due south woman'south lifestyle, even if it was not near women'south lived reality.

This trend in paper doll wardrobes connected until the late 1970s, after the women'due south rights motion, when sets began to mix professional options among the leisure clothes, mirroring women'southward increased entry into professional employment. Lydia, published in 1977, owns career wear besides as play dress.

Here Comes the Helpmate(s)

An enduring archetype was the bride paper doll. Publishers regularly released bridal party paper doll sets decade past decade, positioning marriage as an important adult milestone and a goal in and of itself. So of import was the role of "bride" that some sets neglected to include grooms. Bridal newspaper doll outfits codified nuptials pageantry, using fashion to engage girls in the fantasy while enabling them to playact the cultural role of "bride". These ii newspaper dolls sets, published thirty years apart in 1949 and 1978, show that the style elements of a dream nuptials remained remarkably consistent over time.

The Rise and Fall of Paper Dolls

Advances in color lithography in the final quarter of the 19^th century resulted in hundreds of sets of dolls with colorfully printed wardrobes. These sets remain popular today among collectors both for their beautiful designs and the nostalgia. Paper dolls declined in popularity in the 1960s and 70s, and some blame Mattel'south Barbie. With her stylish wardrobe, Barbie fulfilled much of the same fantasy play role equally paper dolls. Newspaper dolls' heyday endured over one hundred years. Today, those dolls and their fashionable paper wardrobes, reflecting the attitudes and assumptions about women'south social roles, tell usa a lot in the nowadays well-nigh how the pop culture of fashion defined women.

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Source: https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/history-paper-dolls-and-popular-culture

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