Miss Matilda

I love this doll and this company so it's very hard for me to figure out where to begin with this post. I guess I should explain a little bit about myself? I really like history and I'm kind of obsessed with Tudor England in particular. Queen Elizabeth I has been one of my role models since I was young, I can name all of Henry VIII's wives in order and I'm kind of a big Anne Boleyn fan! Seriously The Creation of Anne Boleyn is one of my new very favorite books! I also really enjoy genealogy. I have a weird fascination with family trees and old names and things like that! So the awesome people at A Girl for All Time have hit SO many of my interest buttons!

About a year ago I was on a doll blog I like and I saw a review for this gorgeous doll named Matilda from a new doll company and I fell in love! Not only was Matilda beautiful and unique but she was also from Tudor England! Her story takes place around the rise and fall of Katherine Howard. Where does the genealogy fit in? All of the dolls that A Girl for All Time has made/will make belong to the same family and in fact are descended from their first doll Matilda Marchmont! You can read all about that here and be sure to check out the family tree.

I really really wanted Matilda but I was waiting a bit. I showed her to my mom and talked about her some. I was pretty excited because they are awesome dolls but still I was going to wait till I was done with my list of AG dolls that I wanted. But my mom had another idea! She talked to my best friend to make sure that it was Matilda I wanted and then she bought her for me for Christmas. I was completely shocked!

Yesterday I took a few pictures of her for you all and now after that huge wall of text up there I'm finally getting to them!! After the jump :P

This is Matilda in her "meet" outfit. I don't really know what A Girl for All Time calls the outfits their dolls come in but we'll just stick with meet outfit. It works!

Matilda has absolutely gorgeous chestnut brown hair. It is very long and very smooth. At first I thought it felt a little thin but it really is just about the perfect amount of hair for a doll her size!

Her eyes are inset not sleep eyes and she has both real and painted lashes!

Profile. If you look closely you can see she is wearing a different dress in this photo. I forgot to take a profile shot before I changed her. Whoops! You'll see that dress in my next post!

My very, very favorite thing about Matilda is her face! I love that she doesn't look like a cutesy little girl, though I know at least at first her nose can be a bit jarring. She has a very interesting and emotive face that I find absolutely charming. And I love her beautiful blue-grey eyes!

I also love the crazy amount of detail. Check out her hands and feet:

Her nails are beautifully sculpted and just a little shiny. I love the blushing! Especially on her throat:

It really makes her vinyl look like porcelain.

She even has a bellybutton!

And she is stamped on her right side with their pear logo.

 

Matilda, like AG dolls, is strung with strong elastic. I'm not sure exactly how since I don't have a reason to take her apart and I'm not sure I would even do it if I had a reason!

That's the inside of her elbow.

She is 16 inches tall and has 9 points of articulations. Her neck, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. It makes for some nice posing ability!

Like beautifully folding her hands! I'll be sure to get more pictures of her posing ability for my next post. I kind of failed on this one.

How about a breakdown of her clothing?

She comes dressed in what the company calls "a historically inspired costume of luxurious grey velvet with a plum kirtle, period underwear and petticoat. Court shoes, key necklace and headdress."

Let's start with the hood!

This is actually a French hood. This style is thought to have been introduced to the English court by Anne Boleyn. It's made from the same grey velvet as her dress, it lined with the same "plum" colored (I think it looks more crimson than anything) material they use for her kirtle and is decorated with pearls and gold trimmed ribbon! It has an elastic band to help it stay in her hair. Like this:

I have no idea how women kept the real thing in their hair! Google anyone?

Her dress is actually two pieces.

Front and back

The top is fitted closely to her torso with "fur" lined sleeves. The back is held closed with metal snaps. There is no velcro used anywhere on this doll! 

The skirt is one piece. It opens in the front to reveal the kirtle!

Her outfit is completed by a matching pair of grey velvet slippers, embellished with a gold cord.

Honestly this is where I expected them to skimp but her undergarments are incredible and just as detailed as the rest of her outfit! She is wearing three layers.

A sheer underskirt over:

A simple shift with:

Drawers underneath!

And last but not least:

Her stockings! I love the fact that even her stockings are hemmed.  Beautiful!

She is also wearing her key necklace. (it belongs her special trunk which is passed down to each of her decedents.)

It almost never leaves her neck!

There is also a book (Matilda's Secret) that tells her story and introduces us to her family and world. Unfortunately it does not come with the doll and I haven't purchased it yet! There is also an activity book called Matilda's Keepsakes and Secrets but I don't have that yet either. Hopefully I will soon. I do have Amelia's book which I will talk about when I write about her!

I hoped you enjoyed this look at Matilda! Look for a second post all about her where I show off my favorite outfit. Till next time!