Authentic Fashions for Miss Suzette by Uneeda

We know that the fashions for Miss Suzette were manufactured by the Totsy company, exactly like all other Grants exclusive doll fashions. But not all fashions made by Totsy are made for Miss Suzette!

Sadly there is no booklet with the fashions. As a hint, we have only the two advertisements of Grant department store and the illustrations on the Miss Suzette doll case and her box.

The fashions made for Miss Suzette had mostly buttons as closures, as opposed to other branded 11,5" vintage doll fashions, which used mostly snaps.  These buttons were typically matching the color of the fabric. There were two sizes of buttons used for closure. The buttons are often referred to as "Uneeda buttons" but Uneeda didn't make the fashions, so more accurate would be "Totsy buttons".

Small metal snaps could also be found on some of her fashions. It is debated if big donut snaps are also used for Miss Suzette fashions, which are often associated with fashions by Elite for Wendy dolls or Ideal for Mitzi dolls, but also many other clone brands. We know that Totsy did, in fact, use donut snaps on some of their fashions, but not quite often.

Miss Suzette fashions also had two kinds of decorative buttons, mostly found at the front of the outfit, one in the shape of a flower and one round with a circular pattern.  

The most famous one is the swinging coat "Theater Goer". It is a very elegant thickly woven swinging coat underlined with a colorful patterned fabric. It has a round collar with a decorative button, and underneath is a second button that is used as closure. Typically, both buttons are identical. 

The coat was available in at least three colors, as far as we know, in dark blue, orange and very rare in light brown.

The orange coat had white flower buttons, the blue coat had white round buttons with patterns, and the brown coat had dark brown buttons. There are several variations of the inner lining.

Grants also released a matching sheath dress with a cute short jacket made of the fabric, that was used as the lining of the swinging coat "Theater Goer". It can be found in many color variations. The dress and jacket were probably sold together, although we haven't seen them NRFB. The dress closes at the back with two color-matching small buttons.

The advert illustration shows the outfit with a hat. In many listings of this ensemble, there was a hat and a purse included, which I haven't seen sold by any other brand. It's a small pillbox hat made of flocked plastic with a bow at the front and a small rhinestone. There are several color variations of this hat. 

The exact same purse made of flocked plastic was sold by Totsy as an accessory pack. The hats, however, look different.

A dress that is easily recognizable is "Swinging easy". It was available in several color variations and would close at the back with a small or big button that matched the belt. It has a V-neckline and is very slim around the waist.

Similar flapper dresses were released by various brands, the most similar one being made by Totsy as well as their own brand. Only the Totsy dress can close with a button; the others close with snaps. It has a round neckline and three rhinestones at the collar, so it's easy to tell apart from the authentic Miss Suzette one. It is also a bit wider around the waist and would fit Barbie better than the dress made for Miss Suzette.

This dress is all buttons! At the front there are four round decorative buttons with patterns. The back closes with either two small or two big buttons. It was available in lilac or a light blue.  The hat on the photo isn't original. We don't know if a hat was included in the fashion, although the illustration pictures one.

I have seen a brown one with black buttons at the front, but I cannot tell if it was authentic for Miss Suzette. It closes at the back with buttons, so it's most likely made by Totsy, but since it doesn't have decorative buttons at the front, it might be a variation of the Totsy brand.

This beautiful set of underwear was avilable in pink and baby blue.

This cute business outfit is easy to identify. It's a two-piece ensemble; the jacket closes at the front with either round or flower-shaped decorative buttons. The skirt closes at the back with a small metal snap. This outfit was available with pink, red or black stripes. The hats on these photos aren't original and were added by the originator of the photos.

Grants released a similar ensemble for their 10.5" Suzette doll before. It is easy to tell them apart. The Suzette variant has a shorter jacket, because Suzette had a shorter torso than Miss Suzette. It is also wider around the waist, and it has typically a white collar. The closing buttons aren't decorative.

There is also another similar variation made by Totsy probably for their own brand. The Jacket has two non-decorative buttons. The skirt closes with the tiny metal snap like the Miss Suzette variant.

I'm pretty sure that this set is called Sweater Girl, because it is so matching! 

The red jacket closes at the front with two small buttons. The skirt closes at the back with a white button. I don't know how the sleeveless shirt closes. The gray skirt here in these photos isn't part of this set but also authentic for Miss Suzette.

The set comes with open-toe shoes and a red purse.

There are very similar fashions sold by Totsy for their own brand. The sweater of Totsy is unicolor, while Miss Suzette's is patterned. The Totsy shirt has sleeves. The skirt sold by Totsy is a simple circle, while Uneeda's skirt has a seam at the front. There is also a sweater made by Elite Creations with buttons at the front. A closer look shows that these buttons are not the same as on the Totsy fashion, and it closes with snaps as it doesn't have buttonholes.

I am pretty sure that this elegant ensemble is the one pictured in the advertisement.

The sheath is made of two fabrics: a patterned skirt and an unicolor bodice.  It closes at the back with two color-matching buttons. The bodice was found in yellow and green. The jacket has the same pattern as the skirt; it has a small collar and closes at the front with a color-matching non-decorative button. The white plastic hat has a border of the same patterned fabric.

