Miss Missy Paper Dolls: May 2022

Meet Soli a Filipina black and white paper doll from children's Activities magazine. This two page paper doll is from December 1952.

The text reads "This is Soli (So-lee). She has black hair, dark-brown eyes, and tan skin. Soli lives far away in the Philippine Islands. She can speak English, for as a child she studied it in school. (All Filipino children study their lessons in English although at home they may speak one of many Philippine dialects.)

Soli and her family live in one of the barrios (bar'-ree-ose) villages, where most of the houses are made of bamboo and nipa. They are built high off the ground to protect them from the deep water that comes from the frequent typhoons. In the larger towns and cities, however, the houses are now being built of regular lumber.

The school children in the Island dress as American children dress. So do many of the women. but when a special holiday celebration (called a fiesta- fee-es'-tah) comes along, they often dress up in their brightest prettiest native costumes. Every girl and woman wants a fancy camisa (kah-mee'-sah), slip, to wear under her dress. Pink is a favorite color with many when an American-style dress is made. The first dress shown is a pretty pink party dress. It is made from a material called jusi (hoo'-see) This cloth is soft and is thinner than organdy. Lavender flowers decorate the dress.

The second costume is worn by the older women on the island of Negros and Panay (Nay'-grose and Pahn-nye') these islands are two hundred miles south of Manila, the capital of the Philippine Islands. the skirt is made of red-and-yellow-and-green plaid cloth. It is sewed together like a tube. The wearer steps into it, laps it over at the waistline, and tucks it in. The top is white and is made kimono style. It is embroidered in yellow. A red-and-yellow scarf is worn over one shoulder. In Soli's basket are redish-yellow mangos; a red, a yellow, and a green banana; and a yellow pineapple with green leaves.

The next dress shown is also won by Visayan women. Note that the train is pulled up at one side into a shape of a fan so that the fancy trimming on the camisa can be seen! The dress is light blue. The figures in the cloth are yellow and red.

The fourth dress, the balintawak (bah-lin-tah-wak) is worn on Luzon island, where Manila is located. The under part of the dress is of a golden yellow. The overskirt and scarf are red-and-yellow plaid.

The last outfit pictured is called the Maria Clara. It is a period dress,popular in 1900. It consists of white kimonolike top and red and black striped skirt."

I find it interesting that the text tells you what colors to use for the outfits, although I am sure many children just used whatever colors they liked.