Dolls Come Alive at Weekend Fashion Shows

NEW CANAAN, Conn. – Isabella Salant is as pretty as a doll. This weekend, the 10-year-old will also dress like one.

Specifically, she will be dressed like a doll named Kanani, one of the most popular in the American Girl collection. “I’m talking about the Aloha spirit,” said Isabella, dressed in a turquoise outfit. “It’s really great.”

Isabella and about 80 other girls from Fairfield County and Westchester County, N.Y., will dress as their favorite dolls as part of the American Girl Fashion Show, hosted Saturday and Sunday by the Young Women’s League of New Canaan.

Isabella’s mother, Jani Salant, is helping to organize the show, featuring girls ages 4 to 11. “It’s kind of a history of women’s fashion from the 1700s to now, and it shows how it’s changed to reflect their roles in society,” Salant said. “It’s like a very elegant affair. The dolls almost come to life.”

Isabella and other girls have been practicing for three weeks for the show, to be held at the Country Club of Darien. Isabella has also enjoyed developing fun handshakes with friend Kathleen Konkos, 10, of Westport.

“It’s really fun to see all of the styles and all of the people walking around,” said Morgan Daniel, 8, who will take part as a girl from the 1970s. Her older sister, Hailey, 12, will be one of the narrators. “It’s really exciting. I’ve always loved American Girl dolls."

Proceeds from the YWL American Girl show will benefit Autism Speaks of Fairfield and Westchester, a cause close to the participants, many of whom have friends or relatives with autism.

The fashion show will run from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Country Club of Darien, at 300 Mansfield Ave. Tickets for the show are $45, with $20 tax deductible. For more information, visit the Young Women’s League website at http://ywlnewcanaan.org.

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