Elise #1610 - 1957

This is another of my favorite Elise dolls, although I've never had to do any restringing or any other work on her — she was in lightly played-with, but perfectly display-worthy, condition when I bought her from a fellow collector/dealer here in Colorado. She is #1610, from 1957, and you can see her in the back row of my new Elise display.

I love the hat on this outfit: a white cloche adorned with a black velvet ribbon and flowers.

My doll also wears (all original) a lovely crispy-mint half-slip, white taffeta undies, hose, and low-heeled black shoes.

But by far the most interesting thing about her is the little braid pinned across her hairline like a headband. Some doll in the 1950s came with an extra braid of hair, in a little plastic canister that was attached to the doll's wrist; in addition to being able to wash and curl their dolls' saran hair, a little girl could also use this braid to create fancier styles.

I didn't know Elise was ever sold with an extra braid like this, but it appears she was, as the braid's color is a perfect match to her wig:

This same Elise is pictured in pink on page 81 Marjorie Uhl's Madame Alexander's Ladies of Fashion.