Giving Them Life

Paris Williams, the center doll in tan jacket, was part of Onlyalisa's recent thrift store haul (Photo courtesy of Onlyalisa)*

A couple of weeks ago after a fellow collector shared her thrift store haul from an East Cost store that included a Madame Alexander Paris doll (what?) in near mint condition for $9.99, I trotted off to my local thrift store to see if I would be as lucky. Nope. No such luck here, but I did find two So In Style dolls and a Fashion Madness Denise. All were in preloved condition at $1.99 each, with one of the SIS girls qualifying for a 50% discount due to her tag color being the "color of the week." So for a little over $5 (including tax) I received an inexpensive doll fix.

So In Style (SIS) Grace, Trichelle, and Fashion Madness Denise are as they were when found in this and the next two photos.

Grace's hair required the least work to tame.  Denise's took lots of elbow grease to restyle.

I soaked the trio in Pine Sol and gave them a good rinse before washing and conditioning their hair.  I used a dab of Elasta QP Liquid Styling Gel to comb through Denise's matted tresses.

After washing, the hair was allowed to air dry.

What a difference!

After returning the SIS girls to their original hairstyles and giving Denise a faux fishtail braid, the girls were dressed in a combination of Sparkle Girlz and Barbie fashions and shoes  Before Denise posed for the above photo, her pale white lips with painted illusion of teeth were enhanced to enlarge the lips and cover the fake teeth.  See before and after photos next.

Denise's thin lips before the enhancement

I used white dimensional paint to both enlarge the size of the upper and lower lips and to add dimension to the painted teeth.  See profile photos next (before final color was added).

I mixed a couple of colors of brown, tan, a touch of red, and white acrylic paint to achieve a neutral lip color, shown below in Denise's final photo.

This is the second lip enhancement I have performed on a Fashion Madness Denise.  The result of the first one, seen here, is not as appealing as this one.

*The other dolls in the first photo found by Onlyalisa are an International Fulani Tribal Doll, Naber Kid, Bratz Dylan, Effanbee doll possibly from the Grandes Dames collection, and an 18-inch Our Generation Girl.

I wasn't as lucky as Onlyalisa but I enjoyed giving these three life and Denise more lips.

dbg

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So In Style Spring Fling Contestants

Baby Phat Chandra is ready for a Spring Fling

Now that the So In Style (S.I.S.) Yahoo Group's Spring Fling Photo Contest has ended, I feel comfortable sharing the images of my S.I.S. females and their non-SIS mates who dressed to impress before entering the contest.   The rules of the contest were simple:  Post photos of S.I.S. girls sporting their spring wear to the specified group album.

Group members voted for their two favorite photos; and the winner, who won an S.I.S. Baby Phat Kara, was announced this past weekend.

Unfortunately for me and my dolls, none placed first, but one image received honorable mention with the 2nd highest votes cast.

For me it's not all about winning because it was fun deciding on the fashions my girls would wear. 

The contestants are shown and described below.

Chandra and her non-S.I.S. beau were unveiled in a recent post about the loveseat on which she sits.   Except for her updated shoes, Chandra wears the complete Barbie Fashion Avenue Balcony Party fashion ©2000. This  image and the ones that follow were entered in the contest.

Close-up of Chandra and Michael Jordan (head on action figure body)

Grace poses with another Michael Jordan figure (that actually looks like him).  Grace wears the Brunch in Boston Barbie Fashion Avenue ensemble, which is also from the year 2000.

Grace and Michael steal a loving glance at one another in this close-up picture.

The lovely Trichelle borrowed this pale pink dress designed by Jason Wu for Integrity's Simply Chic Alysa, 2000.  Tariq (Integrity Toys) is Trichelle's suitor. 

Close-up of Trichelle and Tariq.

Marisa and Kara posed in the final outside image.  Their outfits are by Mattel.

 
Which one of these is your favorite and, if you are not an S.I.S. Yahoo Group member, which photo do you think won honorable mention in the So In Style Spring Fling Photo Contest?

*****

Note:  The So in Style Baby Phat dolls have finally arrived online at Shop.Mattel.com. 




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Enjoyable Female Gathering for Midge's 50th

So in Style Kara, Grace, Trichelle, Marisa, and Chandra after the party.

This past Friday, these newest Barbie friends, minus a little one, Zahara, gathered to celebrate my childhood Midge's 50th birthday/anniversary.  They stand atop the edge of my cluttered desk waiting to be placed back into their usual doll room locations.  Zahara had been returned to her display area at the time this photo was taken.

I had lots of fun creating a party room and adding the accoutrements for the ladies and Zahara to celebrate Midge's 50th birthday/anniversary as Barbie's first female friend.  The celebration was created as part of a So In Style group event, but I wanted to also share the results of my Friday afternoon doll play here in photos and captions.

Zahara (standing in chair), Kara, Marisa, Trichelle, Chandra, and Grace (seated in corner) all gathered to celebrate Midge's 50th anniversary. 

The ladies bear gifts, cards, and/or balloons for Midge.  The yellow wall banner urges Midge to have a So In Style birthday.

Trichelle wishes Midge a happy 50th birthday/anniversary while Chandra looks on, holding a birthday card and gift bag made using a full-size gift bag. (The curtains are a printed image, taped to the side "walls.")

