Meet Emma Katherine

Everyone who has read my blog since the early days knows that the first Sasha dolls I ever saw (and loved) belonged to my childhood friends - sisters who owned a blonde and a brunette. I found a 1971 brunette that matched my memories and named her Esme. I already had a 1970 blonde named Enid, and while they were great friends, not quite the pair I remembered from childhood. Petite Enid with her full center part was just a bit off the mark. She has since traveled off to a new home, and I now have a 1971 blonde I call Emma Katherine.

Emma is a much better match to my memories. Her bangs are a bit wonky, but I think they can be sorted out and made at least a bit more even. The end pieces on the far right here come from behind the first row of hair, and searching through the pieces on the other side I see some short strands mixed in. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to coax them back where they belong.

I love her dark blue eyes, and even the pale color of her lips that this era often fades too. I think that she and Esme Elizabeth are going to be fantastic sisters.

Meet Annabel

Since my last few posts have been about dolls that I don't own anymore, I decided to introduce another doll that is no longer part of my collection. She was purchased in a very negative eBay experience, but enough time has passed that it's not particularly upsetting now. Plus I learned two valuable lessons: early blondes can have major hair problems, and avoid sellers who appear mentally unstable. Since my 1968 blondes all have names starting with A, I thought it would be fitting to call her Annabel.

This poor girl's hair was very stiff and matted, and started falling out and/or breaking off before I was able to shampoo it. My assumption is that the hair was damaged by some sort of hair styling product which was used on it years ago (hence the stiffness). Her eyes were lovely, but it's my opinion that a fringe girl has lost most of her cachet if she's balding. I had to get Customer Support involved, but fortunately I was able to return the doll for a full refund.

These pictures were taken after her hair had been wet, so it looks quite smooth and silky here. But if you look closely it's broken off in places, especially a big chunk of her bangs.

You can see lots of shorter hairs from this angle, and also a ding on her hand.

Her face is quite lovely, though also quite grubby.

The cost was too high (both financially and emotionally) for me to regard her as a waif and fix her up. Alas, I can't save every doll. She was sold again on eBay for a lower price, so hopefully someone else did/will save her.

Meet Paloma

I love how the early English brunettes look, but resisted buying them at first due to concerns about falling hair. I managed to find a few with stable hair, and then added a few more who only lose a hair or two when combed. Paloma is in the latter group, so I pretty much leave her hair alone. It is quite thick, with very deep bangs, and a part way over on her left side. I decided I could handle minor hair issues on such a gorgeous girl. From Susanna's charts, I'm almost certain she's a 1968 Brunette Gingham.

She looks so different in this picture to me, even though they were all taken at the same time. Her face appears wider from this angle, and her hair appears lighter, almost highlighted in the sunlight from the window.

And finally a couple of close-ups, so you can really see her beautiful big brown eyes.

Early 70's Friends

Most of my English dolls are from the late 60's, but I do have three from the early 70's: Enid, Esme, and Cleo. Cleo is only a baby, but Enid and Esme appear to be fast friends.

They're pleading with me to come to the festival, but I've already decided to bring Muriel again and only have room for one other doll in my suitcase.

Meet Esme Elizabeth

I set up a "photo studio" on my dining room table yesterday, to take pictures to use in a table hostess project for the festival (more on that later). Since I had a space set up with a solid background and lighting, I decided to utilize it for pictures to introduce another of my dolls.

Esme is a Brunette Gingham, most likely from 1971 (that was Shelly's opinion from her stringing, clothes, eyes, tube, tag - the standard clues). Her hair may fall in the future, but seems to be holding for now; she lost a couple of hairs when combed by Shelly, but none when I gently brushed it today.

From my recollection, Esme is like the doll(s) I coveted as a young child, which belonged to sisters who were friends of mine. I'm certain that those dolls were from the early 70's, when they were being sold in the US by Creative Playthings. I would have been seven in 1971, which is close if not right on the mark. I believe my friends both had Brunette Ginghams, though one may have had a Blonde. They were like no other dolls I'd ever seen, with their cafe-au-lait coloring and serene faces. I remember thinking they looked a bit like Indians (we didn't refer to them as Native Americans back when I was a child), with their long brown hair and dark skin. My childhood wish ...

... has come true as an adult (on a much larger scale, since I only dreamed of owning one or two).

UPDATE: Memories involving these sisters are an integral part of my childhood. The younger sister was my age, and my best friend in grade school. The older sister was a year ahead in school, and was my close confidante in high school. I eventually lost touch with both of them after we headed off to college, but have been back in touch with the older sister through facebook for a while now. I hadn't told her about my Sasha collection, or my coveting of their childhood dolls, so I feared she might consider me daft when I sent her a link to this post. If so, she kept that to herself in her reply. She no longer owns her childhood doll, but confirmed the accuracy of my memories; she had a brunette gingham and her sister had a blonde. She remembers buying them at the Creative Playthings store in Boothbay Harbor. I usually give my dolls a single name, but have decided that she should become Esme Elizabeth in honor of my childhood friend.

1969 Side Parts - II

The last time I posted about my 1969 side parts I had two of them. Now I have three, so I decided to take new pictures of them together. Fortunately I did this on the glorious day I took pictures of Dylan Danica, as we've had rain the past two days.


Here are Dagmar, Lilith, and Dylan Danica on the climbing frame in my backyard. Lilith and Dylan Danica both had a ribbon tied in their hair when I received them, but all three now sport small vintage barrettes.

Meet Danica

It was a glorious day, so I decided to try taking pictures outside. Today's subject is Dylan Danica, a 1969 Blue Cord with her original clothing (and her original stringing). Her hair has streaks of several shades of blonde, very long bushy bangs, and a side part on top. Despite both being blonde side-parts from 1969, she looks quite different from Dagmar. I think they are equally beautiful, and love them both dearly.






UPDATE: I've decided that Dylan sounded too masculine, and have renamed her Danica.