2012 Barbie Con Dressmaker Details Fashions

Parisian Pleasure was presented to conventioneers at the Paris breakfast and fashion show. It consists of a black one-shoulder sheath with sequin detail on half of the bodice, hat with faux feathers, purse with beaded detail, black gloves, and black open-toe shoes.

St. Petersburg Sophisticate was given to conventioneers at the White Nights dinner. It consists of a 2 piece white suit with pink embroidered accents and faux fur trim, earrings, necklace, white gloves, faux fur hat, hose, and white closed-toe shoes with sling backs.

Both fashions were designed by Steven Fraser of Dressmaker Details Couture and will fit Silkstone Barbie dolls.

A Starry Night

Dressmaker Details has teamed up with Integrity Toys for an exclusive fashion for WClub members called "A Starry Night".  This gorgeous fashion will be sold by lottery to WClub members.  IF there are any leftover, then they will go on sale to the public, but at a limited edition of 300, I'm guessing there won't be leftovers.  Lottery ends on April 14th and fashions will ship at the end of April.

A Starry Night

Limited Edition of 300 Fashions Worldwide
Integrity Toys/Dressmaker Details Exclusive
Suggested Retail: $75.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Late April 2011

**photos are property of Integrity Toys**

Fashion Doll Photography - Christmas Vacation

Photographing my fashion dolls in venues other than my home is something fairly new for me. It began a couple of years ago when a friend of mine and I hosted the official travel doll for the 2009 National Barbie Doll Convention. Since then I've taken various fashion dolls to local areas for impromptu fashion shoots. Over the holidays we made a couple of trips for which I decided to take a fashion doll, much to the amusement of my family.

Happy Go Lightly in the lobby of the War Memorial Opera Hou

The first trip was a quick visit up to San Francisco to see the Nutcracker Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House. I thought Happy Go Lightly Silkstone Barbie (HGL) would enjoy dressing up in her finery to attend a beautifully produced ballet in such an historic location. She took the opportunity to don Sheer Sparkle by Dressmaker Details. Photographing dolls out in the public is a constant learning experience. Available lighting, on-site props, people milling about, the camera, and the photographer's skills (just to name a few) all influence the outcome of the photo. In this case, there were so many folks visiting in the lobby that it was impossible to get a photograph of HGL without someone stepping into the picture. The unfortunate aspect of this is that it messes with the perceived scale of things. Also, I need to learn more about my camera's capabilities. While the lighting at the Opera House is fine for it's intended use, it's underlit for photographing HGL. I currently use a point and shoot digital camera and right now I only know either flash on or flash off. With the flash on, HGL was in focus but I couldn't see the background. With the flash off, HGL is a little fuzzy but we can see not only HGL but the background as well. And isn't that why I took her to the ballet in the first place? So for now, to explain the fuzziness, I'm going with the old Hollywood standby of claiming she wanted petroleum jelly slathered on the camera lens to give her a more youthful look.

Endless Summer Poppy Parker with Minnie Mouse.

For our next trip, we went to Disneyland. For this little junket, I took Endless Summer Poppy Parker. Poppy has become my favorite fashion doll (shh, don't tell HGL or any of my other dolls!). She has such a youthful appearance and she wears so many different clothing styles well. For this session she wore a jacket, top, belt, and pants from Clear-Lan and shoes and jewelry from the Ask Any Girl gift set from the 2010 Fashion Royalty Convention collection. This photo session went much better as we were outside for most of the photos which gave me natural lighting to work with.  Also, while there are just masses of people at Disneyland (the fire marshal actually closed the park to newly entering people due to overcrowding) the people have more space to spread out so I was able to do better about avoiding folks stepping into my picture. Here Poppy poses with Minnie Mouse in front of Cinderella's Castle.

While I do occasionally run into glitches with my doll photography, I still enjoy the experience immensely. When I first began I was a little timid about how people would react. Now I don't worry about that because I've experienced how much fun it is. As a matter of fact, on both of these trips, I had complete strangers come up and photograph my doll as well! And I know that with time and practice, my photos will begin to better meet my expectations.

If you'd like to see more pictures from these two photo shoots, please visit my Flickr.

DDC: Pink Label Collection

Dressmaker Details has just received their “mini collection” for Fashion Royalty and Barbie sized dolls (12"). This is a taste of what’s to come and a little sneak peek at what they'll have available at the upcoming Barbie Convention July 21-24. These fashions are part of the "Pink Label" line, which means most items range from $25-45, a nice break for our wallets, right! You can order through their website HERE.

**Photo is property of Dressmaker Details**

Dressmaker Details Gene Con Fashions

Leftover Dressmaker Details Gene Convention fashions are now available on their website HERE. These fashions are for 16" fashion dolls and will also fit AvantGuards and Antoinette dolls too, so if you're looking for some clothes for your bigger gals then take a peek!  Plus the Trent fashions will work on Tonner male dolls too.

**Photo is property of Dressmaker Details**

Free ITBE doll with Dressmaker Details Fashions

Now in stock, the much-awaited limited editions of 1000 ITBE dolls from Integrity Toys are shipping now. They retail at $25, but you can get one for free when you order either Aria or La Rondine fashions by Dressmaker Details Couture from My Favourite Doll in Canada.

