PARTY DRESS FOR TONI

Kathy & Mary with Toni, 2015

In October 2015, my P.E.O. sister Mary gave me her mid-century 14-inch Toni doll (Ideal P-90). These dolls were named for the “Toni Home Permanent” and came with a “permanent solution” so that little girls could perm the doll’s hair. Unfortunately, the solution was sugar water, with the result that we find surviving Toni dolls today with ruined hair. Mary's Toni suffered the same plight. Mary said her mother was so mad at her for perming Toni's hair, but I say the manufacturer set her up. Mary loved the doll, a special Christmas gift from her parents when she was ten, but today her daughters and granddaughters couldn’t see beyond the matted hair. So, that’s why her Toni came to live at my house. When she gave me the doll, Mary commented that she was anxious to see what I would do with her.

 

Well, initially I restrung the doll (tough work and she’s still loosey-goosey) and bought her a new wig. The wig made her beautiful again, but at that I got stopped – until recently when I decided I wanted the doll to have a “party dress” and attend our Chapter BL P.E.O. 50^th birthday party. 

The great thing about the Toni doll is that she was popular in her day and many patterns to sew for her were published. Now in the public domain, those patterns are still available today from private collectors in various formats. Thinking to maximize options, I bought a CD collection of various patterns from which I selected and printed a dress from vintage Butterick pattern 7973. Somehow I had vague misgivings which I didn’t confront. 

Chris made the same basic dress for Betsy

Through discussion with my friend Chris, who is sewing for her 14-inch Betsy McCall, I was reminded to check my fat quarter collection where I found a reproduction “feed sack” print with balloons. I deemed it perfect and set out to make the dress.

Cut, cut, stitch, stitch, gather, gather, baste. Several days went by when I didn’t sew for whatever reason. On Monday, the day before the party, I vowed that I would finish that little dress. Then the time came for a fitting.

Oh no! The dress was too big for Toni – falling off her shoulders. “Take it easy,” I said to myself; “don’t throw anything.” Mike was napping on the sofa in my sewing studio, so I quietly turned off the sewing machine, the iron, and the light, and left the room. Keeping calm, I soon realized what had happened. The patterns on CD were copied unprofessionally and did not provide a scale on the page. And that was the vague question in my mind as I printed the pattern: was the scale correct?

Kathy & Toni head to the party

But – still thinking calmly, I realized all was not lost. The skirt was fine, and I still had enough fabric to re-cut the bodice. This time I used an updated pattern from the same envelope (Butterick 7973) available through a doll clothes designer I follow (here). I was still sewing away Tuesday morning (the day of the birthday luncheon), but I finished the dress. Toni and I were only a little late to the party. 

 

Mary was delighted to see her doll in a new dress. My plan had been to also make panties and slip, but that didn’t happen in time for the party. No one noticed – or if they did, they politely didn’t say. KW

TONI AND THE HOME PERMANENT

I gave a presentation at my P.E.O. chapter about my doll collection. Afterwards, a member (Mary) asked if I would like her “Toni” doll. My first thought was to refuse, not because I didn’t want the doll but because I knew I would be off on another tangent. But Mary told me that no one in her family wanted the doll. “You should see her hair,” she said. “I gave her a permanent and ruined it.” Her daughter called the doll “Chucky,” she said. How bad could she be, I wondered. [The photo left is of me and Mary prior to Toni's refurbishment.]

Some of you may remember the era of the home permanent. My mother gave me a permanent every three months from the time I was seven until I was fifteen or so. I hated it. Somehow the permanent Mother gave me didn’t make me look like those lovely models in the ads. But Mother said that without a permanent, my hair was unmanageable. So, a Saturday morning would be devoted to the process, and then my hair would be kinky (and smelly) for a couple of weeks. Everyone knew by smell as well as sight when a person’s permanent was new. Gradually the curl relaxed and grew out and Mother began to talk about permanents again.

Anyway, one brand of home permanent was the highly advertised “Toni.” And the “Toni” doll, manufactured by Ideal, was meant to promote the “Toni Home Permanent.” The doll was available in several sizes, the one in question being a 14-inch “P-90.” She came with a mock permanent kit, the solution being sugar water. Little girls everywhere gave permanents to their Toni dolls, saturating the wig with sugar water, and after that the doll wasn’t the same. (Really – I’m surprised the company got away with that.)

Despite this drawback, Toni was a beloved doll in the ‘50s, and I was totally hooked when I discovered the many patterns designed for her. Of course, all of those are now available as downloads through Etsy sellers.

So, last month my friend brought the doll to my house wrapped in a crocheted shawl. Yes, her hair was a little stiff and tousled and her joints were very loose due to the loss of elasticity in her bands. So, I first researched for instructions on re-stringing, and, gaining confidence, I ordered new bands. The doll pleaded for a new wig, so I ordered one of those, too.

The pictures here illustrate the re-stringing process, which I had never done before. I asked Mike to help me, but he offered the use of his tools and disappeared. I borrowed pliers and tweezers, but I didn’t need them. Instead, I used an open paperclip and a craft stick.

Then I tackled the wig. It was difficult to remove the old one. A little water helped. With great anticipation, I then fitted the new wig to her head. It’s elasticized and fits tightly, so I didn’t glue it down.

 

Isn’t she pretty? Next up – a new dress. (I already have three patterns.) KW