Sometimes a custom doll can fall together right away, but that doesn't always happen. In fact, I've had three dolls (Harriet, Eleanor and Zaida) who have had to go through multiple stages before they actually "arrived"! Of the three, Harriet is the only one who has had the same name and personality since before her arrival at our house . . . but several different looks.
Left: Harriet after cleaning, but before her wig was removed.
Right: Harriet as she is today with her CYO Red Curly wig.
Harriet arrived in the beginning of June this year, one of four TLC dolls that Mom got as a lot on Craigslist. She was certainly not the worst, as one doll was a completely wrecked Caroline (though turned into a fabulous rescue, now my Eleanor). But Harriet was a dirty Marie Grace with a very dry and wild wig, dirt all over and some small stains on several limbs --- not to mention some odd glue spots on her fabric body.
I had known that I wanted a Marie-Grace doll for customizing for several weeks. While her face mold doesn't usually appeal to me, it certainly looks like a portrait right out of 18th Century miniatures. Mom and I got this idea to make a pair of dolls (boy and girl) who could be modern children with a rack of historical costumes, in which they could dress and re-enact the lives of their ancestors. That way, I wouldn't need a million historical dolls -- each one in a particular period all the time. I knew right away that the girl needed to be Harriet and a customized red-haired MG doll, because she would look like one of my favorite adopted relatives!
These are the paintings that inspired me to customize Harriet.
Little girls in the Regency era (early 1800s Jane Austen styles) had very short hair, like "Boy" or "Pixie" cuts as we call them today. So, when Harriet arrived, I started cleaning her right away. Mom washed the fabric body, I oxy treated the stains on her limbs and removed her frizzy wig. Once she'd been cleaned with baking soda, Elizabeth re-stuffed her with brand-new stuffing and re-strung her with good elastic cord. She looked great . . . but now it was a matter of choosing a wig.
Knowing that I wanted red hair was easy, but you can't tell exact colours when ordering wigs online. I was really leaning towards to
Monique "Bebe" wig in Carrot. But Elizabeth felt sure that the red hair would be too limiting when it came to dressing her in different shades. So, we ordered an Auburn
Monique "Johnny" wig. This was really cute (though on the browner side in colour) and matched any clothes she'd want to wear --- and she wore this for a several weeks --- until I bought some other wigs and a Carrot
Monique "Dutch Boy" wig arrived. I tried that on and
loved the red colour! So cute!
Left: Harriet in the "Dutch Boy" wig -- her second look.
Right: Harriet in the "Johnny" wig -- her first look.
So, for a few weeks, Harriet walked around in the "Dutch Boy" wig and was very happy. It wasn't long though, before I decided to order the "Bebe" wig and try it on her, because there would be no loss, since Elizabeth is planning on customized a red-headed little boy doll. The "Bebe" wig arrived, and I really love that one. Even better than the "Dutch Boy", it had more hair and was quite full to look like a girl's cut. Harriet was really settling in here.
Left: Harriet in the "Bebe" wig -- her third look.
Right: Harriet in the CYO medium-length, curly red wig -- her final look.
By this point, I had decided that Harriet would not have her wig glued down, because I wanted to find a long-haired red wig for her to use occasionally with different costumes. And the coolest wig turned up on eBay: a medium-length red curly wig from the AG CYO line. Wow! I ordered it and couldn't wait for it to arrive. This would give Harriet something to wear with her 17th Century costumes! After what seemed like forever (but really wasn't too long at all), the wig arrived in the mail. I popped it on her head to have a look and both Mom and Elizabeth said she should never change. She was beautiful. Now, it's hard to so drastically change the look of a doll that you've already been interacting with and given a special personality. It took me three days to get used to it, even though I could see that she was completely gorgeous with her new hair! Of course, I can't imagine it being any different now!
This is the long journey that Harriet has taken on the road of customization. But I couldn't be happier with her, and we've all voted that she has to be one of the two or three most beautiful
American Girl dolls in the house!
