April 14, 2024, Meeting

Member Jan Irsfeld gave a program regarding how she became interested in courture fashion and was inspired to create versions for Cissy by Madame Alexander. Jan said that in her late teens she began pulling out pictures from fashion magazines of dresses she found interesting. After meeting with a Neiman Marcus employee, Jan said that she was inspired to start creating her own doll-sized fashions. At first she used regular patterns, but changed them to make them unique. When Madame Alexander came out with a catalog of Cissy fashions, Jan tried copying them. While living in Las Vegas, Jan discovered a specialty fabric store that provided fabric for Las Vegas shows and she also began learning how to hand bead dresses, as well as how to create her own patterns. She displayed several examples of her exquisite hand-beaded fashions.

This is Jan's version of the famous beaded dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy.

Jan also displayed several gowns made with fabric she found at the Las Vegas store, demonstrating how the fabric can be used to design a dress. This gorgeous gown was created from fabric made of woven ribbons. She said the dress reflects the more polished look of fashion from the 1990s through the 2000s.

Jan also displayed detailed dresses that she had copied from fashion magazines.

Jan told the club that this doll was inspired by a 15-year-old Spanish fashion model who uses a wheelchair.

Jan brought this Cissy wearing an example of the couture ensembles created by Madame Alexander.

Other members also shared examples of dolls outfitted in high fashion. The vintage Cissy doll in blue is the childhood doll of member Myrna Loesch. While the dress is original, the hat and shoes are replacements. The Cissy in pink belongs to member Sylvia McDonald. She told the club that the outfit, which dates from 1957, was originally blue!

Another vintage Cissy, belonging to member Sharon Weintraub.  Her all-original outfit is Style 2082 from 1956. 

Member Elaine Jackson shared two beautifully dressed ladies. The one in blue was carved by doll artist Floyd Bell and represents Miss Jane Pittman, the heroine of the 1971 novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and was dressed by Charlotte Semple. The other doll is an antique German fashion lady dressed by a woman who also designed costumes for the Austin opera company.

Member Nancy Countryman brought this Barbie from the couture collection called "Portrait in Taffeta" from 1996.

She also shared this other Barbie which she believes is dressed in a hand-made outfit.

Member Jenell Howell displayed several dolls from Integrity Toys, which makes several different lines of 12-inch collectible fashion dolls dressed in haute couture.

Jenell stated that she is attracted to the attention to detail, from zippers to jewelry.

Member Pam Hardy shared this all-original Cissette doll from her childhood. She told the club that a friend's mother took her to a toy store for her birthday in 1956 so that she could choose her own doll.