Royal Princess Doll, France, A Gift to Elizabeth and Margaret Rose From the Children of France

Oh, how long ago was it?  March?  I seem to be blocking out chunks of time these days.  Do you ever do that?  But, I believe it was my friend, Kathy Singleton, who told me about these wonderful 16" dolls that Stephanie Ehmen was making.  They were reproductions (in miniature) of the dolls that Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose were given as a gift from the children of France during a state visit in 1938.

These lovely Jumeau dolls were 2' 10" (86.2 cm) in height, having identical bisque heads on composition jointed bodies.  France was a blonde with brown eyes, and Marianne was a brunette with blue eyes.  Human hair wigs for the dolls were made by the coiffeur, Valentin, who made wigs for humans.  The dolls' vast and exquisite wardrobe and accessories were created by the finest couturiers of Paris.  Luggage by Vuitton, handbags by Hermes, jewelry by Cartier, as well as dresses by Lanvin are to name but a few of the houses that contributed to their collection.  The dolls were even outfitted with two miniature Citroen sports cars - which happen to be my favorite items in this extraordinary collection.  Perhaps the excitement of seeing such a novelty inspired me to contact Stephanie to make me one of the reproductions.  I chose France.

Other collectors have asked for the darker Marianne, and I do think how she is dressed and featured in Faith Eaton's book, Dolls for the Princesses, The Story of France and Marianne, has a bit to do with it.  We see, and therefore we want.  However, the wardrobe created for these dolls could be worn by either doll, and it was strictly up to the photographers and museum directors as to which outfits they would wear on display.  Something lovely catches on quickly, and once in awhile the appeal sparks my curiosity and interest.

The dolls were presented to the newly crowned King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their memorable state visit prior to WWII.  The diplomatic significance was appreciated by all.  Crowds poured out to see the vast collection of shoes, hats, gowns and other miniature accessories.  Within a year, war broke out and the dolls were packed and shipped off to Canada to begin a lengthy excursion of raising funds for refugees (and perhaps for safety?).  Dolls like Rose Percy would travel the U.S. for the Red Cross to raise such funds during another war time.  By the time the dolls returned to England, the royal princesses had grown up and the role of the two "ambassadresses" had been forgotten.  Sixty years later the dolls went back on display at Windsor Castle and can now be enjoyed by visitors to the museum.

What is sad is that it is doubtful the princesses ever got to play with them.  They were photographed with them for public interest, but state gifts are seldom enjoyed by the recipients and are strictly diplomatic gestures of goodwill.

I would be amiss not to mention at this point that upon seeing these fabulous beauties, every little girl wanted a France and Marianne of their very own.  Jumeau would go on to re-create the dolls in two sizes.  One was 18" tall, and the other was 35 1/2" tall.  I believe they were sold as dressed dolls.  Still, many young girls would never be able to afford such an extravagance, so paper dolls were dutifully created.  And, of course, I love creating fashions from paper dolls, so I do have a reproduction of the Whitman Publishing Co.'s version from 1940.  I would imagine that the few original re-creations of these dolls are extremely hard to come by on the antique doll market, but wouldn't it be amazing to find one?

So that's why doll artists like Stephanie Ehmen are in such demand.  Her work is lovely and I feel so fortunate to have one of her dolls to dress and display.  Upon contacting her, she asked if I wanted a doll with "flirty" eyes.  Apparently the originals were set with mobile eyes, mechanisms that allowed the doll to look left and right.  These are very delicate mechanisms and I didn't wish to risk the eyes sticking at some point or breaking in transit, so France's are stable.  And, when I dress my dolls, I do play with them.  They go through the rigors of being both mannequin and model.  After much searching for a more authentic looking wig, I chose the Daisy wig, which comes in various sizes through Dollspart.  My France is wearing the dark blonde.  I also gave her thinner, softer eyelashes.  And, well, hey, if I ever have to have a Marianne, I'll change her eyes to blue and the wig to brown!

So here I was newly finished with Heather's Kitty's trousseau.  It took me three weeks to settle into a new routine and during that time, I flirted with the idea of making something new for Cissy.  I was going to try a cabana outfit of bathing costume and wrap skirt, hat, etc.  But going from a delicate 14" lady doll to a huge 21" model wasn't settling well.  France had been sitting on a table either naked, or wrapped in a garble of leopard faux fur fabric for the few months while I worked on Kitty.  So I tried taking her out to play.  There is a leopard coat from the reproduction paper dolls that I've been anxious to make, yet she'd require a dress beneath.  So I began a dress and wasn't happy with the silk I'd chosen.  Then I began working on a special gown and was equally unhappy with the fabric I chose.  One of the problems with the state of our country right now, is prompt shipping from fabric stores.  With one of my favorite stores, it takes three weeks to a month for them to ship.  So there I sat, dumbfounded and disappointed that I couldn't move forward on a new project.

