We're Back

My Dearest Readers,

After a long hot summer that saw one heat wave after another  occasionally sprinkled with intermittent flash floods, me and my doll family needed to pause and take a little time off once the cooler weather arrived. That is why there were no posts last month and there has been limited activity on our Facebook and Twitter pages. We were barely able to produce those men's fashion reports, but in doing so, they proved to be good for me in that it forced me to slow down and really concentrate on small details, a direction we've noticed has been capturing the interest of many dolly enthusiasts and dressmakers. 

But we were not completely inactive. We were able to muster up a bit of energy to participate in  #littlefashionweekfordolls #lfwfd2021 hosted by @artofdollstudio on Instagram. A number of us had fun participating in the eight day event. Personally, this allowed me to rediscover garments I had forgotten about, restyle items into new looks sometimes with different dolls and create a few new accessories. The grand finale of this event with a list of "best of" photos will be announced on October 10. The photos on this page are just a few that we submitted. 

Charlize finally got boots to match the copper sequined dress she ordered!

I also took the time to create a detailed excel chart with information on my collection. If you haven't done this, it is a good thing to have. Especially since the beginning of the pandemic, the price of anything related to fashion dolls have escalated. If you have more than a few recently purchased dolls, your collection is probably worth more than you realize. So it's good to know what you have (in detail) and the price you paid. Most of my dolls have doubled or tripled in value...even my $8 play line SIS Barbies! I also note...the year the dolls were created, whether I bought them new or used, in pieces or whole, nude or clothed and any updates (new bodies, repaint...) that I made.  I will probably add another column--"current price." It is also good for insurance purposes! Our collections have value!

The girls have been busy collecting information for our Fashion month Spring Summer 2022 reports. Me, I have started work on a series of updated tutorials focusing on Male doll basics beginning with a better classic pants pattern and the variation of the current wider silhouettes in trousers. Eventually we will extend the updates to also include the classic men's shirt and the basic men's jacket. The original tutorials I did back in 2013 were based on the Ken doll fashions. But with Fashion Royalty guys demand more sophisticated fit and construction that aligns closer to men's garments for humans.

Dovima showing off the new boots made expressly for this dress.

While we were on hiatus, two new beauties entered the house. The dolly drought is over!!!

Priya

Priya found a dress we had forgotten about.

Wild Feeling Rayna (who we renamed Priya), who we were expecting around Christmastime. She was stuck on a ship somewhere in the middle of the ocean but finally, FINALLY arrived on August 12. She is absolutely beautiful. On her heels, Wicked Narcissism Eugenia (since renamed Dovima after the 1950's top model) came to us on August 28! She is STUNNING--even more so in person! You will be seeing a lot of her! We are awaiting two more lovely ladies expected to arrive within the next couple of weeks. 

Dovima shows off her versatility

For anyone who was getting email notification of posts, as you know by now, Google stopped its Feedburner service as of July 1. There is another email service I am looking into and hope to have that up and running shortly. 

I hope all of you are safe. We'll be back within the next couple of days with a men's pants tutorial and then onto Fashion month!

Big hugs,

April and the gang