Monday, December 24, 2007

fashion plates

are you a child of the 80's?  do you remember fashion plates?  did you HAVE fashion plates?  or maybe your kids have a newer incarnation of the classic tomy toy?  anyhow, fashion plates were an art toy where you mixed and matched fashions, each in raised plastic on it's own plate, and did a crayon rubbing of your creation.  once you had your girl done, you could add your own colors-- and even textures!  the textures were on the back side of each plate.  i stole this image from somebody on ebay.



my incomplete set, partially melted by attic heat, is vintage from bygone days.  the featured fashions are gauchos, feathered hair and neck scarves circa turn-of-the-decade 80's.  i'm not quite sure how it survived garage sales and purge-fests, but somehow it lived to be used again by my darling daughter.  it's been a great way to pass the anxiety filled hours leading up to christmas morning.

of course, my little sweetheart can't just make fashion combos.  she has made "owl-girl"-- a completely brown, scallop-textured lady, and these multi-headed monsters shown below.  she's cackled her way through science experiment after science experiment in true frankensteinian glee.

i hope that you and your families all have a wonderful christmas (if that is, indeed, what you celebrate) and that santa has you on his NICE list.

16 comments:

Autumn's Mom said...

Fashion plates!! so fun. Have a very merry christmas!!

Heidi said...

I don't remember having fashion plates, but my daughter has Barbie fashion plates we bought a few years ago. I love fashion design. I also love your daughters Super(girl) fashion. Happy holidays!

Mr. L said...

Never heard of them. But then, I was a child in the 60s. Physically, anyway.

Merry Christmas, Melissa!

Karen MEG said...

Those are great! I always wanted one of those too. Your daughter is very creative LOL!
Wishing you and your family a great Christmas Melissa!

Anonymous said...

Fashion plates were one of my favorite toys when I was a kid!
Stephanie
www.thewrittenword.wordpress.com

Lainey-Paney said...

oh, i never had that toy...but it looks like something i would have loved!

Booklogged said...

My 3 girls enjoyed fashion plates in their younger days - they are now 29, 30 and 31. Such memories. I don't think they were as creative as your supergirl. That's such a cute picture of her.

Melissa, I hope you and your family enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. Best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Beenzzz said...

Yay, fashion plates! I loved those things as a kid. I like s's creations. :)

Jay said...

Oh my god, I haven't seen those in forever! I am so impressed with your daughter, I don't remember ever exhibiting such creativity with them. I think I thought it was rather controversial just to "match" blue with green.

Family Adventure said...

They look awesome!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Heidi :)

J said...

Those look totally fun! She's pretty creative, too. Hope you had a lovely Christmas.

I see "Drop City" on your bookshelf there...I'd be interested to hear what you think. I tried to get into it awhile ago, and I was completely unable to get enthused. Sometimes I get in a mood, and whatever book happens to be in my life at the moment suffers because of it.

Victoria said...

Wow - I'd completely forgotten all about those! I want a new set! =)

I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas, a little late! Happy New Year, a little early!

Anonymous said...

I never had FASHION PLATES!! I Was deprived as a child!! Bleh! I would play with that now as an adult!

Melissa said...

OMG! I had totally forgotten about those. But I have boys now so the chances of those crossing my door are fairly unlikely...

I could seriously get into a "house plates" kind of thing though.

Unknown said...

OMG! I still have my fashion plates somewhere in a box in my parents' garage! LOL! Thanks for the walk down memory lane!

Looks like your little one had a blast with all of her creations! ;)

Shopaholic D said...

now, that's a blast from the past! i think i vaguely remember using these...

:) Diana
The Chic Life