A Vintage Gotz' Doll Joins the Doll House Sorority!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!

I've always wanted a Gotz 18" Doll. They are so pretty and just a bit different enough than all the other 18" dolls there are out there that I wanted to add one to the Doll House. However, they are not come by inexpensively for the most part. On eBay they generally range from $40 and up, with the lower end of the range being dolls that need a bit of TLC in order to make them presentable again. The new ones available now are from Pottery Barn Kids and are around $100 new. You can find them here if you're curious what they look like. 

As many of you already know, when I am in the area of one my favorite thrift shops, if I have time, I always drop in and browse around for any of my regularly checked for items. Wait a minute... I feel a blog coming on with that comment... I'll have to come back sometime and tell you what sorts of things I look for and ask about yours! But that's another blog! Back to the Gotz dolls! I stopped into one recently and I look up to the top shelf and the first thing I see is her feet. I grabbed her immediately, before I had any idea what she was... Her dress was what I was looking at, at first. Here she is, in that dress!

Isn't she pretty!? I loved her immediately, before I was even positive what sort of doll she was. I really love the brown eyes with blonde hair combination, it's just so striking. When I realized she was a Gotz doll, I may or may not have jumped up and down squeeling like a little girl in the thrift shop I was in. Teehee. She was marked 99cents!! *happydance*

She was a bit messy... Her face needed washed... I was looking her over as I got home and as I was taking off her dress to inspect her, what did I find but....

She was signed!! She was made in 1990!! That was a great year for me and so it made me love her even more. No one could pry this doll out of my hands now! She was meant to be mine! I'd explain all the reasons but they'd sound sappy to you in all likelyhood and don't matter anyway. You know what a good year means... Some are better than others, right? I digress. She was SIGNED!! She was in great shape other than her face and limbs needing washed with a warm washcloth and her hair... I'll get to that...

Here is the tag in her dress so it is the original dress she came in!!! It is in beautiful shape, no tears or rips or anything! A bit dusty from display is all... I should mention that she is a bit different than the more modern day Gotz 18" dolls. She has a 'soft body that isn't posable really. I could install an armature in her I suppose, like I did here. I don't think I will though... I don't want to change her! She's 25 years old! 

Here is her neck marking. It reads Gotz 90 129/74

Did I mention her hair being a bit of a mess. Well, that was probably a huge understatement because her hair was a nightmare of knots and tangles. Really, should she have been any other doll, I might've considered it too much trouble and passed on her but... She is a Gotz. She needed to be restored!! So... Using several techniques I've learned from my doll friends on Facebook, I slowly worked her hair out. I started with a slow, bottom to top, section by section, slow deliberate detangling of her hair with a wire wig hair brush. It took a lot of breaks and patience. Then I shampooed her hair, not getting her scalp wet because I am nervous about plugged hair dolls getting water in their head and mildewing and, um, not on my Gotz doll. So I shampooed her hair with gentle shampoo, put in some conditioner as a 'cream rinse' so it'd be a bit more shiny, then I hot dipped her hair in this process although I was more nervous doing hers than I have been with any other doll... But.... It was worth it!! Here she is, all happy and restored to her former beauty!

I love her! I haven't named her yet... I want to pick something special. Stay tuned, I'll come back and update when I decide. You can leave suggestions in the comments!

That's it for now Doll Friends! See you soon!!