Tiers of Joy Gene Doll and Costume Set

"Oh, Katie—look at this..."

Gene made her way through the neatly stacked boxes in her parents' attic in their Cos Cob home, being careful not to bump her head on the low beams. Her mother was holding the lid of a box in one hand, the fingers of her other hand pressed to her lips.

Gene looked into the box and gave a little cry. Tiers and tiers of fabric were cascading from the box her mother held. "Oh, my! Is this the dress that Grandma wore in the portrait that's in the den?"

"Yes, Katie. And it's in beautiful shape. You know, you're about the same size as Grandma was. Would you like to take it back to California with you? Maybe you could wear it to a party or to a premiere—I know your grandma would have gotten such joy seeing you in it..."

"I have an even better idea," said Gene with a secret smile. And her grandmother's dress was soon on its way to the West Coast.

The day after she returned from the East, Gene didn't waste a minute. Bright and early, she was at Monolithic's vast costume facility. She handed the head of the department the box with her grandmother's legacy and said, "I couldn't trust anybody other than you with this. Could you make a copy for me to wear in my new movie?"

The costumer smiled. "With every ruffle and underthing."

And Gene somehow felt that her grandmother was smiling down from above...

• Tiers of Joy is an authentic design from 1885. The fitted tafetta top has lace trim and beading. The skirt is trimmed in diagonal bands of beaded lace on a sheer 'pointe d'esprit' tulle overskirt. The same fine tulle train drapes from the bustle, accented by midnight blue fabric and beaded flowers. With ribbon choker, feathered floral hair pin, flowerette earrings, bracelets and pumps.
• In addition, Gene can change into a lace-trimmed lace-up corset, sheer pantaloons with lace trim, knee-high white stockings, cream fabric boudoir slippers and a graceful ribbon embroidered fan. And—this costume fits underneath the dress ensemble!
• The Gene doll costumes for Tiers of Joy were created by talented designer Michele Tibbetts.

Each doll and costume in the 2004 Gene Marshall Collection comes with specially-designed Memories Collection "scrapbook" pages to fill your scrapbook (excludes "Mel Loves Marsha").