Girl in Christmas Velveteen, Living Room, 1950s

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Girl in Christmas Velveteen, Living Room, 1950s — Archive & Atlas

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Girl in Christmas Velveteen, Living Room, 1950s — Archive & Atlas

Unattributed 1953–1959

AA-2026-DCE71E

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A girl of about ten stands in the living room in a rust-colored velveteen dress, posed for whoever is holding the camera — the posture of a child who has been asked to stand still and is doing her best. It is almost certainly Christmas or the days just after: the dress is new, the doll propped on the sofa behind her is new, and in the 1950s velveteen was the fabric mothers chose when they wanted a child to look dressed-up without looking formal. The living room itself is doing everything a 1950s living room was supposed to do — the blond wood furniture, the sculpted carpet, the shell dish on the coffee table holding candy — each piece chosen according to a taste that felt thoroughly modern and would feel thoroughly dated within a decade. She has changed out of her good shoes into fuzzy slippers, which is the one decision in the room that needed no updating.

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