Dolls Eye View: Golden Globes 2019

This year's Golden Globes Award show had a Versailles moment. Strolling onto the red carpet were celebrities clad in good old fashion glamour. Yes, of course, there were some misses....as usual..but there were quite a few hits which is why my girls love this event so much.

Lady Gaga in Valentino Couture

The star of the night for us was Lady Gaga's "Marie Antoinette" powder blue gown. It was grandiose in style, sumptuous in cut, borderline historic costume which blew everything else out of the water. And at the end of the day....it was the way my girls like to see red carpet fashion. Let's not forget..these are actors receiving international press awards for being the best in the world of film and television art. The performers could and should have as much fun, passion and drama in the way they put themselves together as they do on the screen. Frankly...Lady Gaga delivered in a gown from Valentino Couture!!!

I was so captivated by this dress, I did an extensive search to see as many views as available. After a hundred or so photos, I concluded, the look could be replicated fairly simply. For the dolly version, I used a strapless princess line dress with long rectangular train. The sleeves are separate from the body of the dress and simply slide onto each arm. I created a small tube, then a simple pouf (rectangle gathered on the top and bottom) which is then stitched onto the tube. (This is similar to a sleeve we made for a jacket which you can find HERE.) I added ribbon which wraps around the wrists into a bow because I thought it added a sweet  touch to a dress that could easily waltz around the Hall of Mirrors at the Chateau Versailles in France.

But the strapless dress with train was not enough. Lady Gaga's gown had lots of volume on either side due to another train. So I shaped and gathered another 1/2 yard of fabric at the top and tacked it to the back of the dress. I needed the dress to pouf out over the hips, so I added a double layer of ruffled fabric underneath the train over each hip. If you look closely in the first photo, you see this peaking out a bit (which is why I made the ruffle in the same fabric as the dress.)

Note: I wanted to make this dress out of silk taffeta, but did not feel like driving 20 miles to the nearest fabric store. So I settled on some acetate lining I had on hand. The result was still pretty. The only thing I didn't like was Lady Gaga's hairstyle. Though the idea of tinting or adding light blue streaks to Morgan's hair was something I had considered!

Gemma Chan in Valentino Couture

While it wasn't quite as grandiose as Gaga's Antoinette dress, Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians star), clearly was on the same wave length. Here I did have some silk taffeta on hand. Gemma's gown, another beauty from Valentino Couture was a mixture of old and new. We liked the halter neck bodice over shorts tucked quietly under miles of a voluminous skirt. When I looked at the dress carefully, I didn't like so much the little bit of draping details in the front of the dress. So I cleaned up the look with a simple halter neck top that ties in the back over a simple pair of shorts and a big circle skirt. I also did not want to cut a real train, so I cheated. I took a square of fabric, folded it into four, gathered the center point and tacked it underneath the train so I could get the look for this photo shoot. Later I can remove it so that it's simply a more modern (and shorter) 3-part dress.

Katherine Zeta-Jones in Elie Saab

This is a standard classic, draped couture gown--which is why I selected this look. It starts with a foundation made from the same fabric as the outer dress. The rest is pure drapery. All the folds are carefully held in place onto the foundation with tiny "invisible" stitches. She gets in and out of the dress at the back.

Allison Janney in Christian Siriano

Again, I like this idea of a simple dress with a dramatic details that transforms it into a work of Haute Couture. I also fell in love with the color of the fabric Christian Siriano chose for his dress. (I found and old blouse and recycled the fabric for this project.) This is a strapless, fishtail gown. The sleeves are two tubes attached at the underarms at the side of the dress. Another width of fabric is folded into tiny drapes and stitched along the neckline and over the sleeves.

Thandie Newton in Michael Kors Collection

Now we've come to the Hollywood goddess portion of our program... We have a LOT of silver dresses in the house. But my girls' eyes always get really big whenever they see metallics! This Michael Kors Collection gown worn by Thandie Newton was a little bit sad, but had a lot of potential. From my point of view, the skirt part of this gown should have been a bit more fitted which is what I did for the dolly version's 2-piece gown. It is a simple wrap around blouse I cut a bit short (into a bare midriff top) over a slim evening skirt. We also though Ms. Newton could have used some jewelry and a silvery shawl. (Stylists...where are you??!!!)

Keri Russell in Monique L'Huillier

Under normal circumstances, I would have fitted this onto a doll with a smaller bust line than Natasha's. Again, however, this dress was chosen because it is silver and we liked the dramatic drape in the front. The original dress is intriguing but the neckline--for our tastes--drops too far down past the waist and looks a tad bit matronly. I made this dress out of stretch light silver lame in two parts: a fishtail evening skirt joined with a top that made from a piece of fabric literally draped over the torso of the doll. It was an interesting exercise in draping. The result....well....I'm not so sure I would make this dress again....but all my dude dolls are looking at Natasha and smiling! 

Lena Waithe in Prada

There have been other actresses sporting pant suits in the past, though admittedly, the severity and starkness of the Prada tuxedo worn by Lena Waithe did call for reflection. Is this an expression of gender, a statement in support of the #MeToo movement or simply, a personal decision to opt for comfort and sobriety over decorative fashion. In any case I wanted to respect Ms. Waithe's choice by not altering her look too much. So, I dressed Zoe in a tuxedo suit and turtleneck, and added just a touch of glamour with a more edgy necklace and a faux fur stole.

Emily Blunt in Alexander McQueen

This is a nod to all of my super talented dolly friends who are soooo good at crochet. (You know who you are, Olla, Kamelia!) I have neither the skill nor the patience for this art. What I can do is to take vintage lace trim and make a mock crochet dress out of it. The Alexander McQueen dress worn by Emily Blunt is a work of art in silver. We loved the way the dress ends in a lacy trim of its own. For Ingrid, I used two types of crochet lace. Two strips are joined together at the sides and fitted over the body into a slinky sheath. Another, more loosely crocheted trim is added to the hem and over strategic areas of the body. The dress opens from the neck down one side to the hips and is fastened with hook and eyes. Note: For more ideas on turning lace trim into a dress look HERE.

Kiki Layne in Dior Couture

Kiki Layne in Dior Couture reminded me of the kind of tulle dresses we made last year for our younger Barbies.

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