I was going to wait a week to publish this but I was TOO excited!
I was visiting family over the Holidays and
I was visiting family over the Holidays and
decided to go thrifting, of course!
Some people turn their noses up at the idea of thrift stores,
but look who I have found!
Yes, she is an, 18" Miss Revlon doll from the 1950s!
This is not her original dress and she is
VERY dirty.
Her hair is in good uncut condition, her eyebrows are not faded.
Her eyes are clear and the whites are not discolored!
Here is the dress she was wearing.
It is very dingy and I wonder
what it will look like after a wash?
There is a row of sequins around the neckline.
Into a wash with some other recent finds.
This photo was taken after the first rinse.
The first wash water was BROWN!
How ironic that I am washing my Revlon doll
with Revlon wig shampoo!
Wig shampoo, or Synthetic hair shampoo,
can be found in almost any beauty supply shop.
It is best for washing doll hair.
All lathered up!
She is very dirty!
I always use a magic eraser on dolls skin.
Before and...
After!
After her first hair brushing she looks
better already.
Here are all the dresses that I was washing.
more on these later!
Her dress looks so much better!
It does not fit her properly, but
I plan on doing a dress makeover!
The sequins are crystal clear!
After this dress was dry, I detached
the skirt from the bodice and
fitted it to Miss Revlon.
Then I put it all back together!
(But I forgot to take pictures!)
She came wearing her original underpants.
I have removed the old elastic and
will replace it with new.
Here are her underpants all renewed with new elastic.
The bustier I made for my Cissy Doll
to wear under this dress.
While her dress is drying I made her a crinoline.
This is an easy thing to make and
really makes these 1950s style dresses work!
This is my doll hair kit.
The Revlon spray is for synthetic hair.
It goes on like hair spray and I comb
the doll's hair into shape.
That is why I keep these mini brushes
and comb.
I don't recommend these for general
hair brushing, but for smoothing and brushing
small heads of hair into curls they are ideal.
Here she is with a bit smoother hair.
The finishing spray gives her hair
a little more shine.
Are you ready to see her all done?
And...
HERE SHE IS!
You might recognize this bandeau hat from our
I also pinked her cheeks a little and repainted her
nail polish.
Before and After
Can you believe this is the same dress!?!
What a transformation!
Well, this was a very fun and unexpected treat;
to find a lovely doll like this in a thrift store
and give her a second chance.
My favorite thing to start out a New Year at the Savage Pea.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
29 comments:
Thank you Thimble!
My favorite thing is finding vintage dolls that need a makeover. I love giving them a second life and making it a beautiful one! I was fortunate to have a lot of bits and pieces around already that fit this Miss Revlon. She is a bit slimmer than my Cissy, but a lot of pieces still work. They can share shoes and stockings, jewelry and lingerie. It is just the Cissy dresses that are a bit too large for her.
Congratulations on a job well done. She is gorgeous and is a beautiful addition to your doll family.
Joan
Beautiful job on Miss Revlon. She turned from a mess to a Cinderella.
Marion
Oh, my goodness, we will have to call you "The Doll Whisperer!" Miss Revlon is stunning. I cannot believe that is the same dress. I had to scroll up to the top and take another look. As you said, what a wonderful way to begin the new year, with a doll rescue.
You did a fantastic job. I love the pink outfit[pink is my favorite color]. This Revlon doll has such a pretty face. Thank You for such a inspiring and interesting blog. You give such good tips and suggestions for all your doll lovers and collectors.Wishing you and yours and your doll family,too a Happy,Blessed and Healthy 2020
Marilyn
Thank you Joan,
You know how I like a doll makeover. This Miss Revlon was a great candidate. She was already a lovely doll, just needed some TLC.
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Marion,
She was a mess! But I love a good mess to set straight. I could see all the potential there and I wasn't wrong. She is sitting on my desk with me now looking very lovely!
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Dorothy, I will happily accept the title, "The Doll Whisperer"! Restoring dolls is my favorite thing. It is so satisfying finding a doll someone has donated, (thankfully instead of just dumping her in the trash!) and making her new and lovely again. I have been very fortunate in the dolls I have found thrifting.
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Marilyn! I did benefit from this Miss Revlon already being such a lovely doll. I love pink too. I was stunned by how this pink velvet just sprang back to colorful life with a washing. I wasn't sure if I could give it a makeover if it had not come back so pink! Because it was originally for a larger baby doll, it looks like an elegant boat neck now. The sequins give a bit of sparkle to an otherwise bland dress. I'm very pleased with this makeover.
