Figure Eight

Today, we celebrate our eighth year in the blogosphere. And given the past year we all experienced, I must say, I am happy to be here and in good health! Shortly before I was due to return to Paris, Covid hit and all the borders slammed shut, shuttering me thousands of miles away in the US with my dad. With everything closed down, suddenly the live catwalk shows were halted, the red carpet glamour events were called off. There were no chic Parisians strolling down the streets, no exhibitions, galleries or social gatherings. Fabric stores and craft shops were shuttered as they were not considered essential businesses. Moreover, me and my ladies found ourselves in a city where there are no gawk-worthy store windows to provide the necessary inspiration to keep the fashion internal organs beating. By the time local stores and businesses began to reopen, fashion as we knew it, had all but been replaced with home bound comfort clothes, pajamas, sweatshirts, jog pants and house slippers. Of course, there is always the vast fashion archives on Pinterest... but suddenly everything I have loved about fashion seemed so…..irrelevant.

Though my dolls have helped me weather the challenge of ultimate isolation, the doll world had its own issues.  Integrity Toys, my favorite doll company, experienced delays in getting new divas to market. On EBay, my other go-to place, prices (whether set by sellers or overbid by buyers) have become outrageously expensive for everything from heads and used bodies to 10 year old dolls! So I have taken a pause with my collection with the exception of a few new models who rushed in to join our clan before our doors shut.

From left to right: Chrissie (Integrity Toys' In My Skin Colette Duranger), Charlize (Tuxedo Eugenia Perrin), Petra (Fine Print Elyse Jolie) and Bella (Late Night Dream Victoire Roux).

Alva (Lady Aurelia Grey), Nicki (Afterglow Keeki Adaeze), Khadija (Sweet Venom Jourdan Vidale), Jean-Marc (Art of Manliness Darius Reid)

Last year, the lack of inspiration sources resulted in fewer posts. I struggled to produce 27 last year which included the fashion reports and a couple of links to high fashion videos. The tutorials we did were pretty extensive and well received. We revisited one of our favorite iconic fashion staples....the little black dress-- this time created using a single pattern piece. Since it was 2020, we had fun revisiting last century's roaring 20's with our own rendition of the Flapper dress. Before the ooo's and ahhhs subsided, we pivoted to bustle gowns including a tutorial on how to create Moschino's mini bustle dress!

We didn't forget our dude dolls either! My guys were in desperate need of footwear, so we made sneakers for them....

And so the girls wouldn't feel left out, we made sneakers for those with flat feet as well as those ladies still walking on their toes!

With so little fashion inspiration, we turned to dolly textiles and offered up a virtual garden of fabric flowers. 

Over the past eight years, there are very few things we have not covered which always brings us to the burning question.... Where do we go from here..especially given we still find ourselves in the midst of this pandemic. The good news is....there are still "fashion shows," though virtual presentations. So we can still continue with our Dolls Eye View fashion reports. The bad news is...there are no exhibitions or awards shows with celebrity populated red carpets from which to draw inspiration. Fashion people are known to pull rabbits out of hats, so somehow, we'll press on and find more goodies for our dolls. More than likely we'll do updates to our catalogue of tutorials. After all, it's about time for some new handbags, shoes and perhaps a little bling-bling beginning. 

It goes without saying we are grateful for readers like yourself who come from countries all over the world to see what we are up to. Since our inception in 2013, there have been 1.1 million page views! And for that we thank you for your visits and your continued support.

Love to all of you,
April and her girls (and guys)