I needed something to ease me into a new project.  I generally insist on making my own patterns, however, I had purchased the set of France and Marianne patterns Stephanie created, and thought to myself, Well, why not try one?  Maybe the challenge is not only in creating something, but enabling myself to patiently follow instructions.  I was further challenged this way when the Barbie Dream House arrived, and now that I'd been successful with that, I was encouraged to continue with "someone else's pattern".  I also needed to select something that felt good, made me happy, and the right fabric will do that.  Make the beach dress and coat!  Its summer, I love bright summery colors, and off I took.

Earlier I had purchased this patterned fabric in aqua and yellow viscose and intended them for a Lawton doll I would make into a Flapper.  After still much more thought, making this fabric up into a fashionable summer boardwalk set seemed the right thing to do.  I'd purchased some nautical fabrics that might have worked, but nothing I had made me feel good.  I buy way too much fabric on impulse! 

As you can see, the original was made up in pink and green polka dot cotton.  It was tempting to try and replicate this, and maybe 1/2" polka dots would have worked, but then I'd be on the hunt for the just the right color, and the right size polka dot, and I was already frustrated with hunting and buying fabrics.  Stephanie's example was made up in nautical navy and white.  (see photo of pattern cover below)  Like the couturiers from Paris, I had to decide whether to make this a "juvenile" costume, or one for a young lady.  I chose the latter.  I had the vision of seeing France strolling the boardwalk, sitting in an open cafe with an ice cream, removing her shoes for a walk near the water's edge with her skirts gently fluttering in the breeze.  So this is what I came up with.

I began with the dress.  I almost stopped in my tracks thinking the fabric was too thin, but I forced myself to persevere through this if not just to get a mock up done.  I had plenty of extra fabric to work with.  I wanted a belt to go with it.  I wanted this entire outfit to look as if it had been purchased on the whole and not pieced together, from tip to toe.  I'd already had a lovely variety of leathers to select from to make her a matching pair of shoes.  I'd purchased one of every color available in the lambskins I used for Kitty's shoes.  Stephanie provided a pattern for espadrilles, which could be made up in cloth.  I had plenty of materials on hand to work with.

Making up someone else's pattern doesn't inspire me to go into how I put something together.  The fact that I was easily able to follow her instructions is a minor blessing.  She did a wonderful job.  There were only a couple of areas I had trouble figuring out, but I've done enough of this stuff to not be curtailed by the minimal setbacks.  I am confident that each pattern I try that she's created will be a treat to make up.

So what did I do differently?  First of all, the pattern called for adding lengths of ribbon to the skirt and bodice, which I omitted.  I didn't want to have to go out and try to find ribbon to match, and what ribbon I did lay on the fabric took away from the effect I was trying to achieve.  Matching markings for pleats was a bit problematic, then having them accurately fit the width of the bodice took a little fudging.  I know the pattern calls for 1/4 seams, but these seemed huge to me.  The closest marking on my machine indicates .7 which when measured is about 1/4".  Very hard to line up and follow on curves.  But, as always, I was determined.  The mind works better when a rhythm is established and I had to let it flow. 

The bodice is fully lined so I felt I was onto something. The construction was the same as I do mine.  There was joy in knowing that I wasn't just making all this stuff up.  And, I learned some cool stuff along the way for my own pattern making in the future.  The dress is finished with little mother of pearl buttons up the back with hidden snaps.  I knew this wasn't going to cut it for the coat and was miserable thinking about constructing the coat, only to have my machine eat it when I tried a machined button hole.  So it took me two days to ponder over that.  This was just about the time the Barbie Dream House showed up.  Working through that gave me a bit more confidence. 

I ended up making my own buttonholes by hand.  I was thankful that I had the wherewithal to look up how to do them (again) on the Internet.  That handy iron on interfacing did the trick to stabilize the fabric for the buttonholes.  I've stayed away from buttonholes since the tiny ones I did for Gay Event's corset.  And, I think I did a couple of tiny ones on a blouse once.  I was nervous the entire time.  One can really make a mess of buttonholes if not done correctly.  But, I measured and remeasured and drew the lines, cut a slit in the fabric and blanket stitched around the hole.  What I will not do next time is use embroidery thread.  At least not on thin fabric.  Instead of taking out the first one, which looked ghastly to me, I plodded on and did the next two similarly for consistency of appearance.  I was mortified by how they turned out, but once buttoned, the coat looked okay in the front. 

Another area that required ribbon, was this kite shaped pocket on the coat.  In order or continue the look I wanted, I made a "ribbon" of the yellow fabric to decorate the pocket.  I also made the pocket "pillow case" style for ease of working with.  I had to hand sew this on, which was fine.  Now I had a belt of blue and a ribbon of yellow, so the two pieces, the coat and the dress, looked like they belonged together.

