Monday, April 6, 2009

Blue Monday: Cissy In Blue

Thanks to Smiling Sally for hosting Blue Monday. For more blue offerings, or to participate yourself, please visit her blog.

As I said last time, I've pretty much run out of blue decor around this place. Except for the dolls. Quite a few of those have some very nice blue outfits. So you may start seeing more dolls than you ever wanted or hoped to see in one lifetime.

I'll start today with one of my own childhood dolls; in fact, I believe she was my last Christmas doll, back in – well, way back there. I was about eleven that year, and had long since abandoned the notion that all those dolls came from Santa's workshop. But I still loved dolls, and always got a "nice" one at Christmas. And the Madame Alexander "Cissy" dolls were about as nice as they came. Sorry about the lighting – I did this in a rush this morning. And also, please ignore the ribbons around her ankles – it's not some sort of dolly bondage thing; she's just a heavy doll and doesn't stand well in those high heel shoes without help.


Isn't she pretty? Like all the Cissy dolls, she's about 21 inches tall and made of vinyl. Her outfit is a bit unusual – I've never really seen it documented in any of the doll reference books. But I've found similar outfits on "store special" dolls from the period, and I believe she may have been one of those dolls specially designed for a department store at Christmas time. For some reason, I never thought to ask my mother just where Cissy came from.


But even though she was a Christmas doll, I've always thought of her as sort of "springy." She's wearing a blue felt topcoat, with a yellow silk scarf around her neck. But her blue straw hat with pink flower trim (and tiny blue hatpin) is definitely a spring-ish item. And underneath the coat, she has on a blue velveteen jumper over a pink silky blouse with pussycat bow at the neckline. Doesn't she look like she's all ready to join the cast of "Mad Men"?


And here's a close-up of the little "diamond" trimmed watch attached to her waistline.


By the time I received Cissy, I was already collecting dolls more than I was playing with them, so she's remained fairly pristine. She was a great comfort to me that Christmas because my father had just died during the summer, and I was still feeling a little bewildered and abandoned. I think I saw her as a bit of reassurance that childhood wasn't completely at an end just yet. Over the years, I've collected several more Cissy dolls, but she'll always be my favorite.

10 comments:

  1. Cissy is beautiful; however, I'm glad you explained the foot stabilizer. Living in DC, she's dressed perfectly for Easter. I remember we always wore a spring coat with our straw bonnets. Thanks for sharing. Happy Blue Monday.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joy, love your doll...she is lovely.

    Happy Blue Monday!

    Barb

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, I have lots to say here so please bear with me (LOL)

    First of all, thanks for dropping by and leaving such a kind comment!

    Second, imagine my surprise when I clicked on your name to respond and saw, Joy Hall. I had to do a double take as that is my SISTER's name!!! (I know she married a man with a very common last name so I imagine that there might be many of you!)

    Third, started working my way down your blog list until I found your Blue Monday post. You are quite the avid reader! Good luck with tackling all of those nineties novels! I'm not sure if you noticed, but I JUST started (live over the weekend!) a children's author's list...I'm torn on how to list them...last name first or first and last name!

    Finally, I really enjoyed your post about Cissy. I too collected doll's as a child, but only have one Madame Alexander (Little Red Riding Hood).

    We must be kindred spirits!
    Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your doll is lovely! It's obvious you loved her and took such good care of her!
    Happy Blue Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  5. She looks like a Madam Alexander doll. I love her pocketwatch. A little bling goes a long way! Thanks for sharing. I know I'm probably the last one to comment, but I got a late start. Happy Blue Day!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What?!! No Santa's Workshop? That can't be right!

    Your mother might have gotten it at the toy department at Carl's. Isn't that where they had all the Madame Alexander dolls in those cases in what I remember as eing a little room? I can picture it but I can't say where it was. You are lucky -- I don't have any of my dolls except for the Ginny dolls that you found and gave back to me.

    I don't remember that Christmas -- I just remember that nothing was normal anymore. It makes me sad.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That was supposed to read "being". Sheesh.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cissy is just beautiful. Happy belated Blue Monday and have a lovely week.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joy your doll is beautiful! I especially like her hat. Thanks for sharing the story behind your doll with us. It sounds like such a heart breaking time for you. I'm sorry about your dad.
    I hope you have a very happy and blessed Easter!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Joy,
    I'm late, I know! A belated Happy Blue Monday. I love your Cissy! I love dolls myself. She really is sweet. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful week.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to Joysweb! And thanks for leaving me a comment. I love to hear from visitors. I do usually moderate comments on posts that are more than a few days old, and comments with suspicious links will not be approved.

Also, please note that while I appreciate blog awards, I never play award tag games. I think you all deserve awards!