Sunday, September 24, 2017

Dolls Eye View: Emmys 2017

It's been awhile since my girls have gone to the Emmys (the awards for prime time broadcasting in the United States). And though we are in the midst of fashion month, many of my divas were quite anxious to strut their stuff on the first red carpet event of the season. Inasmuch as this is a national event, the gowns are less elaborate than those worn at the Academy Awards ceremony. But still, this was the perfect event to display the "Made in America" brand.

Major trends here favor a return to the 1950's beginning with Nicole Kidman's fire engine red, tea length dress. Created by Calvin Klein (special order), it has the  and flare of Marilyn Monroe's pleated frock in "Some Like It Hot." Klein's 2017 version is hung from a bejeweled neckline which is drawn into the waist before releasing a full "New Look" skirt. For our girl, Giselle, I made the necklace out of textured wire and suspended a pendant of thin wire threaded with silver beads in the middle of the bodice panels. For the lower part of the dress, I used a circle skirt pattern. The fullness of the dress is achieved with the help of a petticoat, also cut from a circle of tulle.

This "hour glass" silhouette is also carried out in what brings to mind, old fashion prom dresses. These are simple, strapless bodices over full skirts like the Jason Wu dress worn by Thandie Newton. For my girl, Helen's dress, I used an evening length circle skirt cut from two layers of pink sparkle tulle, another layer of sheer nylon and an underskirt of tulle. The circle skirt pattern allows me to get the fullness I want without all the bulk around the waistline. However, I departed from the original dress at the bodice. The basic corset cut in silk was....well....boring. So, after making this strapless bodice, I covered it with scraps of crushed sparkle tulle. The texture it created was more interesting to my eye.

Quite naturally, this prom look--a take on the ballerina tutu-- suits younger Barbies quite well. Here is Millie Bobby Brown in a Calvin Klein (special order) dress. For my girl Jenny, I stuck more closely to the original dress. The top is a quick and easy tube of stretch jersey. The bottom is a (no-sew) tutu made from tulle slats knotted over a tiny white ribbon, piled over two circular underskirts, on made of silk and the other of tulle which serves as a petticoat. The one thing I did not do was to cut the hemline even. I thought the uneven hem was more interesting to the eye as well as the super long bow of white ribbon at the waistline. After all, red carpets are made for flights of fancy!

There was also a lot of sexy sirens on the red carpet as well.  The girls loved the elegance of the Oscar de la Renta jumpsuit worn by Claire Foy. Because I like to keep things versatile, I made this look for Veronica in two pieces (not including her gloves). It's a simple black crepe pair of slim, stovepipe pants worn under a simple but dramatic top. I used the one piece corset pattern and tacked on a long tube of silk to one side of the bodice. The "jewel trim" at the top was created by braiding a length of string which I brushed on lots of glue then rolled it in silver glitter. To keep the glitter from falling, I slathered on a second coat of glue then rolled everything again, in more more glitter. Allow the whole thing dry and shake everything out of doors. Using string at the base made it easy to hand stitch it to the top of the corset. Then I added a small rhinestone broach (though you could simply make the glittered rope longer and tie in a knot. I added opera length gloves which, for me, finishes off the look.

Leslie Jones is a famed comedian on the hit show, "Saturday Night Live." She is a tall strong woman who, at one time, had difficulty finding someone to dress her. Enter Christian Siriano (the most successful designer to emerge from the reality show, "Project Runway.") Siriano has not only become a serious force in New York fashion, he also specializes in creating beautiful clothes for curvy women. He just designed clothes for Mattel's curvy Barbies! We were simply wowed by how stunning Ms. Jones looked in this sequined dress. And though it's not line for line the same dress, Grace wanted to pay homage to both the comedian and the designer who dressed her.
As simple as....a high waist skirt, a bra and a belt and there you have Claudia's version of the Narciso Rodriguez gown worn by comedian, Kate McKinnon (of Saturday Night Live).


What would a red carpet be without sequins? Sometimes it's fun to take an outfit you don't particularly like and redesign it. Case in point...Anna Chlumsky's "liquid metal" silver sequins gown.. We saw possibilities! Instead of sequins, we used glitter and silver lame. Emanuela's V-neck top is a wrap-around top made from silver tulle that I glittered. Her skirt is an oval shaped skirt (a circle skirt with a train).

Hey everybody, it's fashion month! The girls are on that style train making its first stop in New York!

With the exception of the pictures of the celebrities (Getty images) all other photos and text property of Fashion Doll Stylist. 2017. Please do not reproduce without prior permission. Thank you.

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10 comments:

  1. Fantastic outfits! I think I even prefer your versions. :D

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    1. Thank you, Kamelia. Well....it does help to have models with long proportions. When I'm studying the red carpet, I try to imagine what it will look like on the doll and choose accordingly. Sometimes, I might not be too crazy about an outfit, however, I cease the opportunity to "tweak" the design a bit. I also don't think the celebrity stylists accessorize them as well as they should.

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  2. Piękne! Piękne! Piękne! Fascynujące i wspaniałe! Wszystkie stroje są warte pokazu, ale ta fantastyczna, jasna suknia z trenem przebija pozostałe! Doskonały fason, doskonałe wykonanie i idealne zdjęcia! Twoje modelki prezentują się lepiej niż oryginalne stroje!
    Super!

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    1. Olla wrote: Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful! Fascinating and wonderful! All dresses are worth a show, but this fantastic, bright dress with a train pierces the rest! Excellent fashion, perfect workmanship and perfect photos! Your models are better than the original clothes!

      Thank you, Olla. I think that red carpet events should be high drama like the old fashion movie stars from the 1920's and 30's. So often I start with the original outfit and then I change things or add on accessories to make the look very glamorous. To be honest, I didn't like so much the silver sequined dress. But then I had fun with it and was very happy with the doll version! Thank you for all of your kind words. Big hugs.

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  3. Beautiful creations! Your mini-version of the Christian Siriano dress is stunning. I didn't know he specializes in dresses for curvy women, but that is a very good idea from him. The jumpsuit is very original, I like the human sized one and yours too very much :-).

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    1. Thank you MillicentAndFriends, for your very kind words. Christian Siriano, for me, is not only a standout designer, he is a smart businessman. After stepping up to design red carpet dresses for Leslie Jones, others took notice and now he does a thriving business. On his runways there are a mix of different body types and skin tones. His clothes makes everyone look sensational. I did the jumpsuit at the last minute and am very happy I did. It came out much better than I imagined.

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  4. I agree with Karelia - I also prefer your versions! Particularly love your ballerina tutu.

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    1. Thank you, Stevi. Red carpet events is always a fun project for me. My dolls love to upstage the stars! I'm also happy with the tutu. And guess what....there's a tulle tutorial on the horizon!!!

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  5. I love this outfits . Your are better as the oryginals !!! Hugs :)

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    1. Thank you, Urszula. Sometimes I purposely try to make my doll versions better than the ones worn by the celebrities. That's what makes this project so much fun!!! Big hugs.

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