Betsy McCall

Paper Dolls

As I imagine most children do, Sophie goes through phases favoring toys. She fell in love with paper dolls awhile ago, and lately, she’s back in love. Perhaps now it’s a deeper love given that she’s able to more easily cut out hats, dresses, cloaks and accessories. Initially, though, the cutting part was hard. And that’s where my dear friend Linda came in.

Linda found some vintage-style paper dolls online (here, here and here), which you can print and cut out. She then spent her evenings cutting, creating so many sets for Sophie. She named all the dolls and placed each one in an envelope, along with corresponding outfits.

Sophie loved them.

And recently, she’s loving them again.

I’ll walk into Sophie’s room and find her bed covered with the dolls, their matching wardrobes next to them. She’ll spend hours playing with them.

(Thank you, Linda.)

“When it was time to go home Peggy said, ‘Oh, no! I want to stay and play with Betsy for another couple of whiles!'” —from “Cover Girl Meets Besty McCall, McCall’s magazine, May 1951