Cissy’sLittle Blue

By Debbie Foster & Katherine Mooney • © 2011 Dolls & their clothing from the Foster Collection

The Little Black Dress is Blue.

The little black dress is cut simply, meant to be chic, inexpensive, versatile, season spanning, and always in style. Its origins are ascribed to Coco Chanel's 1920's collections and it became so prevalent in the well-dressed woman's wardrobe that it was often referred to simply as the "LBD". In Cissy's case, however, this wardrobe staple should be called the little blue dress.

Cissy did have a couple of black dresses, but I suspect Madame Alexander didn't find black to be a color befitting a doll dress despite Cissy's grown up appearance. #2091, from her

Dress

introductory year of 1955, was suitable for early evening with a full-skirted frock of black taffeta, narrow lace stole and fragile flower-covered pink hat. #2231 from 1958 is better known as the black velvet matinee sheath. It was very sophisticated with an interesting draped front skirt panel, spectacular tulle and rose trimmed blue hat and short blue mitts. But Cissy's wardrobe of navy taffeta is arguably the essential basic black in her closet.

1955, Cissy goes navy.

One of the dressed dolls offered in 1955 was #2084, wearing the first of Cissy's navy taffetas. It was a full skirted little number with a removable short bolero jacket, topped off by a smart brimmed straw hat. The ample skirt was held out by a rustling taffeta and crinoline can-can petticoat. Following years brought a plethora of little blue dresses and as is apt to happen when little girls play dolls, the components that made up these similar yet different ensembles have become well mixed and matched. It can be extremely difficult and confusing to even the most astute, seasoned collectors to sort these pieces out. What follows is the little blue dress put-together, no longer mixed but matched, with all the right parts! #2084 shown with matching

bolero, closing at front with snap under ribbon bow.

The more rare corn-flower blue hat with fruit,

millinery net and lace.

More common hat of natural straw with cornflower blue gros-

grain ribbon edging brim.

The Bolero.

The #2084 Bolero Dress had a sleeveless scoop-necked, fitted bodice that was trimmed at the arm holes with a narrow strip of navy tulle, folded in half, gathered and then tacked to the shoulder seams. The dress had

a dropped waistline and a very full skirt. The neckline was trimmed with

a black gimp braid, as was the waist, with matching gimp

trimming the edges on the short bolero jacket. The

jacket closed in front with a single square snap concealed by a

narrow white grosgrain ribbon bow. With this outfit, Cissy wore a medium brimmed

hat, usually made of a natural straw and edged with cornflower blue ribbon and embellished with a ring of spring flowers or tiny fruit and dotted

millinery net. The catalog described the hat as "cornflower blue straw," and the cornflower blue color was seen now and then, but the natural straw was by far the more common.

There were no little blue dresses in the 1956 line, but Madame must have made a whopping good

Navy tulle cap sleeves caught at shoulder seam.

Black gimp braid at neck, dropped waist & edges of

short bolero jacket.

Wide taffeta & crinoline can-can petticoat and dropped waist styling

accentuates Cissy's tiny waist.

The more rare corn-flower blue hat with fruit,

millinery net and lace.

buy on the dark blue fabric because 1957 was navy's banner year. Little

blue dresses could be found on assembled dolls and in extra boxed fashions alike. Little blue dresses were everywhere!

The Pillbox,a fifties icon.

Cissy could have chosen an extra fashion like #2140 - a simple

yet elegant navy taffeta dress with a cap sleeve and V-neck

fitted bodice. The center of the dipped neckline had three tiny

horizontal pleats followed by deep vertical darts on either side. They

joined the full skirt at the bottom edge of the dropped waist and gave the bodice its shape. A cropped, elbow-length cape topped the dress,

closing at the throat with a square snap hidden by a circle of deep navy sequins. The short cape could have had a few whipped stitches that caught the front and back at the lower edge to form a sleeve.

#2140 had a fitted bodice with V-neck-line and cap sleeves. A staple in Mme.

Alexander's design portfolio, this dropped waistline style was seen on many outfits.

Extra boxed pillbox hat sold separately. Believed to be three color variations

with giant flower; one off white with light pink rose spray & two black with light pink

or wine colored rose sprays.

