Several years ago, I was digging through a bin of odds and ends at a tradeshow and discovered a rare treasure: antique clocked stockings. They were child sized! And Lavender! With flowers and birds!!!
Needless to say I didn’t even look at the price tag. I tucked them into my basket faster than you can say “pass the smelling salts”. Then I carefully pretended to look bored (nothing to see here, fellow shoppers – move along, move along) while I pawed to the very bottom in search of more.
Alas, there were none.
While one pair is better than nothing, it’s also a curse. Because now that I’ve started this costuming project, I have to decide which of my many dolls gets them for her wardrobe.
As you might imagine, a lot of little hands shot into the air when I pulled them out of their hiding place. Which led to an afternoon filled with stress and waaaay too much coffee, followed by an evening with slightly too much wine. But by midnight the wine had canceled out the coffee and I proceeded to do what I should have done in the first place – research.
It turns out that while clocked stockings have been fashionable on and off throughout history, the tiny embroidery on the pair I have is most likely from the 1860’s-1870’s. This means my enfantine dolls get first dibs. And since the design is slightly too large for Felicity (sorry dear) Maddie is the winner.
If you’d like to read more about the history of clocked stockings, check out THIS resource.
Maddie’s fancy stockings project continues HERE.
To see more of Maddie’s wardrobe as it grows, visit her page HERE.