Bonnie Porter’s beautiful French fashion doll is from around 1880-1890. She was probably made by Steiner as the factory was known for producing open-mouth dolls with teeth. Bonnie designed and made her outfit way back in 1965, she says “I remember when. She had her mauve silk parasol and her original underwear, I was searching for fabric to dress her in.”
Bonnie found her prize at the Penial thrift store on E14th and 89th Avenue in Oakland, CA. “Walking by a bin, I saw this piece of mauve/lavender finely striped fabric, felt it and ‘Oh it’s silk’ … heart racing … ‘the right color!!’ I tugged on the fabric and out came an old silk bed spread, full size, with a quilted top where the silk was shredded, but it had an 18” full flounce, plenty of fabric to dress my girl”. Find some ideas for doll dressmaking in the Techniques section of The Bold Doll.
This Steiner French fashion doll has real jewelry of gold, and seed pearl earrings, a necklace of faceted garnet beads, a ‘hat pin’ that is actually an antique gold and amethyst stick pin. Bonnie points out that, “My own jewelry is all just sterling silver – my dolls have hand painted fine china and cut crystal – I have ironstone and pressed glass. We doll collectors all know (like any fashionista) that accessories can make the outfit. In 1965, I didn’t have a source for French fashion patterns, so I faked it trying to copy a picture in an old Godey’s Lady’s Book.”
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