Visiting the German city of Worms in the last months, I went, among other places, to the city museum, housed in an old abbey. In the diverse collection of artefacts housed there, there were some antique dolls and a big doll house. I felt I had to post them here.

In this glass display you can see a porcelain doll and many miniature household items and doll furniture along with a toy train:


Here is the doll house exhibited - I wonder how rich was the family that owned this.


And a close up to see the outstanding detail involved:

If I had the space at home, and could afford it, I'd love to own such a doll house! Wouldn't you?

Back to our doll reviews, I am happy to be able to present a brand new character in the Gene Marshall Collection: her best friend, Ivy "Vee" Jordan. According to the Gene storyline, Ivy is

"Gene Marshall’s wise-cracking best friend, always one with a punch-line or witty observation. A child of Hollywood with both of her parents in ‘the biz’ Ivy, or “Vee” as Gene nicknamed her, is Gene’s truest friend and closest ally in Hollywood. A character actress with an eye towards directing someday, Ivy Jordan is a girl to watch."

So the Gene fans got their wish: last year there had been a competition on the official Gene Yahoo group, where members had to write a paragraph explaining which new character should be introduced to the series. So this year, as part of the Colour Deal collection (basic dolls with brightly coloured 50s inspired outfits), Ivy was introduced to the public (there is a second Ivy as a club membership doll).


So how does Ivy come to us? She wears a coral dress with a lovely fitted bodice and tulip skirt sporting tiny pleats at the hips. It looks very 50s, both in colour and cut. The tulip skirt with the pleats looks very interesting, although the shape does not flatter the doll's silhouette as it should have. The pleats though are a work of art, especially for a basic doll's dress.


The accessories are not many but are very nice - short white gloves with pearl side buttons, as any proper lady in the 50s would have worn, along with a white scarf and white ribbon sling backs that are very well made. She wears pantyhose too! You can put the scarf on her anyway you like - I tried one classic 50s look on her - she reminds me of Audrey Hepburn a bit here.




And her face? A brand new sculpt from Mel, she looks like a cross of a very young Joan Crawford with Lauren Bacall. Her face paint is typical of the era as is her brunette bob and bangs. They do compliment her warm brown eyes and exquisite features so much. I must report that the bob is extra stiff, much like the old Gene doll's hair was. Not that far apart from 50s real life hairdos I must say!


Being a basic doll means one thing: versatility in re-dressing! So I tried to pick some outfits from my Gene collection to see how she fared in them. I could have tried more on her but I did not have that much time - I promise to do it again in the near future. It would give me an opportunity to present more outfits from the Ashton Drake Gene years.


Rummaging through one of the doll trunks where I keep many Gene outfits, I came across the Savanna outfit. This was released in 1999 as a dressed doll. It supposedly was a costume from an epic film about an old family of the South. As we can read on the card accompanying the doll

"Gene in Savannah"

"Gene is a charmer in this green and dusty peach gown sprigged with lace, ribbons and roses. Includes earrings, rosette hairpins, shoes, and hose. Her rich dark brown hair falls in coquettish curls. Designed by Katie McHale of Santa Barbara, California - winner of the Young Designers of America Competition."

Well, I only have the outfit - I always wanted to try it on the Scarlett O'Hara doll to see how she would look in another southern style gown. I never did get around doing that, so Ivy is the first one to wear this (I think). Despite the fact that her hairdo is totally wrong for the era it supposedly comes from, she looks great in it. Her face paint and hair colour help a lot of course. The rosette hairpins fit nicely in her bob too!


The dress does not look faithful to the period if one looks at the details with a scrutinizing eye, but the overall impression is that of a plantation belle, and the mint green does look very nice on her. Plus I got to use the underskirt in another fashion all together.


If you remove the over dress from the Savannah outfit, you are left with the underskirt, a beige pleated affair that should have had a bustle but only alludes to one. It does look very nice by itself though. So, draping the scarf from the Ivy outfit as a blouse across her torso, Ivy got a new outfit to show off, looking like a million bucks. I can see her in a film noire dressed in this one.


After our de-tour to the south, back to Hollywood with a purple satin and black lace number (released in 1998), appropriately called "Creme De Cassis". Again from the description card that came with the doll:

"Gene's elegant cocktail ensemble epitomizes the tasteful couture of the era. Her lilac chemise is overlaid with black lace, while four layers of black and lilac tulle add feminine fullness. Her titian-red hair is styled in an artful tumble of curls that frame her lovely, heart-shaped face. Circa 1953"

The colour suits her a lot, but the dress does look a bit overbearing on her, with the four-layered petticoat, even though the era matches perfectly. The veiled hat gives her a noire-ish feel that frames her fierce personality. The shoes are great too, little elegant black velvet V-straps.


Back to the 40's, the "Blue Goddess" gown was so striking on Ivy, I decided to keep her in this for a while. Both cut and colour suit her perfectly and even though the hairdo is wrong for 1945, it does not detract from the total.


The dress is very intricately made, with various snaps and hooks to fasten and panels to drape over until it gets the desired shape. Once all fall into place though, a mesmerizing vision appears before your eyes: Ivy the seductress. From the description card that came with the original doll:

"Gene in Blue Goddess" comes dressed in an aqua chiffon strapless gown with an attached stole. It is beautifully draped to flatter Gene's figure, and is accented with a hint of hand beading. Comes complete with matching shoes, hose, an aqua necklace, drop "diamond" earrings and a rhinestone and aqua bracelet. "Blue Goddess" is circa 1945, and was designed exclusively for Gene by Tim Kennedy."