The hat Stephanie proposed making, was a bit different from the original, and I liked the original for its pointy peak.  You'll notice in the sepia photograph of the dolls admiring their chest of clothing, that Marianne is wearing a fur hat with a pointy peak.  I'm new to the fashions of the late 1930's, but apparently this was the height of chapeau fashion.  I call them Hershey's Kiss hats.  Anyway, I added two extra rows of hat braid to the Riviera hat.  These hats were very large brimmed back then.  And, used her crown pattern as a sloper to create a multicolored hat like the original was, elongating the top portion a tad.  After sewing the fabric crown to the braid brim - and I just barely had enough braid to make this - I added a grosgrain ribbon to the inside to neaten it up.  I also had just enough hat braid left to make a tiny beach bag to match.  Just big enough for a movie ticket or a few sea shells.

Then onto the shoes.  For some obnoxious reason, I couldn't get this lambskin to behave under my needle for top stitching.  I use a jeans needle to sew my leather, and it has always worked before.  But the leather simply wanted to travel in every direction than what I wanted.  I finally used stitch and tear paper beneath it, but it still wasn't much use.  My guess is that my machine needs a tune up and some calibrating.  I've been putting it off because it means not having the machine handy, but seems very necessary at this point.  I bought a walking foot, but have yet to learn how to use it.  That may have helped.

So I used the pattern for the espadrilles, but made them out of leather and with a back loop and buckled strap for the ankles.  I've been wanting to use more of that banana colored leather since making Kitty's luggage, and was delighted to work with it again.

I'm so happy France is finally outfitted with something to wear for summer.  I love this doll.  Her 16" body is delightful to sew for.  She's also sturdily strung, so can pose wonderfully.  I took some photos of her with an AG cafe chair to illustrate this.  Now I have to find a spot on a shelf to display her.  I also wanted to share this stand that I got for her.  An Ebay seller makes these with two saddle styles.  The one with the hourglass saddle fits her beautifully.  All you need to do is ask for this particular style of saddle. 

Wishing you days of sunshine and happiness, leafy trees and soft green lawns as we continue through the precious months of summer.  France will get her school dress next, but for the time being, she can enjoy the salty breezes and many cones of ice cream.

Love,
Melissa

A Royal Advertisement

Stephanie Ehmen's Pattern

Wooden Stand With Hourglass Saddle

France Sitting Pretty

From A Sidewalk Cafe

My Favorite of the Doll's Accessories

Let's Play Barbie! Barbie's Dream House (1962)

Its summer!  And, each summer, no matter what's going on in the world, in my life, I get, not just a touch of nostalgia, but sometimes a heap load of it.  I'm in grade school again, and summer is precious because the days are warm, its a  holiday from school rooms, and all there is do all day is play.  I can roller skate around the block, I can play with my troll doll and troll doll house in the grass under a shade tree (more authentic that way).  I can read, I can draw, go swimming at the community park.  And, I can play Barbie.

The good memories of these days, these summers, all led up to September when I could begin the new school year and my birthday was right around the corner.  I think one of my favorite birthdays was the year I got the first Skipper doll.  I was over the moon.  But, my first Barbie is the faded and fuzzy memory of a five year old.  I begged my mother to buy me one.  I was relentless and she was not too happy about it.  The doll had breasts.  She was indecent in the eyes of the church.  But, I wore her down and she bought me the blonde ponytail Barbie with poodle bangs and the red swimsuit. (Didn't I want the brunette since I had brown hair?  No.)  She sat down with a pattern and made me two outfits from the remnants of clothing she'd made for herself.  I believe the shoes and swimsuit were lost within a couple of days.  I can't imagine how they got lost.  Maybe I ate them.  But, now that I think about it, five years old might have been too young for a doll with tiny things that could go missing so easily.

So with the summer here and nostalgia nipping at my heels again, my heart would skip a beat when my friend, Becca, kept telling me about her reproduction Barbie Dream House that she had no room to set up and display, but loved it anyway.  She had one as a child.  After a few weeks of her mentioning this several times, I went on Ebay to see what the big deal was, and see if I could find one - MIB, of course.  I saw one listed by a seller in Southern California, so I knew it wouldn't have to travel across the country.  I thought about it.  I deliberated about it.  Do I really need a Barbie Dream House?  I think it took all of an hour of serious consideration before I hit the Buy It Now.  Then I had to tell Becca what I did.  Did you know that Mattel only made one hundred of these reproductions?  That made it all the more special to me.  When it arrived, I couldn't wait to unbox it.

It was heavy!  Very sturdy, and came with huge cardboard printed sheets of furniture that you could assemble by punching them out of the sheets, then follow a booklet of instructions on how to build each piece.  Well, I must tell you that I have been following instructions lately, and this will be in my next blog, and this was one more chance to see how patient I could be.  I was determined to take it step by step, even if I had to read the instruction several times before it made sense to me. 

