Ghosts and Ghouls and Everyone Else

Halloween! It's finally time to enjoy once again Dolldom's favorite holiday. For what is not to like in a vintage Halloween celebration? On a brisk and starry October eve, young and old enjoy going bump in the dark wearing their very best disguises and going door-to-door asking for sugar and corn syrup. But health concerns aside, Halloween is the quintessential American celebration and even in today's guts and blood reality, Halloween still gives us all an opportunity to nurture the idea the witches can fly on brooms and ghosts can haunt our dwellings.


Viktor Dreary spooks them all in his The Fly costume by Liz Cole


Gay Carrington was the original choice for Morticia. But a movie deal in Italy robbed the world of this treat.


Gay Carrington is no penitent soul. She just poses that way to amuse her little friends. Dress by Liz Cole.


Agnes Dreary is ready for her sugar-induced comma. She has a new and very beautiful bag inspired by Enid Collins and made by Liz Cole for Retros. Her hat is by Peggy Feltrope.


Gay Treats! Miss Carrington plays with available children. Her dress is by Retros. Her unforgettable necklace is by Joy Jarred.


Agnes Dreary floats around in her ghost costume by Our Sweet Creations.










Betsy McCall by Robert Tonner wears her Wednesday dress by Liz Cole for Retros. What a darling little girl. But is she?


A Premier Bleuette reproduction by Suzanne McBryer wears a fantastic déguisement by Liz Cole for Retros. Her wig is by Bravot.


Blythe wears an elaborate clown costume by Sara Lanzillotta for Devout Dolls.




Even Ellowyne Wilde partakes of the spooky fun in Woefully Bewitching.


Daisy by Korean artist Jung Hee Park wears Betsy McCall's Wicked With of the West ensemble by Tonner Doll Company.


Tiny Betsy has fun with her neighbors in her Grins and Giggles costume by Effanbee Doll Company.


A Hong Kong mini Ken doll plays Invisible Man in his Retros get-up. But the attention he is getting from his seven and a half inch friends tells us something about the power of red satin to make you be noticed.


Double trouble. Ivy Jordan is scared out her wits by Agnes Dreary and her devil toy. Ivy's fashion by Liz Cole. Her necklace by Joy Jarred.


Two Blythe dolls enjoy being sisters in Sara Lanzillotta's I Will Never Leave You fashion.


In perfect Edgar Allan Poe's Count of Monte Cristo fashion, Viktor Dreary closes the night in his Forlorn Photo Day fashion.

Have a frightfully fantastic Halloween!

Wrapping Things Up

Dolldom celebrates the turban once again and just in time for fall. As days turns colder and the autumnal winds threaten to turn the carefree hairstyles of summer into untidy bird nests, the trustworthy turban comes to save the day.

Not new to the world of beauty and fashion, the turban has enjoyed a strong fan base amongst the world's most legendary faces. And really, how could they not partake of such a wonder? Eliminate all hirsute artifice and place a spotlight on the face. As Norma Desmond so aptly uttered in her elegant delusion: "And now Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up!

 

Reproduction Fashion Queen sports shantung turban by Liz Cole for Retros.

    Gay Carrington also enjoys the practical luxury of a 

    silk turban by Liz Cole.

    The turban, chez Dior.

   Greta Garbo and a simple white head wrap. Like air and water.
   The world needs nothing else.

    Norma Desmon, played beautifully by Gloria Swanson,
    means business in her leopard print turban and matching suit.


 The magnificent Carmen Miranda made it a way of life.
 

    And Dolldom darling Joan Crawford by Tonner Doll Company
    follows suit.

    In life outside the realm of Dolldom, JC wore plenty of
    pretty bejeweled turbans.

    So did the magnificent Marlene Dietrich,

    the intelligent Heidi Lamar,

    the intensely sexy Lana Turner (wow!), 

    La Liz! (triple wow!),

     cool blonde Sunny Hartnett, and of course...

 

    Gene Marshall! Mel Odom's beauty has fun wearing
    Liz Cole's unique gown and turban creations,

    as well as a simple black silk wrap with the perfectly tailored
    "Fit for A Queen" suit by Ashton Drake.

Fauna and Daisy

Fauna and Daisy, a photo by ernestopadrocampos on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Jung Hee Park's Daisy is ready for a late summer stroll in Candy Junky's "G is for Giraffe" dress made for the Blythe doll and Liz Cole's superb miniaturized reproduction Enid Collins purse.

