Fashion Inspiration
Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year will be full of new and interesting fashion doll news that we can talk about and share here. Fashion Inspiration is always a fun thing to speculate on when a new set of dolls is released from Mattel or Integrity Toys. There are some very good fashion sleuths in our collecting community that post possible inspirations for these new and old fashion dolls. I don’t know if it is the history lover or the fashion lover in me that enjoys this information. I guess it doesn’t really matter..I just think it is fun to see the possible inspiration that designers at Mattel or IT use to design a particular doll.
My friend Hilda of Bellissima Couture found a fashion and posted it on Pinterest the other day. It was a dress by Jason Wu and I instantly recognized it. It was a gown I had seen on a Fashion Royalty doll. It was not surprising…given that Jason Wu designed the doll for Integrity Toys.
Typically, a doll is released and I love to look back in history at fashion shows of popular designers to see if I can spot an inspiration. It started me thinking…Jason Wu started as a doll designer…was there inspiration coming the other way? In other words, could we look back at previous doll designs and see inspiration for the amazing designer he was to become. I think I may have found a few.
Whichever way inspiration goes, from the fashion world to the doll design arena or vice versa, that connection with fashion past and present is a big part of collecting for me. It is so interesting to me to see how they influence each other.
I am looking forward to another year of fashion inspiration and doll collecting. I hope you are too 
The Upper Echelon of Integrity Toy’s Monograms
** photo property of Integrity Toys, Inc. **
I have to admit….the original outfit on this one just didn’t do it for me personally. I know what a bubble skirt looks like on me ( NOT PRETTY!) and I just could not get past it on this doll. I love the black top, shoes and bag…the rest…. well…time to repurpose. On to the positives…. Love the face of soft color and the hair was a different style. I typically like most variations on an updo so the little curl this girl has in the back was just too adorable. Yes, the hair bump has been overused ,in my opinion, at Integrity this year but on this doll, I like it. Since the outfit wasn’t doing it for me, I had to find an appropriate replacement and inspiration struck while I was perusing the latest edition of Vogue. There is a wonderful spread highlighting the Ritz in Paris. I would absolutely die to have a backdrop of some of these rooms for my dolls. It’s the ultimate in style, I mean come on…Coco Chanel lived there! I saw one photo in this spread and it inspired me to do this shoot. Hope you like it.
< Let them eat Cake… >
Model: Fashion Royalty Monogram “ Echelon”
Coat, skirt and gloves: F.R. Power Play
Shoes: F.R. Monogram
Fur: Dimitha
Fascinator Hat: made by me
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 