Millie Keith Doll

Millie Keith was a girl of change and adventure. She began her childhood living a life of comfort and plenty, but then things dramatically changed, and she had to begin living a lifestyle of frugality and creativity. Millie loved nice clothes and looking her best, but when her family lost their money and became pioneers on the frontier, Millie had to find new ways to make her money stretch, as well as her wardrobe. Millie’s world had some of the same daily sequences as Elsie’s, but the demands of frontier life rather changed how fashion figured into the mixture. Millie changed her clothes often during the day, but she had fewer clothes, and the fabrics and colors available to her were limited by cost and durability.

Fashion Statements for a Regular Day
Millie’s day, following her morning devotions, began with school. Millie has a school dress that is warm and cozy and can be worn many times without washing. Being a practical girl, Millie has a wardrobe that mixes and matches, so her two-piece school dress can be worn in combination with several other wardrobe items. Depending on her day’s activities, she could change her skirt or her bodice and even add a jacket.

For afternoon, Millie can wear her Afternoon Visiting Ensemble. If she is riding her horse, Inspiration, to visit a friend, she can wear her split skirt riding habit, which is on the cutting edge of fashion. The jacket to her riding habit can be worn with any of her other outfits, as can the matching poke bonnet.

For variety, she has a set of color-coordinated extra bodices. One is a pretty embroidered check and the other a delightful print calico. These additional little shirt garments can be worn with the skirt to the visiting ensemble, the split skirt, or the skirt of Millie’s School Dress. Millie loves the creativity of her wardrobe; she may not have as many things as she did when she lived in the city, but she can always look very nice and appropriate.

Fashions for Special Occasions
Life on the frontier was not without its parties and festivities. Afternoon calling for visiting took place even in tiny towns like Pleasant Plains, and friends gathered in the evening for refreshments and entertainment as well.

Millie’s Presentation Dress (the outfit the doll comes dressed in), is the kind of ensemble she wore when she went visiting. Her Prairie Picnic Dress was worn for ice cream socials and picnics at church functions. Millie’s Pretty Party Dress is of the finest calico and was considered a very special party dress. Millie’s Special Occasions dress is the kind of dress she wore when she visited Roselands, and her Green Silk Christmas Dress is suitable for many occasions.

Nightclothes and Undergarments
Millie’s nightdress is of gauzy muslin, a luxury fabric in her day. She has undergarments of the same fabric that are embroidered. Petticoats were all the style on the frontier, and Millie was shocked to learn that many of the girls in Pleasant Plains wore petticoats made of a calico—which was originally used to make bags for flour and other grocery items. Eventually, however, Millie does indeed acquire “calico” undies. Millie also has taffeta petticoats and tulle petticoats as well as pantalettes and camisoles.

Accessories
Accessories helped Millie make the most of her limited wardrobe. She has a lovely pink straw hat, high lace up boots, a beaded shawl, a beaded reticule, a travel basket, a handkerchief or two, extra socks, and a whole set of extra hair ribbons. Millie also has her own hairbrush, because unlike her cousin Elsie, she must brush her own hair.