A Halloween Cocktail Party Dress Resurfaces

So in Style Kara models a Halloween Cocktail Party Dress

In October 2013, according to the date of So in Style Kara's picture above, I participated in a So in Style Yahoo email discussion group event where I made a Halloween cocktail party dress for Kara. Recently, the administrator of the So in Style VIP Facebook group asked if we remembered the dress. I had just recently reconnected with what I thought was the complete ensemble and had planned to redress a non-SiS doll in it. 

Dolls from the You Create Barbie Kit No. 003 without wigs

Instead of redressing one doll, I decided to redress all three Barbie You Create Kit Dolls from Kit #3 in the Halloween cocktail party dress to see which doll wears it best. Unfortunately, after I removed the ensemble from the baggie it was stored in, the actual cocktail dress was not inside. I improvised by using a no-sew dress made from a knit headband that was made for another doll a few years ago.

The dolls modeled the no-sew black dress first.

Minh and Rose wear the same wig. Caro wears a half loc'd wig. Their shoes are either similar or the same.

Each doll added the other pieces of the ensemble: a witch's hat, a multicolored tulle peplum, and a sparkly black clutch. Their combined before-and-after photos are illustrated next.

Minh Before-and-After

Rose Before-and-After

Caro Before-and-After

The dolls are seen in a combined photo wearing the ensemble.

Who wore it best?

A beaded cord necklace model by Kara in 2013

Before redressing the kit dolls, I misplaced the necklace shown above that I made during the 2013 event. It was in the baggie with the rest of the pieces sans the dress. I didn't discover it missing until after the 2nd doll was redressed. By that time, I had already photographed the 1st doll in the cocktail party ensemble.  Even if I did find it at that time, I wasn't going to redress and rephotograph the 1st doll wearing it. 

Background Changes

This second picture is supposed to be all three kit dolls in a Halloween background. AI replaced Minh and Caro with two Karas.  This is the correct version on the kit dolls placed in a Halloween background.

After redressing the kit dolls in their original clothes, putting them back in their box, and re-storing the ensemble, I found the necklace. It had slid in between the arm and seat of the office chair that serves as my small-doll photography area. 

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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An Unbranded Barbie Clone

An unbranded, articulated Barbie clone

This unbranded Barbie clone arrived a few weeks ago. My curiosity about the quality prompted the purchase. Was she worth it?

She has boucle yarn hair, brown-painted eyes, and a light pink lip color.

The first thing I did to improve her appearance was to change the awful pink lip color. 

I repainted the lips with Tuscan Red acrylic paint.

A couple of layers were applied to achieve this result.

To maintain the matte look, I opted not to seal the paint with satin varnish. 

The next and final thing I did before incorporating the doll into the collection was to redress her as illustrated next.

The camera slipped as I attempted to take a full-length photo.

She is redressed in a Sparkle Girlz fashion and a pair of silver high-heel shoes.

Her love-themed Sparkle Girlz dress works well with the silver rose stud earrings she wore originally. I added a pair of silver high-heel shoes and made a spiral bracelet from pliable silver wire. Next, I placed her on a doll stand and incorporated her into a display of branded fashion dolls.

The others think she is worthy of being here.

For $4.99, I agree, she was worth the purchase.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

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Another Redress and Wig for Girly Fashion Doll Kayla

Supplies for creating a wig for I'm a Girly Fashion Doll Kayla

After Kayla tried on the African girl's wig (in the previous post), I decided to buy supplies to make a wig for Kayla. I purchased hair netting (that I didn't use), synthetic hair locs, a latch hook crochet needle, and hair ornaments. Not shown above, and what was used, is a wide mesh headband. This was used instead of the hair netting.

In this photo, Kayla models the black mesh headband after it was tapered to fit her oddly-shaped head. (I wanted a brown mesh headband, but brown was not in stock.)

The mesh headband is secured in place with a silicone ponytail holder that is placed over the edge of the headband and into the circumferential groove in Kayla's head. I left a little slack in the headband so I could easily weave the loc strands into the holes in the mesh. 

I chose brown synthetic locs for Kayla.

The color and texture of the locs are better visible in this photo.

