Tuesday, March 23, 2010

I Never Had Fashion Plates

I love complaining about the many toys my parents didn't purchase for whatever reason. You've already read about the Barbie Dream House and lovely ballet shoe box-style tote bags I missed out on. Here's one more item to add to that list... So glad my mom isn't a regular reader.

FASHION PLATES

Growing up in the late 1970s-1980s, every girl wanted them and more importantly it seemed like every girl had them. Get your mind out of the gutter... I'm talking about Fashion Plates. 

Manufactured by Tomy, the idea was based upon 18th century fashion design and consisted of plastic plates with indentations of various skirts, tops and pants.



By rubbing a colored pencil over a piece of paper, the fashionable items instantly came to life. Girls could mix and match the different plastic fashion plates to create winning looks. The finished product was then shared with style savvy friends or posted on the fridge. 




I remember playing with friends' Fashion Plates, but never had my own set. I bet Mom did a quick assessment of the toy and realized it was the type of thing that would keep me occupied for an hour or so, then after a week would collect dust, eventually ending up in a landfill years later.

While researching Fashion Plates, I visited the Tomy USA website to see what they're offering today's crafty kid. I actually stumbled upon an awesome toy I wouldn't mind having today, the Cella Sticker Maker! How cool! 


Sadly, I didn't see Fashion Plates on the Tomy-USA website, although I did notice other toy companies offering more modernized fashion design toys and craft books. I think I even purchased one for my 12-year-old cousin last Christmas. 



37 comments:

leigh hewett said...

Oh Lord...I LOVED fashion plates. I was a spoiled kid, my grandma made sure of it!

Maybe you should check E-bay from time to time to see if someone found a set and is willing to part with it.

Ian said...

Man I must have lived under a rock or something. never heard of these either!

Anonymous said...

I don't think I ever heard about Fashion Plates, but I totally would have wanted to have it!

I always wanted one of those science sets that came with instructions to make different experiments!

I still love toys. :)

Anonymous said...

I had these and I loved 'em! I seriously would play for hours with them!
Tag!http://thedomesticationofapartygirl.blogspot.com/

Copyboy said...

MY SISTER HAD THAT TOY. Truth be told I was kinda jealous. Looked kinda cool. I even remember that corny, jazzy TV jingle, "...and they call it fashion plates.."
I might have to purchase that new version for my niece this Passover. I swear I'll give it to her and not keep it. Promise.

Samantha said...

Fashion Plates looks super fun! The sticker maker would be fun too...I love toys :)

erin said...

Fashion plates were one of those toys I would beg for and then never play with. The same with most of my toys. Which is sad. I was a mean little girl...

said...

Aw! I loved my Fashion Plates. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

Lady Hill said...

I love love love Fashion Plates.

Hope Chella said...

I love these! Your blog is tons of fun :) xx

http://hopechella.blogspot.com/

Ashley King said...

i remember fashion plates, but just because i found a few from someone's garage sale when i was in elementary, so i didn't find them as fun as they probably could have been if i had more outfits to put together....

now i would TOTALLY like the sticker maker, i mean, er, my daughter would like it.... we'd, i mean, she'd have so much fun with that one! =)

i remember wanting a motorized barbie jeep... i was like 7 and i wanted a freakin power wheels... is that weird? actually i think i was like 12 and wanting it, but 7 sounded a little more realistic even though i think you're really like 3 when you get those.... but instead of the power wheels, i got this doll that was like lifesize and there's this homevideo of me BEYOND thrilled when i opened this box!!! i say over and over again (in the most shrieky little girl's voice ever) "it's her mommy, it's her!!!" mind you i wore big glasses and had dumbo style ears with a tight headband holding all the hairs back, so you could really see the dumbo style ear effect.... and i would cover my face and just shriek again "mommy it's really her!!!"

oh to be innocent children.... =)

nikki said...

