A fashion greeting from bygone decades
The paper dolls Mandi, Helmi and Katri bring a fashion greeting from a bygone age when making clothes at home was still commonplace and seamstresses and ateliers made clothes to measure. Just as today, people followed fashion in Finland, especially young women in the towns. Several women’s magazines, among them Eeva, Hopeapeili and Viuhka regularly wrote about fashion on their pages. Ideas for clothes, hairdos and make-up were also picked up from films.
The paper doll couple Iiris and Lasse represent the upbeat 1950s. After the wartime depression, people felt a longing for beauty. The demand for clothes and textiles far exceeded supply for almost the entire decade. Material wealth increased slowly and people started to pay attention to fashionable dressing.
Representatives of the post-war generation Viola and Eerik, on the other hand, represent the swinging 1960s, when old conventions were discarded and economic prosperity grew. Clothes were increasingly being bought in large department stores, small boutiques or through mail order catalogues. Fashion role models could be found on big screen, television and pop music.