Hugs
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
Your Miss Revlon is now a stunning lady! I am particularly impressed with how smooth and shiny her hair is. What size is she 18" or 20 Inch? Her complexion is lovely.
And, the dress renovation is just miraculous!
Janet
I was thinking, "from rags to riches"! It's hard to believe she's the same doll.
Thank you Janet!
I must admit I am very pleased with how she looks now. She was really in pretty good shape when I found her though. That makes my job so much easier. Her hair was pretty frightful but even that came out great.
She is an 18" doll. I can't believe I never mentioned that!
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Lil Red Hen,
So true! Yes, she is like a rags to riches story. Before her makeover she was truthfully a 'homeless doll'! Now she has been adopted and loved. :)
Hugs
Brenda
Thanks Linda! I love makeovers! I must say her dress came out better than I imagined. It was so dingy and colorless. It was shocking how pink it is.
Beautiful! She looks brand new! Bravo!
Blessings! ~Carolyn
Thank you Carolyn! I am very happy with how she came out. It is so fun doing a doll makeover like this.
Blessings,
Brenda
What a fantastic makeover, I can hardly believe it's the same doll! She looks stunning Brenda. :)
Big hugs,
X
Thank you Xanadu! I love a makeover! It is my favorite thing. I am always on the lookout for thrift store dolls who are crying out for a second life. This Miss Revlon was an amazing find.
Hugs
Brenda
Hello, I just discovered your blog today from a Pinterest link. Just wow--you do an amazing job on your doll makeovers! I've only looked at two so far, Cissy and this one. Just amazing--also amazing you find dolls like these at thrifts as I've never found a real treasure yet but I keep trying. I find older baby dolls and once--an American Girl doll but nothing like these!
I can't believe my eyes as to what this pink dress really looked like with the proper cleaning and a bit of alterations! I probably would have thrown it away, but now I know. I have experience with American Girl doll rehabbing but not these older ones. I'm wondering if re-doing their hair is about the same. Also, what do you use for soaking and washing the doll clothes? I saw the red dresses in with the others and what I use would definitely not play well with that.
Anyway, I will be continuing to read your posts and doll makeovers now--just amazing! Thanks very much! Barb P.S. I tried to set up an account to comment, but when I click on the button, I just get a lot of coding and nonsense characters.
Hi Barb, welcome!
Thank you so much for your kind words. I love makeovers and I too started with American Girl Dolls. A lot of what I do is the same as I did for Ag dolls. The exceptions being the dolls like Cissy who have older wigs. Cissy's hair I only brushed it out and restyled it. My Miss Revlon here has rooted hair and I washed her up like I would an AG.
I usually separate my reds and dark blues, it depends on the fabric. I use Dawn or just a little regular detergent in cold water. I have also used Fels-naptha in the past, it's great for long term soaking. I also have used Oxy-clean on whites.
Sorry about the trouble creating an account. Many of my readers do what you did, write as anonymous and sign their name. :)
I hope to see you back soon!
Hugs
Brenda
SO, I went back and looked over this post after answering Barb. I now recall why I had all these dresses soaking together with red dresses. When I have something pink, that could use a little extra pink coloring, I will soak it with something red to add some color back.
This is the only time I don't separate colors.
Hugs
Brenda
OMGosh, what a wonderful find!! Love what you do. Sh turned out fantastic! Doll collecting is one of my favorite hobbies. Thank you for sharing.
Debbie Jeffs... djeffs147@gmail.com
Hi Debbie,
I'm so glad you found me! I do love restoring these dolls I find in thrift stores and garage sales, etc. I feel like I am saving a little piece of history. Dolls record our ideas of beauty and fashion for every era. I just love that!
Hugs
Brenda
She looks so fresh. How did you “pink” her cheeks? It’s very subtle and pretty.
Judy Mullen
That was clever soaking her dress with the red dress. How did you pink her cheeks? They are so subtly pink.
JudyM from Florida
Hi Judy, Thank you for your kind words. If you do a search on this blog for “refresh face paint” you should find instructions and illustrations of how I refresh cheek color.
Hugs
Brenda
Here is the link:
https://thesavagepea.blogspot.com/2022/09/restoring-doll-hair-and-face-paint.html
Brenda
I am really impressed with the dress! Doll loooks awesome too!
Hi Anonymous,
Thank you, this dress is one of my favorite makeovers on a dress. I was amazed at how well it turned out.
Hugs
Brenda
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