Monday, March 30, 2009

Katy Keene, style icon




I was never crazy into Archie comics; I had a bunch of old ones, sometimes bought new ones, but didn't really "collect" them.  Way cooler, to me, and much more rare, because they were printed in the 50's and 60's, were Katy Keene comics.  I don't remember any plots, but I'm sure it was all love triangle and dumb puns, but every issue was full of paper dolls.  And the designs were sent in by readers!  You could read who sent in the ideas for each garments, and if you were me, fantasize about sending in designs and achieving world wide fame.  I was like, seven, OK?  
Of course, she had a nemesis, Gloria, a little sister, a boyfriend, a chubby pal, and a friend named Lucki, whose short red bob I admired.  They weren't really functional as paper dolls - so fragile on their old newsprint and such teeny tiny tabs, but they were a wonderful alternative to Betty and Veronica with their endless letter sweaters and dungarees.

4 comments:

  1. This is my childhood!! A childhood without tv! I Loooooved Archie comics, but whenever I would find a Katy Keene comic at the thrift store I would be SO excited because she was way hotter and so much more exciting! I would always always draw outfits for her too! This is where my love of cartoons came from! You just made my day! I love exclamation points!

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  2. oh man, when i was a kid i was so excited to grow up so i could dress myself like katy. i was pretty certain i'd look like exactly like her, except maybe with blonde hair.

    now i see she is essentially a betty page rip off, but you don't know that when you're a kid.

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  3. Are you kidding me? Katy Keene was the best! I came across a box full of them at a thrift store when I was on a trip to Nova Scotia with my parents when I was little and ended up dragging them all home with me.
    Thanks for the sweet comment on my blog by the way! I really like your blog so far too! Of course it is okay to link to me, I'll put you in my local blog links right away. I'm trying to compile a listing of local Vancouver fashion blogs on my site. It's awesome to see that there are other people into fashion around here beside me!

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  4. She is one sexy bitch. I was IN LOVE with her when I was a kid. Ain't no one better than Katy in the comic world!

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