Childhood Doll -- "Nancy Lee" by Arranbee

For Christmas in 1950, my mother gave me this pretty doll, and I have had her ever since.  She is "Nancy Lee", a 14" hard plastic strung doll made by Arranbee (or R&B) Doll Company.

This is her original pale pink organdy dress with pleated collar and waist ruffle.  She has the original petticoat and panties and socks.  The shoes are vintage replacements.  This is a replacement wig, but is made of brunette mohair like her original wig.  Over the years she has had several different wigs.

The petticoat and panties are white cotton trimmed in tiny lace.  In the closeup of the dress you can see that even the lining of the dress is trimmed in lace.  There are square snaps and binding on the edges, both of which were typical of Arranbee clothing of the era.  The original flowers and ribbons on the shoulders and waist were lost long ago and I have replaced them with similar substitutes.

She has a large vintage trunk, which I acquired a few years ago.  The outside is painted metal, white with gold stars.  The interior has the original pink paper.  I selected this trunk for her because the dress storage area is unusally deep and can hold all her dresses, and the large drawer can hold her accessories. The plastic box holds her shoes.

Nancy Lee has a large wardrobe, made by my mother, Zanell.  From an early age she made most of her own clothes, and she is still an accomplished seamstress.  Some of the outfits were made from scraps from outfits that she made for me as a little girl.  She originally made some of the outfits from a Simplicity Pattern (#1809), but later designed her own patterns.

My doll and her clothes lived in a cardboard storage box for decades.  I had lost her original box so I did not know what kind of doll she was.  In 1999, I discovered the dolls on eBay, and by searching dolls there, discovered this doll's manufacturer and style.  I became interested in collecting doll and in making doll clothes.

I refurbished my doll's vintage clothing, by carefully washing and ironing as needed, adding snaps where missing, and repairing rips or hems.  I added lace, ribbon, and trims to several dresses.  A couple of outfits that did not fit were remade.  I purchased shoes, hosiery, and panties, and I made three petticoats.

It was wonderful as a child to have this doll and all her clothes to play with, and as an adult doll collector, I appreciate the doll and clothes even more.  I am so thankful that my mother made so many beautiful dresses!  Since the outfits were always surprise gifts, she would stay up late at night after I went to bed, designing and sewing the garments.  Thanks, Mom!

I plan to pass along this doll and these "mommy-made" clothes to my daughter Deborah some day.

The following four outfits were the earlier ones made by my mother from the Simplicity pattern.  They are "little girl" styles.  They were large in the waist for the Arranbee doll, which has a slim waist.

This blue cotton dress reflects the 1950's style for little girls.  I added vintage blue lace trim on the skirt and neckline.

This coat and hat are made of navy wool.  The hat is lined in taffeta.  The coat closes with two navy buttons.

This pale green nightgown is made from cotton plisse and trimmed in tiny lace.  Nancy Lee has her own little doll (not vintage, a pretty ceramic doll made in China).

This is the same dress pattern with a long skirt, made of dotted swiss, green dots on white.  I added the ribbon and lace trim.  She wears vintage doll necklace.

The remainder of the outfits shown here were made by my mother by her own designs.

This sundress is made of white dotted swiss and trimmed with colorful embroidered trim with a scalloped edge.  It closes in back and also has a ribbon to tie around the neck.  The top is lined.

Mom designed this formal outfit, a long velvet strapless gown with a cape.  I added the gold trim later.

This four-piece outfit features a gray wool skirt with box pleats, a white pique blouse with a placket of tiny buttons down the front, matching pique panties, and a hand-crocheted stole.  I added the purse and shoes later.

This dress is sheer white organdy with red flocked dots.  The bodice is partially lined, and there is an attached white dotted-swiss petticoat. The organdy has held up well, but the flocked dots are showing signs of age in places.

 This three-piece outfit is made from gray wool with multi-colored flecks.  There is a circular skirt and a matching stole with white fringe trim.  The coral sleeveless blouse matches the color of one of the flecks in the skirt.

 This dress has white pique bodice and upper skirt and cuffs, with navy chambray lower skirt, collar, and sleeves, a creative use of contrasting fabric.  There are matching panties.  I made a petticoat and added a red flower and ribbon waist tie.

This was the first doll dress I ever made, at about age twelve, under my mother's supervision, when she was teaching me to sew. It is made from a light blue organdy.  Later, I added some vintage lace trim, gathered the neckline, and added posies and a ribbon belt.  I made a petticoat to match, using the same vintage lace trim.

 

Mom made this jacket and skirt from a soft yellow and tan striped corduroy.  Later, I remade the outfit.  I altered the jacket and added buttons and a corsage.  I undid the skirt, trimmed out some of the bulk, and added a lace-trimmed bodice from a vintage taffeta that just matched the yellow color.  Using the scraps from the skirt, I made a pillbox hat and trimmed it to match the corsage.

Here are the three petticoats I made for various outfits, plus some panties and hosiery purchased for the doll.

Hope you enjoyed the "trip back in time" with Nancy Lee and her early-fifties style wardrobe!

###