I started at the beginning and only punched out the pieces of the item they referred to.  It was the blue ottoman.  My mind started wandering to the ageless tradition of paper toys and paper doll houses.  This is nothing new.  Paper toys were printed in magazines for French Fashion dolls.  McLoughlin Bros. printed cardboard doll houses and furniture sheets for children to play with in the early and prior part of the 20th century.  There was Daisy's Doll House in the Women's Home Journal.  And, Alice Leverette made paper toy sheets for two very special dolls she designed (and for), during her years at Vogue Doll Company.  Just Me and Marie Terese.  But, this reproduction house was brilliant.  It was Mad Men, Tonner's Monica Merrill, Barefoot in the Park.  It was the 1960's in all its trendy modernization.  You don't have to remember it.  You don't have to like it or want your own home to look like it.  Its history, its nostalgia, and its Barbie from 1962.

The next pieces went along rather nicely, and I could see how they were setting up the progression of difficulty.  Frankly, I do not believe a child could assemble these pieces, but the child could do this with the assistance of an adult.  I was thinking that if I'd been old enough and if we'd had the means to buy me one of these, my brother would have assembled this for me and I would have been in awe.

The designer at Mattel that created Barbie's Dream House had pure genius.

Now it was time to assemble the big kahuna of the operation.  The wardrobe.  All the other items were pieces of furniture and a console with a phonograph inside, in the middle, with a folding flap on top for a door. One of the neatest pieces in this collection is this cylindrical lamp.  I don't recall whether these were bamboo or burlap-type shades, but they were the height of fashion.  I knew the main piece, the wardrobe with bookshelves and a vanity in the center would be tricky.  So I assembled it over a couple of days.  So far there were no "extra" pieces.  I was on a roll.  A slow role, but steadily making progress.  I guess I haven't mentioned that Barbie's Dream House was my "not going to convention this year" toy.  I intend to have it set up and play with it all summer.  I can't keep it displayed long term, but its my treat for summer.

The only tricky part was fixing in place the "key locks with retainers".  It felt like the key locks were not long enough to go through the cardboard walls, but I was determined and a gentle pressing of the walls enabled me to get them latched.  When folded up and stored, the wardrobe is attached and the furniture and accessories can be stored in front of it.  The Dream House even has a handle for carrying around.  Oh, how I would have loved this as a child.  But, I love it now as an adult and that's what counts.

When Mattel began making early 1960's reproduction Barbie items, I collected everything I could.  These were the things I missed out on as a child.  I also collected some of the vintage clothing sets in as mint condition as I could.  I bought two tall black Barbie cases, and one of the short trunk style ones.  I bought the mini (keychain?) vinyl trunk with a zipper, and other miniatures that were available.  When it came time to set up the furniture and start making it a home for Barbie, I decided to only include reproduction clothing in the closet because the house was a reproduction.  But, I have added the pink dog from her negligee to the bed.

I also collected the vintage Barbie Easy Readers.  Simple, sweet stories of Barbie adventures.  I don't know how many there were, but I was able to purchase three in excellent condition.  All of this seemed to have been waiting for the eventuality of my buying the Barbie Dream House, for back then, I simply collected for the enjoyment and "chase" of it, then stored it all. 

As a little girl I can remember going grocery shopping with my mother at the local grocer's, Griso's Market, in Sunnyvale.  I'd spend the time in the toy department while my mother pushed her cart around filling it up for the week's meals.  There was one dress that fascinated me and I used to look at it on the shelf in its square striped packaging and dream.  It was the green and blue tulle gown with the green shoes and gold purse.  So when I set this up today, I made sure to include it displayed in the Dream House on a lovely Barbie mannequin that I didn't even remember collecting.  I steamed out the tulle and its lovely and fluffy once again.

I guess I forgot to mention that a Barbie doll came with this reproduction Dream House.  Below are photos of the house before and after I accessorized it.  Thank you, Becca, for introducing me to this fabulous big toy!

I hope you'll find your very own enchantment this summer.

Love,
Melissa

Katherine Louise Hudson's Royal Presentation

"Several events have occurred over the last few weeks.  My dearest friend, Charles, is off to Egypt once again, and at his farewell salon party the other night, if I'm correct, I noticed a stolen kiss between Kitty and Charles.  A hanky was lifted to her eyes as she turned from the door, but she smiled widely and returned to the party as she knows there will be letters and by next spring, she will join him on a dig.  A lot can happen in a year, but I do believe they will always remain close.

Another event, should we call it one, was that a letter arrived from Kitty's mother stating that Kitty will be received by the queen in a Royal Presentation during the London Season next summer.  Only the daughters of British aristocracy and the nouveau riche from the states are accepted as debutantes to be introduced into society.  Kitty's eyes popped open, and her pretty little jaw dropped long enough to hold a golf ball.  I was so tickled for her.  And, in a separate letter to myself, her mother, naturally, asked me to make her a gown.

Come to think of it, anything else that has occurred pales in comparison to watching Kitty learn to curtsy.  And, now my cup of tea has gone cold and I've much to do." - Madame Hoover

Royal Presentations, from what I've gathered, began in Victorian England and blossomed into the Edwardian era.  They were held each summer during the London Season, and were also referred to as Court Presentations.

