On Saturday my sister came down to visit me and she brought the doll that her friend had given her. We haven’t been able to find out much more about her as she is unmarked and the lady who gave her to my sister could not remember where she had acquired her. She thought it was probably from an Op Shop. Here she is looking cheerful but a bit untidy at my sister’s house.

On Sunday I spent some time giving her a light clean and trying to do something with her hair. I discovered that her eyes which looked greenish in the photos are a light brown or hazel and that her dress is actually quite big on her. It looks as if it were made for a chubbier doll, or maybe the person who made it didn’t have her measurements.  However the sash keeps it from looking too baggy so she can keep it for now. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to dress her up after all. She really is in quite good condition with all her eyelashes and face paint intact. She’s quite a slim doll and it crossed my mind that she might be Italian but she could equally be a Made in Hong Kong. Unless I see a picture of a similar doll I’ll probably never know.

As she wasn’t really dirty I just gave her a rub down with 911 to freshen her up. She had one or two inky looking marks which I’m treating with Remove Zit but her main issue was her hair.

I spent quite some time on Sunday afternoon combing it out while we watched motor racing on TV. Later on I washed her hair with baby shampoo and combed conditioner through it. I’ve no idea what her original style was so as I didn’t have any rollers I just combed it back and finger combed it at the back to make it look a bit more bouncy.

Here is the result.

I took a couple of quick photos this evening after I redressed her. I would still like to do a bit more with her but for now she’s ready to take her place in the doll room.