Vintage Madame Alexander CISSY Doll, or Why it Pays to Take Your 10 year old Shopping with You!

Pickings at our local Goodwills have been kind of slim lately.  The only dolls I've been able to find in vast abundance seem to be Cabbage Patch, Disney Princesses, and 18" dolls from Target and Walmart.  I hold my breath every week upon entering my favorite Goodwill, the one that has the best toy aisle and where I've found the best dolls.  I'm always hopeful that this will be the time I discover that awesome find!  But more often than not, I've been walking out of the store with one or two mediocre dolls, or maybe even nothing.  Until this week!

Right now, this is my favorite child.  Haha!  Just kidding.  But that's what I told her when she returned to me in the Goodwill toy aisle after walking around the store with her brother to look at other things.  They get kind of bored, waiting for me to paw through ALL of the toy shelves, just in case something might be hiding.  I had discovered one Journey Girl and two, vintage, Madame Alexander babies, but that was it.  And then here comes my daughter, holding out a large doll in my direction.  "Here, Mom," she says.  "Do you want this?  It was in one of the carts they just rolled out to put away on the shelves."

This is what she handed me:

I might have squealed, just a little.  It's a Madame Alexander CISSY, people!  A vintage one, from the 50's, in her original, tagged dress!  She even has her matching headpiece, underwear, and stockings!  No shoes, but I'm not quibbling about that!

I've never held one in person before.  I'm sure they've been at doll shows, but since this isn't really the type of doll I collect, I've probably walked right by.  But I've read articles about her lately, and seen the huge following she seems to have.  So as soon as I saw her, I knew what she was!

She is missing some eyelashes from her right eye, and her right arm is dirty and discolored.  Her dress is also pretty filthy.  But besides that, she is in wonderful condition.  Her hair is very pretty and in it's original set.

She still has the ring on her finger!

Poor, discolored arm.  I will try to clean it and see what I can do about lightening it.  Somebody said that this is a result of being exposed to harsh lighting.  I will try coating it with 10% benzoyl peroxide zit cream and see what happens.  It usually takes out ink stains from vinyl dolls very well, so maybe it'll work for this, too.

Tag at back neckline

Back view of her gorgeous gown

I think the original color was an aqua blue, but it has faded and become quite dingy with grime.

Her underwear elastic has stretched out

Here you can really see her discolored arm compared to the rest of her body

Still, I think she's in really good shape, considering her age!  She has extra joints at the elbows and knees.  I think she's some sort of "walker", because when you move one leg, the other one moves in the opposite direction.

I asked questions about her on a Cissy Facebook group (there's a group for just about everyone and everything on Facebook!).  I was told that she is a "1956 Fashion Parade", #2030, wearing a bridesmaid gown of pleated tulle and netting.  

I have so much to learn about these dolls!  At first, I was thinking about selling her, but now I'm not so sure.  She's growing on me!  And her clothing...oh my!  She had quite the wardrobe!  I've seen patterns for her, and I think it'd be so fun to make her 50's style clothing...one of my favorite eras.

The best thing about this find...just look at the price tag:

Yes, $5.00!

I find it hysterical that Goodwill prices their "Collector Porcelain Dolls" usually twice as expensive, and yet they are barely worth anything.  In fact, I usually just buy them for parts (wig, shoes, eyes, etc) when they are half off.  But this doll, worth so much more on the secondary market among collectors, was only deemed worthy of a $5 price tag.  Don't worry, Cissy, I will make you beautiful again!  

The moral of this story:  never underestimate the power of your 10 year old to seek out and recognize vintage dolls that may be of interest to you.  I have taught her well!

Whopping Huge 23" Madame Alexander Baby PUDDIN' Doll!

So, this little (or should I say HUGE!) cutie joined our family yesterday.  I think she is just about the sweetest baby I've ever seen, next to my own kids, of course!

She is a vintage Madame Alexander Puddin' doll from 1965 and measures a whopping 23" long!

I found her at the thrift store for $4.  I couldn't believe my good fortune!  I've always loved Madame Alexander baby dolls--they just have the sweetest faces.  And this Puddin' is no exception. 

She didn't have any clothes when I found her, so I promptly dug through my suitcase of vintage clothing and found a real baby dress, slip and bonnet to fit her.  The bonnet just barely fits...I will be looking for a bigger one for her the next time I'm at an antique mall or doll show.

Her soft, strawberry blond hair looks like it has never been played with.

I have never seen a Puddin' this big.  She measures a whopping 23" from head to toe.  All the research I've done on these dolls says that they only went up to 21".  Obviously, the Alexander doll company made bigger ones, but maybe not many?  Perhaps mine is a rather rare example of this large size?

I found a little dolly for her to hold.  I love all the soft pinks and whites together.

All the Puddin' dolls I've seen have had a little braid on one side of their head.  This one did not.  I suppose one could have been there at one point, but the hair looks too perfect for that to be so.  Another mystery?

