Darling Debbie by Deluxe Reading

Circa 1958 Darling Debbie by Deluxe Reading

This is one of the many pandemic doll purchases I made during the end of May and throughout the month of June, which led to a month-long doll-buying hiatus during July. I was still on said hiatus at the time this post was drafted. Darling Debbie, as seen in the seller's auction photo above, is a 30-inch circa 1958 stuffed vinyl doll by Deluxe Reading. She arrived with a couple of issues. Her leg vinyl has several wrinkles (that I planned to conceal with clothing) and her neck was unstable (which I was able to stabilize).

During the late 1950s through 1960s, this type of doll was sold under different names in grocery stores wearing elaborate cotillion gowns or dressed as brides or bridesmaids. As a child, I remember shopping with my parents and seeing the dolls that appeared larger than life on overhead shelves in grocery stores, but I never saw a black one.

As an adult collector, for years I searched for a black one and was outbid on eBay a time or two. Giving up the search, during the late 1990s/early 2000s I dyed a white one brown. I still longed for an authentically black Darling Debbie because the body of the dyed doll, which was once a rich brown color, eventually faded with time.

Darling Debbie's first close-up shot illustrates her faded lip color

"101" is this doll's only mark.

Darling Debbie's back is marked 101. I am not certain that this is actually Darling Debbie or one of the other 30-inch dolls Deluxe Reading manufactured, but in my collection, she is Darling Debbie. Incidentally, the doll I dyed brown is marked 251/A-E on her neck and 13 on her back.

Prior to taking the initial photos, I removed the white infant-size dress Darling Debbie arrived wearing and washed her face, body, and limbs with a mild soap. She remained nude for several weeks until I was able to find the perfect dress for her.

Darling Debbie models her new dress and poses with the dyed doll. In this photo, her unstable neck is apparent. In the next photo, the subtle differences of their head sculpts are noticeable.

The dyed doll on the left appears to have a more mature face. The new doll's upper lip is fuller, and she has a child-like face.

Because I wanted to dress my doll in period-appropriate attire, I searched eBay and found a lovely sapphire blue and black full-length halter dress with a sequined bodice. It was made for Deluxe Reading's 30-inch high-heel fashion dolls. According to the seller, the dress was part of a curated collection of 1950s fashion dolls, clothing, and accessories.

I added this handmade black slip.

The skirt of the dress is sheer, so I hand-sewed a half-slip using black taffeta. 

After searching through my large-fashion-doll shoe stash (shoes made for large fashion dolls), I found the perfect pair of black high-heel shoes that were purchased after the dyed doll arrived nearly 20 years ago.

Polyfill stuffing was added to the neck area to create stability.

Before replacing the disk that separates the head and neck, trimming the excess stuffing and reattaching the head to the neck, I also added stuffing to the head.

To add stability to the newest girl's neck, I removed the head and added polyfill stuffing to the neck area and also in the head opening. I packed it in as tightly as possible. While doing this, I wore a disposable face mask because I am not sure if inhaling fibers of the original gray-colored stuffing used in this doll is safe. 

The extra polyfill stabilized the neck, allows her to hold her head upright, and removed the wrinkle that was present around the lower neck area. 

Painted toenails

Next, I added lip, mouth, fingernail, and toenail color with acrylic paint which gives her a more mature look.

New earrings, choker, and painted lips

Another view of the earrings, choker, and added lip color

I visited a local beauty supply store and purchased faux sapphire and diamond drop earrings and another pair of oversized faux diamond hoop earrings. The oversized hoop earrings were fashioned into a choker and a bracelet.  

The faux diamond bracelet was made using an oversized hoop earring.

I removed the ear posts and clamps from the oversized hoops and squeezed these into the desired size and shape for the doll's neck and wrist.

The finished look

I think she looks stunning. The overall cost of the doll, dress, and accessories is far less than the final auction prices of other dolls I was outbid on in the past. As additional savings, the seller, who lives locally, delivered this doll to me along with two others that I purchased from her. This shaved over $30 off the final cost to ship all three dolls. As I have often said or written, it "saves" to exercise patience.

Darling Debbie's purchase motivated me to repaint the dyed doll's lips and fingernails and to restyle the hair of a 24-inch 1950s fashion doll by Adanta that had been wearing an oversized wig to hide her choppy and brittle hair. Because the 24-inch doll's hair is brittle, I smoothed it down with my hands and applied Eco Style Gel to give it a permanent hold and to prevent further shedding as seen in the final photo.

The dresses worn by the dyed doll and the 24-inch doll by Adanta Novelties Corporation are actually sequined majorette gauntlets that I purchased from a thrift store several years ago to repurpose as doll dresses.

All three dolls took the above final photograph before they were returned to their display area. I enjoyed several hours of doll therapy while refurbishing the older two and dressing and accessorizing my long-sought-after Darling Debbie. 

Related Links

Doll Reference, Deluxe Reading Betty the Beautiful Bride Doll

Vinyl Variations -- A Dyeing Need

Gauntlet Dresses

Dyed Doll as a Puzzle

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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From Disastrous to Dazzling A Christmas Doll for a Friend

My long-time friend, Debra R., and I exchanged Christmas wish lists this year. Usually we ask in a phone conversation what the other desires, but this year we exchanged lists by email.  Both lists were very short.

Debra wrote: "I love the 18- or 19-inch fashion dolls and outfits or a pattern that fits them. I can't think of anything else right now. I missed out on 2 of them on eBay. They were dressed in brides dresses." 

Confession: Now that I have re-read her list, I was so focused on finding the doll that I completely overlooked her desire for "a pattern that fits them" (so I am making a mental note of this). Her email was dated October 30th, so I immediately began searching eBay for the doll.  The first search resulted in zero listings.  To receive notifications about future listings, I saved the search.

