Puttin' on the Glitz

What will you be wearing to your New Year's Eve gala tonight?

Believe me, my days of freezing my toes off in strappy high heels

while slipping and sliding on icy sidewalks are a thing of the past.

I probably won't even be awake when the clock strikes twelve!

I'm not much into shopping for clothes, which is surprising,

 because as children, my sister and I spent years dressing up our Barbie dolls

and fantasizing about their glamorous lifestyle.  We created houses from

cardboard boxes.  Their purses were the plastic containers used to hold

rain bonnets.  Their telephones were the little trinkets meant

for a key chain and given away by the telephone company.

We used our imagination.

I've got oodles of old junk that belonged to complete strangers, but

very little of my own.  The one thing that's been stored away in my closet

all of my married life is my Barbie collection.  The four dolls and their clothing

were in pristine condition until I let our girls play with them.  They had

plenty of their own dolls, so I packed mine away to save for future generations.

*Still waiting for the name of our newest granddaughter.  :@

Update:  Her name is Maggie.  :)

I think my bubblecut Barbie was manufactured around 1962.

Other than the swimsuits the dolls came with, most of the clothing we

had for our dolls was sewn by my mother, with the exception of

a few pieces I'm featuring today.

This satin gown shown above was stitched up

by our very glamorous neighbor, Lila.  She was a single woman who looked

like a movie star to us girls, with her platinum blonde hair and beautifully

manicured fingernails.  Of course I can't find the photo of her

 I planned to include in this post.

 * New Year's resolution:

Organize old photos!

Just look at the sequins and beads she painstakingly hand stitched to the bodice

of the gown!  The threads are almost a half-century old, so a few have 

come loose from the straps. 

The dress has a pretty lace embellishment at the waistline and Lila even made

 a matching shawl and handbag.

Now, Midge is more of a casual gal.

She's wearing a hand knit sweater and skirt.

I myself am a knitter, but imagine our neighbor knitting 

this snowflake designed sweater and pencil skirt for a doll this size!

Barbie also has another ball gown stitched by my mother.

She's decided to wear this floral print gown,

 because it goes so well with her winter coat.

Look at the quality of this coat, also made by our neighbor, Lila! 

 Fine wool fabric, covered buttons, satin lining, and hand-knit mohair collar and cuffs.

 The knit hat has the same embroidered detail as the collar.

I guess that's the extent of my dressing up for New Year's Eve.

In reality, I'll be toasty warm in my flannel jammies, but if you're

heading out into the cold winter's night, be sure to bundle up because......

Baby it's cold outside!!!

Happy New Year!

Vickie

I'm joining the parties at:

Knick of Time Tuesday
Common Ground Be Inspired Friday