Sunday, February 18, 2018

Dolls' Eye View: Paris Spring '18 Couture

It was hard, but after looking at all of the mayhem on the Paris couture catwalk, the girls were able to get their hands on a few beautiful gems. What you will notice with these spring 18 looks....lots of one-shouldered effects, luxury fabrics (satin, silk), novelty lace, and in some cases, silhouettes with lots of volume and movement.

Fancy Pants
It starts with daywear into early evening with a few very smart pants ensembles. We loved the simple elegance of Armani's classic blazers, teamed with silk and satin trousers. But where we were really blown away....Jean Paul Gaultier's trompe-l'oeil striped pant suit.
Making this pant suit for Nadja was no small feat. I started with a basic bodice and literally created a jigsaw puzzle of pattern pieces which had to be reassembled. It's worn with a small shrug which I made with a lined rectangle.

Scarf Tricks
We were also intrigued by Armani's dresses that resembled silk scarves wrapped around the body or suspended from the shoulders.
So....with another lined rectangle of silk, Angelina's dress was constructed by simply wrapping it around her body and pleated in the front. I pinched in darts at both sides of the dress so that it softly conforms to her silhouette.

So Sixties
Just because it's couture doesn't mean the couturiers can have a little fun. Many of these looks recall both the innocence of a Jackie Kennedy style suit and the crazy black and white op-Art theme of 1960's. Again, the work of Jean Paul Gaultier comes to mind. We liked the op-art print, the tent dress as well as the simple white gown with bold plates of aluminum spots.

Flight of Fancy
Look for feathers to jazz things up.
Here, we took a white flared evening gown and added "wings" to Joan's shoulders. In reality, these aren't feathers, but rather--shaggy fabric which gives the illusion of feathers scaled to the doll.

Snow Angels
Unpretentious, modest.....nothing better says summer then a cloud of soft white fabric. The silhouettes are quite simple, cut using generous proportions and choir girl lines.

Sparkle & Shine
Star that you are.....Fabrics that sparkle, shine...silhouettes that play up the glamour of your diva...these are all classic but very powerful looks for next summer. Look out for clear sequins, metallic satin (if you can find it), sheers with "jewels" or sparkles.
Waris wears a gown we made by draping liquid silver lame over a matching foundation. This is fabric usually reserved for theatrical curtains and extremely hard to sew. But the results was more than worth my sore fingertips!

Color Revolution
Typically we don't see a lot of color on couture catwalks. And what we do see, usually doesn't work all that well. But there were a few gems.....in jewel tone colors: amethyst, tourmaline, topaz and ruby. What we also love here are the generous proportions and fabrics that move (chiffon) and detailing (flocked sheers) that pump up the glamour of the look.

Midnight at Maxim's
It's the year of the shoulder. Look for lots of one shoulder tops and dresses, bare shouldered gowns...even tops that crisscross around the neck. These are head turning, dramatic looks carved out of classic black evening materials.
What could be more dramatic than a diagonally cut top and full skirt accented with black ribbons! Vanessa's dolly version was quite simple. The one shoulder top was draped over a constructed one-shouldered foundation and tied at the shoulder. The skirt is a full circle skirt with an opening at the side front.

Glam Tram
 Again, this theme makes the case for old fashioned glamour. The girls love the lushness of these dresses. These are girly-girl dresses complete with frilly fabric, feathers, embroidery and even a fancy draped sleeve.
But the dress, my girls fought over is this Ralph & Russo pink, asymmetrical, satin gown enhanced with streams of tassels. We love how the shoulder "falls off" the shoulder. But we simply love the tassel trim over one arm and diagonally across the hem of the skirt. Because there are no tassels in the size and scale I needed...I had to make them by knotting together a few strands of fine cord.

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18 comments:

  1. As usual I am very impressed with the creations. All details refined, they look like human clothes reduced. Beautiful!

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    1. Thank you so much Dlubaniny. I really appreciate your comment because the aim of anyone working in miniature is how "real" the end result looks!

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  2. Excellent post! :) I love outfits from the catwalks. And of course I love your creations. This time I can't pick only one for the top place. :) I love three of them: Joan's "Angel dress", Waris silver creation and satin gown with tassels. All are wonderful and I love how you made them in this scale.

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    1. Thank you so much for your lovely words, Kamelia. There were a lot of clothes on the catwalks I didn't like, but still, I was able to find the true "jewels"! Most of what I chose this time around presented a real challenge and some almost hit the trashcan! But in the end, I was able to find solutions and am happy with the results.

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  3. The fashions are very elegant and feminine! The gem colours are wonderful. I love your dress with tassels, and the trompe-l'oeil suit, and the dress with feathers :-).

