Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Dolls' Eye View: Fall/Winter 18 NY Trends

There was a lot not to love at New York Fashion Week. It would appear the chaotic transition we saw last season, is still very much alive. Designers are throwing everything and the kitchen sink onto catwalks: bizarre color and pattern combinations, clunky clothes or simply....the same old stuff!  My girls are looking for something new and had a difficult time weeding out the bad from the good. So I told the girls to concentrate on styles for which New York has always been best known: simple, sophisticated silhouettes, easy to wear pieces with a touch of eclectic pizzazz .

Animal Crackers
It is a winter collection, after all. The girls loved the Rock 'n Roll feeling of Tom Ford's animal prints that ran over everything from blazers and tights to blouson jackets and tunics. What we loved in particular, was the abundance of animal prints sometimes teamed with metallics.
Natasha loved Ford's snake skin printed blazer and  leggings, but since I didn't have a comparable print, we decided to go with the leopard printed fabric similar to the far right jacket. It may be a bit over the top for some, but my dolls like the "more is better" concept of piling on different versions of the same animal theme print! Her square, padded shouldered blazer is worn over leopard printed stretch leggings.
And if that weren't enough....we topped it off with a faux fur jacket in a matching print!

Check Mate!
There is LOTS of black and white combinations planned for next winter. This can be as simple as a white fleecy coat tossed over the shoulder of a black turtleneck sweater and black slinky leggings, or it can be a giant checkboard dress trimmed with fur.
But for Liu, she wanted to stick to the classic look of a white "sheepskin" coat over a black turtleneck and skinny pants. The coat here is from our tutorial, "Fleeced!".

Tescla Trip to Mars
What would you wear if invited for a trip to Mars in Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster....it's a hypothetical question the girls began asking while looking at Alexander Wang's catwalk show. We all loved the kicky little dresses and ensembles all etched with silver zippers! We're going to set these photos aside and pull them out later after we get some metal zippers to experiment with! Another way to go--silver tights and shoes under a Tom Ford blazer! Houston, we have lift off!!!

Fruit Basket
My girls never get tired of black. But a few (and many of you) have been calling for color. It's not that color isn't on the catwalk. The problem has been the trashy, crashing way designers use it these days. But here, we were able to find a most delicious application of color. The silhouettes are simple, the fabrics luxurious. And for the palette...think citrus with a twist of raspberry on your next trip to the fabric store.

Family Jewels
Again, this is a story about color straight out of the jewelry box: amethyst, topaz and garnet or a pop of fuchsia.
Natalie fell in love with this hot pink dress by Oscar de la Renta. The fabric was a bit stiff for a doll dress, but the color was spot on! This is a standard dress: bodice joined with a flared skirt. The "embroidery" was painted on using fabric paint.
But let's not forget, this is a winter collection, so we added black accessories: a furry jacket and a pair of "gloves." 

Second Hand Rose
Anyone who has lived in New York for any length of time, knows all about its vintage shops. One trend we did notice was the return to garments with a distinct second hand look. Madras, velvet, art nouveau detailing, faded lace.....it's all about extracting the best of fashion's glory days in order to give a new direction to today's styles.
 I love the look of blush and claret. Violetta's dress is made in two parts. The top was fashioned with vintage lace, pieced together over her form to create a simple bodice. The bottom is a simple, evening length wrap skirt that opens in the front off to one side. I did not have velvet in this color, so I substituted a patterned silk. To further give it a "vintage" look, I cut out floral medallions from a length of lace and stitched them to the skirt.
But we weren't sure Violetta would be warm enough. So we added a cocoon coat made from a men's  paisley printed silk tie.
 Again, my girls' eyes were attracted to those sexy little dresses. It doesn't seem like much, but this is the kind of dress that goes everywhere! I chose a neutral silk to replicate the dress. I like how the straps wrap over the shoulders. But.....the doll is tiny. No matter what you do, the fabric will not drape the same as a full scale model. So we simply decided how the dress should drape and tacked those points down.
This is a very tricky color. I chose Meagan to wear this dress. The trick to making it work, once again, is by piling on the same or similar color. A big bathrobe coat is the perfect garment to wear over such a sexy little dress.

Pure Sugar
Again, pure white takes center stage next winter. These are simple-go anywhere-silhouettes with a touch of glamour....fur trims at the shoulders or hemline, asymmetrical necklines or the simple elegance of a bias cut fishtail gown.

