Sticker Dolly Dressing. Edwardian Fashion and 1920's Fashion

And now for something completely different.

I mentioned in my opening salvo that one of the great things about Children's books is the breadth and range that is currently available. Sticker books of course are nothing new, but recently the dolly dressing books have really become very popular. They are aimed at girls, (though recently a whole slew of books on warriors and pirates and the like have emerged with boys as the target audience) and have topics such as sport girls, dancing girls and the like and you dress the doll. Nothing too complicated there, really nothing to review. I don't like or dislike the books, some are mildly educational, as in Costumes From Around The World, but on the whole they provide a couple of hours of fun for a bored tweenager.

However recently 2 books have been published which are a cut above the average sticker dolly dressing book. They are historical fashions and focus on the 1920's and (loosely) The Edwardians.

I think these are wonderful and completely fascinating. They take an aspect of the times, so the 1920's book has pages on amongst other things, flappers, the obsession with all things Ancient Egyptian, a look at Coco Chanel, the crazes for sport and college life, Oxford bags and all. Each of these themes has mostly a two page spread with people posing in their underwear, all of which is quite glamorous. The fun comes in stickering the fashions over the right model! Depending on how much a perfectionist the child is, it will keep them busy for seconds, or hopefully hours!

The Edwardian book covers the up the the end of the First World War, but also looks at the Belle Epoch, Art Nouveau, sporting life and ballroom dancing and the rebirth of the Empire Line dresses from a century early. They really do give a thorough look at the main fashion trends of the day.

The fashions are mostly female, but there's a look at men's clothing in passing. I would honestly say to anyone interested in fashion these are worth a look at. I bought the 20's book for a friend recently who loves it! If you are tempted by them then may I suggest to get 2 as you'll probably want to keep one intact as they are such lovely books, I know my friend did! As I say, these are much more interesting and educational than the regular sticker books and will last a lot longer.