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Sunday, April 27, 2014

Musee de la Poupee


When ever I read interviews with French chefs or just about anyone here, they always ask what was their 'madeleine de Proust'? What was your favorite food from childhood. But they never ask what was your favorite toy? Find the Frenchie in this tableau? Merci Haribo.
Doll houses and all their tiny bits and pieces were my heart throb, more than Oreo cookies or cupcakes.
On Friday I went with 365 Dresses to visit Musée de la Poupée hidden down a cul de sac in the Marais. They certainly have a lot of toys and dolls.
IMPASSE BERTHAUD
quartier Beaubourg 75003
Wonderful period tableaux that take you back to another time in an instant and they change them from my previous visits.
French children's clothing is still divinely chic
What a giggle...
365 says it's easy to print out these old fashioned grocery boxes from the internet and DIY.
I was a huge paper doll fan. Were you?
Are there still paper dolls around today?
The museum in their shop offers facsimiles of 19th century paper dolls for a mere 2€  if you need a fix.
These dolls are so expressive. The whole range of human emotions is displayed.
Including severe frustration. Yesterday I was making this face all morning !  I woke up and realized I'd left ALL my credit cards in BHV (we stopped in to buy pencils). I always put my cards inside my Sports bra then I don't have to worry. They never fall out..ahem. In fact I missed and they dropped on the floor at BHV's cashier. After tearing my studio upside down I raced up there armed with all my ID and luckily at Clientel Service they had them! Very lucky indeed. Put a Big happy smile on my face after that ;))
We went to the museum especially to see the Barbie Retro chic exhibit
We were pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed it.
Perfect renditions of Sabrina and Grace
Even all the under bits
To wear under your classic little black dress.
They have interesting dolls and toys for sale in the museum shop. I thought these might be perfume bottle tops but 365 said the holes were to attach skirts.
I often feel, these days I'm living in the movie REAR WINDOW
.
The view out my window is compelling and looks much like a lit up dolls house doesn't it?

27 comments:

  1. You brought some memory's back after seeing all the dolls.I used to make them in the 80's and had a dolls hospital mending them. A lot of them needed re-stringing every so often. It was hard to do as if you let go it could break a finger the tension had to be so tight.

    The clothes used be in Notingham lacewith long bloomer'sin lace and lace under skirts. There used to be a baby doll in china that had been modeled on a real baby in the US. it was called a- baby Bylow doll . The lady who made it had traveled all over the US to get the perfect baby. I had restrung one and had valued it at at £5000 and the lady said pity my daughter broke the other one and that was the 80s it would have been over £10000 now,
    Thanks for the memories

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    Replies
    1. I love that story...
      Yes dolls are full of memories of childhood.

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  2. I would have loved seeing all that..
    I could feel your anxiety looking for your cards(yay they had them)

    Loved paper dolls..you can get those off the web also..cute ones..
    I even loved them now..

    Barbie..I had her fahion show and Canopy bed..I spent hours with Ken..Barbie..Midge..Skipper..Scooter..

    A love of miniatures too..so when we had both girls one Christmas..Santa brought them a house and miniatures..in our attic now..they have boys!
    I hope someone has the smallest kitchen in a matchbox for you..
    Fingers crossed.
    Love the view!
    My poor Barbies had holes in their heads..I wanted to give them updos.. when they were not wearing pillbox hats..and stuck straight pins in their head to hold the hair.

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  3. PS Googled for you..found mini schoolrooms..
    Will keep looking..PS the little food cardboard containers are available here at $ stores.. J'en ai..Children use them w/ their mini kitchens etc..

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  4. Lovely post this morning. The dolls that you thought might be perfume
    bottle tops are actually pin cushion dolls, the skirt was attached, stuffed
    and a pin cushion made. I buy paper dolls for my granddaughter, you
    can buy them, Amazon of course. I loved them as a child and still do.
    I have my childhood doll house and all the furniture. Happy times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucky you to have your original dollhouse still intact...magical really.

      Delete
  5. Colleen10:20 AM

    was a huge fan of paper dolls, and now buy them for my grand daughters, but they are really cool—with “heavier” stickers that stick to the heavier dolls, so they last longer.

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  6. Bonjour chère amie,

    Un univers qui me donne tant de bonheur et de plaisir... A Lyon nous avons une belle boutique aussi de poupées. Dès que je peux je m'y rends.
    Sur ma dernière publication, tu peux apercevoir Pearl ma poupée ancienne...
    Tu m'auras apportée avec ce très joli billet beaucoup de rêves...

