Shirley Temple Project Update

On March 14, 1935, six-year-old Shirley Temple joined other screen legends by writing her name in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Six years ago, I wrote about the sleuthing process that uncovered the dress Shirley wore underneath her blue coat that evening. Designed by René Hubert, it was one of the many adorable costumes he created for the film, “Our Little Girl” (1935). It has since become known as the Pom Pom dress.



Here is the dress in living color, as it looked when it was auctioned off in 2015 by Theriault’s:



A publicity shot from the film:



Shirley worked with the Danbury Mint to release a doll that recreated the 1935 Grauman’s event:



How the doll looked out of the box:



…and the dress that was chosen for the doll to wear underneath:



Definitely not the Pom Pom dress, but rather the Hubert designed outfit that she wore to the Oscars in 1935:



From the 2015 auction:



I’m a stickler when it comes to detail, so I knew that my Shirley Makes Her Mark set needed to be “fixed.” Below is the doll with a replaced mohair wig (those synthetic doll wigs are awful), replaced glass eyes (the acrylic ones that Danbury used often have turned to pink, green, and purple; not very appealing!), and leather shoes by Kristen Hopkins to more closely match the cute little cutout shoes that Shirley wore at Grauman’s. You might also notice the tiny bit of dress peaking out from underneath the coat.



Thanks to my doll “angel,” I now have a custom-made Pom Pom dress, beautifully tailored to match the original. I did need to replace the original porcelain doll arms with those from another doll, since the original arms only had porcelain barely above the wrists. That doesn’t work very well with a short-sleeved outfit.



That’s probably why the Oscar dress that Danbury created had long sleeves; my doll angel also corrected that slight and added the little flange detail on the shoulder. The bolero top was also dyed a light pink to match the original Hubert outfit. She fits the Danbury Mint antique porcelain replica doll beautifully, which of course also needed a mohair wig replacement! I also swapped the Danbury shoes for a pair of R. John Wright Shirley Temple shoes.



This cutie is definitely Oscar-worthy!



I’m sure if she could Shirley would type a letter of thanks to my doll angel for adjusting the Danbury Mint’s errors!



See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my website.

Evolution of The Little Colonel

In 1935, Shirley Temple starred in one of her most popular movies, “The Little Colonel.” Set in the post-Civil War south, Shirley had the opportunity to wear a number of period costumes, most notably the southern belle outfit shown above. Thanks to her mother’s careful storage, the delicate costume made of silk taffetta survived in Shirley’s possession until she passed in 2014. I had the privilege of seeing it in person at the Santa Monica History Museum just before it was auctioned off in 2015.



The Ideal Toy Company created a special Shirley composition doll, wearing a replica of the very same outfit. Many different sizes were produced, including this large one that Shirley is holding for a promotional photo:



Shirley owned the 27" tall doll shown below, and it was auctioned off in 2015 for a whopping $5,500! This particular one also used a taffetta fabric. An original bonnet is coveted and very hard to come by, even if this particular one is a bit limp!



The 13" version shown below did not come with a bonnet, and was made with a pink organdy fabric. Unlike the regular Shirley Temple dolls of the 1930s, the Little Colonel dolls came with lace-trimmed pantalets.



The 1950s saw a line of Ideal vinyl Shirley Temple dolls, but for some reason, a Little Colonel doll was not part of the lineup. In 1974, Ideal released a Little Colonel outfit that kids could put on their 1972/1973 vinyl Shirley Temple doll. It was cheaply designed and obviously not produced with the care or attention to detail that the 1930s version boasted. The boxed outfit consisted of a lace trimmed dress and a hairbow. The red plastic shoes that came with the doll were meant to be used with the Colonel outfit. C-H-E-A-P!



Ten years later, another line of vinyl Shirley Temple dolls was released, and this group produced some never-before-leased outfits as well as some interesting interpretations of the old favorites. At center in the picture below you can see Ideal’s version of the Little Colonel, which is neither accurate in color or concept. Still, it’s much prettier than the 1970s version.



Shirley herself licensed The Danbury Mint to produce high quality porcelain dolls next, and naturally, the Little Colonel southern belle outfit was one of the first. To say it was garish would be an understatement. The all-too bright colors and cheap fabric choices lacked the charm of the 1930s original. Don’t even get me started on the oddly shaped body, with arms that looked like they could reach out and strangle you.



Finally, the Danbury Mint righted all the previous wrongs by releasing a porcelain replica of the 1930s doll, which used one of the organdy dolls for its inspiration. Standing at approximately 14", this doll also included the pantalets AND a nice bonnet! What it didn’t have was a decent wig or a sleep-eye mechanism with sable lashes. This helped Danbury cut corners by using a synthetic wig instead of a quality mohair wig like the 1930s dolls. Regardless of the changes, it is still a very cute doll.



Recently, I was able to acquire a 20" version of the 1930s doll. I could not believe my good fortune in stumbling upon one that also included a bonnet!



