A new girl: Cecilia

I thought a lot about it, finally I made up my mind, I decided to buy two more dolls from 2013 IT Collection: before I wanted to be shure they were the most beautiful around (according to my taste of course).
So here she is, the first one was Nightfall Agnes.
I love the fact that she's a brunette with brown eyes, her colouring and her ponytail. It looks like we're going to have a lot of ponytails from IT in the near future! Anyway, I also loved the fact that she was tanned and came with a simple  makeup, I feel Agnes is often "overtoned".

She's really beautiful and with fuller red lips she doesn't even look so unhappy. Whit her socks on she could hardly wear her shoes, so after a couple of snapshots I took them off.

She felt better, and stood a lot better!

Dolls face sculpts seldom have nice profiles, but this one is an exception, she's stunning!

From now on she will be Cecilia, I haven't redressed her yet. Her minimalist little black dress is simply beautiful!!! But don't worry, she'll have her new wardrobe too!

Mr. Nice Guy

When I first started collecting fashion dolls (mm barbies) I was briefly attracted by the idea to add a Ken now and then.  I checked the various collections and dropped the whole idea.  I always had a problem with Ken's hairs (and silly grin) in fact I always thought he was a bit of a dull guy.

when I was a little girl he looked like just this....

Then my attention focused on FR and I went on an absolute binge of vanessas, natalias, veroniques, monograms, ect. I believe this was quite evident on these last few months.
In the last couple of weeks I read with extreme interest fds (http://fashiondollstylist.blogspot.it/2014/01/kens-eyeview-fall-14-european-menswear.html; http://fashiondollstylist.blogspot.it/2014/01/kens-eye-view-mens-fashion-week-fall-14.html) articles and suggestions for new male dolls fashions but just out of curiosity.
I also read some theads on the wclub forum about the new homme body to be introduced this year. I was mildly interested but really didn't pay much attention.
In fact I never really gave a thought about FR hommes. Until this morning.
I saw a pic of Lukas Style Strategy and i thought: it's  "mini him"!!!!!

I thought about it 5 minutes and I decided to add him to the collection.
I also ordered a couple of shoes as he will arrive home as stark naked as Adam.
I hope I will be able to sew him some fine fashions!!
His new name shall be Carlo, anyway I'm not  planning to start collecting hommes. But he was really needed for dioramas and some fun photomontages. And he is gorgeous!!!
A sneak preview of Mr. Nice Guy in person, according to e-bay listing

How many girls did you say?

32?!?!?....OMG

He will be home in about 30 days, so I'll have to be soooo patient. Then I'll have to learn to sew some Homme fashions!

Little Black Dress 1:"1926 Coco Chanel - The Beginning" featuring Mafalda

The little black dress is something each woman, or fashion doll, must have in her closet. I like this quotation by Lagerfeld, because it is so true, one can never do wrong with a little black dress!

In the 20's women's fashions underwent a drastic revolution, but as it seems they were not at all so elegant. So Coco Chanel took a drastic decision: "really, they are so badly dressed, i will put them all in black to teach them good taste"

In 1926 the little black dress was born, and never went away. Even though  it made a brief disappearance in the  mid 50's, it  came back in a vengeance in the 60's and thank also to Hubert De Givenchy became a true icon.

 I've decided to make a brief history of the little black dress, and its various incarnations in the decades, and as you shall see  the little black dress is the Phoenix of Fashions!!!

Finally Mafalda got her well deserved redressing, she has just the right stile for this 1926 design, she's a bit of  a flapper girl with a Parisienne touch I love, and she's quite elgant:

For this dress I used jersey fabric, a bit thick but the original was wool so it seems to me it's fitting

Now I'm sure she won't try to get Giulia's dress!!!

On the next instalment: Madame Gres and the 30's

an editorial line for 2014

anfter two months of random blogging, I've finally set up my mind on the editorial line I wish to give this little brainchild of mine.
I know myself so I know I will not be able to a few selected topics, so random blogging shall continue, but as the travelling dolly project is now well on its way, I took some resolutions for this new year:

Travelling dolly shall continue, and I've planned monthly instalments, I have so much fun revisiting my travels with Odette and doing photomontages, and hope you will enjoy them too!
On this I should go on forever. I've got too many ideas and places, it was very hard to start just because the choice was so hard!

Furthermore, as all the girls love to travel, I've decided I shall do a couple of specials for them.

It seems that reproduction of haute couture designs is interesting (at least I have a passion for it). To begin with,  in the coming weeks I'll introduce a history of the little black dress with designs by Chanel, Madame Gres, Patou, Lagerfeld, Armani, Dior etc. I believe I shall manage monthly instalments for these too and started to work very hard on the dresses!

I've noticed I've been neglecting the Model Muse Barbies so I've got something in store for some of  them too.

Of course I'll keep on posting about the new addition to the collection, some infos and a selection of new fashions I shall sew and some classic hollywood repros.

Some words about the pictures, I'm pretty bored of the staging for the presentation of the models, so I haven't decided yet, but I'm going to set up some sort of permanent diorama or I'm going to do some massive photomontage work.....finally my beloved Nikon came back home from repairing last week, so you will notice an improvement in the quality of the pictures (hopefully).

this backdrop looks ok

Anyway I'll try to post a new entry each week....

