Dolls' Eye View: Golden Globes 2018

This year's edition of the Golden Globes red carpet was as unique as the awards ceremony itself. It marked a change in culture where women stood up and spoke out against the culture of sexual harassment in the workplace. A group of 300 leading celebrities came together to launch the #TimesUp Movement--an initiative that hopes to put an end to the decades of sexual harassment, pay disparity and discrimination in both the entertainment industry as well as women everywhere who are struggling with the same issues. To mark their solidarity, many stars arrived on the red carpet, clad in black. While the gowns they wore weren't what I would call, extraordinary fashion, it was very elegant, making quite an impact on the red carpet. In fact, this was an excellent exercise in the power of black and the versatility of the basic black dress!

Zoe Kravitz wore a simple black velvet sheath from the house of Saint Laurent. This dress is a staple in my dolls' wardrobe because it serves as a blank canvas, on top of which, you can put absolutely anything. This is a strapless sheath. With a few modifications, it can be quickly transformed into several looks.

To get Dakota Johnson's elegant Gucci dress, all I had to do was to take the same sheath dress and add straps (1/8" ribbon), a belt (made from ribbon and a rhinestone earring), then tack a length of lame to the waist at the back. I love evening gloves, so I simply made two small tubes from the same stretch velvet I used to make the dress!

This Alberta Ferretti dress worn by singer, actress, Mary J. Blige, immediately attracted my girls' eyes thanks to the contrast of velvet and lame used in the dress. Again, I started out with a strapless black sheath dress. I scooped out an arc on one side of the sheath and sewed in (stretch) silver lame. I used the same fabric to make a single sleeve (a simple tube attached to the sheath). I rolled a small strip of the lame around the neckline and added a horizontal strap which drapes over the sleeve.

This is, again, another instance where I already had the strapless sheath lace dress. (The removable sleeves were taken from another dress.) Cut a large circle of fabric and tack the midpoint to the back of the waist. Voila, your doll now has the same look at Penelope Cruz who wore a lovely gown from the New York house of Ralph & Russo.

 I am not usually a huge fan of fishtail dresses. However, the body of this Dolce Gabbana dress worn by Mariah Carey reminded me of a vintage Patrick Kelly dress hanging in my closet. If this dress looks slightly familiar, it's because the body of the dress is the same as the sheer tulle Dolce Gabanna dress featured in my last post. This version is made from a lightweight rayon jersey using the same pattern. I simply added a diagonal strap across the shoulder and attached a fishtail (made the same as a circle skirt), just below the knees!

Here is the same dress (but without the fishtail), worn under a tailored bolero jacket. Very similar to the Tom Ford outfit worn by Gal Gadot.

We've seen this suit before (including here). This time around it is signed by Stella McCartney as worn by Claire Foy. It just goes to show the value in taking your time and making well fitting classic garments!

This is another classic beauty that will see a lot of wear in my house! Award winning actress Viola Davis looks wonderful in Brandon Maxwell. My girl had to have this dress too. This is a well fitting basic sheath dress (using a basic stretch dress pattern) in velvet where I've cut a sweetheart neckline. The good thing about stretch velvet is that it doesn't unravel as this dress is not lined (and has no closures)! The doll simply slips into this dress!

One shouldered fashion seems to be the big news of this red carpet,. Again, a very simple dress with a single sleeve as worn by Gillian Anderson.

The girls couldn't take their eyes off this very unusual dress by Versace and worn by Saorise Roman. This is a basic sheath dress with one square padded shoulder (with set-in) straight sleeve. The opposite shoulder is normal with a "jeweled shoulder pad"extending over the exposed arm. (For the doll version, I fashioned the pad out of oven baked clay which to which I applied glitter before gluing onto the shoulder!). The bejeweled triangle at the opposite side of the waist is an iron-on product which extends from the center of the back to the mid-point of the front. 

To create this empire waist, Giambattista Valli dress worn by Kendall Jenner, I retreated to my recent post on Tulle dresses!

We just love the old fashion glamour of a 50's inspired pant set, designed by New York designer, Christian Siriano for Christina Hendricks. For my dolly version, I made the top from a tube of black stretch velvet and fashioned a sash that stretches shoulder to shoulder out of taffeta--the same material used in the pants and over skirt. Think of the skirt as an apron worn with the fullness in the back and open in the front.

Since the fabric in my possession had the larger sequins, I chose Aayeesha, one of my Tonner dolls to dress. This Probal Gurling draped gown worn by actress, Kerry Washington, starts with a strapless hip length foundation, open on one side. I draped black sequined fabric (click HERE to see how) over the foundation so that the folds radiate from one side of the dress.



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