Let’s hear it for the boys.
I was able to procure the highly sought after Aiden from the new Fashion Royalty NuFace line. I knew I wanted to photograph him but I was having a hard time finding the right lady to pair him with. He has been spending time on display with quite a few of the lovely ladies in my doll room but when I paired him with the fabulous Engaging Elise, I knew I had a winner for my photo shoot.
Models: Fashion Royalty NuFace Aiden and FR Squared Engaging Elise
Outfits: NuFace Aiden in his original outfit. Engaging Elise is in F.R. NuFace outfit “ True Blues”
Passionate and Envied redressed
Model: Fashion Royalty Monogram “Passionate”
Dress: Bogue’s Vogues ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/boguesvogues )
Shoes: Mattel
Earrings: Fashion Royalty Monogram “Passionate”
Model: Fashion Royalty Monogram “Passionate”
Gown and earrings : Mattel 2003 Collector Barbie
**note** gown is pinned to fit Monogram body. The dress on it’s own is a little big on this body type.
Model: Fashion Royalty Monogram “Envied”
Gown: Randall Craig “ Fancy” ( available at http://www.windycitydolls.com/randalcraig.htm )
Necklace: Randall Craig RTW collection
Earrings: Fashion Royalty Monogram Envied
She is Passionate
The second lovely lady in the latest offering from the Fashion Royalty Monogram line is called “Passionate”. I just love her color palette and I adore the little purple print dress she wears with the bright purple accents. Adorable!
Available at Windy City Dolls ( http://www.windycitydolls.com/frmonogram.htm )
Monograms redressed coming soon…….
Envied in the Sunlight
Many people ask me about my photography and how I light my shots. Many of my photos are taken in a photo tent with diffused lighting from the sides and a soft box light from the front. Sometimes I will use an overhead ( highlight or hairlight) lamp. I find that I use this setup many times because the light where I live is…well..crap. I live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States where we get rain 7 out of 12 months a year. Don’t get me wrong, I love living here. When it comes to photography , however, it can be a challenge. Yesterday, I was so very excited. We had one of those beautiful Indian Summer glory days…bright blue sky and abundant sunshine. I was redressing Ms. Envied after doing some redress shots, The sunshine was coming in the window at a perfect angle to project a grid pattern on the carpet so I just posed Ms. Envied on her stand, laid down on the floor and started snapping. You can make a tripod out of your arms by bracing both elbows on the floor or any stable surface. Just goes to show yet again….you don’t need a fancy light tent to take good doll photos. I love this shot. Sooooooo dramatic.
Oh, and yes, we are back to gloomy and overcast today. ;-(
Her name is Envied
I am a big fan of Integrity Toy’s Fashion Royalty Monogram line. I love the haughty expressions and the smaller body type that can wear most of the Silkstone Barbie clothing as well as my other OOAK Bogue’s Vogues and Bellissima Couture outfits. When IT announced that they were coming out with three new Monogram offerings this year my response was “Where do I sign up?” I received all three lovely ladies this past week from my fantastic dealer Barb from Windy City Dolls and I could not be happier. I know that the Caucasian one sold out in most places but the other two Latin and African American ladies are readily available. The golden skinned Latin lady (Envied) and the African American (Passionate) were the ones I was looking forward to the most. Here is Ms. Envied with Ms. Passionate and Ms. Bemused in the background. Ms. Passionate will be getting her own photo shoot in the next few days.
As of this blog posting, all of these beautiful ladies are available at http://www.windycitydolls.com/frmonogram.htm
Monaco Royale Vanessa has arrived!
I knew when I first saw photos of this lady that she was something that would fit right in with my collection. I have eagerly anticipated this first club doll offering from the W Club for 2011. She arrived this past week and I have to say….the promo photos did not even come close to doing this lovely lady justice. This lady harkens back to the high glamour days of Fashion Royalty’s earlier collections. She just drips style and elegance. I hope my photos are able to convey this. Her jewelry is gorgeous and extremely well made. I love the chunky necklace. There is an additional bracelet that came with the set but I didn’t feel she needed it ( It is sure nice to have extra though ). I love the fact that she came with her own cocktail..I keep wanting to remind her though “ don’t spill that on your gorgeous gown…I mean that’s cranberry juice in there and that is peach silk you are wearing…Danger!”.
The ornate gold table in the photo was a find on ebay. The picture behind Vanessa was a flea market find and the little red foo dogs were found at a Chinese import store.
Summer Magic
I think Steven Frasier is amazing. I believe I have almost every couture outfit Dressmaker Details has ever produced. I love his aesthetic and the fact that he fits his clothing to fit both the more voluptuous Fashion Royalty and the slimmer Barbie Silkstone form. I also appreciate the details he puts into his product. If you are buying a couture outfit, you will get the jewelry, purse,gloves, nylons and shoes to go with it. He typically designs a special couture outfit for the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention each year. It is something I look forward to every convention. This year, his design was called “Summer Magic” and indeed it is. I absolutely adore this creation…so frothy and feminine. It also fits in with my collection perfectly. It was very hard to find a model to wear this lovely creation. There were simply too many choices. I wanted a model who would showcase the femininity of this gown and really enhance the beautiful soft blue of it’s fabric. I finally settled on High Tea and Savories because I just love the haughty high fashion look of this lady. Her soft makeup palette makes her a favorite of mine when I have an uber feminine gown. I also felt the beautiful blue of her eyes would be complimented by the gorgeous color of this gown.
The details of this gown are worth the purchase alone. The dress has little sequins and beads sewn into the soft tulle. The bracelet is phenomenal. I had trouble closing it around my models wrist so I added a small round silver link and it works perfectly now. If you don’t already use these, a pair of bullnose curved pliers are a must when it comes to putting jewelry on these diminutive divas.
Model: High Tea and Savories Silkstone Barbie
Outfit: Dressmaker Details “Summer Magic” ( http://www.masterstrokecanada.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=MC&Category_Code=DRE
Extravagant Bellissima Couture
Model: Fashion Royalty Monogram Extravagant
Gown: Bellissima Couture ( http://bellissima-couture.com/ )
Shoes: Mattel Barbie Louboutin shoe pack
It is always a pleasure to showcase the amazing work of Hilda of Bellissima Couture.
Poodle: Randall Craig
Chair: PureDreamfordolls (http://stores.ebay.com/PureDreamForDolls?_trksid=p4340.l2563)
Table: Jim Coates Collection ( http://stores.ebay.com/JIM-COATES-COLLECTION?_rdc=1)
Face Time–using props as inspiration.
I don’t know about others but when I photograph something, many times the inspiration for the set up comes from one prop. In many of my dioramas, I will start with one piece that will set the entire tone for the whole room. In this case, it’s all about the face. I saw these very interesting figures at my local Z Gallery and just had to have one for a prop. I don’t normally go for the contemporary pieces but this one appealed to me so home with me it went and into the studio for a photo shoot.
Model: FR Squared Engaging Elise
Dress and bracelet: Trace of Lace Silkstone Barbie
Shoes: FR Squared Engaging Elise
Wineglass: Ocara
And because I just couldn’t leave my macro lens sitting all lonely on the table…….
I just love the face on this Elise. **Note** Her hair has been slightly restyled from her original style. I took the the side down and pulled it over her forehead a bit. I had seen some other collectors do this on Flickr and on the WClub and loved it so I copied the style.
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 