See you all!

Billa

Jason Wu to collaborate with Montaigne Market (Edited)

All right, so WClub is going to make a lottery for her.....this time I entered, I didn't have any luck with Isha, let's see with this one....:-)

Today Integrity announced a collaboration of Jason Wu with the parisian boutique Montaigne Market, this wonderful girl shall be available, in a limited edition of 300, since next march for a reccomended retail price

of USD 150,00

Isn't she gorgeous? I want her soooo much, I know I aready have an Elise sculpt in my collection but I love this doll, and hope I will be able to get her....look at those eyes!!!

If this is the quality standard to be expected for this year's collection I'm quite happy to have joined the WClub this year!!!

Edda!!!

I've been patient for almost a month, and finally Hot Property Natalia arrived today!
I had great expectations for this doll, as it took me a long time to choose the Natalia I wanted and then to find her.
The firs impression was great, she's more beautiful in person than  in the pictures I saw, and her clothes and accessories looked perfect

but....how stiff are these clothes? Ok, they have great details, and I loved the stile (in fact I have a similar outfit, so I really liked this fashion) but they are so thick that the doll is nearly unposeable. I tried to take some pictures of her in full regalia but they were a  disappointment.....

But it was too soon to despair, I just picked up Odette's Egypt outfit and redressed her.....and the she is AWESOME!

I should have bought her nude, but the accessoires were worth the extra price -  I sure shall use them, the fashions shall be useful to check my patters for the tall body, furhermore I have to admit that through this experience I took a lot of extra pride in my own fashions!!!!
Ok, I'm not in a modest mood......

So here she is, from now on she'll be called Edda and I already have some projects for her......

Travelling Dolly 3: Odette in Egypt Part One - Oasis and the Black & White Desert

It took me quite a bit  of time to prepare this, but at long last the travelling dolly project is starting in full swing, and as advertised Odette has flown to Egypt. She was really tired of all this winter rain, and off she is in sunny and misterious Egypt!
In the first part of her travel she has chosen to have some adventures, so she is going to discover the haunting beauty of the Western Desert, one of the most beautiful places of the Sahara Desert.
The Western Desert is 262, 000 square miles of dunes, canyons, oases, mountainous plateaus, and valleys that span most of land west of the Nile Valley.

Odette picked a 4x4 vehicle from Marsa Matrouh to the white desert. On route she stopped at two of the most beautiful oasis of the Egyptian desert: Wadi Siwa and Wadi Farafra:

fashion and purse by Billa - shoes by Paul Zangby - all photos by Sasha

Wadi Siwa - hot spring

The White Desert. She will never forget the experience of this spectacular rocks: strange limestone concretions that are shaped like giant mushrooms. Nothing can compare to the beauty of the desert, the empty space gives you a feeling of freedom  and quiet emotion you can seldom experiment anywhere else. And this desert has a magical vibe.

El Qattara Depression

Then Odette headed to the place selected for the camping.
Sure some set backs are to be expected! (please Odette, less luggage next time!!!!)

Bare necessities.....

The drivers managed to fix the car, set the camp and prepared dinner for an overnight stay under the stars.

Yummi?!? Well....edible

"How many stars this Hotel was? Ten thousand billions? Ok, now....where's the toilet?"

On a serious note, the night in the desert camp is amazing, you can see a million of stars, they are so many and so brilliant you feel you can touch them. But it is quite cold!!!

And what about the White Desert at sunrise?

The Black desert. Here the mountains have eroded to coat the desert with a layer of black powder and rocks giving it its name. Towards the end of the Black Desert are black volcanic hills that ages ago erupted a dark volcanic material, which is what the black rocks are made of. This places are a breathtaking experience.

Now Odette is looking forward for her next destination: Giza and the Red Sea!
Part Two: Odette in Egypt pt 2

Mafalda: Monogram Dreamscape is home!!!

She was super fast! I didn't expect her until mid January (in fact I'm still waiting for two dolls I bought at the beginning of december...) so this morning this was a huge surprise!
Monogram Dreamscape wasn't originally on the wish list, I usually saw it listed on E-Bay without her wig so I didn't know that that wonderful Monogram doll with the bob hair was her! I even love her dress, so her first pictures won't be a redressing as it usually happens.

Her new name is Mafalda, I know she would like to try on Giulia's Flapper Dress, but I don't think Giulia is of the same idea, she waited almost a year to have it!!!

I'll have to come with something new for her:

Mafalda

She's gorgeous!!!

Happy new year!!! A golden lame gown for Veronica

I know I'm a bit late, but I was bedridden with a bout of flu yesterday, so I managed to finish this golden dress for Veronica only today....as you can see she's a litte bit upset as she had nothing to wear on New Year's Eve, poor thing....but she gratiously agreed to model this dress to wish you all a wonderful 2014!!!

after all it wasn't easy to sew all this lame, it has the awful habit to fall apart at the seams, so I had to sew it to a pique lining

Definitely she has a My Fair Lady thing to her

I  dind't have time to sew her stole.....Veronica is really unnerved, but she puts on a brave face...

may your new year be radiant and filled with happyness!!!!