Moira: Lady of Kildare

Moira: Lady of Kildare

Ladie Faire Doll Designs

4th OOAK Design

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you and sigh.

---William Butler Yeats

Moira

Moira, Lady of Kildare is dressed for a ball. Her handmade ensemble and accessories have been created with careful attention to late Victorian/Edwardian era detail. She is the second in a series of Irish-themed dolls I did around St. Patrick's day (see Caitlin in the Victiorian section and Maeve in the Medieval section).

This doll is an absolutely beautiful collector's edition doll ("Spring in Tokyo" for those of you interested in these things); she works perfectly to portray the "black Irish" coloring: pale skin and raven black hair, as opposed to the redhead. Her hair was already styled in bangs and an elegant chignon; the shape of her eyes and full, "Mackie" style (this refers to the closed smile as opposed to the open smile) lips were retained while I altered the color of both--blue eyes became green and her lips were painted a darker mauve to better complement the dark colors of her outfit. She came with the "pearl" earrings, while I added a necklace of real semi-precious stone beads of graduated sizesI believe the stones are tourmaline, but I chose them because of their resemblance to the Ireland's famous Connemara marble.

Moira

Here she is fully accessorized with hat, bag, and stole. The "fur" stole is of fluffy, white, looped chenille, which is wired so that it can be draped in many ways and hold its shape. The hat (once again, bigger is better in this period of fashion) has a stylish wide brim, the underside of which is the black, silky material matching the bodice, while the upper side of the brim and the crown are green taffeta. The brim is overlaid with black lace, with more black lace cascading down in back. The crown of the hat is trimmed with black grosgrain ribbon and white, satin roses in front and back; jaunty black feathers accent one side. The hand-bag is made of the green taffeta accented with white crocheted lace, two white satin roses and black fringe; the long handle is black grosgrain ribbon.

Moira

The ball gown has a silky, black, strapless bodice that dips to a low "V" in back; the nipped-in waist is accentuated by a wide, black grosgrain ribbon tied in a fashionably large bow in back. The sweeping, bell-shaped skirt is of shiny, textured, deep green taffeta; the hemline is accented by narrow black grosgrain ribbon and lovely, white crocheted lace. The piéce de résistance of the gown is a fabulous accent piece of crocheted Irish lace, which is sewn onto the bodice and embellished with tiny opalescent seed beads, then allowed to cascade down the front of the gown. Long black gloves complete the elegant ensemble.