Abigail Haskell created this circa 1953 ensemble, released in 1999. The design of this outfit is thoroughly vintage. My gripe? It would be much better if the scale pattern of the dots were just a little smaller. This is probably one of the most difficult thing about doing dolls that are smaller than 18"-20" in height; the scale. As you'll note though, it didn’t stop me from purchasing it! From the story card:
“Rain Song” had wrapped for the weekend—and Gene was taking advantage of the Sunday afternoon off to take a stroll by the New England seaside. Her thoughts travelled back to family vacations when the Marshalls left Cos Cob for their cottage on the coast.
Walking along the wharf in her casual Sunday best, she stoped at a small stand that sold souvenirs. The grizzled salt who ran the stand was deftly assembling a ship-in-a-bottle when Gene walked in. He looked up, and his tired eyes grew brighter as he squinted at her.
“Scuse me, miss—but don’t I know you?” he said.
Gene blushed prettily. “I don’t think so, captain. My name is Katie—I’m from Cos Cob…”
“Been a lot of places, but I never been there,” the captain said. He thought for a minute, then snapped his fingers. “Of course—you look just like that pretty movie star, Miss Gene Marshall. She’s one of my favorites.”
Katie sure is having fun being incognito! To see more Gene Marshall photos, visit my regular website.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI don't often check up on my design, but the last time I did I came across your review.
There were just two things that I wanted to say:
First, thanks for buying the outfit, I'm amazed it's still in circulation. I really hope you enjoy it.
The second was that I laughed when I read your gripe--in my original design, and on the prototype doll in my closet, the dots were totally smaller. So I agree with you. :)
But anyway, thanks again for making it part of your collection, and I hope this wasn't too weird.
Thanks,
Abby
(Abigail Haskell)
Abigail - Thanks for the note! It is a beautiful outfit, large dots or not! Are you still designing doll outfits?
ReplyDeleteThat was my one and only doll outfit! I really only had a brief and fleeting interest in fashion design.
ReplyDeleteI'm now an abstract/surrealist artist, but Gene was a cool experience, and definitely a learning experience for me.
And thanks again for mentioning the design on your blog--you really did make my day!
Best of everything to you!
Abby