Totsy sold a similar ensemble in unicolor blue under their own brand. The dress also closes at the back with two color- matching buttons.

This beautiful nightgown was at least made in two colors, a light mint green and a dark red. I haven't seen it sold by any other brand yet.

This skirt was sold as an accessory for Miss Suzette. There are several fabric variations. It closes with a button at the back. I don't know if the blouse from the last photo is authentic, it matches the fabric though perfectly.

Short and long pleated pants were sold for Miss Suzette. 

Totsy sold identical shorts in other color variations under their own brand, as a set or alone. Such little plastic bags could be found added to many clone fashions and were bought wholesale in Hong Kong.

There were shoe paks available for Miss Suzette. She was wearing either open-toe mules, similar to Barbie's open toes (which would also fit), or closed-toe pumps. These shoes weren't made especially for Miss Suzette. They were clearly random clone shoes that were packed in Suzette packaging. The closed-toe shoes wouldn't even fit Miss Suzette with straight legs. The shoes were bought in Hong Kong and are marked as such on the sole.

There were three cases sold for Miss Suzette, so the doll and her wardrobe could be stored properly. The cases were made of vinyl and looked quite similar to the Barbie vinyl cases of that time sold by Mattel. The cases were available in black, white and turquoise and have cute illustrations of dressed Miss Suzettes at the front. The illustrated fashions could be Theater Goer and Cocktail Hour. The other two fashions aren't very clear. The white swinging dress could be a hint to a fashion that is believed to be authentic Miss Suzette (see below), and the dark red ensemble hasn't been seen yet.

Such shoe paks were sold also by other clone brands, here pictured Totsy, Plasty for Petra and Elite for Wendy. 

The ads for Miss Suzette say, that there are many more fashions for Miss Suzette than shown, and collectors believe so too.  For example, which outfit is "Beau Catcher" or "Evening Ensemble"?

There are fashions that were found repetitively in Miss Suzette doll lots, which fit perfectly her tiny waist and which have the typical Totsy characteristics but weren't found yet boxed, so could be made for Miss Suzette, but could also be sold by Totsy under the Totsy brand.

This set made of satin with a delicate pattern on the outside could be the ensemble pictured in the add. The coat resembles very much Theater Goer, but it has just one decorative button under the collar with a big rhinestone.

The patterned sheath dress also closes at the back with two small buttons. The fascinator in the photo is not original. 

Totsy released a nearly identical sheath dress under their own brand. It also closes with buttons at the back. I haven't seen the dress yet close up, so I don't know if it was made with the same patterned satin.

This three-piece summer ensemble is believed to be made for Miss Suzette. Only the blouse closes with a button, the skirt closes with a donut snap, and the trousers have small metal snaps that can often be found on fashions released by Totsy but also on authentic Miss Suzette fashions.  

This ensemble can be found in many colors. Could it be the one pictured on this silhouette? 

Grants has released comparable 3-piece ensembles for the 10.5" Suzette doll, which are often confused for Miss Suzette fashions. A similar outfit can be found by Totsy, however different enough to not be a variation. 

This beautiful orange satin dress with organza overlay comes with a brown fake fur jacket. The dress closes with small golden buttons and fits perfectly, Miss Suzette.  Could it be this dress from the Miss Suzette case illustration?

There is a variation of this dress with striped overlay. This variation is much bigger at the waist and looks sacky on Miss Suzette. Maybe the bigger version was originally made for the 10.5" Suzette and repurposed for Miss Suzette, but that's just a theory. 

A very similar fur jacket was already produced by Totsy for the Grants exclusive Suzy doll.

Totsy also released a similar dress under their own brand. The Totsy dress, however, has no organza overlay and closes at the back with one big button. It has a flower attached at the waist.

 This beautiful black nighttime ensemble is believed to be made for Miss Suzette. I haven't found proof but also didn't see it by any other brand or for any other doll, so it might be real. It closes with two big black buttons.

It is mentioned in an article about Miss Suzette that appeared in a doll magazine. But this article was not very well researched, so this is not a good source for verification.

This beautiful ballgown is believed to be made for Miss Suzette. I don't know if this is true. 

What I know is that it was released for the 10.5" Suzette previously by Grants.  However, it wouldn't fit Miss Suzette as well as it does in these photos; the waist would be too high, and it would be bigger around the waist if it was the earlier Suzette version. So maybe Totsy repurposed this dress design for Miss Suzette as well. It closes at the back with two big buttons.

The same for this wedding dress. It is a 10.5" Suzette design. But there are variants of this dress with a smaller and longer bodice and different details, so these designs might have been repurposed for Miss Suzette. It closes at the back with two big white buttons.

This cute cocktail dress with a big white collar and a black bow is available in at least three colors. It closes at the back with buttons or tiny metal snaps. Style wise, it reminds very much of a dress made for the 10.5" Suzette doll, so it's possible that it is also an authentic Miss Suzette fashion. There is this silhouette illustration, which shows a not identified sheath dress yet...maybe it's this one? However, it can also be a fashion sold under the Totsy brand.