Julia (NBC, 1968–71) was the first television show to depict a black middle-class family and the first since the 1950s sitcom Beulah to star a black woman. Diahann Carroll (b. 1935) played Julia Baker, a registered nurse and widowed mother of a young son. In part because Carroll had started her career as a model for Ebony magazine, she was able to collaborate with celebrity fashion designer William Travilla to create her character’s elegant wardrobe.

On the show, Julia sewed her own clothes, and fans could buy patterns of Julia’s outfits to make at home. Tie-in merchandise like this paper doll set helped to promote Carroll’s glamorous image.