2-Doll Clothes Press (RETIRED)

[sheltiesweetie2007]

This piece took the place of Felicity's Clothes Press in 2005. It retired with Felicity's archival in 2010.

AG description: Colonial homes didn’t have closets, so people often stored clothes in a clothes press. This wooden trunk features elegant brass hardware, and can hold up to two dolls inside. Store clothing and accessories with the three hooks and two toilé boxes. W: 15", H: 26", D: 8".


Overall Grade: A-
I am a fan of the first clothes press and was not crazy about this piece when it first came out in the catalog. It grew on me after time and my opinion of it went up when I saw it in person. It is made of sturdy wood and is the equivalent in quality to some PM furniture that I've seen in person. I do wish that it had drawers or shelves inside, which is the reason for the A-. It is a nice piece that will last for years as part of a collection or used in play.

Many thanks to my grandmother for letting me take pictures of her clothes press. She would give this piece an A, and says that it all depends on what time period you wish to use the furniture for. She is very pleased with it, and it is just the right size for her collection.

Original AG Description: Colonial homes didn’t have closets, so people often stored clothes in a clothes press. This wooden trunk features elegant brass hardware, and can hold up to two dolls inside. Store clothing and accessories with the three hooks and two toilé boxes. W: 15", H: 26", D: 8". $175 XT	You don't realize how large this piece of furniture is until you see it in person. Josefina and Samantha standing next to it put it somewhat into perspective. If you plan on ordering this, be sure you have a good place to put it. It is made of wood, but it not too heavy to move around...just a little awkward to carry due to size.
I love the details on this piece. The carvings and darker wood make this look different from the original clothes press.	The top scrolls are reinforced with this triangular piece of wood on the back.
Closeup view of the decoration on both sides of the top front.	Closeup view of the bottom "feet" of the clothes press. Even sitting on carpet, it was very sturdy and not likely to fall over.
The good thing is that the hardware is all metal. There are a bunch of these on the front, so you can pick which one you want to use to open the door. My disappointment with this clothes press version is that it doesn't have drawers like it falsely appears to have on the outside.	The door is securely held in place with this magnet. If this piece has to have a big door on the front, this is a good way to secure it. The magnet is the perfect strength - strong enough to stay closed but not so strong that the door is difficult to open.
The door is attached with a sturdy metal hinge. It easily swings open.	The hinge does show on the outside of the clothes press.
There are three knobs on the inside of the clothes press. As you can see here, it is possible to hang garments and hats without hangers. The garments will stay, but the velcro on the back made it hard to keep the dress on the knob since it is rather rigid.	My grandma's method for storing clothes on hangers seems to work best. You can fit approximately two hangers on each knob without the clothes falling off.
The larger end of the knob keeps the hangers and clothes from falling off.	I wish the clothes press was slightly larger on each side. The hangers on the end do not have enough room to hang straight and are at an angle. I don't see this as a major issue.
Two dolls definitely fit in the clothes press, but do not leave much room for anything else to be stored inside at the same time.	The toile boxes are rather large and are made of a sturdy cardboard (I think) that is covered with slick paper. I'm not sure if these are historically accurate or not, but they at least look cute sitting out.
You can store quite a bit of stuff in the boxes. They are very good for coralling outfit accessories, such as shoes and hats, that do not fit on a hanger.	AG was clever with the design of the boxes. They are blue to match Elizabeth's bed, but have a similar pattern to Felicity's bedding.

[Samsunflower1232]

I give it an A in appearance, finish and details. B- for storage. Mine was bought off eBay minus the boxes. Even with those you can't hang a lot of clothes inside however add a rod and it would change things.

Having never seen the original clothes press I can't compare the two but this one is a worthy addition to Felicity's collection.

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[Deleted]

I know some people had asked about Felicity's clothes press and how much fits. I'm posting a pic of mine, even though it's not very full.

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In my pic, only two dresses are hanging, one shirt and one cape (a lot more could fit.) Though I don't think it's the best piece for storage. I bought mine for asthetics. It makes a fantastic closet for my "Little Red" to hang her cape and her favorite red dresses.
FYI: When I experimented to see what would fit I discovered that I can fit between3-5 hangers on the hooks in the back, depending on how thick the clothes on them. I found that using 2 of the hooks worked better than trying to use all three of them (leaving the center one empty or for hanging other things). Even the short dresses end up laying on top of the toile boxes.

[Lionlover]

I put a tension rod in mine and you can hang more stuff up that way but the dresses hang into the toile boxes because they're so long. The hangers fit kind of funny too because they're just slightly too wide to fit in so they have to go slightly sideways. I think as is (without the tension rod) this is probably the worst storage piece AG has ever made. For $175 it ought to hold more than 4-6 dresses and a few accessories. Fortunately I only bought it for looks. I do love it.