Cissy's Underwear

After some discussion regarding a name for my Cissy doll, hubby and I have thought seriously about the name Rita, but in the end Cissy kept her name. Looking at her hair and pretty dark brown eyes, she reminded us so much of a young Rita Hayworth. Although Rita's hair wasn't naturally red and her eyes were actually hazel-brown, we still felt there was a resemblance. Can you see it?

For the benefit of my younger readers, who may never have heard of her, she was an extremely beautiful American actress and dancer who achieved fame during the 1940's as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. She was also the first actress to be partnered with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.

Thinking about Rita and the beautiful costumes she wore in those early movies, I am inspired to make clothes for my gal along the similar lines.

However, Rita's clothes were not always slinky like the one above, in private she preferred more casual attire, and for her wedding to Prince Ali Khan in 1949, she wore a dress with sun-ray pleats, which like her pants, are once again fashionable.

Before beginning her outer wardrobe, I made Cissy her undergarments.

Using a translucent cotton batiste to make her cami knickers, fitted waist length camisole and ballerina length half slip, I trimmed them with lace and ribbon roses. After adding the finishing touches to the camisole, I thought the lace looked too heavy for an undergarment, so I shall put it aside for now and make a shorter, more delicate version in keeping with the cami-knickers and slip.

I'm still waiting on dolls to arrive, though they should be here soon. Kitty and Sindy finally made it to Perth on the 24th, and are currently in Sydney.