Last term, I was attending a zine-making workshop at The Iris Café when a page from one of the vintage comics we were cutting up caught my eye. It was a paper doll, a full-body drawing of a smiling girl posing amid a colourful selection of early 70s seaside outfits. Rifling through the pages, I found another, this one surrounded by ruffled blouses and dresses. Displaying undoubtedly poor etiquette for a group collaging activity, I saved these sheets in their entirety and stashed them under my chair as I continued to work on my zine. Having thus rescued my dolls from death-by-scissors, I did what women and girls have been doing for the past two hundred years: I took them home and dressed them up.

Paper dolls are a valuable and often overlooked piece of female fashion history; the trends they exhibit reflect society’s norms, expectations and values. Although to me these outfits were novel in their dated appearance, to the girls these books were intended for, they would have reflected the aspirational styles of a young teen in the ’70s. These fragile time capsules offer us an insight into the ever-changing world of women’s fashion, and by extension, the ever-changing nature of womanhood itself.

“These fragile time capsules offer us an insight into the ever-changing world of women’s fashion”

The first true paper dolls are thought to have originated in the mid-18th century, created in the fashion centres of Vienna, Berlin, London and Paris for wealthy adults. Most likely, they were hand-crafted by dressmakers in order to showcase current trends to their customers. In the 19th century, paper dolls as we know them became widespread due to technological advances in printing and colour lithography. Due to their inexpensive, mass-produced medium, these dolls were accessible and thus popular toys for girls of all classes. However, they predominantly promoted upper-class fantasies; collections tended to revolve around a little girl and her family and servants, with elaborate pastel-toned dresses and petticoats in the latest refined styles.

Paper dolls also depicted teenagers or young adult women, prompting younger girls to envision the next phase of their lives. For example, the titular Lettie of the Lettie Lane Paper Family, published from 1908 until 1915, illustrated the cultural expectation that girls would transition from an idyllic childhood into marriage and motherhood. The bride paper doll remained a consistent archetype across publishers and decades. As well as showcasing changing trends in bridalwear across history, these sets signify how marriage was positioned as an important and desirable milestone for girls to strive towards.

“The wardrobes of paper dolls diversified as societal opportunities for girls broadened”

Throughout the 20th century, the wardrobes of paper dolls diversified as societal opportunities for girls broadened; they could now be outfitted in anything from the plaid skirts and jumpers of college students to the decadent dresses and furs of movie stars, or even the uniforms of the Women’s Army Corps. However, the large majority of dolls continued to depict housewives and ladies of leisure, with an emphasis on appearing presentable and quietly luxurious. Particularly in the 1940s, a recreational lifestyle was seen as aspirational, even though it reflected few women’s lived realities. It was not until the late 1970s that career-oriented dolls began to appear consistently in print, largely as a result of second-wave feminism. These dolls were accompanied by more professional clothing such as skirt suits and satchels, alongside clothes for play and relaxation.

Although Barbie’s rise to celebrity status in the toy world signified the beginning of the end for the popularity of paper dolls, they have found longevity through reinvention for the 21st century. As I dressed my new dolls, I was reminded of one of my most beloved childhood pastimes: Usborne’s Sticker Dolly Dressing activity books. Unlike the dolls of days gone by, these girls could dress as anything from glittery early 2000s popstars to zookeepers, chefs and sportswomen, with a lot more freedom to mix-and-match.

“We as a society are still drawn to the appeal of dolls as a vessel for fashion”

Although the outfits I pieced together within these pages were messy to say the least, I credit the books as being my earliest introduction to fashion design, and potentially the origin of my continued love for even the ugliest of 2008 trends (boho headbands, anyone?). Despite a decline in the popularity of paper-crafts, we as a society are still drawn to the appeal of dolls as a vessel for fashion – just take a look at viral Roblox game Dress to Impress.

To this day, paper dolls and their modern counterparts offer a creative, non-committal way of experimenting with different styles and decades, just as women and girls of the past would have done. Although the age of mass-produced paper dolls may be over, they remain the perfect medium through which to explore historical fashion and the shifting tides of aspirational outfits, from flapper girls of the ’20s to professional women in the ’80s workplace. These fragile figures are more than just playthings of the past; they are a part of fashion history.