I am absolutely thrilled with this baby.  I've been gravitating to smaller dolls lately for space issues (you can fit more dolls into a space if they are smaller, you know!), but sometimes a "life-sized" doll has such a presence that you just can't obtain from a smaller doll.  My daughter carried this doll all through the Goodwill, and bounced her on her hip as we walked out to the car.  All the cashiers and customers smiled. 

I would be curious to know if anybody else has seen a Puddin' doll this large before?

I'm Back! and New Project Dolls

Well, hello!  After taking a bit of a break from blogging, I'm back to share my projects with you once again.  Our summer has been unseasonably long and hot; needless to say, I am SO looking forward to the cooler days of fall.  While our house does have central air, it really only works on the main level of our home--the upstairs, where my sewing/doll room is located, becomes an oven when the temperatures rise.  So there has not been much sewing going on at all during this summer.  However, I have managed to visit the local thrift stores on a regular basis, and found some neat treasures I didn't know I needed!

 

Just look at this sweet, little waif.  She is a vintage, 12" Madame Alexander "BETH" from Little Women.  She is all original, from the ribbon in her hair down to the socks and shoes on her feet.  I found her for just $1.99.  Her joints are extremely loose and floppy, so she will need to be restrung.  Her hair is in need of a gentle combing and reset, and her clothes could benefit from a gentle wash and ironing.  But when all that is done, I'm sure she'll look good as new!

I don't normally purchase Madame Alexander dolls, but I just couldn't resist this one.  Especially since she represents a character from one of my favorite books.

 

I've been coming across these 17" singing Disney princess dolls lately, finding one here and one there. 

The very first one I came across was Snow White, and I brought her home just because I thought she was so pretty.  I really didn't know anything else about her, so I spent some time on Ebay and the internet and discovered that the Disney Store had issued her, along with many of the other princesses, a few years ago.  They are no longer in production.  As far as I can tell, there are 13 dolls in the series: 

I pulled this picture from the internet, but I don't know who it belongs to so I can't give proper credit.  Anyway, it looks like there's Merida, Pocohantas, Cinderella, Tiana, Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, and Ariel.

 

After I found Snow White, I suddenly started discovering more of these dolls every time I left the house!  Over the next couple of months, I found Rapunzel, Tiana, Belle, Ariel, and finally Merida.  All were nude except Merida, who came completely clothed and Ariel, who still had her bra top.

 

They really have sweet faces, don't you think?  Disney did a great job in capturing their personalities from the films. 

 

 

They all have a battery compartment in their backs which allows them to sing!  It took me a while to figure this out, but when a small switch on their left hip is flicked to the "on" position and you touch a tiny, metal knob on their right hand, they start singing in the same voice from their movie.  I haven't been able to get Merida to say anything (does she even sing in the movie?  I can't remember)--there may be a glitch with her computer chip.  But I don't mind.  I like the dolls even if they can't sing.  I had initially planned on selling these dolls on Ebay.  I have never really been interested in fashion dolls.  But somehow, they have grown on me, and I plan on keeping them around for awhile.  I went to the fabric store and picked up lots of small pieces of satins in different colors so I can hopefully recreate their original costumes.  I don't like sewing for small dolls, so we'll see how this goes!

 

And now, for my best find in a long time...drumroll please...

A real, genuine, American Girl doll!!!

 

I had really given up on the thought of ever finding one at Goodwill, because they NEVER put AG dolls out on their shelves.  But lo and behold, I saw two, 18" doll style legs poking out from among all the toys in the over-packed shelves, and when I pulled her out, I just about fainted!  She is marked American Girl on her lower neck in very small letters, and also has a body tag that identifies her.  Some Goodwill employee just wasn't paying attention that day, lucky me!

 

Now, after my initial excitement, I did realize that she needs WORK.  But not as bad as you might think.  Her major flaw is her hair.  From my research, I believe my doll is a Just Like You #46 with the Sonali face mold.  This is what she looked like brand new:

'Sigh'.  What a difference a beautiful wig makes.

 

This is what is left of my doll's wig:

The back

 

Side view

 

On the plus side, her joints are nice and tight and her cloth body is clean.  Her vinyl limbs are in good condition, but she does sport black polish on her finger and toe nails.

 

 

My first step will be to remove the polish and remove any slight scuff marks from her vinyl.  I hope to find her a replacement wig.  I really wish that you could buy wigs directly from American Girl, but you can't.  (It's a scam, I tell you!)  So I will check around at the upcoming doll shows, and then maybe order one online if I can't find one locally.  I only paid $3.99 for this doll, so even if I have to spend a bit more on a quality wig, it will be worth it.

 

 

Oh, and I almost forgot...my oldest son is getting married in two weeks and I am making my dress and my youngest daughter's flower girl dress!  I have almost completed my dress using a 1950's vintage reproduction pattern from Butterick, and I will start working on my daughter's dress today.  So stay tuned for updates!