A Day of B&G and Licca-chan!

Licca-chan has a day of B&G fun with her pal LizRetros! Inspired by the look of Licca-chan's 1967 looks, the fabulous Beauty and Glamour maven created seven original dress designs for the Japanese superstar, who is, nonetheless, hard-to-dress due to the relative scarcity of made-to-fit fashions for the first Licca sculpt. The lucky models, all reprints (aka reproductions), convey a kicky and glamorous vibe. Leave it to LizRetros to create beauty for all dolls! Thank you!

To inquire about designs for Licca, contact LizRetros via her Etsy shop!

Photoplay, Circa 1957

Dolldom's editors recently discovered this never published Photoplay story featuring Gene Marshall and her pal Violet Waters modeling shoes for an upcoming film. The beautiful pumps, manufactured by LizRetros (who also designed the wardrobe) as an exclusive for Monolithic Studios, featured a low vamp and a virtuoso stiletto heel. Both actresses enjoyed modeling and taking home a pair!















The film was a hit!

LizRetros' Boutique - for shoes and all other forms of beauty and glamour!

No Bad Hair Days

Flat. Fly-away. Out of control. Stylist and barbers sheltering at home. What to do? Beauty and glamour maven, LizRetros comes to the rescue with her new line of 3-D printed wigs hand painted in luscious colors.

Not unlike superstar Gigi Goode in RuPaul's Dragrace, season 12, episode 1, a doll in a Retros' wig exudes the confidence of someone who knows that her face is the focus when framed by a silhouetted mane.



Wind blows, I care not!

For your own wig or simply to have fun window shopping, visit the Retros Boutique.



Golden Girl
Robert Tonner's Rayne, for Phyn & Aero,  goes solid gold in DeMuse Doll's jumpsuit and "Lingot".


Lady Sings the Blues
Mel Odom's Violet Waters is happy as a clam in "Deep Ocean" and a qi-pao by Rosina Haskell.


Metropolis
Sofia, by JAMIEshow Doll, is a cool cat in "Peltro". Blouse by JAMIEshow. Skirt by RDDdoll.


Sweets for My Sweet
Mel Odom's "East Meets West" Gene Marshall models "Cotton Candy Rock".


Retros

Visual Literacy

It's important to know how to decipher what one is seeing.



But as critical as how one sees - is how one looks while seeing. And we are not talking about wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide dark circles or to communicate the message that eyes kept in secrecy allow no window to the soul.

Today's lesson is taught best by the formidable Peggy Guggenheim. Eyes she had, trained and skilled to understand the artist's message. And it was she who best exemplified that, regardless of what one wears on the body, it is what frames the face that speaks volumes about one's character.





LizRetros shares this sense of exuberance in design. For more than two decades, the Retros label has exemplified the golden standard in the handmade doll fashion cottage industry. Which presented no surprise when Dolldom learned that soon the doll world would enjoy the pleasures of much needed eccentric sunglasses for all sizes of dolls. The legacy lives on in LizRetros' 3-D printed and hand decorated miniatures. Now any doll can join in Miss Guggenheim in that rarefied realm of inspiring mavens who know how to look at art while defining it.


DAE Originals' "Sugarplum" Vivette goes all-out Tiki on her co-workers. Suit by Marirose.


Prototype Sylvain, by Julian Kalinowski, captures the essence of Miss Guggenheim - it's all about the spectacle of her spectacles.


Julian Kalinowski's Little Miss Lolita (aka Lalka 2) relaxes in her Venice palazzo while watching gondolas pass by through her "Aquarius" sunglasses. Coat by Rosina Haskell.


Contract negotiations will go Ivy Jordan's way. No ones messes with her flamingos. Suit by JK Clothier. JAMIEshow wig cap restyled by Kathy Johnson.


"Check This Out" Esmé by Tonner Doll is mermaid supreme in this under the sea fantasy.


Serious art collector Sofía, by JAMIEshow Doll, goes to a gallery opening and sets the scene ablaze - with one look!


The party got to be very swell once Tonner Doll's Tiny Kitty Collier walked in in her red bubble dress and Retros' "Tikilandia" frames. Mai Tai and Zombies for everyone!


A walk down Fifth is never a mundane activity when invoking tropical climes. It's happy hour at any hour of the day for Tonner Doll's Miss America dressed in Kitty Collier's suit.


Society gals like Tonner Doll's Miss Kitty Collier know how to spice things up at balls and fundraisers with chiffon and flamingos!