Oh dear god. I loved fashion plates! My sister bought my cousin's kid something similar made by Project Runway for christmas last year. So maybe you can still get them, Ally!

Anonymous said...

My sister had those fashion plates! I would want to play with them and she would never let me. And she would hide them on me when she went to school!

See Mom Smile said...

Oh my gosh I loved Fashion Plates! I didn't have a full set because they were from a garage sale or something. Like most of my stuff...sigh...

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

I loved those fashion plates.

w said...

i totally remember fashion plates. sadly, i never had them either. i could've been a full fledged fashion designer if i had one growing up...

TS Hendrik said...

I remember those. My friends had those. I actually spent one rainy afternoon playing with them. They also had a version that was for boys were you mixed and matched monsters. I did my best to combine the two.

California Keys said...

I don't know if my wife had those, but I know she would draw dresses all the time.... Quite the artist she was.... lol

I'm going to buy that sticker maker.... My son will love that! He's a sticker fiend!

Unknown said...

I remember these! I actually had these! Sadly, I ruined most of my toys.

Hope Chella said...

Yay! I follow you now too and look forward to reading more of your posts xxo

http://hopechella.blogspot.com/

Amber said...

They need to bring fashion plates back. Especially since our culture is so america's next top model/project runway obsessed. I could see them being sold at urban outfitters.

kimber said...

i had an earlier version than what you linked to...mine all had Cheryl Ladd hair, knee length booths, or cork wedge heels to choose from! And one of my students has the current Project Runway version of them, and i was trying to tell her about F.P., and how cool they were even tho they were low tech as hell and she prolly wouldnt even like them now....i dunno.

Unknown said...

Again.. you're channeling me! I had a play-set JUST like this except it made vans. (The vehicles not the shoes) LOL! Guess I need to do a review now huh?

Heck.. I can even create a few vans because yes.. I still have the play-set!!!

Jerry said...

I too must have been shoved under that rock with Ian because I don't recall these things either.

Pandorah's Box said...

Aw. I never had those either. I can't help feeling as if I should blame my parents for my homeless man fashion sense, because they did not buy this for me.

I think I remember them though!

xoxo

Lauren said...

My sister had these!! And I stole them :)

Anonymous said...

I had a fashion plate and LOVED it! I bought a barbie one for Emily 3 years ago and she loved it too.

Melissa Lynn Shell said...

I had fashion plates. I loved them.

Powdered Toast Man said...

I totally remember those things. I didn't have them but my sister did. I don't remember if I used them or not. I love nostalgia!

Michelle Pixie said...

I never had the fashion plates either but I do remember playing with them at a friends/babysitters house and having so much fun so of course one occasion my mom {who would never buy me one of those dumb things!} bought my daughter one of the newer models and I think I was more excited then she was. ;-)

essbesee said...

I loved fashion plates. I looked them up on ebay recently to get some for my niece and they were a bit pricy and I am cheap so was always outbid. Thanks so much for following the claw! made my day b/c I lost a follower this morning!

Anonymous said...

I was a weird kid...I remember I played with a friend's set of fashion plates and got bored. It was one toy I never coveted :-)

Unknown said...

omg!!!! i LOVED these! i never had them but one of my cousins did and they were great!!!!!

LaraAnn said...

I never had them either but now I'm wishing that I had. My brother had the van ones just like Darrin -wish that we still had them too. They were pretty cool.

bestie said...

we just payed with fashion plates today. i love this toy so much that i bought it on ebay six years ago before i even had children. lOVE it. and love your blog.

b-chica said...

My sister and I each had a set of these, played with them a ton even though the total possible outfits was pretty small. We just made them over and over. They might even still be stored in our barn somewhere with all the other stuff that never made it to a tag sale. I should find stuff and put it on eBay (I was already semi-OCD as a kid, probably still have all the parts).

Finamoon said...

I just found something similar from Melissa & Doug! http://www.melissaanddoug.com/fashion-design-activity-kit

SHARE THIS!

Share |