Back-to-School Yarns

Once the long days of summer are abruptly interrupted by the beginning of another school year, kids of all ages face the sad prospect of having to rise and shine earlier than their growing bodies desire. How to counterbalance these early morning blues? Fashionably, of course. And nothing spells fall fashion better than a hand knitted garment made with love. Best of all, this handmade quality need not break the bank and jeopardize our tykes' college education funds as there are options galore being offered by Dolldom's talented artist friends. The next time there is an inkling of early morning despair or dissension, perform a quick attitude adjustment by putting a cozy cap on a little head.


A Myling doll by Katarina Carlsson visits the zoo in Wellermade's "Infanta" hand knit wonder.


American Character's 14-inch Betsy McCall wears a warm pant and sweater set by Little Red Hen. The nubby sweater will look wonderful with a plaid skirt or under velveteen overalls later on. Betsy's painting by Vivienne Strauss.


A reproduction Bleuette SFBJ 301by Raven Dolls in Seattle, WA sports a reproduction camel hair sweater and skirt set by Global Dolls and a heirloom quality hat by Small Delightfuls.


Master Viktor Dreary listens attentively to his tutor's lesson in Petit Tricotage's "Memento Mori" cap. Necklace by Joy Jarred.


A Bleuette 6/0 reproduction by Susanne McBryer wears Liz Cole's rockabilly knit set with orange cap and striped leggings. 


 
Vintage Skipper plays with the kinder garden set in Petit Tricotage's "Lettuce" dress. 


A Bravot SFBJ 301 Bleuette is ready for story time in a Global Dolls reproduction jumper and blouse set and Small Delightfuls' peaches and cream hand knit hat.


Daisy by Jung Hee Park goes to her fall play's rehearsal in Petit Tricotage's "Red Balloon" dress. Daisy likes the drama of the bell shaped sleeves.


Suzanne McBrayer reproduction of the SFBJ 251 Bleuette wears a Retros hand knit set made with vintage Italian yarn and a vintage straw hat made in pre-Castro Cuba.



A magnificent sweater for a stellar student. Viktor Dreary celebrates his high achievement in Liz Cole's "skull and bones" sweater for Retros.

Iconography

The world was a torn planet in the 1960’s – from the Cold War and the Berlin Wall to race riots and anti-war demonstrations – people awoke to a different reality than that of the so-called placid 1950’s. These days heard strong voices in “I Have A Dream” by Martin Luther King and “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan which clamored for justice and emancipation, and saw the rise of Flower Children and civil rights legislation. Turbulent and impacting, the decade gave form to new ways of thinking and led to a redefinition of core values and to the inevitable clashes that result when society continues its evolution.

In fashion there was turmoil and transformation too as designers explored with space-age materials and Pop Art. The era gave birth to two icons on fashion design: Yves Saint Laurent's  Mondrian dress and Paco Rabanne's Metal Mini Dress. Fast forward to the summer of 2012. Integrity Toy's über popular Poppy Parker and Darla Daley visit Dolldom to pay tribute to these two giants that still continue to fascinate and inspire the well-dressed doll.

Paco Rabanne - The Metal Worker

Paco Rabanne's 1967 mini dress made of aluminum plates challenged the notions of what could touch a woman's skin. By minimizing coverage of the body and emphasizing the hard and protective qualities of the material, the dress realizes the dream of robotic beauty.

 

Darla Daley "Color My World" models Monsieur Z's "Flaunt It" mini dress, Courrèges-inspired white boots, and silver jewelry from "The Happening" fashion set all produced by Integrity. 

In the 1967 film Two for the Road, eternal fashion muse Audrey Hepburn wears a spectacular Rabanne mini in silver metal sequins.

Italian designer Francesca Pigliapoco reinterprets the classic in gold chain mail. Darla loves the fit and and the feel on her skin on a warm summer evening. 

Poppy Parker "The Happening" wears a silver sequined mini that evokes the essence of the Italian designer's original. Dress and hose produced by Integrity.

Ives Saint Laurent - The Master of Color

Ives Saint Laurent's 1965 dress initiated the Pop Art movement in couture. Seeing the simplicity of the dress as the perfect canvas onto which to project the abstract graphic impact achieved by Piet Mondrian's "Broadway Boogie Woogie", the Algerian born designer redefined the concept of wearable art.

Poppy Parker "The Happening" models Darla Daley's "Color My World" ensemble produced by Integrity.  Chair by Maryann Roy.

 

 Model and actress Veronica Hamel wears the 1965 classic in this vintage photo.

 

 Three models and a abstract canvas. Art imitates art.