Return of the LBD (Little Black Dress)
When in doubt...go with black....the little black dress, that is. There is a variety of fabrics, textures and chic all packed into the best looking black dresses. Consider asymmetry as a way to transform an ordinary dress into one of the hottest looks of the season.
 Laeticia' wears a very simple dress. We took the basic stretch dress pattern and cut this neckline into the front and the back. Since it stretches, there is no need for snaps or other closures. The dress can be worn by itself or with the over layers of draped tulle.

Skinny Black Tie
A New York night in the 21st century! It's a look that combines the ease and comfort of legging with the chic of a tuxedo jacket to be worn to those very dressy affairs.
Billie immediately grabbed a tailored jacket and a pair of stretch pants from the closet then headed out on the town.
This is a Fall collection, so don't forget the faux fur stole to toss over the shoulders when the party is over!

Twilight Time
Formal events call for something a tad bit more luxurious. So here we are....back to black shot with silver streams of silver sequins and sparkle. This can be as simple as a strapless, empire waist velvet dress etched with silver designs over the bust or a long shift streaming with silver sequins worn under a velvet coat. When duplicating this for the doll, you can make your own fabric by making lines of sequins and creating your own designs over velvet or attaching lines of silver sequins to a sheer fabric to recreate the look of the dress in the middle.

Well....fasten your seat belts.... Next stop....LONDON Fashion Week!

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34 comments:

  1. I absolutely LOVE these fashions! I love the leopard print, the vivid colors and the black blazer! Great job as always!

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    1. Thank you. Once upon a time, New York was known for this type of fashion. Paris was always known for its flights of fancy, but I would look to New York for this sort of timeless sophistication. Sadly, the last few seasons have seen a lot of "junk" on the catwalk. So I decided to lean towards the more classic items and then style them the same way I would wear them myself.

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    2. These colorful garments remind me of the early 90s when many designers were doing jewelled colors! So nice to see it again.

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    3. I'm hoping for more vivid colors like the fuchsia aswell as a return to glamour like the early 90s! The styles shapes colors back then were so glamourous! Its just not as good as it use to be, the fashions & models ( in my opinion)! If im not mistaken in 2016 Moschino did an early 90s inspired show in Milan, the fashions and even makeup were very 1990!

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    4. It would be nice to see a return to color..provided it is done well. I am seeing lots of color, but sadly...it's like a mixed salad all jumbled together. Really what I would like to see is fashion with cleaner lines that compliment our current lifestyles.

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  2. I also love the mesh dotted hosiery, did u make those or did they come with a doll?

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    1. No, I didn't make that pair (although I've made other pairs of pantyhose). These came with one of my older FR dolls. However, you can easily make something similar yourself by cutting up a pair of pantyhose or little socks.

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  3. I love the Violetta's dress with lace top. It's wonderful - I love the design, fabrics and colours. You made it great in doll's scale - it's as perfect as the human size dress.
    I also like very much the fuchsia dress with the black embroidery. It's not my colour, but I love how you made it.
    Regarding to the other outfits - I prefer the black and white clothes.

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    1. Thank you Kamelia. Both of the dresses you mentioned forced me to step out of my comfort zone because they are so different than the fashions I've been making. But I was intrigued by both. With Violetta's dress, I had to decide between using a velvet in a completely different color or a fabric close to the color but with a different aspect. I think what makes this garment is its color palette. The fuchsia dress is very much my color, but not really my style. But I was very attracted to the elegance and the classiness of the look. Otherwise, I, like you, tend to gravitate to black and white.....to the point of forcing myself to wear color from time to time! LOL!!!

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  4. I love your mini collection! Violetta's look is my favorite (and the cocoon coat!), and also the hot pink dress of Natalie, especially in combination with the fur jacket.
    I look forward to the clothes with zippers, that is a very interesting look!
    Wonderful work!!!

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    1. Thank you M&F. Both Violetta and Natalie's outfits are just different enough to wake up the eye which is why I made them. After I finished making this collection, I felt the clothes were nice but still needed something else to complete the look. So I did what I do for myself....took a look in the dolls' closet and found other items that help me pull off the look. It's like going on a shopping spree, choosing this to go with that and for me, it adds another layer of fun while playing with my dolls!

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  5. Dress in the color of strong pink with embroidery stole my heart. Genius!.

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    1. Yes, I agree. I almost didn't make this dress, but the color alone won me over.

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  6. Me gusta tanto lo que haces. Me encanta.
    Besujis!!!!

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    1. Virginia wrote: I like what you do so much. I love. Besujis!