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words. The pantsuit was the most difficult. That was 5 minutes away from hitting the trash can, but the original was so striking I had to continue and I am happy with the end result. The tassels on the pink dress presented another challenge. However, these were outfits really I wanted to see on my dolls, so all the work and sweat was worth it!

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  4. Gorgeous! My particular favourites are your interpretation of the JPG pant suit (which I loved as soon as I saw it and was delighted when I scrolled down a little more and saw yours) and the metallic Ralph & Russo dress (your beautifully pleated bodice was definitely worth the sore fingers). Can't wait for the girl's next report.

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    1. Hi Karen. Thank you for your kind words. Me and the girls are really happy with these clothes. These are the kind of fashions we once saw women in a long time ago. I am really proud of the JPG pantsuit. It took me awhile to figure out how to create a pattern for it. But once I finished it and put it on the doll...I was really happy.

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  5. Klasyczne, czarne, beżowe i białe barwy są ponadczasowe i piękne. Jednak muszę przyznać, że zdecydowane kolory kreacji, jak czerwień, fiolet, zieleń, prezentują się na modelkach równie wspaniale!
    Masz niezwykły dar uchwycenia oryginalności strojów i potrafisz doskonale zastosować je w mini ubraniach dla lalek! Super kreacje z rewelacyjnymi dodatkami!
    Serdecznie Cię pozdrawiam :-)

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  6. Olla wrote: Classic, black, beige and white colors are timeless and beautiful. However, I must admit that the strong colors of creation, such as red, violet, green, look great on models as well!
    You have the unusual gift of capturing the originality of costumes and you can perfectly apply them in mini dolls clothes! Super creations with sensational additions!
    I heartily greet you :-)

    I agree with you regarding color. Usually we see neutral colors and dark tones for Fall/Winter collections, while Spring/Summer should have bursts of color. Sometimes I do see color on the catwalks however, it is not used in a nice way. Still, the problem remains that the collections, winter and spring--have an overabundance of neutrals which I think is their way of playing it safe where sales are concerned. This does remains, however, an exercise I really enjoy!!!

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  7. How many hours or days does it take to sew doll fashions? Do u sew by machine or hand? If i make something for my dolls it takes me as many as 5 hours! Not sure if that is the typical time for doll fashions as they are so tiny & seems like little time is put into them. But to make good quality it would require plenty of time!
    Keep up the fabulous posts!

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  8. I can make something pretty quickly--in a day, from start to finish HOWEVER it really depends on the outfit. I use both machine and hand sewing but I hand sew a lot because it's easier to control tiny details. When I'm abroad, I don't have access to a machine, but the blog must continue. I often don't line my garments unless it is absolutely essential to the look (Chanel suit, for example). This is because I'm faced with time constraints in my efforts to post on a fairly frequent schedule AND...because many of today's fashions aren't lined. Unless you are making 1950's and 60's clothing, linings can alter the look and hang of the garment. There are times when I think a garment will be a piece of cake. But then, it ends in the garbage and I start over. This can happen with a simple look. Simplicity is extremely difficult to do well! Even though I know pattern making and have sewn for many years, I do spend lots of time trying to find more simple methods to achieve the same effect.
    When I started this blog, my only exposure to doll clothes were Mattel's Barbie doll clothing--which you know is, well....a very low standard. My first garments--using pure pattern drafting & constructed methods--were sometimes quite bulky. After my first few FR doll purchases of fully dressed dolls, I got a better idea of "good quality" clothing and what is possible. Nonetheless, those who follow this blog have a wide variety of skills from--well seasoned seamstresses to "never-threaded-a-needle-before" beginners. So I try to include something for everybody. But, if I were simply making clothes for my dolls without this blog, I'd probably slow down and really work on perfecting the finishing of each garment.

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    1. That's a great answer! Thank u April! :)

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  9. The Jean paul gaultier style in stripes is Amazing
    you did it so well ;-)
    I would love to have that piece for me <3
    xx

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    1. Thank you so much, Rose. The Gaultier outfit was the most challenging. I took a basic bodice pattern and literally cut it up like a jigsaw puzzle. That was the easy part. Putting it back together and getting it to fit was not simple! But at the end of the day, I am very happy with the results. Thank you again for your visit.

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  10. May i ask what FR doll is wearing the pink Ralph & Russo gown? Shes gorgeous!

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    1. Oh yes, she is gorgeous!!! I renamed her "Estelle" (after French supermodel, Estelle Hallyday). She is a Fashion Royalty "Imogene Be Daring" doll (2016).

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    2. I love Estelle Hallyday!

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