    Gros bisous ❀ ❁ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❁ ❀

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  7. What a marvelous collection, and yes, your apartment lit up does look like a doll house. As always, thank you for sharing.

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  8. I love dolls, but never had a doll house.
    Wendy was my favorite doll and she had magic skin. A charming blog!

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  9. So fun to read. I remember loving to take the dolls and have picnics outside.

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  10. Monique12:41 PM

    Littles:

    http://www.thechristmashausonline.com/w0676.html


    http://www.etsy.com/ca/search?q=kitchen+matchbox

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  11. Hmmmm, just a bit "girly", Dear.
    I do love the "Rear Window" shots, wish I was there!

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  12. J’ADORE ton aquarelle de petite maison
    haribo merci !!!!!!!!!!

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  13. Judith1:45 PM

    I too have never quite outgrown my childhood love of dolls, a devotion I extended to a few select critter-toys as well. I carried a toy mouse in my pocket or in his house, a basket-purse, on my first trip through Europe at 9...and that mouse continued to accompany me on scary "first day" ventures to new schools, even to classes in college. (His successors accompanied my daughter.)

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  14. Playing with my doll house or paper dolls was a huge part of my childhood and your post brought back many memories. I still collect paper dolls and have just put Musee de la Poupee on my Paris Bucket List (it never gets shorter as, as soon as I cross off something, I add two more). It gets harder to find paper dolls all the time but have found that museum shops are a good place to find unusual ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Museum shops for paper dolls!
      That's a very good tip - the preserve the doll heritage.

      Delete
  15. I too ADORED paper dolls. When I was still quite small I was given paper dolls of Gone With the Wind, from Scarlett to Ashley Wilkes. Wonderful! And also dolls of glorious Ziegfield showgirls in incredible (paper) costumes, towering headdesses and all. They would both be collectors' items now. '
    Not that long ago, I discovered Dover's reprints, which included some paper dolls. I bought one book of incredibly beautiful ones, Japanese women in fantastic kimonos, with geisha headdresses. I carefully preserved those until our last move but one --- and now they too are gone. Gone with the wind --- Where are the paper dolls of yesteryear?

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  16. Fun post. I too loved paper dolls. Had some of the Lennon sisters and others. Loved my dolls too. Had one that bend at the knees and had her own wardrobe suitcase full of clothes. Sadly I didn't keep her or it. Love the view. You need some binoculars to be like in Rear window. Lol

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    Replies
    1. I am secretly longing for binoculars

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    2. I was just wondering about that!!! I think you are too polite to REALLY go all "rear window" wonderful post! Love all of sights you are sharing.

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  17. Carol, this post was so much fun, from the first glimpse of Maison Haribo, to those last views from your window.

    I also loved dolls and paper dolls. I sewed clothes for my dolls, by hand, and made many of my own paper dolls ... and gave them extensive wardrobes of very stylish clothes.

    One of the best set of paper dolls I had was given to me around the time of Queen Elizabeth's coronation...it included the Queen, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. I wish I knew what happened to that set. (I mean the paper dolls, of course!)

    xo

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  18. Yes you were very lucky. I love the retro Barbie exhibit thanks for posting it and all the other charming dolls.

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  19. Glorious trip down memory lane....elegantly in Paris.....I have a Pinterest board with many {paperdolls}.....such fancy dancy underwear for Barb....very interesting!

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  20. Me too, loved dolls, paper dolls, Barbie...I saw a theater set designer artist on a film documentary who makes giant cutout figures, said she loved paper dolls as a child. I'll try to find her name. I loved the Musée du jouet in Colmar. They had a gazillion Barbies. https://www.flickr.com/photos/15157516@N02/sets/72157632008833531/
    Glad you found the cards. The panic is not fun when that happens though.

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  21. Stephanie12:24 AM

    love reading your blog and so happy that you are in the world to write it!
    When Apollo 11 landed and the astronauts walked on the moon, I remember making a deal with my mother that I would watch the walk if I could play with my paper dolls at the same time. She didn't much like the idea, as she was determined that my brother and I would watch " history being made", but I guess she figured it was not a battle she wanted to enter into at the time! I learned early on how to multi-task!

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  22. Super post - loved the Barbie air hostesses!
    Did not like dolls as a child. Still don't, but most fascinating to study. Glad you found your credit cards!

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