Ballerina Encore

A couple weeks ago I bought a lot of dolls to restore. The photos weren't terrific so I couldn't see any small details, just enough to tell which dolls were included. Imagine my surprise when the dolls arrived and included was a ballerina I restored four years ago!

A new lot of dolls

My old tag

This doll is the Aida Ballerina by Valentine. She's a lovely doll, with brown hair and blue eyes. She wears her original tutu, which is in fair condition. The trim is fraying. She also has her original Capezio branded en pointe ballet shoes. I gave her tricot panties edged in shell embroidery and Madame Alexander sheer panty hose. Then I pinned some flowers in her long curls.

The restored doll

The Valentine mark

The bodice has wear.

The shoes say Capezio.

I'm rather worried about the customer who purchased Aida. Although she still had the hair net and tag I gave her, she was dirty and her vinyl had become sticky. She obviously had been stored in a basement or attic or storage unit without climate control. I hope the owner just downsized her collection and not that she died or something. I cleaned Aida and gave her a baby powder treatment to counter the stickiness. Her previous restoration included re-stringing of her arms and a lip re-paint.

The lips have been re-painted.

I made her hair ornament.

The ballerina poses well.

Aida poses extremely well. She can sit and stand and do the splits even! This range of motion is very rare for a walker doll! Her head-turning walker also works well. Her blue sleep eyes are clear and working. She's a wonderful example of this doll and would make a beautiful addition to your collection or even make a great play doll. Keep in mind vintage toys may not meet today's standards for playthings.

Cindy by Horsman

Another doll in the lot is an encore in a way for me. She's Mardi Gras Cindy by Horsman from 1957. My mother had this exact doll as a girl and passed her on to me, so I grew up playing with her. I was fascinated with this large sized grown up lady doll. Although I had Barbies, there weren't any dolls like this when I was small, nor are there still. Our Cindy was not anywhere near the pristine condition of this one! Luckily for my own daughter, my good friend sent her two Cindy dolls in fabulous condition and this is one of them. My daughter has them proudly displayed in the new doll cabinet my parents gave her.

The original Mardi Gras dress

The Horsman mark

The Ready Flex body, stuffed with wire armature

The lingerie is Madame Alexander.

Cindy is all dressed for Mardi Gras in her original gown. The gown is elaborate. It features a black velvet bodice and a pink skirt with tiers of metallic thread lace. My mother says the dress was much brighter pink when new. This one is a pink champagne color now from age. I believe the shoes, choker, hair ribbon, hair net, and purse are also original.

She has her original hair net and ribbon.

Cindy needed cleaning. Her hair was in its original set but it had some darkened areas from age, so I had to wash it and re-do it. I made floral hair ornaments from vintage flowers and pinned them over the dark areas to hide them. With that, she is truly gorgeous. My mother, who was visiting when I restored Cindy, said she looks new. I don't think I would say she looks brand new; there are always some signs of age even in the nicest vintage dolls, but she looks really nice and would be a perfect gift or collector doll. You can find these dolls and many others in my eBay and Etsy shops.