More 1940s Outfits!

Hello again! We are continuing with our 1940s theme -- and hopefully this serves as a reminder to vote in our Time Warp Photo Contest... hint, hint. Today is the last day for voting. ;-)

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2011/10/time-warp-photo-contest-entries-vote.html

Today we have three of the '40s girls showcasing handmade outfits. Linda is wearing a sweater (we think we've shown you before) from Dynamite Threads, and a skirt from Terri's Touch. Molly's fantastic blue wool hooded coat and tam are from AG Seamstress. They are based on the 1986 "Molly's Surprise" illustrations. Check out this link to compare ye olde illustrations with ye new illustrations to see her two different winter "looks"-- http://e.joz3d.net/pages/MollyBooks3.html. Molly's red plaid jumper is from Doll Clothes by Evie. Meanwhile Emily is wearing a green striped tee and shorts set from Terri's Touch.

Here they are looking adorable...

Slideshow...

And for today's fun 1940s fashion facts from the "Molly's World" book...

1) Saddle shoes were popular in the 1920s as golf shoes. By the '40s, girls and boys wore them for both work and play. Classic story of sportswear being brought into the everyday fashion world.

2) Before the war, Girl Scout uniforms had long zippers down the front. Since metal was needed for the war effort, the uniform was redesigned with buttons. So we rarely see zippers in 1940s fashion, for uniforms or coats or jackets or dresses -- it was buttons all the way!

3) Notice that some skirts are short and others are longer? Hems were let down as many times as possible for skirts and dresses in order to lengthen their "lifetime" of use. A law was actually passed to limit the amount of fabric that could be used in sleeves and hems. Eventually skirts just got shorter in order to conserve fabric!

4) Not that these shorts are pants... but they'll do for us to work in this factoid: Women started wearing pants at their factory jobs during the war. Soon they became acceptable fashion outside of work, and even glamorous everyday wear. Actresses started wearing high-waisted, wide-legged "sailor" pants in movies and this helped popularize them.

Thanks for visiting us!

Please be sure to vote in our Photo Contest today!

The Other Fantastic Four and a Reminder

Sup! Today we wanted to remind you that our Time Warp Photos are due tomorrow -- Monday October 10th. We have a handful now -- so that is good news. But we'd like more if you guys are thinking about sending one in. We are looking for dolls in historical dioramas or rooms, dolls in historical clothing, dolls in events from history, and so on. If you aren't sure your picture applies to the contest, send it in anyways with an explanation. We look forward to getting your entry!

And of course, the winner of the Time Warp Photo Contest gets a $20 AG gift card.

Twenty. Dollars.

Hopefully there will be a free shipping code soon too....

Anyways, we probably made our point by now. *Wink.

Also up for today's post is an introduction to all of the 1940s girls here at Badger's Wood -- We call them "The Other Fantastic Four."

Penny grew up with a Molly doll and read her collection of books -- which feature her best friends Susan and Linda prominently. When we got the opportunity to make those dolls we did -- Susan is a custom MyAG #23 and Linda is just Chrissa renamed. Convenient! And of course, Emily is Emily since AG made her. Haha.

Then this year we ordered a new Mattel Molly -- our Pleasant Company Molly is very old. She has different coloring, a pudgier body, and she can't stand up anymore on her own (she needs restrung, but we'll never do that for nostalgia's sake - poor girl, haha).

Our new Molly looks more like the other three girls and is happily at home with us now. She is pictured today wearing her Meet Outfit. Meanwhile Linda is wearing a dark navy corduroy jumper from Terri's Touch and a white shirt from Doll Clothes by Evie. Susan is modeling a white shirt and reddish-brown plaid jumper also from Terri's Touch. And finally, Emily is sporting a blue and off-white dress from... you guessed it, Terri's Touch! Terri is our go-to-girl for 1940s wear, but we do have items from a variety of sellers for these girls.

Enjoy these pics and stay tuned for more 1940s clothing and historical info in the coming weeks. We are going to try to do another "Historical Theme Week." We did one last year for the colonial time period. It lasted about two to three weeks and involved a lot of work. We meant to do one every couple months, but it has become an annual thing instead (unfortunately). But we'll keep chipping away at that long list of stuff we want to post about. *Chip, chip, chip. :-)

Slideshow!

Arty shots!

And remember: Send in your Time Warp Photo Contest entries before Tuesday October 11th! :-)

Doll Clothes by Evie Nurse Uniform

Miss Emily got the opportunity to model our 1940s/1950s nurse uniform handmade by Doll Clothes by Evie, an Etsy seller. Her store currently has lots of awesome historical clothing available-- just the place you'd want to visit to buy your historical doll a gift. ;)

We managed to do this photo shoot outdoors with Emily posing by our Lancelot statue. As you can see the nurse uniform came with a blue and white-striped cotton dress, and a muslin apron and hat. We love the tiny red crosses Evie stitched onto the front of the hat and apron. This outfit is definitely one of our favorite Etsy purchases, as it can be used as both a uniform and a costume. Plus it looks so cute on Emily :)

Enjoy zee pics!

Doll Clothes by Evie Coral Dress for Cassie

Cassie has a new dress! It is a two-piece dress with a "jumper" or overdress, and a guimpe or blouse that goes underneath it. The main coral and raspberry fabric is very beautiful and it is accented by the tiny-checked fabric on the collar, the edge of the sleeves, and the bottom of the skirt. This is a pretty cool pattern, with a unique type of collar and sleeve design for the jumper. We fell in love with it the instant we saw it listed on Etsy.

Thanks Evie for this wonderful dress! Cassie loves it! This was our first purchase from Etsy seller Doll Clothes by Evie and we highly recommend checking out her shop yourself. Click here to do so! And if you like this dress in particular, there is one from the same pattern available in the shop right now: click here to see it!

Enjoy the pics of the new dress!!!