Hankie Couture

April 1, 2011

Vintage handkerchiefs receive new life as couture fashion for dolls.

Now that the handkerchief has gone the way of the leisure suit, vintage handkerchiefs can be found in abundance at garage sales and thrift stores. Such a windfall of brightly colored, retro-chic patterns led fashion designer Greenberg to create hundreds of miniature dresses out of them. Designed for Barbie dolls—literally—these dresses are at times clever, romantic and whimsical, and Greenberg is obviously a talented and patient seamstress. But what was the author to do with so many dresses lining her sewing room on their tiny hangers? Sell them on eBay, of course. Hankie Couture, as her line of dresses is now known, is apparently popular among collectors. Impressive as they are, creating a book based on them presents more of a challenge. Each page features a doll dressed in a particular Hankie Couture fashion, set in a tableau featuring furniture (also crafted by Greenberg) and other accessories. These tableaux are accompanied by short platitudes describing the Southern Belle-ish "Hankie Couture Woman"—e.g., "A Hankie Couture woman goes to bed each night with a smile in her heart." The book may have kitsch appeal, but it's not ironic enough to be marketed as such, nor is it written for children, who might want to learn to sew doll clothes.

Limited appeal for serious crafters.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 15, 2011
Its a novel idea, fashioning doll outfits from handkerchiefs found in malls, flea markets, antique shows, and other rummaging spots. It also can be a profit-making idea, Greenberg explains in the introduction, not to mention an ecologically sound way of recycling and reusing the old. Yet this crafts book picturing 125 doll fashions in color photographs is less a how-to than a showcase for Greenbergs talents. Outfits are segregated by style and occasion, ranging from the original hankie creation to special-occasion outfits and sleepwear. The very simple pattern for a strapless dress is included expressly for beginners. The model doll is a standard-size Barbie, fortunately.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)