1st Anniversary !!!

 

Tyra, my first fashion doll (Tonner) celebrates FDS's first anniversary.

Time flies when you're having fun! A year ago, I set out on a new adventure called "Fashion Doll Stylist," and I must say, I've had one of the best times of my life.

In the past 12 months, we went from draping hankies (including Hermes pocket squares) over the shoulders of our little divas to making them fur coats, sexy lingerie, designer duds and handbags and our own renditions of what pranced down the top catwalks of the world. We did lots of window shopping in Paris, shopped for fabrics in New York, attended exhibitions and posed our dolls alongside of the stars of every major Award ceremony. And though my plastic divas and this blog have completely taken over my life (#dollsrunningmeragged)....I have had so much fun sharing all of my adventures with you. I've made many new friends and learned so much about the doll world in the process.

I've discovered fashion dolls I never knew existed. My Barbie-centric blog is now populated with a few of the Fashion Royalty clan. And of course, a few Kens made their way to my home as well. I've learned about Dioramas from my friends over at Simon Farnworth's DollObservers.com, chatted on Twitter with Tonner Doll social media director, Kevin and the regulars who meet up every week on his #dollchat. I attended my very first doll expo in Paris where I was fortunate to meet one of the designers of the famous Superdoll. I lost myself in the gift shop of the Doll Museum in Paris and purchased my first Fashion Royalty doll at the premiere online store, "Angelic Dreamz." I became aware of a profession called, "repaint artists," learned how to curl doll hair, discovered Ebay (someone, please remove the highly addictive app from my smartphone!!!), marveled over those who make miniscule shoes, jewelry and even clothes produced by Integrity Toys, JamieShow, and Matisse Fashions. And yes, my dolls are still pestering me for that LV luggage and functional umbrellas I located online. Though I admit, I have hidden from them pictures of the superb 1/6th scale period furniture created by Regent Miniatures. The seven-year-old inside me has had many OMG moments!

The Champagne girls

And though I began this blog squarely seated in my comfort zone, eventually I did venture out and began taking risks (while dragging you along) as witnessed by my venture into making Ken doll clothes. (This accounts for the longer delays between posts.) When I look at the dolly picture files on my computer, I am amazed at how much ground we/ve covered over the course of 117 posts and 12 months.

And so, the question prevails...where do we go from here!?!

On February 2, 2013, I began this venture with the notion of creating a pattern making blog for dolls. But quickly I realized I was only limited by my own imagination. Why stop with basic patterns when we could do so much more. Fashion is a living, breathing, ever changing beast. That's why I have designed this blog, in part, to function as a sort of fashion magazine. I don't know about your dolls, but mine are ALWAYS hungry for new clothes and accessories. (When I wake up in the morning, they stare at me as if to say....okay lady, what else you got??!)

Let's toast to a year filled with beautiful dolls and fabulous fashions!

In the coming year, I will continue to provide you with the content you have come to appreciate: continued coverage on the latest fashions, the latest trends, exhibitions, red carpet and catwalk action and of course....tutorials. You have the basics, now. Perhaps we can explore modifying what's already here! In the year ahead, I think it would also be fun to delve a little more into the design process. Let's look not only at sources of inspiration but also how to analyze a style to interpret it for the doll. And because some of you stark beginners (as in never-held-a-needle-and-thread-before) are still a few having problems or basic sewing, I will TRY (key word there) my hand at providing video tutorials from time to time especially for those projects that could use a bit more explanation. As soon as our Fashion Doll Stylist channel is ready for primetime, I will make an announcement and provide links on this blog.

In the meantime, I would like to this time to thank all of you for taking time to visit here and look at my blog. Thank you for supporting me with your presence and your lovely comments. It is always nice to know my work is appreciated. On behalf of all the "models" and myself, we look sharing another stylish, fashionista, dollicious, fun-filled year ahead.

Thank you, for being there!!!


Now, let's have some birthday cake, dolly style, over at Claire Thomas' KitchyKitchen!


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