Weeks passed without a single listing for a black 1950s high-heel fashion doll. I kept asking myself, Where are these dolls? Are people holding on to them for some reason? What's the deal?  I felt like a mother unable to find the latest "hot" toy or other newfangled item for Christmas for a child who so desperately hoped to receive it.  Feeling frantic, I wondered if I would be able to purchase one in time. This year was not turning out like last year when I was able to find four dolls of this type for her, but last year's search began much earlier than October 30th.

19-inch circa 1960s high-heel fashion doll, marked V20 on neck

Things were looking quite dismal until I received notification of a new listing on eBay during the first week of December.  After viewing the seller's photos (particularly of the doll's hair) I was not sure this would be the one.  The hair was in horrible condition.  It looked like steel wool, a tangled mess. Not knowing the quality of the hair, if it was dry and brittle and would easily shed, I wrote the seller to inquire.  Her reply was not very reassuring and simply stated, she didn't think it would shed.

The potential doll's hair... what a gnarled mess!

The seller sent these close-up pictures, which made me feel even less hopeful that I could work wonders with the hair if I won the auction.  I thanked her for the photos and confided that my intention was to win the doll as a Christmas gift for a friend who collected this type doll.  She replied back that there was a lot of interest in the doll and suggested I bid high.

As it turned out, I was the only bidder and won the auction for the beginning bid for which I was grateful.  Winning was the easy part.  Dealing with the unknown (her hair) would certainly be a task, I thought.  My plan B was to purchase a wig if the hair was not salvageable.

Doll's appearance upon arrival

After the doll arrived nude with her nicely made flounce dress and matching shawl enclosed in a plastic bag, I made note of her overall condition. With the exception of a few missing eyelashes on one eye and her dreadful-looking hair, she did not require much.

I began working on the hair by first detangling it as much as possible with a plastic bristle brush, gently brushing through small sections at a time while dry.  There was not very much hair loss at all and thankfully, the hair was not brittle.

Wet hair combs through easier and conditioned wet hair combs through even better.  I used two water-based leave-in conditioners to thoroughly drench the hair to complete the detangle process.  I had purchased these conditioners for myself years ago, did not like their effect on my hair, but decided to keep them to use for dolls.  One is a no-name brand.  The other, which was applied more liberally than the first, is Infusium 23. This worked like a charm, the hair was completely detangled, silky, and bone straight.

Her missing right eyelashes can be seen in this close-up.

While still wet, I smoothed out her bangs with the brush and my fingers.  I next rolled the ends of the
hair with foam rod rollers, which were left in overnight.

Make-up brush and bristles from it that were used to repair missing eyelashes

While the rolled hair dried, I replaced the missing eyelashes using a few bristles from a makeup brush that closely match the color of the existing lashes.  After cutting the needed width and extra length of bristles from the brush, I applied Aleene's Tacky Glue to the flattened out ends and allowed the glue to dry.  The bristles were held together with a paper clamp before applying the glue and while the glue dried.

Additional glue was added to the dried glued ends of the bristles which I attempted to push under the eyelid, but most rests on top of the lid, attached with glue. I kept the doll lying flat while the new lashes dried.  After drying, the excess length was cut away as illustrated in the next close-up.

The rollers have been removed and the excess length of replaced eyelashes trimmed with a fingernail clipper.

The hair turned out great!

After the rollers were removed, I finger combed the back of the hair to loosen the curls, which will eventually fall even more with time.

Next, her ears were pierced using blue quilting pins as illustrated below.

The eyelash repair can be better seen in this photo.

The doll was pantiless and shoeless upon arrival.  I added a new pair of undies and borrowed a pair of blue shoes formerly worn by one of my dolls.  There was no time to order shoes, wait for their arrival, and ship the doll with Debra's other gifts in time for Christmas.  I used blue rubber bands to replace the missing shoe straps, as illustrated in the next photo.

With her hair restyled, then dressed in her flounce dress and shawl, new undies, borrowed shoes, and pieced ears, she now looks dazzling!

"I love my doll!  Where did you find her? She looks as good as new.  Did she come with the dress?  Where did you find blue shoes?" These were some of Debra's comments and questions when we spoke on Christmas.  I described the ordeal I went through to find her (not thinking I would, what the seller said about all the interest, and the condition of the doll's hair).  Debra said, "Well you could have fooled me.  Her hair is beautiful!" After sharing the seller's suggestion that I "bid high," I added, "I think she was trying to punk me into spending more."  We both laughed.


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Most Unlikely Doll Dresses

During the mid-to-late 1990s, I used to frequent a local thrift store, garage sales, and estate sales in search of vintage-to-modern dolls and doll accessories.  If necessary, I restored preloved doll finds and incorporated those into my collection.  If found dolls were not the kind I collected, but still collectible, I sold them on eBay to generate additional money to fund my hobby.  In the late 1990s through approximately 2005, eBay was definitely a seller's market.     

One thrift store find was a $2 bag filled with miscellaneous non-doll-related items.  In addition to other items, the bag contained two purple sequined majorette gauntlet gloves, similar to the ones in the first picture.  I knew one of these could be a perfect dress for a 1960s high-heel fashion doll that was in need of something different to wear.  I added a pair of my earrings and purchased a pair of gold high-heel shoes to complete her look.

24-inch 1950s high-heel fashion doll by Adanta Novelties Corporation wearing purple sequined majorette's gauntlet as a dress

The additional matching gauntlet came in handy after Darling Debbie arrived a few years later.  She too wears a pair of my earrings to complete her look. 

The gauntlets look tailor-made for the dolls.

If you have thrift stores in your area, you might consider browsing their doll/toy section and/or other departments for similar finds.  Check out estate sales, too, especially when dolls are advertised as a featured item. 

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