Fashion Dolls 101

  Holly Hobbie ad, 1970s One of the most successful commercial lines of rag dolls is Holly Hobbie. Born in 1944,  Denise Holly Ulinskas ,   is an American writer and illustrator who  married Douglas Hobbie in 1964. She also sometimes goes by the name of the character she created-- Holly Hobbie. According to Wikipedia, in the late 1960s,  Hobbie sold her signature artwork of a little girl wearing a blue rag dress, usually clutching a cat and dressed in a giant bonnet, to American Greetings. The adorable little ragamuffin in blue immediately caught on and was soon known as "Blue Girl," She would later be named Holly Hobbie. But this is not where the little sunbonnet girl got her start. Under the Window by Kate Greenaway, ( 1879) Kate Greenaway made illustrations with sun bonnet girls and other children at the turn of the century. Her art in books and magazines in the late 1800s made quaint figures of young girls in bonnets popular around the country.   Sun...

Historic, Colorful & Quaint Rag Dolls & Cloth Dolls Are Fun to Collect & Display An old and historic toy, rag dolls have been around for a long time. Made of cloth and stuffed with leftover fabric or other materials,  they are one of the oldest children's toys in existence.   Dolls made of cloth date back to antiquity.   The  British Museum  is home to a  Roman  rag doll , found in a child's grave in Egypt, dating from the 1st-5th century AD.  A collection of various rag dolls Rag dolls are still very popular today.  One only has to do a search on   Ebay  to see the myriad varieties of rag dolls, cloth dolls and plush dolls available to purchase online. Colorful rag and cloth dolls enjoy a sunny day There are rag dolls with painted faces and embroidered faces. Some cloth dolls have painted faces or eyes, noses and lips sewn on out of cloth or even paper. Hybrid soft-sculpted dolls have cloth bodies with faces m...

Cloth dolls at the Tennessee Ren Fest At this year's Tennessee Ren Fest there were some cute little cloth dolls for sale. Dressed in renaissance gowns, the dolls were trimmed with bits of lace and ribbon. Dolls are not always found at a Renaissance Festival so these were a particularly nice find. A tapestry with a dog dressed as Queen Elizabeth Costumes are always plentiful as are various other arts and crafts. For collectors of the cute and unusual, there were even tapestries from Europe of dogs in historic poses. Scenes from the 2018 Tennessee Renaissance Festival Ren Faires are colorful and imaginative and a fun way to spend the day. If your city hosts a renaissance festival, try to catch it. There you will make your own colorful finds! Related: 33rd Annual Tennessee Ren Fest a Hit    Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincare products and start your way to clearer, healthier skin today! Join me on  Facebook  or em...

Native American Dolls at NAIA Pow-Wow The 36th Annual  NAIA Tennessee Pow Wow  and Fall Festival is being held this weekend at Long Hunter State Park in Nashville, Tenn. featuring Native American Indian arts and crafts and a functioning demonstration village and Native American dolls of all kinds are everywhere! From vinyl dolls, to cornhusk, clay, wood and yarn, dolls and figures adorned many booths. The NAIA Pow Wow ends on Sunday, Oct. 22.  Find out more at: NAIA Tennessee Pow Wow Features Demonstrations & Dance | Christian Activities Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincare products and start your way to clearer, healthier skin today! Join me on  Facebook  or email  skin_and_health@yahoo.com  for more info! I would love to help you have the best skin of your life!!

Photo of Belle Meade Mansion (c) Kathryn Darden Belle Meade Plantation , located in Nashville's prestigious Belle Meade community, is a historic mansion whose grounds and buildings now serve as a museum.  Although visitors usually go to enjoy the grounds, historic outbuildings and the mansion, there is also a gift shop on the grounds full of Civil War and Southern gifts, including some cute dolls and stuffed animals. Photos of dolls (c) Kathryn Darden Beautiful dolls in Southern style dress join Raggedy Ann and some home-spun dolls in pretty array.  Not to be outdone are plush ponies, puppies, bunnies and other stuffed animals for sale at Belle Meade Mansion. Built in the 1820s by  John Harding , the mansion is worth a visit to enjoy some of the history of Nashville and the South, but doll collectors will also enjoy shopping in the gift store for the cute offerings found there. Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincare pro...

A visit to see the lavish Dressing Downton: Changing Fashion for Changing Times exhibit  at Cheekwood Mansion in Nashville  promised to be a day of  fashion and histor y. What I didn't expect was to find cute Downton Abbey dressed bears as well as small doll-sized accessories from the 1930s! Downton Abbey bears photo (c) Kathryn Darden The set of three bears was displayed twice, so here are both displays so you get the bears at two different angles.  Small accessories included small serving pieces and small hats of the era made into what may have been pin cushions but just begged to be reassembled atop some lucky doll's head! Doll-sized accessories  photo (c) Kathryn Darden If Dressing Downton comes to your area and there is a gift shop involved, check it out. The display will teach you more about fashion and you might find some doll-sized goodies in the gift store! Dressing Downton: Changing Fashion for Changing Times  runs June 17 ...

