Without a face the dolls can be happy or sad, they can be laughing or crying - in essence, they can mimic the emotions of the child holding them. It also has to do with comforting children facing tough medical situations. Part of the new trend has to do with creating eco-friendly and nature dolls and part has to do with allowing children to use their imagination more. I'm happy to report that there is a lot more now and that over the last few years there is a growing trend towards creating faceless dolls in all sorts of doll mediums - which thrills me to no end. I was hoping that now, in 2015, things would have changed a little and there would be more information on their history. In doing my research, what I was pleasantly surprised with was the application of "faceless" dolls for so many current charities or organizations. And there was the legend surrounding Raggedy Ann and "faceless" dolls. There was some information on two of the most popular and widely known faceless dolls - Amish dolls and corn husk dolls. There was a little more when I updated my research in 2009. Believe it or not but there wasn't a lot of information back in 2006 on the web on either the history of faceless dolls or cultures and norms that started such a tradition. I figured that there had to be a history of handmade faceless dolls out there or, at least, some cultures and norms. So, back in 2006 I decided to do a little research on the history of faceless dolls and wrote a research article for my Linda's Blog that I subsequently updated in 2009. However, given my penchant for history I, of course, was curious about the history of faceless dolls. In fact, sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era.ĭesigning handmade faceless dolls was not a novel idea as faceless dolls have been around for a long, long time. Their history, their etiquette, their fashion, their hopes, their desires. I especially loved to research everything and anything about the Victorian Era. I have also been a history buff since I was a little girl and loved doing research for history projects all throughout my school years. The same holds true for store window displays. The idea is to not distract from the beauty of the dress or textile piece on display. Or, they have the sculpted definition of facial features but they are not painted. Most mannequins in museum dress & textile exhibits are either headless or have heads, but they are generally faceless. You could compare this to the use of mannequins by museums. I believe the essence of a dolls beauty should determine her personality." of the period to determine the personality of the doll.Īs far as I am concerned "Beauty lies not only in what is seen, but what is imagined. I wanted the clothing, clothes, hair, color scheme, etc. My feeling is that faces overwhelm the dolls personality and have a greater impact on their personality. It's because I wanted each to have its' own distinct personality. Now you might be wondering why they are faceless. I was captivated by the beautiful dresses and wanted to create dolls wearing them.Įventually I was able to design my own Victorian "Lady" dolls, like the one pictured on the left, who are all faceless. You see, as a young girl she gave me a Godey’s Fashion print for August 1870 that belonged to my great, great Aunt Flossie. I have loved Victorian dolls since I was a little girl and can blame my grandmother for that.
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