Doll dressing and undressing was a normal part of child's play in the last century and so it was very important to own a trousseau for dolly. While most children were content with "family-made" clothes, a few fortunate girls could boast of their dollies' "haute couture" trousseau. French dolls, so popular then, could be outfitted in stylish clothes made by excellent seamstresses. Harper's Bazar in 1868 also described a German wax doll with "exceedingly stylish" clothes made in Berlin. No doubt seamstresses in sophisticated Berlin could produce garments to compete with the French doll trousseaus better than the provincial Germans could, but these complete toilettes for a doll were very expensive.

The Collector's Book of Doll Clothes cites: "Although seamstresses earned less than 50 cents a day for making dolls' clothes, many of the dolls' trousseaus were so elaborate and complete that they added as much as a hundred dollars to the cost of the doll itself." In a ploy not dissimilar to today's "create a market," publications such as Harper's Bazar touted "what the well-dressed doll should wear."

On the other hand, in 1889-1900 the Doll's Dressmaker, tells the story of a little girl who had a doll's wardrobe similar to her own: "We made her two complete sets of under clothing and lots of dresses. Mamma made an ulster (overcoat) of checked cloth on the machine. It's just like mine and real pretty. Edith's big sister crocheted her a pussy hood. You know what I mean, out of angora yarn. Then she had the daintiest little white aprons, just like the kind I wear to school."

Above- Doll with trousseau in a trunk, as shown in a 1908 fashion periodical. Left- A doll with its trousseau in a box as shown in an 1896 catalog. ~•••~

From the beginning of the 19th century there were paper dolls and doll-dressing sets with many different clothes included. An 1806 issue of Les Jeux de la Poupee portrayed a "real" doll just like its mistress. The child is shown "taking dolly for a walk, putting it to sleep and arranging its breakfast with a delicate little coffee-pot and dishes."

In 1881, another account of doll play in Le Jeu de la Poupee, includes "undressing and giving a bath to the doll and even 'vaccination' by a small boy acting the part of the doctor. This French doll is seen progressing from a diet of milk, fed from a long tubed baby bottle, to gruel cooked in a tiny saucepan and, finally, on her 'mother's' knee she takes a sip of sweet wine and a biscuit. The doll which in 1806 was pictured taking an airing on leading strings has by 1881 acquired a cute little three-wheeled baby carriage in wicker work and she is put to bed at night in a beribboned cradle."