Cynthia Schwartz
From a young age, Judy Frank loved her Barbie dolls! Since doll clothes were expensive to buy, at age eleven, Judy started using her mother’s scrap material to sew doll clothes. And, after visiting the Barbie Hall of Fame in Palo Alto, CA, Judy’s passion for sewing clothes for her own dolls evolved into creating pre-1920 period costumes. Two of Judy’s dolls, dressed as Martha Washington and Abigail Adams, were displayed in the Barbie Hall of Fame. Her creation, the “First Ladies” dolls, were displayed at the Richard M. Nixon Library and are highly sought by collectors and admirers.
The process to create a period costume requires at least 60 hours of work. Judy starts out by researching a fashion period. During this phase, Judy sometimes reads historical novels and biographies to get a better sense of the description of the clothing during the time. After finishing the research step, Judy chooses a design, drafts a pattern, and begins construction. Her creations start with the proper undergarments, including corsets and stockings, and are then finished with shoes, hats, and accessories.
Many of Judy’s designs require hand sewing, especially if the costume is fancy or ornate. Judy spends time painting her doll’s faces, embroidering, and restyling artificial hair. To achieve some hair styles, Judy will remove a doll’s head, re-root the hair and make ringlets by wrapping the hair around straws and dipping the hair into boiling water to keep the shape.
Judy’s costumes are a work of art. Her passion for research, sewing, styling, and attention to detail has made her a notable and accomplished doll costume designer. Some of Judy’s dolls were on display in the Creative Arts Center in September.