How Cissy' Hair Sets Her Style

HOW CISSY’S HAIR SETS HER STYLE.

Unmistakeable hair arrangement of The Lady in Red, #2285, 1958

Debbie Foster and Katherine Mooney in collaboration of pictures & words

WOW, That oh so elegant 50’s look In the early 1950’s

Madame Alexander had the idea that a stylish fashion doll was what America’s little girls yearned for. She got the idea from the styles seen in movies, theater productions and the new post war culture. Her new dolls wore high fashion clothes and each dressed and boxed doll had a very specific hairstyle from its shape to its’ color that defined her look. For sweet, down home Cissy she chose pants and a sweater, an avantgarde look circa 1956 when ladies wore skirts to shop at Piggly Wiggly; she carried a straw tote with sunglasses inside and always wore high heels. Her hair was set in a curly bob that demurely peeked out from her coolie style hat.

Color

that Matches the Couture

Cissy models a 1957 boxed extra three piece capri set, black cotton knit top with silver “pin”, blue taffeta cummerbund, bias bound capris in cotton velveteen.

Her hair color has been “adjusted” . It appears Marilyn is wearing the same outfit.

This above blonde casually styled wig was used between 1955 and 1957 except when the overstock Binnie and Winnie skull caps were applied. This is the original coiffure Cissy stepped out of her box with. The brunette below is shown in the shorter wigstyle that replaced the blonde’s style in 1957.

#2006, 1956, Cissy Goes Shopping

in natural straw hat, cotton waffle weave knit top, green ribbed cotton slacks, natural rattan bag, gold strappy sandals with green insoles.

Bouncy bob curls peeks out from her coolie style straw hat. Production year indicates her wig would be a longer casually styled one.

By contrast, Cissy dressed in black velvet capris, wears the same wig but it screams of flamboyancy. Designer Charles LeMaire likewise shouted for Marilyn Monroe in a similar fashion in There’s no Business Like Show Business.

Adhering to her “waste not, want not” motto, Madame

Winnie Wig Cap 1955 Cissy borrowed a frothy lemon tulle gown from a 1959 dressed Cissy. She has the very full with wispy bangs rooted wig cap

Alexander used her left over wig stock from the Binnie and Winnie Walkers to supplement the Cissy supply. The Winnie Walker wigs were issued in 1954 and are characteristically fuller with wispier bangs. Winnie also had a partial rubber skull cap applied over her glued-on wig. She came as a dressed doll wearing either the red pinafore with striped blouse (#2083, 1955) or the sophisticated black taffeta cocktail dress (#2091, 1955) with lace stole and delicate pink hat of net and flowers.

Here the skull cap Cissy is dressed in a lemon colored tea length cocktail gown (#2260, 1959) reminiscent of Jane Wyman’s style from the early ‘50s.

The Art of Styling Visualize Audrey Hepburn dressed in this Dior-like navy taffeta (#2146, 1957) afternoon dress. The white cotton organdy stole and frothy ruched buckram hat are both trimmed with pink flowers.

Very rarely a platinum blonde Cissy is found. The one sitting with Marilyn is not a natural blonde. I wish I had one. They command the highest of price and praise.

With wonderfully blushed cheeks and flawless skin tone, Cissy nailed the 1950’s look gracing the CinemaScope screens and Life Magazine pages of the day. Her sleek fashion style strongly suggested

The Color of Saran

the influence of Christian Dior in Madame Alexander’s design cadre. Here she is wearing navy topped with an organdy stole wrap and flower-trimmed ruched hat (#2146, 1957). Her severe stylized chignon coiffure further augments her sophistication.

There were five basic wig styles and four popular colors.

The styles were: 1. (three variations of ) a casual bob pictured on the second page of this article; 2. (two variations of ) mid-length wigs with straight bangs; below third & fourth from the right.

3. (two variations of ) mid-length hair with curled bangs; First & second on the right.

4. (two variations --flipped and page boy--of ) medium short wig with sections pulled back from temples and held with a spanner bar; second, third & fourth from left 5. long chignon style page boy with no bangs. Pictured at far left below.

The colors were blonde (50%), brunette (25%), auburn (25%) and a special hue known as tosca which is a tad south of blonde. Exact percentage unknown but guessed to be in the 2 to 3 percentile. All the queens had tosca colored wigs. There were a few tosca colored wigs in very-special styles that were outfit specific. For example, (#2097 1955) is a dressed doll in “Blue satin, slyly kissed with rhinestone stars on bodice and front panel fashioned into a gown of great charm. Cissy wears a most becoming hairdo, has a lovely bracelet and three stone rhinestone ring,” according to the Madame Alexander catalog.

The palette of Cissy’s hair and wardrobe stood out in those toy departments and stores of yesterday. Among the hula hoops and stacks of Whamo

Photography and Doll Courtesy of Trudy Nestor

slingshots, Magic Eight Balls and Easy Bake Ovens ... near the baby dolls dressed in garish pinks and blues, stood graceful rows of Madame Alexander Cissys ... elegant dolls resplendent in color coordinations as if art directed for a Technicolor feature film. They stood above those wonderful

Long wig style stitching above.

The part on shorter casual wigs is hidden.

pink and aqua Madame Alexander boxes, reflecting into all little girls’ hopeful eyes. There was Audrey Hepburn waiting for Gregory Peck to swoop in and adore her and Grace Kelly luminescent as a princess bride. It was a time of anxious heartbeats and wonderment.

Only

Her Hairdresser Knows for Sure

Cissy’s Hairdos & Don’ts

And her hairdresser, couture designer and makeup professional was Madame Alexander. She had it right about those Cissy hair-do’s. They set her style. There would be no going back to baby dolls, not ever. The paradigm had shifted and on her staff were stylists and designers who knew the right looks and how to achieve them on that perfect ten inch head. It takes the right proportions for a bob or bangs to balance just so with Cissy’s turned up nose and luminous blue eyes . The feng shui of a dolls face so pleasing it was likely the only doll face that launched a thousand Battleships -- well, at least the battleships of 1950’s toy fame!

A formal pull-back hairdo with spit curls added. They are few and far between. Most often found on #2020, 1956 in the gold theatre ensemble.

Tosca colored wig on a 1955 Queen. The 1957 Queen had a most unusual side part wig that was used for that year only.

A brief word of caution, in her zeal to share this beautiful doll with the world, Madame Alexander included a hair maintenance kit. Take heed, it gives the wrong impression, it suggests that it is easy to do. It is not! That cute little hairbrush, comb and rollers and those instructions have fooled many a would-be stylist. First - her hair -- it’s not hair, but doll hair made of saran, the same stuff you wrap leftovers in, and you know how well that stuff responds to heat. Second, her wig is glued on, water tends to dissolve glue. A lot of care and experience is a requirement for fixing and restoring her hair to its original set. Time to call in a pro, like me, a shameless plug, I know, but truly, you need a professional stylist!

Hopefully, this little essay will give you a new appreciation for our beloved Cissy. She can never have enough.