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| Angelica by Philip Heath (1999) is seen in this 2003 photo with other dolls in a more calmer and gentler doll room than it is today. The shoes she wore in this photo were new; they are now in a state of deterioration. |
When purchased some 13 years ago, Angelica by Philip Heath arrived with bare feet. To match her ivory dress of voile fabric, I purchased nude stockings and a pair of ivory shoes for her huge feet (the child wears a size 7 wide in a girl's shoe). At 38 inches with articulation throughout, Angelica can sit or stand. She is usually kept in her very own chair in the seated position.
I have no idea why her shoes deteriorated in the manner illustrated below:
I traced her foot onto a piece of cardboard to make a pattern of her foot before going shoe shopping. I used the foot pattern to get the correct length and width replacement shoes by inserting it inside the shoe choices at the store. My plan had been to find another ivory pair of shoes. In their absence, I opted for black sandals which had been reduced to $3. Hey, that price was excellent based on full prices of up to $17.99. (I only paid $9.99 for the now worn pair, but of course that was some 13 years ago.)
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| Angelica models her new black sandals. (That girl standing behind her on the right, Cecelie, is wearing one shoe because the sole of the other came unglued. It has long been repaired. I just have not put it back on her foot. I guess they are all walking around the doll room when no one is looking.) |
At the store where the sandals were purchased, size 7's were very limited, but I found a pair of black faux suede shoes in that size. Later that week at the thrift store, I found a pair of pink real leather shoes by Mini Burbujas for $4.99.
Whether Angelica is wearing her shoes out by walking around the doll room or not, she's all set in the shoe department for at least another decade or more.
:-)
dbg
Your selection shoes are nice.
ReplyDeleteThank you, MDW. Cost and availability at the store where I shopped where the deciding factors. My daughter does not agree with my selection of the black sandals and probably would not agree with the black faux suede if she sees those, at least not to pair with the ivory dress Angelica wears. When she saw the sandals on Angelica's feet, she said/asked, "You bought black sandals with studs to go with that dress????" My answer, "They were 3." Enough said, in my opinion.
DeleteI keep her cardboard foot tracing in my purse. Whenever I am at the thrift store, I check the children's shoe section for Angelica's size.
dbg
Too cute! They "are" like real children aren't they!?
ReplyDeleteYes, in many ways dolls are like real children. I guess that's why we love them so.
Deletedbg
I love the Angelica doll! I also prefer to think they are walking and playing in the doll room...How fun that would be to see. LOL
ReplyDeleteThank you TGM. Not so sure I'd want to see them walking and playing, but the thought of it is charming.
Deletedbg
Lol, no telling what they are up to when no one is looking. Reminds me of the Twilight episode where an assortment of people are trying to get out of a bin and eventually the camera pulls back to reveal they are toys.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've seen that episode of the Twilight Zone. That and Outer Limits had some pretty creepy episodes, but I watched all as a child.
Deletedbg
Angelica sure is doing something and she having a great time too, lol. I love how you can just sense something is amiss with all your dolls, it just cracks me up. Maybe she just wanted a new pair of shoes? She's just to cute to be sitting around.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's it, Brini. She just wanted a new pair of shoes. Now she has three! Very manipulative of her.
Delete:-)
dbg
I am pretty sure my dolls get into mischief when I am not looking! You should get her a pair of tennis shoes to play in so she can take her dress shoes off! ; )
ReplyDeleteIf she gets tennis shoes, she'll definitely need a new outfit. I tried redressing her once years ago in a couple of dresses that my daughter wore when she was 4, but because the cloth in her legs extends below her knees, the length of those dresses was too short. I might retry another redress soon, pants this time. Thanks for the suggestion, Phyllis!
Deletedbg
Unbeknownst to you, Angelica has been taking a walk to stretch her legs. Mystery solved. You found some nice replacements. Tell her to take it easy on her walking around.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Janainah! You're probably right since I have kept her in the seated position all this time with the exception of the one time I redressed her in my daughter's dresses and photographed her. The girl needs to stretch her legs... get that circulation going. :-)
Deletedbg
I love the expression on her face, as if to say, "See I told you I could figure out a way to get new shoes." She is beautiful and I'm sure she deserves three new pair of shoes. She will probably figure out how to get a new outfit soon.
ReplyDeleteShe really is long overdue for a redress. I think I'll have to take a look in the child-size doll clothing closet this week to see if I can find something suitable for her to wear.
Deletedbg
It's the fake leather/suede that deteriorates. Glue dries out, yes, but it's the actual material of the shoes that really breaks up. It might be from UV light; don't know what, exactly, but I have faux suede shoes I bought on Ebay or at consignment stores that have fallen apart simply due to age, although they looked perfectly fine and new at the time I bought them, and they were Clarks or Naturalizer brands, not junk. The synthetic components just don't hold up after a few years. The plastic stuff literally starts to disintegrate, even if you've never worn them or subjected them to temperature abuse! It just crumbles. Perhaps 10, 12 years ago some real junky materials were making the rounds. I know not all synthetic leather items "die" this way, but I've seen enough self-destructing shoes now, of a similar vintage to your doll's shoes, to know it's not that uncommon.
ReplyDeleteI wonder where in the atmosphere (in the doll room with me in it!) this material is disintegrating. Am I breathing it in?
DeleteI don't wear pleather shoes nor carry pleather handbags, so I haven't had that experience of shoes or handbags deteriorating, with the exception of one pair of Aerosoles and it was the synthetic soles of those shoes that deteriorated with me wearing them in public. Scary.
I cut the leather upper away from the crumbling soles. It has since been used to fashion items for my dolls -- handbags, belt, and skirt.
dbg
Some leather has that bonding sealant on it, which is a plastic stuff, and I think that probably disintegrates too. It must all end up in the air we breathe...
DeleteI'm glad you could reuse the leather. I keep small and useful pieces for dollhouse upholstery.