Mattel has been making Irish Barbie dolls as part of their Dolls of the World (DOTW) series in 1984, and in 2012 they introduced the 4th Irish Doll of the World . Between 1984 and 2012, Mattel has issued 3 other Irish DOTW Barbie including 1995's DOTW Irish Barbie, 2002's Irish Princess and the Irish Dance Barbie in 2007. Article at: Irish Barbie dolls for St. Patrick's Day

 Donald Trump 12" Talking Doll is in Great Condition and Says 17 Phrases New in box, and has never been opened. From the TV Show "The Apprentice." Has 17 phrases: 1) I should fire myself just for having you around 2) This one's easy for me...you're fired 3) That was a tough one 4) Think big and live large 5) Never give up...under any circumstances never give up 6) I have no choice but to tell you you're fired. AND MORE!! in Entertainment Memorabilia, Television Memorabilia, Other Television Memorabilia Find it on eBay at:  Donald Trump 12' Talking Doll NIB NRFB Says 17 Phrases :

  1994 Davy Crockett doll by Mattel In December of 1954, Disney aired the first of five episodes of their Davy Crockett miniseries on ABC starring Fess Parker as Crockett and Buddy Ebsen as his friend George Russel. That first episode was "Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter" and it gave birth to "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" and an obsession with coon skin caps. Forty years later, Mattel produced a Davy Crockett doll to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Davy Crockett television series in 1994. Read more: 1994 Davy Crockett doll by Mattel - Nashville Doll Collecting Examiner

Barbie goes to a Ren Fest - National Barbie Collecting Examiner Ren Fest season is here, and no one does a Ren faire better then Barbie doll! From the Renaissance Festival Barbie doll in blue to the various princess dolls, Barbie has a costume for any Renaissance occasion Article at: Barbie goes to a Ren Fest - National Barbie Collecting Examiner

The Victorian Era, Edwardian Times and The Roaring 20¹s all have a special place in history especially when it comes to the influence each period had over fashion. All three of these significant times in history produced remarkable women of fashion who have now been made into Madame Alexander Dolls including Denise Boulet , Zelda and Queen Victoria . Denise Boulet was an enormous influence on the fashion of her day. She was the wife and muse of designer of Paul Poiret (late 19th century-early 20th century), the Oscar de la Renta of his day. She is a 10-inch fully articulated Cissette with brown eyes, upswept brunette hair, wearing a deep plum, floor length sheath embellished with black and gold lace and purple bugle beads at the bodice. Over the sheath she wears an olive green satin, kimono style coat, a bold geometric pattern belt made from purple and gold brocade accentuating the waist of the dress. A gold and iridescent purple beaded headband decorates her head and a spark...

Hope Diamond Barbie doll -- description &  review Excavated in India before 1668 and cut several times between 1668 and 1958, the 45.52 carat, deep-blue diamond known as the Hope Diamond is the world’s largest-known and most famous blue diamond. After a tumultuous history, the diamond was donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in 1958 by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston. Now the world’s most celebrated and fashionable doll, Barbie®, pays tribute to this iconic gem through the Hope Diamond Barbie® doll. Read more at: Hope Diamond Barbie doll -- description & review - National Barbie Collecting Examiner

Life in the Castle - a look at some medieval Tonner dolls The Robert Tonner Doll Company has come out with some exquisite medieval dolls and costumes in recent years. In 2005, the Tonner Company released their 10th anniversary limited edition of 300 Sydney as Guinevere club dolls. This year the company released the $134.99 outfit "Capulet's Daughter." Ask me how you can doll yourself up with amazing clinical skincare products and start your way to clearer, healthier skin today! Join me on  Facebook  or email skin_and_health@yahoo.com  for more info! I would love to help you have the best skin of your life!!

American Stories Collection Patriot Barbie doll a patriotic beauty The American Stories Collection of Barbie Doll was issued for only three years, but it produced some of the best quality play-line Barbies including the 1997 Patriot Barbie Doll . Continue reading at:  American Stories Collection Patriot Barbie doll a patriotic beauty - National Barbie Collecting Examiner

Doll Designer Joan Greene Presents a Gallery Showing of Rare Prototype Dolls in Nashville on April 2 On April 2, 2011, well-known doll artist and designer Joan Greene will present a Gallery Showing of Rare Prototype Dolls at the historic Hardaway House in Nashville, Tennessee <iframe src="http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/a?f=2143397792&pn=acont&p=actravel&l=LREC&kw=&c=sh&bg=white&rand=629502376" width=300 height=250 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 hspace=0 vspace=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=no></iframe> <a href="http://ads.associatedcontent.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a14de4a9&amp;cb=629502376" target="_blank"><img src="http://ads.associatedcontent.com/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=23&amp;cb=98871372465652054&amp;source=&amp;n=a14de4a9&amp;slice=-0-&amp;dma=-659-&amp;cty=-US-&amp;content_type=article&amp;content_type_id=7874160&amp;category_id=8&a...