I started from the back and worked my way around the crown of Kayla's head before filling in the center with the locs.

The top ends of the locs are prelooped which eliminates the need to create loops with each loc before weaving into (whatever is being used as the base). In my case, the mesh headband is the base. I used the crochet needle to weave the first few locs shown above. This was a slower process than doing it by hand. So, I completed most of the weave without the crochet needle.

The Completed Look

After trimming and adding hair ornaments, Kayla models her new wig.

Close-up

View from the back (additional trimming took place after this photo).

This side view was taken before all hair ornaments were added.

Kayla has a total of 10 gold-tone hair ornaments.

A Quick Redress

Dressed in a yellow long-sleeved tunic, black leggings, red boots, with a red ponytail holder in her hair, Kayla channels her inner Amanda Gorman, the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States in 2017; the youngest White House inaugural poet having recited her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” during President Biden’s inauguration, and the first poet ever to perform during the Super Bowl.

The tunic came with a thin black belt. I chose to belt it with a red ribbon.

Amanda Gorman is also the author of the book, "The Hill We Climb," which is the inaugural poem recited at President Biden's inauguration. Gorman's new book, Call Us What We Carry, will be released in December 2021.

Along with the gold hair ornaments for Kayla, I thought about my Heidi Ott doll when I saw and purchased a pack of wooden hair ornaments. She models her new ornaments in the last photos.

These are indeed perfect for her.

The ornaments decorate the front, both sides, and the back of the hair.

The entire pack of 14 wooden hair ornaments was used.

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After drafting this post, I checked Amazon to see if quantities of Kayla remain. I was surprised to see the price lowered to $11.98, about half the price I paid. Even if you do not find Kayla's face appealing, the wig is worth $12. The all-vinyl body is worth more. Perhaps the body can even be used with another head. Just saying ... Here's the buy page link.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Facebook page or bookmark the home page of Black Doll Collecting and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Glam Boho Barbie #85 and More Redressing

One of Glam Boho's first in-the-box photos

Glam Boho was ordered several months ago from ShopMattel dot com. Shipping of the first preordered dolls took place during the last week of September, which is when my doll arrived. At the ShopMattel site, the doll, shown as Fashionista #86, is currently not available. It is unknown if quantities will be replenished.

I do not know if the #86 used to describe Glam Boho at ShopMattel is an error or if dolls will be released in boxes marked #85 and later #86.  As indicated in this photo, my doll's package is numbered 85.

Before releasing Glam Boho from the confines of her box, she took this headshot comparison photo with Natalie (The Barbie Look Curvy Nighttime Glamour).  Reportedly (online) they both use the Carnaval head sculpt but look slightly different. They do share the same hair color, but their eye colors and shapes differ.  Natalie's eyes are hazel.  Glam Boho's eyes are gray and her eyebrows are fuller than Natalie's.  Glam Boho also has freckles.

Freed from her box, Glam Boho poses with her extra romper and aqua hat lying beneath. She carries a black shoulder bag and wears a yellow lacy dress, black choker, and silver (painted plastic) drop necklace.  White wide-strap high heels complete her look.

Her freckles are barely visible in this photo.  An additional photo later in this post better illustrates the freckles.   

I have decided to name her Rainbow, but will call her Bo for short.  She did not spend much time in the extra romper, which she paired with a pair of black high-heel Mary Jane-style shoes found in the shoe stash.  The romper is cute, but Bo prefers her yellow dress, which she put back on before posing with her big sister, Natalie.

They do look like sisters or mother and daughter.  I have not decided on their exact familial relationship.  Bo's complexion is a shade lighter than Natalie's, which is not uncommon in families.

The illustration in the lower right-hand corner of Bo's box shows her wearing the aqua scarf with the faux bow in front.  I am not at all fond of head scarves tied in this manner.  Therefore, Bo will wear the bow of her scarf in the back or to the side.

In this photo, Bo wears the bow of her headscarf to the side.  Her freckles can be seen somewhat better in this photo.  Stretching or otherwise enlarging this image might aid in visibility of the freckles.

Her honey-blonde hair with highlights is curly and of better quality than Natalie's.  Except for two side braids that frame her face, illustrated in the previous photo, Bo's hair is worn loose.

