Accurate clothing for the mid-fifties Please help!!

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March 4th, 2006, 03:41 PM
Ashley1972

Thanks to the suggestion of a very cool HB member, I'm going to attempt to make a doll for my mom's birthday in July. I want it to look just like she did as a child. I'm thinking an AGT 21 might be the closest. Can someone tell me what colors are in her hazel eyes? I also need pics of historically accurate clothing. I know Mom told me she wore dresses and pedal pushers(culottes) and they were very poor as my Grandma took care of her 10 kids by herself. Do any of Kit and Molly's clothing fit this time period at all? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[ March 04, 2006 11:42 AM: Message edited by: Ashley's Mommy ]
March 4th, 2006, 05:12 PM
TaffyCheerful

As you see from the pattern pictures referenced by American_Mommy, skirts were full and petticoats were commonly worn to puff up the skirt.

Pedalpushers were common for summer and the mid-fifties saw the introduction of the skort, which was a very short, usually pleated, skirt with attached bloomers. Rompers were still popular. Swimsuits throughout the fifties were primarily cotton.

I have a good collection of catalogs covering the late 1950s and can post pictures if you are looking for anything specific.

Taffy
March 4th, 2006, 05:22 PM
Ashley1972

Thanks for the help! I'm going to wait until Mom sends me the pic of her as a child and go from there. I'm thinking that Molly is going to be the closest I can get to looking like Mom. I may look for a cheap fixer upper with hacked off hair so I can rewig her. Mom's hair is a lighter brown, more like American_Mommy's little Mae.
March 4th, 2006, 05:37 PM
AGTeacher

Cannot wait to see how the finished project turns out! [img]wink.gif[/img]
March 4th, 2006, 06:52 PM
moderator

I did the same thing for my mom several years ago; she treasures her doll so much! Though I got her a personalized My Twinn, the things I've made for her doll would be from around the same period--she dates her doll to around 1950+. She says that some of Molly's things look familiar to her.

This page shows some 1950s-era things I made for my mom's doll. Since there are a lot of photos there that don't say what they're for, the ones specifically for her that are '50s style are: the baby and layette set, the knitting basket, everything in the Christmas scene photos, everything in the Brownies (Girl Scouts) photo:
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/FAST/molly.html

Mostly, I look at photos of my mom, and at the dresses she wore, for sources to use, and also talk to her about what she might have had. She is persnickety about everything being exactly right, so everything there should be pretty accurate.

It has been the best gift I've ever given her. It brings her a lot of joy, and a hobby for us to work on together.
March 4th, 2006, 07:23 PM
shuffar

I love this idea too. I remember gushing over it when that very cool board member mentioned her project a few months ago. I wish I could remember who it was. I want to see how the projects turn out!
March 4th, 2006, 07:42 PM
Martina's*Mommy

What a cool idea! I can't wait to see pictures of your project! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
March 4th, 2006, 08:37 PM
Ashley1972

I told my Mom we were doing a project from when she was a child and she picked out a dress from dollies dressmaker's site that was like one that she used to wear. She said that she didn't have anything like what american girl offers for Molly and Kit. They were probably too colorful. Mom has blue-gray eyes so I need to find a Molly that has bad or cut hair at a decent price so if anyone sees one please PM me and I'll also put it on my wishlist. Thank you everyone for all your suggestions! [img]smile.gif[/img]
March 5th, 2006, 12:49 AM
momemouse

You can also search ebay for vintage children's patterns. The photos on the pattern envelopes give good ideas about popular clothing styles & fabrics.
March 5th, 2006, 01:54 AM
Jeanette M.

