When They Go Low

Two 14-inch 1960s fashion dolls have side-glancing eyes and heavy blue eyeshadow.

The daughter of a doll collector sent photos of two "Barbie clones" and asked if I had any interest. I did, except I don't actively collect 14-inch vintage fashion dolls, which is what I considered these. I do enjoy collecting Black Barbie clones and competitors. After deciding whether I wanted these two or not, based on the photo above and their lovely faces, I made the purchase. The dolls arrived swiftly in a much larger-than-expected box. 

A larger-than-expected shipping box was necessary to accommodate their lacy cotillion-style dresses. 

After opening the box, I realized the dolls had not only been redressed in lacy cotillion-style dresses, but because of the length of the dresses, which is double their height, the dolls would require a display height that exceeds 28 inches!

The plastic lining of the dress is visible in this photo of the white high-heel shoes.

A thick plastic lining is stitched to the dress skirts. A crisscross of lace forms each bodice. Both dolls have matching lace hats. The dolls still wear their original white plastic high-heel shoes. The heel of one shoe is bent, but I can probably straighten it by dipping it into boiled water to soften it before reshaping. The length of the dresses will prevent anyone from seeing the shoes unless the skirts are lifted.

The dolls have quite lovely faces. 

Typical of this type of Hong-Kong-made doll, the head is soft vinyl. The body is hollow plastic.

My initial plan was to redress the dolls. Based on their head mark, SHARING NO. 3001, and the upper back mark, MADE IN / HONG KONG, the dolls are possibly circa 1960s Dr. Ben Joins the Nurses Dolls made by the Sharing Doll Company. Their head sculpts are identical to the doll shown here except their hair is styled in a bubble cut. The Sharing nurse is probably a competitor of the 12-inch Ben Casey nurse doll sold through the Sears catalog. Dolls like these were also sold by Sharing Doll Company in baggies under different names, one of which was Miss Mod. (Visit the links at the end of this post to see pictures of a mint-in-package Sharing doll, the Ben Casey nurse, and three Miss Mod Dolls).

After these dolls arrived, I asked the seller if her mother made the dresses and if she used the dolls as boudoir (bed) dolls. The seller shared that her mother purchased them from an estate sale. The owner of the estate had used a pedestal-type display. 

I would prefer their original clothes (nurse uniform or mod fashion) over these lacy dresses. However, during the '60s and '70s, using lace, women would fashion dresses like this for dolls they found nude or just because they wanted to dress them like this. It was a thing to do, so I'm going to preserve "that thing," at least for now, and display them higher up than most of the other dolls.

The lower area in my doll room — the floor space — is already occupied with dolls. All shelves are full. The walls are either covered by free-standing or mounted shelves that are filled with dolls. Some NRFB dolls are stacked against walls. Doll-related paintings and photos and family photos are on what little wall space remains. I had no place to display these dolls in the usual areas, so I decided to hang them high.

Using two Command brand self-adhesive utility hooks that will accommodate up to 3 pounds, I mounted the hooks to the double doors of a metal file closet. The dolls are connected to the hooks at the back of their velvet ribbon waist sashes.

This is where the two dolls hang.

Here is the big picture.

So when they (the dolls) go low (and cover most of the floor space of a doll room), another display alternative is to hang them high, which is what I've done.

Links

Dr. Ben Black Nurse Doll in Original Package

1960s Dr. Ben Casey and Nurse dolls

Three Miss Mod Dolls by the Sharing Doll Company

Miss Mod in DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum 

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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