You can see why these dolls were so popular, even back in the Depression-era!



And for the all-important question that burns on all Shirley doll collectors minds: “Is it tagged?”



You bet your sweet bippy it is!



See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my website.

Shirley and The Red Cross

The Danbury Mint released a 17" tall porcelain doll commemorating Shirley Temple’s 1936 public service announcement for the American Red Cross.



Shirley’s hand has one finger pointing heavenward to signify the requested one dollar donation.



Officially authorized by the American Red Cross, the doll boasts plenty of beautifully crafted details, such as the one dollar donation bucket:



The lace tie-up shoes and stockings:



Who could deny this sweet little face one dollar?!?



Since I am not a fan of the synthetic wigs that Danbury used on Shirley, I replaced it with a softer mohair version:



Want to see the PSA for yourself? Here you go!



See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my main website.

Shirley Projects, Pt. 2

It’s common knowledge what Shirley wore to the Oscars in 1935, based on photographic evidence. It’s also well documented what coat and hat she wore when she planted her feet into the cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre the same year.



Yup...put her feet AND hands right here. Note Jane Withers, Shirley’s arch nemesis from “Bright Eyes,” in the upper left corner. It took Jane another four years after Shirley to get her block at Grauman’s!



What we DON’T know is what dress she wore under her coat at Grauman’s. So far, no photos have surfaced that would tell us that information. What we DO know is that when Shirley herself worked with the Danbury Mint many years ago to release a porcelain doll that commemorated that historic moment…



she chose to have the dress she wore to the Oscars as the one that came with the Grauman’s coat.



When it came up for auction in 2015, we learned what color it was. From the Theriault’s catalog:

A sleeveless peach silk crepe dress has narrow pleats falling fron the high waist and self-covered buttons down the yoke. Atop the sleeveless bodice is a pink pique jacket with diamond-point edging and puffed sleeves with matching trim. The dress is tagged "4757".

Danbury chose to make the entire ensemble the same color. Ho hum.



Recently, the R. John Wright company, known for their high-end felt dolls, announced their second Shirley Temple doll, titled “Hollywood Star.”



The Grauman’s outfit was spot-on; top-quality fabrics and a real ermine fur capelet. The website said the dress underneath would be the Oscar dress; instead of showing the doll-sized dress, they posted a shot of the actual dress Shirley wore from the auction site. At a doll convention (before the doll had been released, but at a point they had already collected money for pre-orders), Wright showed their first Shirley release along with “Hollywood Star” in two different versions, with varying prices. One had the Oscar dress with no coat (but an Oscar), and the other with just the coat and who knows what underneath.



Then abruptly the price disappeared as did the miniature Oscar on the middle doll.



I noticed at the same time on the Wright website that although the Oscar dress was still being shown…



the ad copy had removed any mention of the Oscar dress and just stated this:



I contacted Wright, who told me that “the family” had forbidden them from using the Oscar dress so the substitution had been made. Very quietly. Because the coat is attached with the Wright pin and not easy to unbutton, most of the people who bought this doll would probably never know exactly what was underneath unless they attempted to struggle to remove the coat. I noticed that recently, Wright did put a shot of what the dress looks like. Nice pleated dress...but not as detailed or intricate as the Oscar dress.



At this point, I decided to “plus” my Danbury Mint doll. I preferred the porcelain face over the felt, so I was good on that. While the fur and coat weren’t of the same caliber as the Wright version, they were good enough for me. I did two little upgrades. One was to remove the Danbury synthetic wig and replace it with mohair. MUCH better!



…and I dyed the Danbury Oscar dress bolero top to match the real one. I was one happy customer...and saved a ton-o-money in the process!



The only thing I need now is a Claudette Colbert doll!

See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Evolution of a Duck

In the 1935 Shirley Temple classic, “Curly Top,” Shirley leaves the orphanage and moves into high society wearing this outfit known as the Duck Dress. Why? Because of the beautifully embroidered detail on the bodice:



How the dress looks today; not bad for over 80 years!



With their Shirley Temple composition dolls of the 1930s, the Ideal Toy Company re-created this cute little number, including the velvet hat with ribbon detail:



I'm still eating saltines after acquiring that one! There were two versions that Ideal sold; one had a flower at center for the embroidery, and the other (which is not in my collection!) was like the one in the movie with ducks:



When the Danbury Mint sold their Shirley Dress-Up doll in the 1990s, they sold it wearing the Duck Dress. I'm not sure who measured the prototype for the hat and the skirt, but I think they were nipping at the sherry, as the scale is way too big for the 17" doll.



Putting the outfit on an 18" doll is much better! Who says size doesn’t matter?



The Danbury Mint also sold the outfit separately. However, in doing so, they went on the cheap with the embroidery and used a garish iron-on patch instead.



Watch out for those little rosettes; they're glued on, too. They could be on the carpet right now.

See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my main website.