I grew up with Madame Alexander dolls, and still collect them. At one
time, I did sew for Wendy dolls, and still do, on occasion. But early in
my teens, I became engrossed in fashion history, largely from reading "Gone With
the Wind" and wanting to dress my dolls like the characters. I was "Gone
With the Wind" obsessed for many years! But my love of fashion history was
kindled by that experience, and I have since done a sort of independent study of
what people wore. Cissette, a 9 1/2" lady doll, was the perfect size for
me to take what I saw and read about into reality. I have not always
photographed my outfits, and have learned to be a better photographer along the
way. This gallery highlights my better work over the last several years.
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Hat detail on Antebellum dress.
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A tiered Antebellum dress.
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A "Dolly Varden" dress. The name comes from a Dickens character.
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Full view of the Dolly Varden dress.
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A silk wraparound dress.
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Tiny brocade purse.
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Ladies out for a stroll.
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A suit based on patterns from 1911.
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More 1911 suits made from adapted patterns.
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Nothing beats a fluffy hat....
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I have made a series of these riding outfits.
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A little victorian froth.
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Detail on a Titanic-era dress using vintage lace.
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Full view of Titanic dress.
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A heavily beaded walking suit. Gotta have the big hat!
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A dress I made for the Boston MADC convention.
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A Civil War lady.
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Details include a lacy cap.
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Back view of cobalt blue french fashion dress.
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Front view of the cobalt French Fashion dress.
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My 2004 design contest entry for MADC.
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Back view. I won first place!
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A picture of dresses my hubby took.
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A ruffly pink dress. Hey--where are her shoes?
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A green riding ensemble.
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This was a really neat medieval gown.
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A Jane Austen dress.
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A dress I made for the Rosalie Whyel Doll Museum.
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Back view of navy promenade dress.
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The pips reflected the camera's flash--they actually are darker.
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This promenade dress was based on French fashion dolls from the 1870's.
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Back view of grey suit.
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Close up of hat for the grey suit.
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This grey suit was inspired by "The Age of Innocence".
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A peach and green version of the promenade dress.
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Back/side view of the same dress.
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Beading detail on a peach Titanic dress.
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An evening dress for a Titanic-era lady.
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A little Edwardian ensemble.
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This is the neatest lace--deep scallops.
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Me and my hats...
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The original Titanic dress. I made several of these.
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Another Titanic dress, this time using vintage silk ribbons.
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I liked the contrast of light and dark in this dress.
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Hmm...that is one big hat!
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Yet another Titanic dress.
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I guess I make a lot of these....
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A very elaborate French fashion dress.
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I have to say I really liked this hat--vintage veiling.
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Sometimes elaborate is good!
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More 1911 suits. When am I going to get these poor dolls shoes???
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A scaled-down version of a pattern I found and adapted.
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Ah...a lovely train.
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Beads are everywhere!
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Another medieval dress.
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A revolutionary-war era dress, a commission.
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Another commissioned dress, Revolutionary era, with watteau back.
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I enjoyed the creative challenge of designing a Watteau back for such a small doll.
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May I have this dance?
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A gown inspired by Worth.
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This was a challenge, but fun. I scattered tiny silk flowers all over!
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The centers of the flowers are tiny czech crystals.
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