Quote:

Originally posted by American_Mommy:
Looking up old sewing patterns from he 1950's is a good idea too. http://www.angelfire.com/pq/petal/party.html

I think my Mom must have used those first two patterns to make dresses for me and my sister! I remember dresses almost identical to those when I was an elementary school girl in the 1950's! And Taffy is right about the poofy slips; mine was made with ruffled layers of netting that my Mom would startch in sugar-water on wash day!
March 5th, 2006, 02:03 AM
Ashley1972

I did talk to my mother earlier and she said she only had 3 dresses and you're right, she did not wear pants to school. She had to walk a mile to school everyday and wore pants under her dresses and had to take them off when she got to school. She said she had a poodle dress and saddle shoes. She wore a plain white blouse with a brown straight skirt and she wore a dress similar to one of dollies dressmakers creations. I plan to get her that and a poodle dress. I'm having so much fun learning about my mom's childhood!
March 5th, 2006, 03:58 AM
Nethilia

Simplicity has a pattern drafted from actual doll clothes designed in 1959. The number is Simplicity 4347.
March 5th, 2006, 04:04 AM
American_Mommy

What a terrific idea! AGOT 21's eyes seem like a dark greenish brown to me. I will post a pic in a second.

Try using Google's image search, and typing in the year.You should find lots of help like that.

Are there any photos of her from that time?

[ March 04, 2006 12:05 PM: Message edited by: American_Mommy ]
March 5th, 2006, 04:18 AM
American_Mommy

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...4/25b5a72d.jpg

By dark green, I mean not bright green, like Felicity's. They are lighter than Samantha's brown eyes. I once saw a Ebay seller describe them as having "wheat colored" flecks in them. I think that is pretty accurate.

EDIT: Looking up old sewing patterns from he 1950's is a good idea too. http://www.angelfire.com/pq/petal/party.html

[ March 04, 2006 12:23 PM: Message edited by: American_Mommy ]
March 5th, 2006, 04:28 AM
Ashley1972

AGT 21 eyes are more like mine. I think Mom's are more green, blue, silver. I requested pics of her when she was a child so I'll know for sure. Thank you, American_Mommy.

ETA: dolliesdressmaker has some dresses like the patterns you sent me that she made for Molly. Yippee! Thanks again!

[ March 04, 2006 12:30 PM: Message edited by: Ashley's Mommy ]
March 5th, 2006, 04:37 AM
American_Mommy

GREAT! I PM'ed you too.
March 5th, 2006, 04:11 PM
geneobug

minidolls.com has a book listed as "Clothing from the Sear's Catalog" for each decade. Look under books (duh) when you get there. Don't know if you are interested or not. I will also try to look up a retro pattern site I found which has some original patterns for sale.

I had a heather gray poodle skirt with a pink poodle on it. The shirts had to have a small silk scarf tied around to neck too. don't forget that detail!
March 6th, 2006, 02:27 PM
jrtmom3274

I made a doll for my mom for Christmas. The dress was copied from a picture of my mom at Christmas-time in 1961 (when she was 9 years, 2 months old).

There are pictures of the doll and the original photo in this album. They start at #21, go through 35 and also include pictures of my mom's other three AGs. I plan to make her an outfit for lots of occassions, like Easter (white with straw bonnet, little purse and gloves), Fourth of July (a red cordouroy short jumper with a plaid collar), Halloween, back to school, etc. All will be based from the zillions of photos at my grandma's.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...5230967&idx=21

She was really shocked when she saw it. She said the dress is exact; so did my grandma. Turns out the dress has a cute story to go along with it too. I didn't know it ahead of time. About a month after Chrismtas, the family went to a movie, and my uncle George (the cute little guy in the photo-- he looks the same now, only taller) spilled an orange pop all over my mom. It ruined that dress. I thought it was neat that I had selected a dress, without even knowing, that has memories other than just Christmas attached to it.

I picked up the pattern that was mentioned above, and it has some really adorable dresses. Joann's is having a $1.99 Simplicity sale right now.

Can't wait to see how your project turns out!
March 6th, 2006, 04:43 PM
Jeanette M.

Quote:

Originally posted by JeanieD:
Jeannette, you and I were posting at the exact time about the sugar-water for crinolines!

You know what they say about great minds!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by Geneobug:
I had a heather gray poodle skirt with a pink poodle on it. The shirts had to have a small silk scarf tied around to neck too. don't forget that detail!

My poodle skirt was the exact same color as yours! I wore it (over the sugar starched crinoline) with either a white blouse with short puffed sleeves and a peter pan collar, or a pink short sleeved sweater. And if the scarf was not around my neck, it was tied around my pony tail! [img]wink.gif[/img]