Doll Repair and Doll Restoration Professional

What started out as an antique doll mystery on EBay turned into a new friendship  and antique doll clothing project with  Mary Todd Lincoln presenter  and author Donna McCreary.  Used as an authority by the Abrahan Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield, IL, Donna was inspired by pieces owned by the museum and the Smithsonian to write Fashionable First Lady: The Victorian Wardrobe of Mary Lincoln which offers insight into the personality of Mary Lincoln through her exquisite wardrobe.  A dream of Donna’s has been to have select wardrobe pieces to display on her speaking tours and later donate to the Lincoln Museum.  This extensive project  to replicate a number of outfits of Mary Lincoln’s wardrobe in authentic Civil War era style is now becoming a reality! (LINK to Donna McCreary’s web site on Recommended Links page)

NOTE: Click on picture for actual size.
** Dolls are reproduction Mary Todd Lincoln (kit) sold by Yield House in 1970′s.

Double Skirt & Mantle
1860

Snapping a photo of the new first lady and her two young boys, Mary wore a silk skirt with two deep flounces.  The original fabric, as in this one is in a geometric patterns with a row of small diamonds.  The original gown had small and large diamond shapes in a horizontal line.  Underneath Mary wears pantaloons, an double layered eyelet petticoat with bustle eyelet and hoop.  Her antique white blouse has antique lace at the cuffs and bodice front.  The dress is fitted with the geometric design meeting in the front in a V shaped pattern.  The mantle is lined in black cotton and accented with matching silk insets, black cording  and draw strings with tassels.  Her bonnet is trimmed with lace, flowers and greenery. Read the rest of this entry »