Doll Oddity

Vintage music box doll
stamped, Roman Kogei Japan

Ok, I admit it. I made her an even bigger oddball when I dunk her hair in boiling water and all it did was melt the stuff! Her hair was crunchy so I thought I'd help her out a bit. It worked on Barbie in the past but apparently not her...

She's obviously old and quite possibly have had some sort of sun exposure that her face and hands had gotten so toasty. I'm not really sure what her back story is before she came to me. All I know is that her previous owner was also a doll enthusiast who had passed away some time before I got her. A customer of mine found out I was a doll collector and gifted me with a couple of stuff from her mother's collection that she thought I might enjoy, since she didn't have the same passion for dolls her mother had. She also used to bring me and my staff some homemade jam until she moved away. What a sweet lady!

I took off her homemade outfit to show her oddity. This doll has a dual purpose of being a bank and a music box. But I think what makes her super strange is her bendy arms wrapped in gauze. I'd never seen anything like it. I do like her hand sculpt. And being an anime fan, I really like her eyes.

Not sure why she has a hole at the back of her head...but there it is!

I'd been so fascinated by vintage stuff lately that I thought I'd give this doll some attention and a bit of a makeover.

I wish I knew how to reroot but I can't so I cut off as much of her burnt hair as I could and put a Liv doll wig on her. Despite the bigness of a Liv doll head, her head is bigger still; so the wig doesn't fit perfectly and is kind of sticking up higher than it should. What do you think? ...Yeah, I don't like it either! It makes her head look even more enormous. But the Barbie dress looks good on her!

Now check her out with a Moxie Teenz wig...

The wig is still not a perfect fit but you can't tell. It looks considerably better. She looks younger and super cute with a curly fro.

I took a pic of her next to a Barbie repro for size comparison and to show off the homemade outfit she came with. The flowery outfit is too wide on her lanky, gauzy shoulders but it looks ok on Barbie even though Barbie seems kind of bloated.

This is one of those dolls that no matter how odd, I can't seem to part with. From the way I acquired her, she represents an unconditional kindness that is so so rare these days.