When the date of a drawing room was announced, letters poured into the Lord Chamberlain, suggesting names of ladies, debutantes, for presentation.  Everyone who had "kissed the Queen's hand" was able to nominate another for presentation.  But, it wasn't guaranteed that any name submitted was accepted.  The list underwent careful scrutiny by both the Lord Chamberlain and the Queen.  Her Majesty would only receive those who "wore the white flower of a blameless life".

There were three qualifications.  The presented must be of good moral and social character.  Presentation must be made by someone who had already been presented.  And last, was their social status.  Considered were the daughters of country gentry, town gentry, naval and military officers, persons engaged in large scale commerce, doctors, barristers, bankers and merchants.

Once selected, invitations were sent out three weeks prior to the presentation.  (Kitty's case was an exception though.)  This gave the excited young women time to practice their curtsy and put together the proper attire.  It would take an entire chapter to detail the requirements of dress, so let us be brief in saying that the rules were strict when it came to length of trains, veils, trims and accessories.  A head piece would consist of a veil and ostrich plumes.  Long white gloves were required unless the lady was in mourning.  Accepted accessories were bouquets, handkerchiefs and ostrich plumed fans.



The debutante would wear white, however her gown could be adorned with tasteful and colorful flowers.  White was chosen as it signified moral purity and chasteness.  While I researched many gown styles for Kitty to wear, I kept coming back to the one worn by Rose on Downton Abbey.  Who could possibly forget that episode?  If nothing else on the show emphasized who these people were, this episode did.  It occurred to me as I studied Rose's gown, that it had similarities, references to that of The Shepherdess, a theme of innocence used time and again by artists throughout time.  This enchanted me, as I'm a pure romantic at heart.

I chose an off white Shantung silk for the gown and silk tulle for the veil.  I'm going to state that Kitty's gown is loosely based on that of Rose's, although the design is fairly close.  One of the main distinctions, is that Rose's is covered in a creamy lace.  I'm laughing as I write this because I tried.  I gave it the good old one-two try, but the construction of the gown with an addition of overall lace could not be figured out.  So let's get past that.  Besides, Kitty needed a unique gown suited to who she is.

The gown is constructed of a long bodice with narrow shoulders, fully lined.  The inset you see above the neckline for modesty was actually another requirement for low cut gowns back then.  I used a snip of the tulle to create this.  The paniers were the detail reminiscent of The Shepherdess, and these became the focal point of the gown.

First of all, they are not true paniers that lay atop a skirt like a gathered apron.  These are sewn into the side seams of the skirt.  I'm half tempted to suggest that Rose's had a bit of padding beneath them to make them pouf out.  Kitty enjoys her svelte figure, so we kept them smooth.  There is a tongue, or panel in front, for want of a better description, that is part of the panier design.  It is separate, but was ladder stitched at the top sections of the paniers to allow for beading running down the seam line.

While the dress took some designing and "engineering", it was the trimming of the gown that would take the most effort.  I'd been on the hunt for some fabulous beading or ideas for beading when I came up the vintage beading from the 1920's that was offered by an Etsy seller in the U.K.  It was just the right size with seed beads, and given the vintage as well as where it came from, I couldn't resist even at the cost.  Which was dear.  I knew it would be perfect for trimming the neckline and hoped I could use it on the hem of the paniers.

I don't know if you've ever used bead trimming before, but I had not.  I asked the seller how to cut it.  She indicated that there were little knots in-between the sets of design.  Hah!  Some knots.  I tried to cut next to one of them and beads scattered everywhere.  So I had to devise a way to resew the floral bead design on the ends to keep them secure.  While I did this, I realized that this beading was not that difficult to do.  So I found some clear seed beads with silver centers and used them for the beading on Kitty's paniers.  Like anything that is new, yet will be repetitious, its takes a few tries before you understand what works and doesn't, what looks best as well.  So I made two rows of this floral beading going down along the centers of the front panel, and extending to the curved paniers.  There is also a row of beading from the side seams for a couple of inches toward the lace.

I used a vintage French silver metallic lace as a bed for the satin flowers.  This metallic lace is actually quite nice to work with and I was able to trim it at angles on the ends to create a nice design.  The flowers were also an Etsy purchase by an artist in San Francisco.  I chose purple and gray mini roses.  I've been told that I'm crazy with how much I'll put into a creation, but I'm not that crazy.  If I were a premiere artiste, I would make my own bullion roses from silk ribbon.  I've seen them done.  But, I'm not, so there you go.  I could have chosen light pink, but it seemed too expected a color.  I like to be different.  One of the funny things I discovered when finishing this gown was that seed beads have not changed over the decades.  I ended up having to redo one of the floral beadings on the neckline and the beads I used are exactly the same as the ones they used then.  How could I then tell that the beading I bought from the U.K. was truly vintage 1920's?  First of all, I trust the dealer who deals in antique trims, but it was the aging of the thread used and how it was tied and knotted.  Observations.

