Miss Lachasse was styled as a mannequin in miniature, based on the leading model at the House of Lachasse in London, Miss Virginia Woodford. The 19-year-old Miss Woodford was much photographed at the time and would have been widely recognized through the pages of fashion journals. The original idea for Read more
Collectors of vintage French fashion dolls prize Caprice for her looks, her fashions and, not least, her rarity value. The dolls can easily be overlooked as they are completely without any manufacturer’s marks, and were produced in France only briefly from 1966 to 1970. But once you know what to Read more
Balenciaga’s dresses were owned by the cream of society. He was particularly favored by older clients. While with Dior you had to fit the dress, even to the extent of requiring girdles under bathing suits to maintain the correct line, with Balenciaga the dress was fitted to the body, always Read more
The main sales pitch for Popi was that her ensembles could be created easily with no sewing required. As it said on the box, “Cut and Drape Fashions – no-sew fun for girls”. Marketed as a fashion doll, her image was enhanced by the spare modern illustrations on the packaging. Read more
Arguably some of the most enigmatic and beautiful fashion dolls on the market today are made by Yian Lee of Modsdoll. Produced in strictly limited editions of only 25-30, these dolls have gained something of a cult following since their introduction in 2013, with the imaginatively named No1. In a Read more
Many male collectors have a complicated relationship with their dolls. In fact even some women are embarrassed about admitting to collecting dolls as a grown adult, perhaps being accused of arrested development by those who don’t know better! But at least they are playing with something that is conventionally a Read more
We’ve come a long way since the early days when manufacturers simply used the same molds for both black and white, and merely changed the color of the plastic. So in celebration of diversity, we take to the catwalk with the latest looks in fashion, modeled here exclusively by some Read more
In the immediate period following World War II, the weary citizens of Paris were desperate to restore their city to its pinnacle as the center of style and fashion. Mindful of this, and drawn together by post-war adversity, the Parisian couturiers collaborated to create a most beautifully detailed representation of Read more
There was plenty to work with when Rini decided to search the vaults at Horsman. As the longest-established American doll company, the archives contain over 150 years-worth of doll information, and run from the earliest china dolls with kid leather bodies, through cloth, composition, many plastics, to the latest modern Read more
The exhibition Dolls: Collections, Stories, Traditions, explores the under-representation of positive images reflecting the Black experience in the mainstream toy and doll industry, as well as the socio-historical implications of that fact. The dolls and artifacts on display were assembled to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the people of Read more