Catherine Denueve, Brigitte Bardot, and Caprice, our three favorite French fashion icons. Let’s venture into the style archives with this highly desirable, yet rarely hard to find, 1960s top model.
Ready for bed, Caprice models an original outfit Bonsoir, in her well-appointed boudoir. This look is finely tailored from one of the new must-have fabrics of the 1960s –100% nylon. The ensemble consists of a negligée, housecoat, a slip barely glimpsed through the sheer fabric, and white mules. As an authenticity check, a detail of a Caprice label is shown bottom right.
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 look out for they are very distinctive and easily recognizable.
Right and left, Caprice out-pinks Barbie. The sleepshorts bedtime set channels Brigitte Bardot’s signature pink gingham fabric. Visitors to France will be familiar with this from the logo of Tati – the Parisian’s perennial favorite budget store. Caprice works that pink mini shift dress with éclat and élan (not to mention a killer updo worthy of Tippi Hedren). First issue Caprice, brunette version (above, center), has the transluscent skin tone, heavier eyelids, and nose dots of the early dolls; the blonde version is a second issue – less finely molded in a more solid colored vinyl. Caprice clothes packaging is as understated as you’d expect for this high fashion mini mannequin. The doll’s logotype is shown in signature pink above.
One obvious clue lies in the vinyl used for the dolls, which has a rubbery quality that makes them a little tricky to dress – fabrics tend to drag along the surface. But this texture does lend a depth and realistic quality to these early fashionistas: Caprice doesn’t look at all ‘plasticky’ like some of her contemporaries.
In the background is a selection of fashion drawings from the first Caprice catalog showing the wide range of fashions available – good luck with finding them all! The photographic images are from the second catalog. Caprice also models some of her outfits for comparison with the brochure images: clockwise from top left: Réverie, Beaux-Jours, Lycée, Sortie, and Cocktail.
She is a similar height to Barbie, but has a quite different body sculpt. She has a higher bustline, presumably due to va-va-voom French foundation garments, and broader hips. This means that the two dolls can rarely share any garments that are remotely tailored.
Caprice heads to San Tropez in her original black maillot de bain (swimsuit) accessorized with vintage beach cape, hat, and straw bag – ideal for la plage.
Despite a relatively short time on the market, Caprice boasts an impressive wardrobe, as shown in her two catalogs. These desirable outfits, however, are even more rare than the doll herself and may well require foreign trips to French fleamarkets to hunt them down.
Caprice wears Opera for the Paris Opera. This rare outfit was reimagined by Tallulabelle using the finest brocade fabric in as a close match as possible to the original.
The blonde versions of the doll bear more than a passing resemblance to the beautiful French actress Catherine Deneuve in her Les Parapluies de Cherbourg big screen heyday. Caprice is also rumored on the doll boards to be the model used as the basis for a highly collectible contemporary resin art doll.
Vinyl never looked so good, Caprice visits the Place du Tertre for a little Parisian art shopping. Very Courrèges in her harlequin print raincoat with matching hat designed by La Boutique de Sheila. During the 1960s, the French pop princess, Sheila, was enlisted to market a range of clothing for Caprice, with its own special label (bottom left). Examples of her wares, as well as the singer herself, are shown on the flyer (top left).
She was produced in two editions. The first issue doll is perhaps the most desirable as the vinyl is more translucent and less tan. This doll has slightly more hooded eyes, giving her a dreamier, sultry look and her nostrils have red dots. The second edition is less finely molded, there is some loss of detail in the face sculpt and the vinyl seems ‘flatter’ in color and a little more crudely realized.
Ever the consummate traveler, not to mention shopper, Caprice takes a trip to New York City. Wearing a new version of Ocelot by Tallulabelle, she’s not taking any chances with the weather, while bringing a little European chic to her American friends.
Postcards from Paris (top to bottom). All set to study, wearing Lycée, such Rive Gauche student chic: a Caprice original of black roll-neck sweater, red plaid A-line skirt, and signature heart pendant chain. Cocktails at the Moulin Rouge in Cocktail: the essential little black dress in satin with chiffon overlay and sheer chiffon sleeves. The baby-blue Beaux-Jours captures the very essence of 1960s Chanel chic. Just in case of inclement weather while visiting the Eiffel Tower, Caprice takes no chances in this white original Imperméable from La Boutique de Sheila.
TALLULABELLE TO THE RESCUE!
Caprice is notoriously hard to find outside of France, and even there she’s pretty rare. But her outfits are even more so. Luckily for me the highly talented doll couturier, Tula O’Reilly, is a member of my doll group… and I was thrilled when she accepted the challenge to recreate some of Caprice’s clothes.
Tula based the new outfits in part on some of the originals while using the drawings and photos in the mini-brochures as reference. She had to create patterns from scratch because this doll has such an unsual body type and many of the clothes rely on fine-tailoring and a body-conscious fit for effect.
Part of the challenge was to source period-appropriate fabrics of a suitable weight. The biggest issue at this scale is minimizing bulk – especially when the styles are so pared-down that every seam shows. Caprice was never a girl for too many frills and flounces – so the fit, cut, and finish all had to be absolutely spot on. There was nowhere for the tailor to hide!
Tula created three additional outfits for Caprice. Above left (and on the postcard outside Le Champ de Mars cafe) is Beaux-Jours, a princess-line dress suit in baby-blue slub silk with contrast black piping. Note the perfect alignment of the front jacket seams with the seams of the dress. Not at all easy to achieve at this scale!
The glamorous Opera, worn appropriately enough outside the Paris Opera, was created by Tula folllowing the original design, with great care and attention to detail. This gorgeous column of a gown is made of a lightweight brocade and is complete with matching clutch bag, long gloves, diamante bracelet and (of course) a tiara.
The luxurious Ocelot daytime outfit as presented boxed by Tula (above). This stunning fitted coat with matching hat was created in a fine weight faux fur and is beautifully accessorized.
Tula O’Reilly sells her exquisite doll fashions as Tallulabelle on eBay.
Enjoy a romp through Caprice’s rarely-visited wardobe and pick up some 60s style tips on the way! Compare Caprice with Mdvanii and Persia dolls here.