Next, I tackled the veil.  This is a cut tulle veil.  Yes, there is such a thing.  It is perfectly acceptable to have a cut tulle veil as well as one that is edged in either lace or a binding.  This was all new to me, so I did extensive research on how and what of "bridal wear".  Heaven help the person that calls this Kitty's wedding dress.  In actuality, these gowns were made to resemble wedding dresses as they would give suitors an idea of their bride to be.  Which reminds me of something I wished to point out.

The debutantes presented at court were done so to indicate that they were good choices for marriage, as well as introducing them into society.  If there's a difference in distinction.  For girls like Kitty, they would have come from the nouveau riche, wealth made during the Industrial Age.  While the states were filling up with families like Kitty's, the upper classes in England were beginning to struggle.  If a young man from a noble family could marry new money from the states, the girl would obtain a title, and the manor house would once again thrive.  This was also the theme of Downton Abbey.

Back to the veil.  This silk tulle cut veil is in three layers.  The top layer falls to Kitty's elbows, the middle length, to her knees, and the longest is a curved length that sweeps the floor behind her.  I used a silk tulle embroidered lace that I had on hand to trim the curved end.  Satin flowers were sewn to the center end of the veil.

I also made Kitty a flapper's head band of silver Swarovski crystal beads with a gray satin rosette on each end.  This was made with two wires of even length, beaded, then twisted together at the ends and rolled into a loop.  The loop provides a place to pin the headband into her wig.

I then had the opportunity to make a pair of silk high heels to match the dress.  I think I'm done making high heels.  They are just too much work.  Making the shoes for this gown was different in that the other shoes I made for Kitty, besides the boots, were in two parts.  This was our normal shoe with a seam up the back.  But, since they were not leather, they were made with two pieces sewn together in the "u", sewn up the back, then turned inside out to gather at the edge before gluing them to the sole.  So needless to say, they are short on sturdiness, as they are fabric.  What I did this time, was add a bit of very thin leather to the inside of the back for stability.  It was a nice finish.  The heels are wrapped in silk as well.

Finally I had to decide on bouquet or ostrich fan.  I'd sent away to the U.K. for these fine baby ostrich feathers, and when I told the seller what they were for, she hand selected the nicest, prettiest, baby feathers possible.  Fifty of them.  So I thought best to use a few more.  I looked up ostrich fans and discovered that they were used by flappers, which intrigued me.  So Kitty definitely needed one.  I found a website, once again in the U.K., that made and sold ostrich fans for weddings, and loosely used one of their designs for Kitty's.  Below you can see the fan from their website.

All the while creating this Royal Presentation outfit, I did so knowing that this was the last one.  The last outfit I'd be making for Kitty.  I both wanted to be done and to keep sewing for her forever.  Without looking, I think I've been working on this for four months straight.  I'm saddened that her story is now over for me, but gladdened that it is just beginning for her and Heather.   I feel like I've lived a lifetime with Kitty.  I've traveled with her and learned so much about the 1920's, the styles, the lifetimes, spots in history, and details I never would have thought to read up on.  And, as I finish writing this blog, I know this will be the last time I share Kitty's story with you.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.  Let's wish her well and Bon Voyage as she plans her European tour starting this fall.

"There are stacks of large costume boxes filling my hallway.  All of these tied with sturdy string and filled with Kitty's trousseau for her European tour.  I believe these are being sent by train to her home.  A porter will be coming to fetch them tomorrow.  I bought Kitty a special gift for her travels that she can open on her way home.  It is a diary for her to journal her hopes and dreams, thoughts and anecdotes from her travels.  I think one day that she might become a writer.  Maybe her notes will give her inspiration.

She's promised to stay in touch, but I think it unlikely.  This young woman has a full life ahead of her and I hope Charles will be a part of it.  They have so much in common.  I'm not one given to displays of sentimentality, but I noticed my cheeks are damp as I write this evening.  Nonesense! I will miss the evenings we've spent reading together, playing cards, hearing of her adventures from the day, her laughter at the small parties I give in my salon, her company on rainy days..." - Madame Hoover  

Fragonard's Shepherdess

Rose's Royal Presentation

Ostrich fan from the U.K.

Victoria's bridal gown with floral embellishments

Katherine Louise Hudson's Royal Presentation

Katherine Hudson's Winter Holiday in St. Moritz

"May is nearly gone and come June, we'll be packing Kitty's European tour trousseaux to take with her, in several trunks, back home. Wardrobes tend to be something we create with planning for the months ahead, and perhaps I should have started her winter togs for skiing when she first arrived.  For the past couple of weeks she's fussed and fidgeted with each fitting, telling me she's hot and itchy, and has sometimes drawn a cool bath after a lengthy one.  However, when I pulled out a hide of soft sheered mink for the jacket's collar, she was more accepting of the fittings.  She does love her fur.