Grace wears a white jersey-knit dress with an image of Malibu Christie and Midge on front.  With Midge being the first friend of Barbie, Malibu Christie is also an early Barbie friend who resembles Midge.  (Tiny square and rectangular-shaped items were gift wrapped to serve as Midge's wrapped presents.  These include an unopened Happy Meal sweet and sour sauce container -- my grandsons were here and Granddaddy purchased a Happy Meal for the younger of the two.  Before wrapping it, I trimmed the edges of the sauce container to create a better rectangle.  The striped "personalized" gift bag belongs to Vogue Jill.  I printed out the green "M" and taped it over the "J" that's on the bag.  A micro mini cassette tape cover also serves as one of Midge's wrapped presents.  The presents are stacked in the corner alongside Grace's chair.)

Midge and Chandra chat.

Trichelle shares with Midge how much she loves her classic style.

Zahara holds a beautifully wrapped gift for Midge (borrowed from a Happy Birthday Wendy doll by Madame Alexander as Marisa holds plastic balloons that also belong to Happy Birthday Wendy). 

The birthday cake, created using the caps from a lactose-free milk carton and a water bottle, were painted with pink and white acrylic paint to create the icing.  The top cap is slightly smaller than the bottom.  The happy 50th birthday wish on top of the cake was printed on card stock paper and positioned on top of the first "layer."  The birthday cards contain images of full-size birthday cards that were scaled down before printing on card stock.  The table cloth is a coffee filter.  I used a cut-out circle of card stock to reinforce the inside of the filter.  The filter was then inverted over a glass spice bottle that serves as the center base of what appears to be a table-cloth covered table.

Midge, Chandra, and Grace pause their partying to take this photo.

Midge wasn't familiar with the African American tradition in some regions of the US of pinning money onto the clothing of birthday celebrants, but she eagerly allowed the first $50 to be pinned to her faux mink wrap in anticipation of others adding additional dollars before the party ended.  (The $50 is a scaled down image of a $50 bill that was then printed and pinned to Midge with a tiny brass safety pin.)

Only items on hand and scaled down printed images from the Internet were used to create this gathering to celebrate Midge's 50th, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all participants, including me!    

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Stacey McBride-Irby's S.I.S. Dolls Beyond 2012

It's official... as of Friday, January 28, 2011, Stacey McBride-Irby resigned her position as doll designer for Mattel. I was saddened to read about her departure this morning. The news actually reached my in-box Saturday, January 29, 2011, via an email (that I opened today) from the So In Style Fan Club email group, of which I am a member. The note assures that "She has already designed So In Style dolls through 2012, so we will still have many more surprises to look forward to in this line."  Stacey assures us of this as well in one of her tweets. 

I am happy that Stacey's dream job as a doll fashion designer for Mattel became her reality and that obviously her endeavors have opened a larger door of success for her. I wish her only the best.

I am left wondering, however, how will her departure from Mattel impact the So In Style doll line beyond 2012. Will the line cease? Will it continue? How will her depature affect the value of the dolls she designed? If the line continues, who will be the new designer and what quality of dolls can we expect? Questions, questions, questions.

What do you think will happen?  Please share your thoughts.

dbg

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S.I.S. Rocawear Comparisons

Rocawear So In Style Barbie 2nd wave

I purchased the recently released second version of Mattel's So In Style Rocawear dolls and photographed them with the first version (the dolls on the left) for comparison.  The first version was released last winter.  Click on photos to enlarge, then maximize the second window.

So In Style Rocawear Grace, Full View

So In Style Rocawear Grace, Close-up

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So In Style Rocawear Kara, Close-Up

So In Style Rocawear Kara, Full

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So In Style Rocawear Trichelle, Full

So In Style Rocawear Trichelle, Close-Up

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So In Style Rocawear Chandra, Full

So In Style Rocawear Chandra, Close-up

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Rocawear Darren has not changed.

Because of her textured hair and fashions, Trichelle remains my favorite (both versions).  I think Chandra #2 is stunning in blue.   Do you have a favorite?

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More S.I.S. Dolls... New Gear... New Friends

New "rocking" gear, and two new friends may be added to Mattel's So In Style doll mix soon.  Check them out here.

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Every Little Bit Helps

For a limited time, when you purchase $14.99 of qualifying barbie items, you can get $5 off at checkout. There are restrictions and this applies only to products sold by Amazon.com. Does not apply to products sold by third-party merchants and other sellers through the Amazon.com site.


Some of the qualifying Barbie items are eligible for free Super Saver shipping with a minimum purchase of $25, but you must select Super Saver Shipping as your shipping speed at checkout.  Read the fine print. 

One of the eligible items for both offers is the featured doll:  2009 AA Holiday Barbie and at least one of the So in Style dolls is also eligible. 

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Thank you, Stacey!

This is a "lazy" picture of my S.I.S. dolls (I didn't want to disturb the stacked-up-the-wall display by photographing them individually.  I need to create space for S.I.S. Stylin Hair Grace, who has yet to arrive). 

This doll line has received some negative press in the past week or so.  To counter the negative, I blogged my
kudos to the dolls' designer, Stacey McBride Irby, here.

By the way, tweeters can follow McBride-Irby here. 

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