Cécile, France, 1711
Jun 1, 2011 20:16:26 GMT -5
Post by daughterofthedryad on Jun 1, 2011 20:16:26 GMT -5
Cécile is and has always been my favorite of the GOMLs because she is gorgeous and so is her costume. Her book is very exciting too, and I loved it. She reminds me of Elizabeth Cole AND Elizabeth Swann! lol. Actually if you wanted a custom Elizabeth Swann doll, Cécile would make a wonderful candidate. Hmm....
From the ground up:
Cécile has fringed brocade mules with rubber soles. One quibble: they slip off VERY easily! (far too easily!). Also, they don't fit her feet extremely well. Her stockings are plain white cotton, and reach to her knees.
Cécile is not wearing a shift or any kind of underclothing, which is kind of an annoyance in the accuracy department, but I can overlook it. Her brocaded underskirt is merely printed (or painted) but it feels almost like real silk, is heavy and completely lined, and is fastened at the waist with a snap for easy removal.
Her polonaise (the overskirt and bodice/sleeves) is made of what feels like silk, too. The overskirt is lined, trimmed in a ruffle and some braided trim and pulled back from the waist (polonaised) with buttons at the side seams. (In actuality the skirt is simply tacked). This creates the pooching effect of the overskirt in the front. The bodice is trimmed in lace and looped trim. The stomacher is painted like the skirt and is sewn on one side to the bodice. The other side fastens with hidden snaps, so it opens (almost) like the real thing. I found that interesting. The little emerald jewel at the bottom of the stomacher has an elastic loop to fasten over it, as an extra feature to hold the dress closed. It doesn't really do anything, and it's hard to get it off and on, but it's still a nice touch. I appreciate the detail.
The sleeves are quarter-length and trimmed in nice-quality lace. Feels like real cotton.
Jewelry: Cécile has two pearl-and-cameo bracelets which are supposed to come on and off (apparently) but I don't want to mess with them as they look extremely fragile. The fastenings also look rather complicated. The cameos have excellent detail. The necklace is a simple, double strand of pearls which has a standard necklace fastener; easy removal. She has a strand of pearls in her hair too but mine are rather misplaced; they look funny. Cécile's earrings are emerald studs. My doll's ears have not turned green.
Her hairdo is made of a lot of little sausage curls; one of the back ones must've gotten caught in something, because it's bent in two. Another back sausage curl looks looser than the others. Her top hair is very simple: just curls gathered into a ponytail atop the head.
Accessories: Cécile's fan is a removable piece! Very cool, but also easy to lose. The gold handle feels heavy, like real metal, and it's studded with emeralds. You can tell the "ostrich feathers" were simply a cut-down fake feather (the kind you get in a big pack at the craft store). I don't remember if it looked like that in the catalog or not.
Overall: an A+ for Cécile, despite a few picky things. Cécile is a keeper! And an A for the book.
From the ground up:
Cécile has fringed brocade mules with rubber soles. One quibble: they slip off VERY easily! (far too easily!). Also, they don't fit her feet extremely well. Her stockings are plain white cotton, and reach to her knees.
Cécile is not wearing a shift or any kind of underclothing, which is kind of an annoyance in the accuracy department, but I can overlook it. Her brocaded underskirt is merely printed (or painted) but it feels almost like real silk, is heavy and completely lined, and is fastened at the waist with a snap for easy removal.
Her polonaise (the overskirt and bodice/sleeves) is made of what feels like silk, too. The overskirt is lined, trimmed in a ruffle and some braided trim and pulled back from the waist (polonaised) with buttons at the side seams. (In actuality the skirt is simply tacked). This creates the pooching effect of the overskirt in the front. The bodice is trimmed in lace and looped trim. The stomacher is painted like the skirt and is sewn on one side to the bodice. The other side fastens with hidden snaps, so it opens (almost) like the real thing. I found that interesting. The little emerald jewel at the bottom of the stomacher has an elastic loop to fasten over it, as an extra feature to hold the dress closed. It doesn't really do anything, and it's hard to get it off and on, but it's still a nice touch. I appreciate the detail.
The sleeves are quarter-length and trimmed in nice-quality lace. Feels like real cotton.
Jewelry: Cécile has two pearl-and-cameo bracelets which are supposed to come on and off (apparently) but I don't want to mess with them as they look extremely fragile. The fastenings also look rather complicated. The cameos have excellent detail. The necklace is a simple, double strand of pearls which has a standard necklace fastener; easy removal. She has a strand of pearls in her hair too but mine are rather misplaced; they look funny. Cécile's earrings are emerald studs. My doll's ears have not turned green.
Her hairdo is made of a lot of little sausage curls; one of the back ones must've gotten caught in something, because it's bent in two. Another back sausage curl looks looser than the others. Her top hair is very simple: just curls gathered into a ponytail atop the head.
Accessories: Cécile's fan is a removable piece! Very cool, but also easy to lose. The gold handle feels heavy, like real metal, and it's studded with emeralds. You can tell the "ostrich feathers" were simply a cut-down fake feather (the kind you get in a big pack at the craft store). I don't remember if it looked like that in the catalog or not.
Overall: an A+ for Cécile, despite a few picky things. Cécile is a keeper! And an A for the book.