Kitty enoys the snow and was practically "born on skis", so she tells me, so her trip to St. Moritz next winter will be a delightful time for her.   I have been there once myself, as its the oldest winter sporting playground in Europe since 1864.

Young Katherine is getting homesick, I can tell.  There are concerts and exhibits to see, and friends she misses.  She has kept up her studies through a tutor, and wishes to attend a graduation ball with her class.  But, I have one last ensemble to make for her for the London season next summer, and then we must say good-bye.  Sophie and I are planning a dinner party for the night before she leaves, and keeping it a secret has been difficult as Kitty likes to be involved in planning parties.  She knows something is up." - Madame Hoover

The exuberance and carefree attitudes of the young flappers extended well into outdoor activities, and skiing was one of those thrills.  The earliest evidence of skiing, or the act of transporting oneself across snow on wooden bars, dates between 6300-5000 BCE.  Archeologists have discovered ski-like implements in both China and Russia that date back this far.  There is even a rock carving, or pictograph, in Alta, Norway, dating back to 1000 BCE of a hunter with bow and arrow on skis.

Skiing was initially a way of transportation and the person maneuvered themselves by poling with one pole, back and forth, rather like paddling a canoe.  One of the most famous of these skiing pioneers, was Snowshoe Thompson, a Norwegian-American, who resided in the Sierra Nevada, and delivered mail by skis.  He is also known as the father of California skiing.  Being a California native and a cross-country skier, I enjoy this little bit of trivia.

So when it came time to make Kitty's ski ensemble, I got to do a little bit of historical research, but focused primarily on skiing in the 1920's.  I discovered that St. Moritz held the Winter Olympics in 1928.  I also uncovered tons of charming photos of young women on skis having the time of their life, and of course, wonderful winter posters from the Art Deco era.  My original intent, was to sew Kitty a ski costume from the Mandi paper doll, from which I designed her travel coat.  However, I ran into too many snafus in trying to acquire Argyle patterned knits in miniature.  And, no, AG Molly's stockings didn't work.  They were too thick. and finding a sweater to cut up was even more difficult with things shutdown.  However, when I found this adorable photograph of flappers doing a high kick with their skis from the 1920's, I was on it.

After scouring my own drawers and closets for ski worthy doll sweaters, and just about to give up, I found this rose colored sweater I'd purchased at Anthropologie years ago, way in the back of a cabinet.  Part of what makes a doll sweater look appropriate, is where and how wide the banding is.  Another consideration is the stretch of the knit and how narrow and short the patterns must be to accommodate a nice fit.

As it turns out, only this rose sweater had narrow enough bands, and I used only the bottom inches for Kitty's sweater.  One of the biggest challenges, to me, has always been getting the length of the sleeve correct.  With a dress or blouse, all may seem well and good, until you sew the sleeve in and take up a hem at the cuff.  With this sweater, I actually cut the sleeves out of the armholes after the first assembly, and sewed them back in since both the shoulders and the sleeve length needed shortening.  This doll has almost nonexistent shoulders.  So while the sleeves are bit longer, I'm fine with this.  Sweaters stretch, and wrists must be kept warm.  Kitty looks as if she has a bit of a tummy, but that is merely the band of Velcro attached to her stand, around her waist.  No, she hasn't been eating too many almond scones at Madame Hoover's.

The back edge of the sweater has been lined with a pink silk dupioni band, and snaps close it in the back.

Kitty's ski pants are fine gray wool.  The wool is a tight weave, but also thin enough to have a lovely drape and respond well to a few darts at the waistline.  They are knickers.  As I studied the photo of the flappers' attire for this costume, I wondered to myself if their pants were actually men's trousers, or if they made ski pants specifically for women.  I won't know.  But, the proof is in the pudding, as most women dressed like this for skiing in the 1920's.  Unless their attire came from Nordic knitters.  Which I am not.  (No, I never picked up the knitting needles again.)  The pants have little buttons at the sides of the cuffs at the knee, and two little buttons tacking down the pleats in the front, which you cannot see because her sweater is covering them (along with that nuisance Velcro waist band on the stand).

Kitty's jacket was another opportunity for me to work with a shawl collared coat.  You would think that a few tweaks to the coat's pattern would have done the trick, but that wasn't the case.  First of all, the collar on the coat is longer and a slightly different shape.  A jacket is shorter and the sleeves needed width for the sweater beneath, and the front needed to be designed to close like a jacket with a fur collar. New pattern.

If you'll notice in the photo of the flappers, not all the girls had luxurious fur collars, but Kitty definitely needed one.  The jacket is made from a similar wool of the pants, although a bit thinner with a tendency to lose threads on the cut edges.  So it was bit more difficult to work with on this scale.  Without the photograph being in color, I had to guess at what I assumed were earth tones in their outfits.  Obviously, the outfits they wore then, are not the high tech fibers used in ski clothing of today.  I do wonder if these girls stayed warm enough.  Wool usually did the trick and I doubt they were made up in anything else.  I can't wear wool.  I break out in itchy hives.  Its a wonder I can sew doll clothing with it!  But, I digress.  Back to the jacket.