And finally, still in a high glamour mode but more at home now, I put Ivy in "At Home For The Holidays". I have dressed other dolls in this one before (most notably Vivien Leigh, looking amazing), but Ivy came through with this one again: elegant, beautiful and stylish, she becomes the perfect hostess, ready to present a wonderful evening to her guests.


From the description card that came with the outfit:

"This shimmering cocktail pant suit is an iridescent lavender and ruby taffeta, highlighted with multi-stone 'ruby' and 'gold' earrings and necklace. Circa 1957. Designed by Tim Kennedy. Dealer Exclusive Costume. Production limited to 9,999 worldwide."

The dramatic sweep of the overcoat makes for a very interestingly photographed outfit.


And of course the pants can be combined with any matching top. Here they are with another version of the scarf from the original Ivy outfit:


I liked Ivy very much, she is a brilliantly designed doll, fits the spirit of the Gene line and is very versatile, even with older Gene outfits. I wonder who the next character to be introduced will be: if it's half as successful as Ivy is, we're in for a great Gene year.

P.S.1- The wonderful chair that was used in the photograph is from Clea Bella Productions - they have amazing furniture for 16" and 12" dolls.

P.S.2 - The Ashton Drake Gene outfit links are from the excellent web site dedicated to Gene by Devonne.

The 160th issue of Dazed & Confuzed was dedicated to Madonna, due to the imminent release of her new album. They comissioned artist Jasper Kidd to make a video of a Barbie doll dressed as Madonna, dancing to her music. The result is above, enjoy!

Just found this through Decor8: in Cookie magazine's March issue, they have an article on how to make a doll house out of foam board. It is not very sophisticated but it is easy, quick and would make a great set for at-home photo shoots with it's all around open sides.



So directly from their web page (in case you cannot find the magazine):

Meryl Levin, describes how she made a dollhouse for her niece out of foam core board. She put graphic wrapping paper on the walls, cut clocks and pictures of out of catalogs and "framed" them with Sharpie, and her niece filled the rooms with her own toys. Not only is it almost as fun to personalize as to play with, it also stores flat, and can even travel with her to Grandma's house! If you want to try this yourself, here's how Meryl did it (use the diagram below as a reference):

1. Start with a piece of 20"x30" foam core board (a standard size at art-supply stores), and using a box cutter and a T-square or yardstick, cut 10 inches off of the longer end to make a 20"x20" square.

2. Cut the board horizontally right across the middle to create two 10"x20" rectangles.

3. Measure 10 inches across the bottom of one rectangle, and cut a notch 1/4-inch wide and 2 inches tall. At the top of the second rectangle, make a notch the same size.

4. At the bottom of both rectangles, measure 4 1/2 inches from both ends, and cut doorways 2 inches wide and 5 inches tall.

5. Slide the notches into each other to form the x-shaped house.

Someone commented that the noces need to be 6 and 4 inches, not two, so think about this if you try and make it. Have fun!

Most doll manufacturers organize conventions for their loyal customers: it is a great way to create publicity about their doll lines, present new dolls and raise their sales. For the fans it is a great way to meet other collectors, exchange or trade dolls and outfits and buy new exclusive dolls. The most sought after dolls in the conventions are usually the official convention dolls and their companions: they are highly stylized and in limited quantities - or they should be.


High Gloss Agnes Von Weiss in no exception: she is, imho, one of the most exquisite Fashion Royalty dolls ever created. Designed specifically for the Dollz In Oz 2008 convention in Sydney Australia, and limited to 300 dolls worldwide, she embodies all that a fashion doll should be: bold, beautiful, exceptional, elegant, glamorous. Designed specifically to fit the event and the theme (Mardi Gras), her unique look places her at the top (or very near at least) of the best that Jason Wu has offered us.


First the gown: it seems that Wu has heard his fans: this is no classic full blown ball gown or mermaid style va-va voom dress. No sir, what we have here is a confection that can rival what Claude Montana did back in the days he designed for Lanvin Haute Couture. The white dress, designed to remind one the Sydney Opera (look at the turned up triangular edges) fits perfectly with Sydney - but where is Mardi Gras? Not that I mind, luckily it avoids any carnival reference, which can be only positive.


The fabric is white with silver pinstripes, making it shimmer in the light. The scale of the stripe is amazing, making the dress look even better up close. The craftsmanship is excellent, with the stitching and lining exquisitely executed. The fit is also great. The voluminous skirt stands great and needs little fussing over to look good. Same goes for the six panels that fall over it, accentuating the cascading hemline.


The bodice is looking great with the microsequined breast panel under the huge stand up collar. The necklace is a bit too much for this design, it would look much better without it. It is even too big for the décolletage, it never can hold its shape properly. The filigree and bead earrings are a perfect match.


The highlight is the silver "leather" corset-belt: it has a tiny non-functioning zipper at the front, framed by six studs, while at the back it ties with laces like a corset. Amazing detail and execution. Montana and Mygler would be proud!




The shoes are silver platform sandals that tie up the leg - the silver laces are slipping on the legs (and my fingers are not helping). The doll is not wearing any kind of hosiery but does have flesh coloured panties.


The face of Agnes is incredibly painted: her white porcelain looking skin is almost translucent, with barely blushed cheeks. All the focus is on the eyes: heavy eye shadow and eye-liner makes her look immensely dramatic, vampiric even - her bold dark eyebrows fitting this image perfectly. Pale shiny lips finish off the look. Her jet black hair is pulled back in a perfect chignon, making her look even more austere. I think it suits the dress perfectly and anything else would have looked too much.


A splendid doll from Fashion Royalty - I hope Jason Wu continues like this in 2008!