Mel Odom's "Phoenix" Gene Marshall, produced by JAMIEshow knows how to make an entrance and kill the red carpet in her Retros's "TikiColor" sunglasses.

To acquire your own pair, make sure to visit Retros Boutique!

Something Cool

If it's not happy hour were you are, there is still a way to indulge in all things cool. Julian S. Kalinowski's S-Girls and LizRetros join forces to give us all the best concoction for an immediate buzz: beauty and glamour.

Accompanied by June Christy's ever-gorgeous classic, "Something Cool", Sylvain, Stella and Sable prove to be the coolest gals in town wearing LizRetros' newest collection of exuberant hand-sewn fashions in a spiffy set decorated with furniture built by Mr. Retros.

S- Girls by Julian S. Kalinowski
LizRetros' B&G

Something cool,
Something cool,
Something cool,
I'd like to order something cool!


Virgin Queen. A sober black cotton knit dress with copper Lurex threads is mood-enhancing and will never give a headache the morning after. Jewelry by Joy Jarred. Apostrophe chair by Maryann Roy.

Something cool,
I'd like to order something cool,
It's so warm here in town,
And the heat gets me down,
Yes, I'd like something cool!



My! It's nice to simply sit and rest awhile,
Now I know it's a shame,
I can't think of your name,
I remember your smile!


Three-Manhattan Lunch. Stella indulges in this sensational raw silk coat and vintage sparkly knit mini dress ensemble. Beaded belt also by LizRetros. Apostrophe chair by Maryann Roy.

I don't ordinarily drink with strangers,
I most usually drink alone.
You were so awfully nice to me,
And I'm so terribly far from home.



Like my dress?
I must confess it's terribly old,
But it's simple and neat,
It's just right for the heat,
Save my furs for the cold!


Lettuce Drink. Stella is as refreshing as a crisp wedge of Iceberg in her vintage tricot mini dance dress. Necklace by Joy Jarred. Apostrophe chair by Maryann Roy.

A cigarette? Well I don't smoke them as a rule,
but I'll have one,
It might be fun
With something cool!



I'll bet you couldn't imagine
That I one time had a house
With so many rooms I couldn't count them all!


Curaçao! Blue is her color as blue is her mood! Sylvain heads directly to the bar in a silk and mini paillette gown with back zipper closure.

I'll bet you couldn't imagine
I had fifteen different beaus
Who would beg and beg to take me to a ball.

I'll bet you couldn't picture me
The time I went to Paris in the Fall,
And who would think the man I loved was quite so handsome,
Quite so tall?



Well it's true,
It's just a memory I have,
One I almost forgot
'Cause the weather's so hot!
And I'm feeling so bad


My Glass Runs Over. Sometimes, the event calls for pulling out all stops. And this showstopper is the definition of exuberance with it's mile-long scarf and magenta ruffles. Sable loves the figure-hugging fit and her photographer agrees.

About a date,
Oh wait!
I'm such a fool!
He's just a guy
Who's stopped to buy
Me something cool!




S- Girls by Julian S. Kalinowski

LizRetros' B&G

 

Homenaje a Frida Kahlo

The magic of genius. What would the world be without the intellectual energies that produce art? Frida Kahlo is one of the 20th century's magnificent powers and Dolldom pays tribute to her work and legacy.

Julian S. Kalinowski and Liz Cole join forces and geniuses to give birth to this most sensational creation: a Sylvain doll - painted, coiffed, and dressed to honor the Mexican painter in some of her most iconic self-portraits.


“Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.” - Frida Kahlo


“Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.” - Frida Kahlo


“I wish I could do whatever I liked behind the curtain of “madness”. Then: I’d arrange flowers, all day long, I’d paint; pain, love and tenderness, I would laugh as much as I feel like at the stupidity of others, and they would all say: “Poor thing, she’s crazy!” (Above all I would laugh at my own stupidity.) I would build my world which while I lived, would be in agreement with all the worlds. The day, or the hour, or the minute that I lived would be mine and everyone else’s - my madness would not be an escape from “reality”.” - Frida Kahlo


“Traté de ahogar mis penas... pero las condenadas aprendieron a nadar.” - Frida Kahlo


“No moon, sun, diamond, hands —
fingertip, dot, ray, gauze, sea,
pine green, pink glass, eye,
mine, eraser, mud, mother, I am coming.”  - Frida Kahlo


For more information on Sylvain, contact Mr. Julian Kalinowski
For Beauty and Glamour for you and your dolls, visit Retros