Elise Jolie Styled in the Roaring 20’s
I was so looking forward to the Hope Diamond Barbie. I loved the promo pictures of the red haired siren with the gorgeous 20’s inspired gown and jewelry. I received her a couple of weeks ago and must say..I was underwhelmed. I adore the gown and jewelry. The doll…Meh. I guess the biggest disappointment was her hair. It was nothing like the promo’s . In reality..it was a big hot mess. I am fairly confident with fixing doll hair. This…was beyond my expertise. I am hoping that it was just my doll who had bad hair and that others received dolls with better hair. Pictures from toy fair showed this lady with promo prefect hair. I did not receive one of those. So, time to make some lemonade out of this lemon. I chose to repurpose the gown and jewelry right away. The gown was a tight fit on an FR2 body but I managed to make it work….just barely.
Model: FR2 “Dark Swan” Elise Jolie
Gown and jewelry: Hope Diamond Barbie
Set: My white shelves set at an angle. Statues I found at a small shop in Snohomish ( my favorite place to find props!). Background is a graduated black to white background and I added a black acrylic floor. I use this floor a lot because I adore the dramatic reflection it gives. There is a blue spot on the black background. It is a small portable LED light that produced a white/blue light so it has colored the black background blue.
More Grace from Mattel!
Mattel has just announced a new addition to the vinyl Grace Kelly Barbie line. Robert Best has designed her wearing the incredibly beautiful black and white Rear Window “fresh from the Paris plane” gown designed by Edith Head. I am jumping up and down excited….squeeeeeeeel! Many costume historians put this gown down as one of the most copied and iconic gowns ever worn by Grace Kelly. She is listed as a “pink label” doll and is scheduled for release in December. She is listed for $34.95 currently on www.pinkponytail.com
Dear Santa….please put one of these under the Christmas tree for me 
**Note** Photo is property of Mattel, Inc.
Mattel also released photos of a new Barbie designed by Robert Best called Hope Diamond Barbie. Here name may change down the road but here are the first photos of her. She will retail for $74.95 and is due out in Spring of 2012. Steep price but it is the Hope Diamond after all. LOVE the gown and the gorgeous red hair. I hope the production doll looks very similar to this!
**Note** Photo is property of Mattel, Inc.
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 