Cissy in the City

Cissy #2014 of 1956

Cissy has an appointment in the city. She wants to look sophisticated, and true to her impeccable style, hits just the right note in her crisp striped shirtwaist dress. The dress is accented with chocolate brown velvet ribbon, and Cissy's Alexander Manet hat perfectly matches. I added a gold elastic strap to the hat to keep it in place.

The original outfit

This Cissy doll is in exceptional condition for a toy from 1956! She came needing re-stringing and a partial lash replacement, but mostly fine. Her dress was a pleasant surprise; it has only a couple spots on the skirt, it's tagged, and the fabric is stiff. There was a small, previously repaired hole in the skirt so I hid that in a fold. This is really one of the nicest Cissy outfits I've ever come across in terms of condition! I'm not sure if the velvet ribbon accents are original. The picture from my Alexander book, as you can see, describes the ribbon as black and shows a belt rather than a sash. So, at some point the originals may have been replaced. One of the original buttons was missing from the bodice and I didn't have a match so I replaced both.

Cissy wears the Manet hat.

I noticed the Alexander hat from the "Manet" portrait doll is a perfect match to the ribbons on the dress, so I knew it would be wonderful for Cissy. It's funny, even though it's meant to be a period piece, the hat is completely appropriate for the 1950s and really mimics the shape of the original black hat!

The doll after restoration.

I repaired a gouge on the breast.

The joints have some paint scraping.

Cissy a few age related issues, but nothing too hard to fix. She needed re-stringing and some split repairs. One side of her face was cracked along the seam and her legs had hip splits at the tops so I repaired them, but neither of these are really visible unless you pull her hair out of the way or pull her hips out of the sockets. The most visible issue was a gouge in her breast. I repaired it with epoxy and re-painted it. Then I styled Cissy's gorgeous, thick blond hair, gave her a partial eyelash replacement, and refreshed her cheek blush and painted lashes and now she's just as pretty as she was in her youth.

Cissy's rare slip

The fabric is starting to disintegrate.

The slip has some purple spots.

Cissy's tagged slip is such a rare piece I've never seen it before and don't know if it came with this outfit or was a separate piece. The slip is sheer material trimmed in a scallop hem and stamped with a lacy design. The print may have once been flocked; it feels like it may be slightly raised. The tag is very faded but still barely legible. The fabric is stained with purple spots and there are thin places where the fabric is deteriorating. I've treated these with Fray Check so they won't enlarge.

The doll with refreshed cheek paint.

There are spots on the back of the skirt.

The ring is Alexander

Besides the dress and slip, Cissy's stockings, shoes, hat, and solitaire ring are all by Madame Alexander. In addition, she has a really nice watch, turquoise panties, and faux leather purse that really opens. I love this doll! She has the classic 1950s sophisticated style that made Cissy so iconic. You can find her, and many other Cissy dolls in my store, Atelier Mandaline, so please check.