You remember the smell. That specific, slightly dusty, sweet scent of vintage cardstock and the faint whiff of the cheap glue used on the spines of those oversized activity books. If you grew up during the Me Decade, paper dolls from the 70s weren't just toys; they were your first foray into high fashion, celebrity worship, and world-building on a budget.
It was a weird time.
Fashion was transitioning from the stiff, space-age silhouettes of the late 60s into something much more fluid, brown, and—honestly—a bit chaotic. One minute you’re dressing a cardboard cutout in a polyester jumpsuit with lapels wide enough to catch flight, and the next, you’re tabs-deep in a "Little House on the Prairie" inspired calico gown. It was messy. It was glorious.
The Golden Age of the Tie-In
The 1970s marked a massive shift in how these toys were marketed. While the 1940s and 50s focused on generic "pretty girls" or movie stars like Elizabeth Taylor, the 70s leaned hard into the Saturday morning television craze and the rise of the "superstar" brand.
Whitman and Golden Books dominated the grocery store aisles. You'd see them right there near the checkout or in those spinning wire racks at the pharmacy. We’re talking about the Donny and Marie Osmond sets, which were ubiquitous. If you didn't have the Marie doll with her iconic toothy grin and a wardrobe full of purple stage outfits, did you even live through 1976?
Then there was the Brady Bunch. These sets were fascinating because they tried to squeeze the whole family onto a couple of sheets of cardboard. The fashion was peak 70s: bell-bottoms, vests, and those strange, mustard-colored shirts that everyone seemed to wear back then. Collectors today hunt for the Bobby and Cindy sets because they were often the first ones to get destroyed by messy toddlers.
Why the quality actually varied so much
You might think all paper dolls from the 70s were created equal, but that's just not true.
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The printing tech of the era was hit or miss. Some sets used a heavy-duty "linen" finish that felt premium under your thumb. Others were printed on paper so thin that a single aggressive fold of a shoulder tab would decapitate poor Farrah Fawcett. Speaking of Farrah, her paper doll sets are a case study in 70s marketing. At the height of Charlie's Angels fever, manufacturers couldn't churn these out fast enough.
The art styles shifted too. We moved away from the hyper-realistic, painted look of the mid-century and toward a more "illustrative" or "cartoonish" vibe. Look at the Holly Hobbie or Sarah Kay dolls. They were everywhere. These weren't about glamour; they were about nostalgia for a "simpler time" that probably never existed, draped in oversized bonnets and patchwork aprons.
The Fashion: From Disco to Dust
Honestly, the clothes are why we're still talking about this.
The 1970s was a decade of fashion contradictions. You had the Peasant Look, which was all about embroidery and long skirts. Then you had the Disco Era, which brought in the spandex, the sequins, and those terrifyingly high platform shoes.
- The Jumpsuit: If a paper doll set from 1975 didn't have at least three jumpsuits, it was a failure. They usually featured wide legs and plunging necklines that were surprisingly "adult" for a kid's toy.
- The Maxi Dress: These were the bread and butter of the Barbie paper dolls from this era. Long, flowing, and usually covered in loud floral prints that would make a modern minimalist faint.
- The Leisure Suit: Even the male dolls—like the rare John Travolta or Ken sets—weren't safe. Baby blue polyester was a staple.
It's funny looking back. We were tiny fashion designers using nothing but blunt safety scissors. You’d spend hours cutting around those tiny white tabs. The heartbreak of accidentally snipping a tab off was real. You’d have to perform "surgery" with a piece of Scotch tape, which eventually turned yellow and brittle, ruining the aesthetic but saving the play session.
More Than Just TV Stars
While celebrities were the big sellers, the 70s also gave us some of the most beautiful "boutique" paper dolls. Artists like Tom Tierney began gaining traction during this time. Tierney basically revolutionized the medium by turning paper dolls into a legitimate historical record.
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His work for Dover Publications started to appear in the late 70s, and it was a different world. These weren't just toys for eight-year-olds; they were detailed, researched pieces of costume history. If you wanted to know exactly what a Flapper wore in 1922 or the intricacies of Victorian undergarments, Tierney was your guy.
This is where the hobby split. You had the "play" sets (the ones we beat to death) and the "collector" sets (the ones that stayed uncut in a drawer). Most of the paper dolls from the 70s you find on eBay now are the Dover reprints because the Whitman originals are mostly confetti by now.
The Reality of Collecting in 2026
If you’re looking to get back into this, or maybe you found a stack in your aunt's attic, there are some things you need to know about the market.
Condition is everything, but "uncut" is the holy grail. An uncut Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) set from 1978 can go for a surprising amount of money. Why? Because kids actually played with these. Unlike Star Wars figures that some kids kept in boxes, paper dolls were meant to be sliced up. Finding a pristine book is like finding a unicorn.
Spotting the fakes and reprints
Be careful. The market is flooded with digital "reproductions." Someone takes a high-res scan of an original 1974 John Reed set, prints it on modern cardstock, and tries to sell it as "vintage style." It's not the same. The ink on original 70s dolls has a specific matte quality. Modern inkjet prints are often too shiny or too saturated.
Also, look for the "punched out" sets. In the late 70s, some companies got lazy (or "innovative") and started offering pre-perforated dolls. No scissors required. Collectors generally prefer the "cut-out" versions because the art usually goes right to the edge of the line, whereas perforated ones have those annoying little "pips" of torn paper around the edges.
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Why we're still obsessed
It’s not just nostalgia. There's something tactile about paper dolls that a tablet app can't replicate. It’s about the physics of the paper. The way the doll stands up in that little plastic or cardboard base. The way the clothes hang—or don't hang—on the frame.
There's also the "lost" fashion. Many of the outfits in these sets were based on actual designer trends of the time that have since been forgotten. They are tiny time capsules of what people thought was cool in 1973.
How to preserve your 70s collection
If you have originals, stop touching them with your bare hands. The oils from your skin will eventually turn that 50-year-old paper into a translucent mess.
- Acid-free sleeves: Get them. Use them. Standard plastic folders from the office supply store contain PVCs that will "eat" the ink over time.
- Flat storage: Don't stand the books up on a shelf like a regular novel. The weight of the pages will cause the spine to sag and the dolls to warp. Lay them flat in a cool, dark place.
- Avoid the light: 70s ink is notorious for fading. Five years on a sunny bookshelf will turn your vibrant Cher doll into a ghost.
What to do next
If you're looking to start or expand your collection, skip the big-box auction sites for a minute and head to specialized forums or "Paper Doll Conventions" (yes, they exist).
Start by identifying which "vibe" you’re after. Are you a celebrity chaser? Look for Whitman sets. Are you a fashion historian? Look for Dover or Merrill reprints.
Check your local antique malls, specifically the booths that look like they haven't been dusted since the Carter administration. Often, paper doll books are tucked inside old magazines or hidden at the bottom of bins filled with "ephemera."
The best way to value a set you've found is to check "sold" listings, not "asking" prices. Just because someone wants $200 for a tattered Bionic Woman set doesn't mean they're getting it. Most mid-tier 70s sets in decent, played-with condition fetch between $15 and $40.
Go through your old storage bins. Look for that specific oversized rectangular shape. You might be sitting on a piece of 1970s pop culture history that’s worth more than just the memories of sticky fingers and safety scissors.