I mentioned a bit ago that I’d bought a pair of Tyler Wentworth dolls from an estate sale. They were NIB and arrived recently.

The two dolls are Capital Investment (2002) and Théâtre de la Mode La Petite Ensemble Noir (also 2002). Yes, I really should have been buying dolls in 2002. It’s amazing how many from that year (and 2003) are in my collection now.

Here are their official pix:

Why these two? Well, I was curious about the knits on Capital Investment and whether I could copy them. I also liked her blonde bob. My other blonde Tylers have updos. And I’ve wanted a TDLM doll all along, so this one spoke to me. They’re both BA body types.

And here they are in real life – I suspect that after 23 years, they were relieved to get out of their boxes.

Both dolls have earrings – the blonde’s earrings are on, while the TDLM doll’s earrings were still in their little bag. I also found a second pair of earrings in CI’s handbag, which is a bonus.

One thing I’m loving about these girls is their footwear. The boots worn by Capital Investment lace up the back, which was a nice unexpected detail. The laces are very thin elastic. (You might also notice that one heel is broken. I noticed that when taking the picture, so checked in the box in the hope that the piece was there. It was! So, now I need to get the mister to figure out what glue or epoxy will stick on this kind of plastic. Fortunately, he loves these sort of challenges.) The shoes for the TDLM doll are wonderfully detailed and very vintage-looking. Peek-a-boo toes!

I also think that Capital Investment’s knits will be easy to replicate. In fact, all of her outfit could be copied. I think I’ll make her one in a different colour. Maybe plum.

And now that I’ve laid out her clothes to photograph like this, I think I’ll document the outfits of all the dolls in my collection this way. Since I do undress them, this would be a good way to know what pieces belong to which doll.

Here are the clothes for La Petite Ensemble Noir. This doll often sells at a low price on ebay, I think maybe because she doesn’t photograph very well, but her clothes are a delight and very detailed.

The black fabric feels like a fine wool. The white top is made of that taffeta that they use a lot for the Silkstone girls, as well. I’m not so much of a fan, so I may try to replicate that in silk.

The hat is amazing. From the top, it’s a swirl of feather fronds. From the underside, you can see the hat itself, a little felt (?) cap.

When you put it on the doll, the fronds spill down (in artful disarray) and you can arrange them so that they hang away from her face. It’s a bit of a precarious balance, so I think I’ll make her a little hatpin with a headpin (probably gold) and some black beads. It’s a good model for making other hats, though, maybe with fewer feather fronds.

The doll herself has beautiful vintage make-up and hair. Her fingernails are red like her lipstick, and her hair is several shades of brown. I’ll be sewing a lot for this girl!

I haven’t written about the Théâtre de la Mode here, but have been fascinated by it for a while. The original exhibition was assembled in Paris after WWII, to draw attention to French couturiers and encourage people to support them. It was a touring exhibition of 1/3 size dolls (70cm tall and made of wire) each one dressed by a different designer or couturier. There were 237 dolls in total, and 15 sets designed by artists. The collection ultimately ended up at the Mary Hill Museum of Art in Washington state, where they are still displayed in rotation.

Robert Tonner took inspiration from the collection for a number of Tyler Wentworth and Sydney Chase dolls, all labelled TDLM. You can read more about that (and see some pictures) in this wonderful post at The Bold Doll. (Note that the picture beside the doll I just acquired is not the inspiration for her.)

Here’s an article on the exhibition on a dressmaking blog where you can see the wire dolls. The one on the left in the third row is Marcel Dhorme’s suit and Tonner’s inspiration for La Petite Ensemble Noir, my new girl.

There are several books about the exhibit. I bought this one which includes a catalogue at the back of all the mannequins. This is an Amz.ca link. (No affiliate link on that one.)

There isn’t a really great picture online of Marcel Dhorme’s cocktail suit, so I took a photo from my copy of the book. It’s not a great picture either but it’s the one on the left.

I had a peek at the Dreamcastle Dolls Tonner reference and they list 23 TDLM dolls by Robert Tonner. (You can find them listed in Doll List Q – Z.) Surely, I won’t collect them all….

Here’s a wonderful video by the Bold Doll site, showing the Tonner TDLM dolls and their inspiration, as well as a bit about TDLM. You can also read their blog post here.