Some did; others didn't. Perhaps the outfit came both ways. Cissy is fashionably chic in her little blue dress. Her ensemble was completed with a

simple straw pillbox hat decorated with milliner's net and a spray of roses

provided by a MiracleGro zealot. The unique and rare pillbox hat

was yet another “extra” available for purchase. This ensemble came in several other colors

- royal blue, pink, emerald green - all with different cape closing ornaments. To my knowledge, the

only color that came on a dressed doll and with a matching pillbox hat was in shell pink.

#2140 from 1957 had a longer skirt and was worn as an afternoon- or early

evening cocktail dress. Neither gloves nor hat was specified but a full can-can

petticoat was a requisite.

Short cape or bolero style

jacket that came with the V-neck

style dresses. Some were

caught with a few stitches on

the bottom edge to form a sleeve; others weren't. It's not known if this was

a design intention. Each

color had a different

decorative neck closure.

Stunning navy & crisp white for 1957.

#2141, released on a 1957 dressed doll, paired the always-in-good-taste navy with crisp white. This little blue dress had a jewel-necked and sleeveless bodice. The armholes were trimmed with gathered/ruched tulle that formed a short sleeve. The full skirt fell from

a natural waistline and was accented by a rhinestone jeweled chatelaine

watch. The crisp white part of the outfit was a cape with three tiers

of graduated ruffled organdy caught at the raw top edge

with organdy bias that tied under Cissy's chin. A white straw "bucket" hat lavished with white flowers and either short white mesh gloves or

mid-forearm length fingerless mitts completed the sophisticated look. Mint

dolls have been found wearing both styles of gloves so either is considered original. Also of

note are Cissy's very interesting black sandals which have a wide elastic vamp and narrow off center angled straps. Cissy wore a lovely

white lace petticoat under this dress instead of the usual taffeta can-can.

#2141 had a fitted bodice with natural waistline, jewel neck and tiny gathered tulle

sleeves, almost like a ruffle

An oh, so blue inspiration.

Madame Alexander was shown photographed in a dress believed to be

the inspiration for three of Cissy's little blue dresses;

the tiered cape set (#2141), #2146, this paragraph's

object of discussion, and #2220, the

subject of the next ensemble. #2146 was another

dropped waist, capped sleeve dress with deep darts and

tiny horizontal pleats that gave shape to the V-necked bodice. This outfit was coupled with a

narrowly pleated white organdy stole which graced Cissy's shoulders. The stole actually consisted of two large loops that met in the middle, approximately at waistline height. The loop that wrapped around the shoulders snapped at the waistline for closure. There it formed the second loop that fell on the

full taffeta skirt. This loop sported a pink rose corsage, adding interest to the sea of navy taffeta. Sold on a dressed doll, the outfit included a hat of white

shaped buckram with grosgrain bound

edges and running rows of ruched tulle that ended in

the hat's center. There it was covered by

another corsage of Alexander signature pink roses. This lovely doll is also found, rarely, with yellow rose corsages.

FAO Schwarz's

rare offering.

Its identity a conundrum no more,

this rare and unusual square neck taffeta dress with the rose

adorned navy hat is #2220 (FAO Schwarz's #466-822) from 1957. The

low-cut fitted bodice with cap sleeves had a full skirt of four inverted pleats, a most unusual treatment seen

on just a few of Cissy's dresses. The petticoat was a luxurious flocked

ivory organdy crinoline with a scalloped edge. A picture in

the FAO Schwarz 1957-58 toy department's inventory list showed a

short, closely wrapped organdy stole with a

front snap closure covered by two pink roses.

On Cissy's head was a wide

Top view of ruched tulle hats, one with yellow- and

one with pink-toned roses

brimmed straw hat trimmed in matching tulle and three pink roses. Despite the picture's being in black and white, the dress and hat are distinguishable as the rare #2220. Since Madame Alexander had already issued two navy dresses with organdy wraps that same year, it is believed the faux

fur stole, similarly styled, was substituted. An educated guess or a mystery solved? You decide.

So ends this journey of Cissy's Little Blue Dress. And since records of Cissy and her

wardrobe are mostly incomplete and sketchy; studying,

contemplating and dreaming about her wardrobe

configurations, is well, a glorious and entertaining

cheap thrill. Of course, it's "cheap" as in "inexpensive." At least until the collecting

begins. Till then, conjure what you will; And enjoy Cissy's Little Blue Dresses.

Questions, observations, discoveries

and corrections are more than

welcome. Please direct them to deb@debsdolls.com.

Cissy ponders

her reflectionperfection from a

mirroredsilver

compact. No shiny

nose here.