Choose from Angel, Flounce, Fresh, Go, Sleek or Groove. Plus, the fashions are listed at 40% off, which is $55 for La Rondine and $55 for Aria. You can't beat those prices.
More about these dolls:
Integrity Toys Basic Editions are 12" dolls with sculpted arms and busts sized in between NuFace and Fashion Royalty dolls. Their legs use an internal click-bend mechanism. They also include a basic stand, and the outfits and shoes shown. Each doll is a limited edition of 1000.

While you're at MFD's website, be sure to check out some other Dressmaker additions, including:

• Windsong, a Dressmaker Details couture fashion, FR convention exclusive for $95. 100 pieces were shipped for convention, and the remaining 200 will be available in December.
• Pink Label FR Convention Sheath dress in ruby red $29
• Bow Party Dress in a black and white check $33
• Red Patent Coat $29
• Mod Shirtdress $33
• Bouquet Shirtdress $27.50
• Black Satin Shirtdress $27.50
• Floral Stripes Shirtdress $27.50
• Swiss Dot Sundress $27.50

Image courtesy of Integrity Toys.

Luchia as a Blushing Bride

Luchia in Blushing Bride, originally uploaded by alington.

The lovely Bewitching Hour Luchia (a W Club exclusive) is celebrating her special day in a Dressmaker Details gown, Blushing Bride. I actually made an effort to pose the doll for these photos, which I should probably do more often.

The gown is well made--it's got a heavy bodice, and the embroidered satin circle skirt also has a short train, which can be bustled to show off the pink tulle petticoat underneath. The cathedral length veil has sparkling sequin accents. The outfit also includes a beaded tiara, pearl necklace and earrings, white pumps, a white bouquet and a blue garter.

You can see her full photoshoot on my Mobile Me gallery (with larger photos) or a shorter version on Flickr. Enjoy!

Lana as a Bride

Lana as a Bride, originally uploaded by alington.

Hollywood Suited Lana Turner has finally been redressed. I should have done it a while ago--if only to take off the black leather gloves--but her hands look fine, fortunately! She's wearing the Blushing Bride ensemble from Dressmaker Details, which I picked up at a steal from My Favourite Doll at a great price (and their usual great customer service, also).

The gown is gorgeous--well made, excellent fit--with a sturdy bodice--more for a winter bride than a gorgeous June bride, but it fits with Lana's classic look, I think. The short train and full gown can be bustled up in back to show off the pink tulle petticoat, which is just a fun detail.

Also included are a white bouquet, white lace gloves, pearl necklace and earrings, whit shoes, panties, a blue garter, a ringbearer's pillow and rings, stockings, and the cathedral length veil with sparkling sequins sewn on. It's a gorgeous outfit.

Check out a few more photos on Flickr or her full photo shoot my Mobile Me gallery. Also, check out the new group on Flickr--Dressmaker Details--for more of these delicious outfits in real life.

La Rondine Adele

La Rondine Adele, originally uploaded by alington.

Paparazzi Bait steps it up a notch, in La Rondine, by Dressmaker Couture. (I also picked this outfit up from My Favourite Doll at a steal!) I was surprised when the outfit came and the chiffon top looked black, but everything else was navy, but I still think it's pretty royal looking outfit. Adele seems pleased.

The outfit consists of a satin bra that hooks in the back (several sizes, to fit different dolls easily). The chiffon blouse opens at the wrists and in the front with hooks and thread loops that are not quite impossible to close. And the fit is perfect. The skirt is two pieces--the satin blue tiered ruffled piece, and a black petticoat for extra volume.

Accessories included are a pair of earrings, a ring, a chiffon scarf or wrap, and a pair of plastic navy slingbacks. Possibly the shoes fit Barbie feet a bit better than FR feet, but we did make them work.

Check out the rest of Adele's photoshoot on Flickr or on Mobile Me. She's feeling so glam--on par with the rest of the royalty ladies today.

Luchia in Aria

Luchia in Aria, originally uploaded by alington.

This is Bewitching Hour Luchia (a Club exclusive doll) redressed in Dressmaker Couture's Aria. I found this outfit, which is very well made, from MFD for half-price, and I just love it on this doll. I also can highly recommend My Favourite Doll (even for US orders--they are located in Canada). It took about a week to get my order via UPS, and their customer service was great, and prices were excellent.

On to the details of the outfit: it's several pieces. The sequined bodice closes in the back with hooks and thread loops (a little difficult, but manageable). It has fun marabou trim at the edge. The full skirt is white satin with a short train, and there is a separate white tulle petticoat for extra fullness. The outfit includes some fun accessories, too: panties, nude stockings, earrings and a necklace, and a pair of white plastic pumps.

Luchia can carry off this look quite well--it goes nicely with her pale lips, and it makes her look surprisingly sweet. A fellow collector pointed out she hardly looks like a Fashion Royalty doll, as she doesn't look like she's about to pitch a fit, LOL!

You can see full-body shots of this outfit either on my Mobile Me gallery or on my Flickr photostream.