The jacket is lined with a poly lining.  Most likely these jackets were lined in cotton, but to get the sleeves of the jacket over the sweater, I needed the "slip".  The collar is a standard shawl collar and was topped with a shawl of sheered brown mink.  I had to piece together two small pieces of this fur to get the length and curved of the collar.  The fur piece was then lined, turned right-side-out, then stitched to the jacket's collar.  No matter how I fuss about making collars, the clothing I like to create seem to all have collars of some sort.  The jacket is belted, and three buttons decorate the front, closing in snaps beneath.  A photo of the coat's lining is provided further down.


Time for ski boots.  When Heather asked for a pair of boots, I truly believed I could make just one pair, and they would be used for both her Egypt excavation, and the ski ensemble.  Nope.  No can do.  Ski boots are ski boots.  It took me a couple of days and some mock ups to get a good ski boot pattern, and a little ingenuity for lacing them.  One thing I was pleased about, was that I could finally use this eggplant colored leather she'd purchased for me early on.  I was going to use black, which was probably what most of them were made from, but the eggplant lent bit of elegance to a sports shoe.

The problem, of course, was getting a flat boot made for a high heeled foot.  I did study what contemporary doll makers have done, but if you look past the name like Tonner and Odom, and really look at the boot, they're kind of Frankenstein-y.  Basically what they do is take a high heeled foot bed used on Gene and Tyler's high heels, and just drape the faux leather to a flat bottom base, the sole.  I wanted a little better than that.  And, I was getting hung up on trying to make something like what they did.  So I pushed outside my Type A box.

Once I got a good boot pattern, I had to figure out what to do about lacing up the boots.  After a few think throughs, I chose the eyes of hook and eyes for the laces.  I know this is done on corsets for dolls quite a bit, but I wanted to employ it for the boots.  Fiddling with four eyes was ridiculously tedious, so I used a little fringe (hat) glue to tack them to the black cotton tab that would glue inside the edge of the boot.  That stuff is so good to work with!  Then I sewed the eyes onto the tabs, then glued them in.  This resulted in a nice way to lace up the boots.  On a larger doll, I may have used the hooks themselves, and I do have bronze ones from Dollspart.  Another doll, another time.

Kitty was also made a pair of brown knit stockings to wear beneath the pants and inside the boots.  You'd be amazed at how much larger you have to make a shoe to accommodate such stockings.  It matters.  The final fitting of the boots was done with Kitty wearing the "thick" stockings.  And, again, I left the laces long for Heather to trim as she sees fit.

So what did I do about the high heeled feet?  I made stacked leather heels, in thick black leather, for the sole and the heels.  A bit like hiking boots.  When your own nose in down to the level of making something like this, it is often difficult to discern whether what you're doing will "work", and what will be acceptable. I think it worked.  The overall look is what we're after.

Finally we made her a hat.  Those flappers in the photo had adorable newsboys caps on in a variety of fabrics.  I wouldn't be surprised if one of them was knitted.  So I chose an oatmeal wool and lined it with striped ticking.  I've made similar caps before, but this one alluded me for some reason.  I actually looked up a YouTube for the pattern piece.  Its not a triangle times six.  It could be if you were going to gather the edge for a band, but this needed to fit her head on its own.  If you don't know this trick, here is it.  Measure the head and divide by six, then draw a line.  Take a tape measure and loosely form it over the doll's head for how wide you want the puff to be.  Measure up for the drop of the puff, then angle that edge to an almost point.  That length should be measured from the center of the doll's head to a bit of overhang from her forehead.  Hope I'm making sense.  What that pattern piece will look like, is a Grecian or Roman vessel.  At least it did to me.  You know I love hats.  They complete the costume.

Kitty's skis and poles are Gene's from her own St. Moritz adventure.  Was it hard thinking "snow" when summer is just around the corner?  Not really.  Its all in one's frame of mind.  As with anything I do, I focus and immerse myself in what's before me.

Yes, sadly, Kitty will be going home soon, but not before I make her the last ensemble.  One for the London season.

"Its a bright, late spring day, and summer is upon us in every way except in name.  Bees are humming in the flowers and birds are chirping on every branch, in every tree.  Kitty is with friends this morning, and they're off to a lovely exhibit located in Central Park.  Its been a busy morning cleaning up my studio from remnants of wool, and a glorious silk awaits some attention.  But, not today.  The garden patio is calling, and a book awaits with tea." Madame Hoover

Love,
Melissa

 

The Duchess of Argyle in St. Moritz in the 1920's

A few of Kitty's friends.

A fun photo captured in St. Moritz, 1920's