In my post about Natalie and ZiZi's redresses, I mentioned an eBay seller, who makes Barbie clothes from knit fabrics using a glue gun instead of sewing.  After Natalie and ZiZi swapped clothes, I checked eBay to see if this seller was now making clothes for curvy Barbie.  I was pleased to learn she has incorporated fashions for the curvy dolls into her merchandise.  I purchased two dresses made for Curvy Barbie from this seller.  Bo and ZiZi model these next.

Bo wears a black knee-length, collared dress with black high-heeled Mary Janes.  The dress accentuates her curves but is not unflattering.

ZiZi chose to try on this one-shoulder yellow dress.  The yellow nicely complements her complexion and like Bo, the dress accents her curves.  She temporarily borrowed Bo's white sandals.

Both ladies eventually returned to what they wore before trying on these knit dresses, but they explored different shoes.

Bo thought this pair of aqua ankle booties would look great with her original yellow lacy dress and aqua scarf, and they do.  Unfortunately, the top front of the booties juts out a bit due to the arch of her feet.

After ZiZi put the brocade dress back on, she and Bo made one last shoe swap.  ZiZi now wears the aqua booties.  That color picks up the aqua in her dress.  Bo wears her original white high-heel sandals.  Natalie was content with watching their quick redresses and shoe swaps.  Because she still enjoys wearing her tan dress and animal-print jacket, she had no desire to participate in this redressing session.

If you need clothes for your curvy Barbies or fashions made for ModelMuse and other average body types, check out Barbie-Couture's economically priced fashions on eBay.


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A Quick Redress: Nighttime Glamour and ZiZi

The Barbie Look Nighttime Glamour Barbie checks out a new lavender dress, hoping she can wear it.

Several weeks ago The Barbie Look Curvy Nighttime Glamour Barbie (shown above in her original clothes) and ZiZi (Zig and Zag) were redressed.  In ZiZi's case, she was re-redressed.  The lavender dress Nighttime is admiring is what inspired the ensemble changes.  As indicated on the package with check marks underneath the illustrated Barbie body types, this dress is cut to fit all currently marketed Barbies.  I wanted to see for myself.  I was surprised with the outcome.

Nighttime was the first to try it on.  While she seemed pretty happy with the dress (the fit is fine), I do not think it "does anything for her."  It is somewhat matronly looking in my opinion, which may be due to the length.  I tried tucking the hemline under to see if that would help, but it did not add the flair she craves or that I crave for her.

Next, ZiZi tried it on.  While it looks a little better on ZiZi (in this photo the hemline is tucked under), it's just not her style -- too conservative.  With it she wears a pair of flat white T-straps that were part of the original outfit worn by Goddess Emerald (named by me), a Barbie Fashionista from 2014, first seen here.

ZiZi looks a bit surprised.  Trying on the lavender dress and returning to the tan and animal-print ensemble she had been wearing was all she had planned to do, but now it seems her friend has confiscated her clothes.

While ZiZi was trying on the lavender dress, Nighttime (Natalie... I just named her) put on what ZiZi had been wearing.  It fits her to a T.  The tan dress with animal-print jacket was made by an eBay seller who uses a hot glue gun in lieu of sewing.  She uses knit fabrics which can stretch and conform to a doll's figure, which is why the curvy Barbies can wear this style, even though it was made for ModelMuse and other slimmer Barbie body types.

Feeling a little dismayed because ZiZi does not care for the lavender dress and definitely does not like it at the designed length, which is shown in the photo immediately above, ZiZi decided to try on Natalie's original dress.  "Two can play this fashion swap game, " she thought.

We all love this dress on ZiZi, which she continues wearing the white T-straps.  I am thinking about  shortening the sleeve length from full sleeves to short sleeves (but not sleeveless).

Natalie complimented ZiZi on how cute she looks in the brocade dress by saying, "Girl, the gold in this dress really compliments your hair color.  It's so you!"  ZiZi thanked her and told her she understood why she confisc.. decided to continue wearing the tan dress.  "It shows off your curves as well as it does mine," she said.  There is no love lost between these two.

A unanimous decision was made to place the lavender dress back into the original package and stored it for now.


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