Heavenly Blue Wedding Paper Dolls

Heavenly Blue Wedding celebrates the marriage of fifties' fashion and fabulous flair! The mid-century style of the 20th century reflected a time of fabulous, yet formalized fashion. Every hour of the day, every occasion, every pastime prescribed an appropriate fashion statement. No occasion was more formal, more fabulous than a wedding.

In 1955, the Merrill Co. published an extravagant, double cover paper doll book by artist Barbara Briggs. Heavenly Blue Wedding became a paper doll collectors' treasure, happily ever after. And now it is possible once again to celebrate the joy of a beautiful bride and her entire wedding party.

The Heavenly Blue wedding party is the perfect expression of 1950s fashion. The clothes are emphatic fashion statements, far from the casual looks of the decades that followed. Silhouettes are strongly stated, either figure-conscious and form-fitting or dramatically overblown. The heavenly bride's gown is surely inspired by Christian Dior's New Look with a tiny, cinched waist and a billowy full skirt. The bodice is off the shoulder. Even though the gown is the traditional white, it is accented with shades of blue that are repeated in the romantic gowns of the bridesmaids and the girly-girl dress of the flower girl. Old fashioned femininity reigns and the formal morning coats and striped pants of the groom and best man are equally formal.

Following the wedding ceremony, even a real life young bride assumed her proper role in society and her wardrobe was suddenly much more sophisticated. Smartly tailored suits, sheath dresses (often with matching coats or jackets), soignee cocktail dresses, haute couture-inspired evening gowns and carefully coordinated sportswear separates would all be packed into innumerable pieces of matching luggage for the honeymoon. Of course, other members of the wedding party were not invited along on the honeymoon, but their wardrobes were equally predicated and are represented in this paper doll book. Celebrate the Heavenly Blue Wedding with the snip, snip, snip of your scissors!