Community Chat

[Mary Bailey]

All very, very interesting.   It made me look at a bride doll that my aunt/godmother gave me when I was a baby.

I took a photo then Google searched it.  It's a Sweet Sue bride doll from the 50's. 

It's missing the heeled shoes and veil.  She still has her earrings, undies and the dress is a little yellowed. (can I oxy-clean the dress?)

I'd like to get her some shoes and a veil. 

[Oznell]

Fascinating, @Enufstuff .  Thank goodness there are still people like you, who care enough preserve these wonderful dolls properly.  Thanks for the heads-up to video.

[Enufstuff]

@Mary Bailey  That is wonderful that you still have your Sweet Sue bride doll.

  You may be able to find shoes for her on ebay. If you can't find a veil, you could make one. I replicated my First Communion veil for a Toni doll.

 I Googled restoring a Sweet Sue bride and it was suggested to wash her gown in Oxy-Clean and blue Dawn Dish soap.

 I have used Oxy-Clean  for Toni doll dresses, but they are cottton and not fragile fabric.

 With satin or a fragile fabric, I would be careful and not use hot water, only luke warm. To iron, I would use a thin cotton cloth like a man's handkerchief and not iron directly on the satin fabric or anything fragile.

 Oxy-Clean does brighten old fabric and can remove some stains.

  Google restoration of a Sweet Sue bride and also DIY Doll Artist on You Tube. She recently restored a fairy queen doll and her gown. I think she has done Sweet Sue, but may not have been a bride.

[Mary Bailey]

@Enufstuff   Thank you so much for the guidance! 

I have Oxy-Clean and blue Dawn Dish soap.  I will Google and check YouTube.

How would I choose shoes?  I haven't bought on EBay for years.  

Thanks again

[Enufstuff]

@Mary Bailey  If you do a search for Sweet Sue high heel shoes for whatever size doll you have. (how may inches tall she is).

Even high heels made for other dolls of the same size, would work. You could try ebay or Etsy. It may take a while to find just what you need. Many people selling doll clothes and shoes

may not know what kind of doll they are for and may just list them by measurement of the shoe.

For my Toni dolls, I have bought Ideal Toni shoes and other shoes of the same size, but not the originals. Originals are rare and costly when you find them. After all, they are 70 years old.

Many modern dolls of the same size as yours would probably wear similar high heel shoes. There are also people who make doll shoes and I have bought some of those on ebay.

Some may list shoes with the shoe measurement and that would help in finding the correct size.

In the 50's I had a Miss Revlon doll and she wore high heel shoes. I think that she was about 18" tall.

I always wanted a bride doll, but I was given a nun doll. I think

that my parents were trying to tell me something!

One tip : After you wash a doll's dress, if it has puffy sleeves or sleeves that you don't want to get creased when ironing, fill the sleeves with tissue paper or I use paper towels. Fill with just enough to get the shape of the sleeve that you want and let it dry. You won't need to iron the sleeves.

 You could also dry the dress over a vase or tall drink container, smoothing out the skirt and stuffing the top of the dress, the same way as the sleeves. A gathered skirt would dry with less creases or wrinkles and may be easier to iron.

[Mary Bailey]

@Enufstuff    Thank you again for the very detailed instructions.

It will take me a while to work up the courage to wash the dress and her hair. 

I watched a couple YouTubes already..  All these years she's been in a cloth bag.

[Enufstuff]

@Mary Bailey  Just let the dress soak for a while and don't scrub.

                Handle it gently, like fragile lingerie.

                 You can do it. Good luck.