      Muchas gracias por sus amables palabras. Bienvenido a mi blog.
      (Thank you for your kind words. Welcome to my blog.)

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  7. I don't know how you do it, that all of yours ideas for dolls outfits are so perfect and so amazing :-) I love them :-) Thank you for sharing. :-)

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    1. You are so welcome and thank you for your kind words. This is a very important (and fun) project in that the catwalk supplies many new and interesting ideas for the doll.

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  8. These outfits are awesome. I especially love how Laeticia is rocking that little black dress. It's amazing how something so basic can look this fantastic.

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    1. Thank you so much. Yes, I agree what you said about Laeticia. This is exactly the style of dress I have always loved. A little goes a very long way. (This reminds me of the Barbie Little Black Dress series that got me collecting dolls!!!)

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  9. As always, another amazing fashion show. I love your recreations, especially the animal print ensemble. My dolls would love to wear that!

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    1. Thank you, Phyllis. Tell your dolls, these are clothes I would wear myself!!! LOL!!!

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  10. Were you a fashion editor or assistant before? These posts are very professional & awesome!

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    1. I worked as a fashion journalist for numerous publications over the years. Most of the publications were published out of Paris, but I also covered fashion collections for Associated Press. I worked with a lot of start-up magazines which gave me working knowledge of what goes into publishing. After starting this blog, I realized I could do almost anything I wanted. So with that in mind, I added the catwalk and red carpet trend pieces to give it more of a fashion magazine vibe. I worked for a hairstyling magazine both writing and a bit of styling which is where I picked up tips on photographing and editing photos. It's interesting that you picked up on that!

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  11. I think fashion journalist was the name i was looking for! :) I think its great to be doing these for dolls!

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  12. Thanks for posting! I would love to get to Fashion Week but until then, I have you!

    Well my dolls will be in style because we have plenty of leopard around here!

    I too love your recreations. I need to sew more. I love your photo shopped pictures too! How do you decide which doll gets which fashion photo?

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    1. Hello Ms. Leo. Thank you for your visit. It's always good to *see* you. You are really lucky with all that leopard print because (spoiler) this trend continues on in Europe! My local fabric store closed so I had to work with what I had on hand.
      The photoshopped photos are a lot of fun. The behind idea the dolls' heads onto the catwalk shows is to give a better idea as to how the look of the garment might look on the doll. I also wanted to keep the fashion report as dollcentric as possible. I photograph all my dolls, then size the heads to fit the photos. (I keep a bank of heads.) I match them up by skin tone and look. I look at almost all of the catwalk shows in all four capitals then select those garments I feel are 1) I feel would look good on a 12" doll, 2) is possible to replicate well enough to maintain the look 3) is possible to make quickly (due to time constraints) with the fabrics and materials I have on hand. If there is really something I want but can't make for the trend report, I earmark it to do a tutorial later. In effect, the trend reports give me the ideas needed for the blog!

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  13. Amazing outfits for dolls inspired by fashion collections, you're really talented :)

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  14. When lining doll jackets does the lining need to be adjusted or should it be exactly as fashion fabric? Thanks.

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    1. Hi. If we are talking about the tailored jacket which has facings and a lining...the fabric of the facing will be the same as the garment and the lining is usually a lighter weight. The above jacket was made in a crepe back satin. I used the crepe side up, but flipped the fabric, satin side up for the facing which ultimately what you see on the lapel. For the lining of that jacket, I used a habatai (or China) silk. The construction for this type of jacket (or a coat) is rather special. See the post "Let's Talk YSL" for the full tutorial.

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    2. Another question, what color thread should be used for leopard print fabric?

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    3. I cannot find any small leopard print stretch fabric anywhere. If i do its the huge prints. Where did u find yours? I have lots of the cotton, just no knit.

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    4. I was very lucky to have found this print at a local fabric store. When I saw it, I immediately bought some. But, it is hard finding doll scale prints in general. So let me give you a tip. Don't go to the fabric store. Instead head to a store selling cheap clothes or accessories. Lingerie: panties, camisoles, head bands or small turbans (at beauty supply stores) and even socks usually have smaller patterns and they stretch!!!!

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    5. Thats a great idea! Thank you! As for color of thread to sew leopard print fabric, not sure whether to go with cream or beige. Or even plain white, any advice? Thanks.

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    6. As for the color of thread to use for the leopard print...my go-to answer would be to use the color of the background..either cream or beige. In any case, whatever color you use (including black or brown), you'll still be crossing the other colors.

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