Vintage doll wig replacement, part 2

More than a month ago, I blogged about replacing the wig on one of my 8-inch Ginger dolls. Here at last is the rest of the story, as well as a few pictures.

As you'll remember, she wasn't the prettiest doll starting out — her crazy wig inspired me to nickname her Medusa. So I took the wig off of another Ginger doll with a walking post that was broken beyond repair.

Once I had the new wig in place (all of this is described in detail in the other post), I tied a ribbon around her head to keep the cheesecloth wig cap flush against her head while the glue dried. (I don't recomend fast-drying glue unless it's something that is reversible — too easy to make mistakes. Better to learn patience!)

After about 24 hours, I took the ribbon off. Although I had rebraided the wig before switching it, I did have do a little restyling after transferring it. Once the braids were how I wanted them, I put an extra spot of glue on each of side above the ear, so that the hair alongside her face stayed down instead of peeling up and making her look funny. That meant putting the ribbon back on again, of course.

When I took the ribbon off for the final time, I was duly impressed with my own work. Because I'd done such a thorough job of removing the evidence of glue and hair from the original wig, it's not immediately obvious that the wig is a replacement.

I also found her an outfit that I thought appropriate: #666 from the 1955 catalog. I bought the dress separately, so the yellow taffeta fat pants, yellow rayon socks, and white shoes are all appropriate vintage replacements. I'm still missing the hat, which I believe should be a lacy-looking white hat.

A lot of doll collectors shy away from dolls with replaced wigs, but I think the key is finding an appropriate vintage replacements. Most modern replacement wigs will be glaringly obvious, but you can easily find an appropriate vintage replacement by buying a parts doll with a good wig.

Of course, replacing the wig does affect the value — my doll might be worth more than she was with a Medusa wig, but not by much, and definitely not as much as if it were her original wig. Therefore, I don't necessarily recommend doing this on a doll you plan to sell; but if it's just a doll you plan to display and enjoy, I think you'll be pleased with the results.