Fads from the 1950's and 1960's

Fads from the 1950’s and 1960’s

                                                    by Collette

Barbie dolls were the hot item in the decade starting in 1950. The dolls were so popular that they had their own designers to clothe them. My sister and I had Revlon dolls which were the same size as Barbie, but probably cheaper. And we had no designer, except my mother. She was a great seamstress and tried hard to help me become one, but I do not have that talent. (That’s a whole other story.)

While we were in school, Mother made lots of things for these dolls to wear as part of a Christmas present. The dolls had ball gowns, school clothes similar to ours, slacks and blouses and even satin pajamas. I remember being so shocked she had made all of the outfits without me knowing about it. (I was a big snoop looking for concealed Christmas presents each year.) My sister and I adored those dolls and spent hours playing with Lois and Helen, the names of the dolls.

Although I did not have a poodle skirt I had a skirt with a dog on it and my sister’s had a cat. We wore the appropriate number of can-cans under them, too. I remember the starched white blouses, anklets and the saddle shoes that accompanied the outfits, also. For some reason, my mother dressed my sister and me with the same kind of clothes, but usually different colors. I know Mother stretched my hair from pulling it so tightly for my pony tail. (It did stay in place all day though.) Maybe that’s why my hair was so thin?

We had hula hoops and slinkies and most of the other inexpensive things from the time period. We  girls even used our own money to buy 45 rpm records of the new rock and roll music. I liked to watch American Band Stand. (I also enjoyed the Saturday morning line-up of Fury, Sky King, Roy Rogers, Mighty Mouse and all the other cartoons.) We didn’t have a television for quite a while, but when we did, my sister and I enjoyed most of the westerns.

I hate to use the word idyllic, but that’s how I remember this time. It was a fun period, filled with good times with my sister. I have to admit I do think we fought quite a bit and knew we would never be friends, but we are.