I've enjoyed this thread so much that I forwarded it to various family
members, who sent me their own lists.  Here's what my relatives wanted in
the 50s when they were teen girls:

white rabbit fur collars tied with pom-poms on velvet
strings to be worn over a short sleeve sweater

a petticoat that came in a flat box. It was 3
concentric wire rings connected by cloth tape - sort
of like a 50's version of the hoop skirt

hairdryers which included a plastic or fabric hood to
be worn over hair curlers while you dried your hair.

frilly lace or organza "curler caps" similar to a
shower cap to cover your curlers if you went out in
public!

stuffed poodle dogs to be used as a decoration for
your bed or to co-ordinate with the intricately
decorated felt poodle skirts

cirle pins which were small gold or silver pins worn
on the "peter pan" collar of your white blouse

Nancy Drew books

charms for your personalized charm bracelet

a subscription to "Seventeen" magazine

Some of the above fashions were inspired by watching
"American Bandstand" everyday after school.



-----Original Message-----
From: Jill Lasker [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 9:07 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: 1950s Christmas Gifts


on 8/12/03 9:02 AM, Paula Lynch at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Was the talking doll Chatty Cathy?
YES!! That was one of them, and I seem to remember an infant that said
"Mommy" etc.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jill Lasker
Writer/Editor/Researcher
Medicine/Bioscience/History
http://home.earthlink.net/~laskerj/

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