Meant for her

When something looks this good on a doll, one can't help but think that the dress was designed with that doll in mind.



It's a playline dress with a big room for improvement. Don't expect it to look the same in another doll.

Mint

This is another Mattel dress I recently got at a discounted price. I like the color and the simplicity, although it's a one-trick pony dress unlike the previous one.

The New Girl

I was supposed to make another dress but I misplaced my patterns. I was too lazy to make one from scratch. I ended up buying new dresses. This is the first one.

I was going for a Zooey Deschanel (The New Girl) vibe for this Lea doll. I just got her because she was discounted. There's no point in paying the full price when I only wanted the head. She has been rebodied with Barbie Style Raquelle, the one with flimsy knee joints.

Girl Feelings

They are wearing the three variants of the Jianidi Girl Feelings dress. I was told that there's an orange one but I had enough.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Action Dolls

It was the first Avengers movie that got me collecting 4-inch action dolls. A lot of them became peg warmers so they were sold cheap. I didn't know back then that buying other characters wasn't going to be as easy. Three years later and weeks after the second Avengers movie, I'm still enjoying my action dolls from 2012. There is no Barbie doll that I bought in 2012 that connects with me in the same way.

So, I liked the movie

...and no new sewing projects maybe until June.

Ax-essorize

This old thing

The doll is old and so is the dress. My mom made it.

Two Princesses

If you want to call me baby



Just go ahead now

Aubrey

This ensemble was specifically made for Aubrey. It's the second outfit I've made inspired by Audrey's gown from the movie Sabrina. The first was in 2011.

Of the dolls who have modeled my clothes this year, Aubrey is the first to model a second ensemble. (The first ensemble is here.) I really like this doll and to think she's a clone (head and body from two clone dolls). I have been playing with her since 2011. Who does that? These days, it's always about the new doll.

Let's

...get this series over and done with. This is the last piece for this series. So there.



And of course, the ritualistic group photo.



I figured, I talk too much about a dress. And who's got the patience?

Melt

I can't imagine myself mass producing any dress I have made. I don't have the patience to do the same things over and over. This is the 5th variation of the drip outfit and although I was looking forward to see how this will turn out, I was not looking forward to sewing basically the same thing. The repetition will end in my meltdown. After this collection, I will just sew any outfit I want when I want. No more themes.

Bright

There is nothing like bright colors and a bright smile to cheer someone up. I like serious looking dolls but there are days when we can use all the smiles we can get.

Teresa is wearing a purple skirt and an apricot (or is it peach) top with an asymmetrical hem with a drip detail and red yoke. And yes, the fairy boots for the quirk.

Flow

Christie's personality really shined in this photo but she kinda took the attention from the outfit. That's not how a good model does it.

Aside from the drip detail, these outfits have shift tops. I'm also experimenting on color blocking. Unlike in the first outfit, the colors used here aren't that bold. The outfit seems dull, shapeless and faded when compared to the bright background colors above but they doesn't seem so in the photo below.

The shoes came from a clone Barbie. I'm glad they fit since Christie's feet (which were originally Tiana's) are bigger than your regular Barbie.

Drip Drop

Drip drop, I do my dance like
Drip drop, drip drippity drop
Drip drop, drip drippity drop

- from Drip Drop Lyrics (Empire)

The drip detail on the shift blouse was carried over from the previous dress. I used a different yoke shape and coupled it with pants. I used fairy boots for an added quirk.We'll be seeing more variations of this in the coming entries.

D' Drip

The blouse have a drip detail on the hem. I got the idea from Phillip Lim's pre-spring/summer 2015 collection.

Hair Ado

For the Mattel face sculpts that I like, I want to have them in varied skin tones, hair color and hair styles, although I want the facial screening to be more or less the same. There isn't a lot of dolls that have updo's and most of them are over-priced. That is why I had to learn how to give some of my dolls an updo. The Midge doll (Golden Qi-pao Barbie) had her hairstyle restored since the bun has become undone. She got a some repaint to make her look less inert.

I found out that the dolls with thinly rooted hair works best for an updo, otherwise the hair would be difficult to twist and turn. And since it's quite difficult to restore when undone, I decided to sew them in place.

The girls are naked for now because I felt that they need gowns to go with those hair. I'm not very motivated when it comes to making gowns. Maybe I should review some red carpet moments to get some inspiration.

Another look

Here's another look at the outfits.



When the dolls are not interacting, I like it when they look at the camera. The two on the right have clone fashionista bodies which are difficult to pose. It's difficult to make them look at the camera.

Kayla's knees are a bit loose so it bends on it's own. She looks like she's working it, though.

Variations

I challenged myself to make outfits using a gingham fabric I bought. Personally, I think gingham is boring. It reminds me of tablecloths and waiter's uniform. I also challenged myself to use only fabrics in black and white, and without buying new ones. After a few variations, the gingham challenge became, what else, boring. Plus, I really want to work on other clothes.

This will be the last for this series.



It's my version of this:

On Taste

Bad taste creates many more millionaires than good taste.
- Charles Bukowski

I applied my personal taste on Kira's face. Now, will I be a millionaire?