Reinterpreted Runway Fashion from Superfrock

Thanks to George Gonzalez for pointing out this reinterpretation of a McQueen by Superfrock.

Alexander McQueen: Paris Fashion Week RTW 2009

Black Bird Society Fashion

 Birds do it, bees do it 

even Superfrock does it.

New Ellowyne Released "Timid Tan" with Free Shipping Now

Today Wilde Imagination released a new dressed Ellowyne doll called Timid Tan.  At first glance I thought she was a Basic Doll. She's quite ordinary compared to many dressed dolls. Her retail price is $135.00.

 To take advantage of the current promo for free shipping enter the code: SMILE13 for domestic orders and SMILE13INT for international orders.

She reminds me so much of "A Bon Voyage" who was a Hollywood Ahoy Convention (2009) doll. I like ABV better. Still available for $129.

Wilde Imagination  http://www.wildeimagination.com/c-2-dressed-dolls.aspx

In Search Of Sinister Circus "Back Stabber"

As if I need another doll....and yet I do. She is the Sinister Circus "Back Stabber"- LE 150.  She was the 2009 Modern Doll Collectors Convention (MDCC) Souvenir doll at the Tonner breakout event held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Someone must have one they don't want anymore. 

She has my favorite Supergirl sculpt and there is definitely a place for her in my collection.

Poop On ebay?

The seller prefaces all of his/her listings with the following disclaimer:

ALL ITEMS COME FROM GARAGE SALES, THRIFT STORES OR AUCTIONS. MY HOME IS SMOKE FREE AND PET FRIENDLY BUT I CANNOT SPEAK FOR WHERE THESE ITEM HAVE BEEN BEFORE. I TRY TO DESCRIBE ITEMS TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY BUT AM NOT AN EXPERT AND CONDITION IS SOMETIMES A MATTER OF OPINION. ANY ISSUES NOTICED WILL BE NOTED IN THE DESCRIPTION. I TEST ALL TOYS WITH BATTERY'S TO MAKE SURE THEY WORK SATISFACTORILY. BATTERIES ARE NOT ALWAYS INCLUDED. EVERYTHING SOLD IN AS IS CONDITION. PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS. 

Would you buy from this seller? She doesn't know where the stuff has been?
"Condition is sometimes a matter of opinion." Duh! So why bother asking questions when her opinion is going to be different because she's not an expert and knows nothing.  
I have seen this type of disclaimer quite often. One doll I purchased was yellowed either from age or cigarette smoke or a combination of both. The seller told me she didn't know if the previous owner was a smoker. I suppose her sense of smell and eyesight weren't working the day she described the doll as excellent condition.

If is looks like shit, smells like shit, chances are it's been somewhere specific. 

I have to say that the majority of eBay sellers are honest people. I've had 95% success with sellers and products.
You just have to be very careful, ask specific questions and be prepared to NOT bid if the response is not satisfactory. It's your money. Hang on to it.

Runway Fashion Reinterpreted for Your Pleasure

From Christian LaCroix Spring/Summer 2008:

From the team at Integrity Toys 2011:

The redesign is missing all the subtlety and artistry of the original. In the LaCroix, the flow of color from bottom of the hot pink of the skirt up to the orange/red at the waist is perfection. The shoulder rose picks up the pastel of the tights. The tights themselves seem to be darker at the foot end and lighter as they go up. The hair ornament has all the colors seen in the gown. It all makes sense. The one splash of chartreuse is softened by the drape of the fabric used for the bow and it's placed to appear so that the bow is gathering the fabric instead of just stuck on top of the fabric.

_____________________

_____________________

Click for Source

An Emperor who cares for nothing but his appearance and attire hires two tailors who promise him the finest suit of clothes from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or "just hopelessly stupid". The Emperor cannot see the cloth himself, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing unfit for his position or stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they mime dressing him and the Emperor then marches in procession before his subjects, who play along with the pretense. Suddenly, a child in the crowd, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretense, blurts out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all and the cry is taken up by others. The Emperor cringes, suspecting the assertion is true, but holds himself up proudly and continues the procession.

Bild Lilly for Sale at Marl & B

This beautiful example of a Bild Lilly doll caught my eye today. I don't think I've seen one in such gorgeous condition. Marl is selling her for $4,200. I have no idea about the prices of these dolls but I do know that they are an important part of fashion doll history, particularly that of Barbie. 

Click on the picture to go to Marl & B Website

Excerpts from Wikipedia and miscellaneous sources about Bild Lilli and Barbie's origin follows. Clicking on any of the links will take you to Wikipedia.

The doll became so popular that she was exported to other countries, including the United States, where she was just called "Lilli". Some Lillis have been seen in original packaging dating from the 1950s for an English-speaking market labeled as "Lilli Marlene", after the famous song. Several toy companies (mainly in Hong Kong) started producing fashion dolls looking very similar to Lilli. These dolls are easy to distinguish because of their poor quality.But Lilli also inspired the production of another fashion doll of high quality who would soon outshine her: Barbie, produced by Mattel. Ruth Handler, one of the company's founders, bought some of the Lilli dolls when she was on a trip to Europe. Back home she reworked the design of the doll and re-named her Barbie, who debuted at the New York toy fair on March 9, 1959. Barbie had rooted hair and her shoes and earrings were not molded — apart from that she was a lookalike of Lilli. Barbie celebrated 50 years of continuous production in 2009.^[2]Louis Marx and Company acquired the rights to the Lilli doll from O&M Hausser and released it in America as the Miss Seventeen (doll) in 1961. Marx unsuccessfully attempted to sue Mattel for patent infringement.^[3]Also in Spain, Muñecas FEJ (Guillen y Vicedo) copied the moulds of Bild Lilli and made a very similar doll but with darker skin, white earrings and articulated waist. However, Spanish society was extremely conservative at that moment and were not ready for such "sexy" dolls. Mothers were not buying them for their daughters and the manufacturer had to retire them from the market.There are no books about the Lilli doll alone. 

Even though their whole Barbie success was based on this German original, Mattel's legal department made sure that using the name Bild Lilli as a book title or product name would infringe copyright laws. Mattel had discreetly bought up all and any patents and copyrights to Bild Lilli, while Marx Toys held some of them after the demise of this toy competitor. Unlike Barbie, Bild Lilli was produced for only eight years and never reached the importance of the American doll. By the time the creators and producers of the original Bild Lilli doll, O&M Hausser, realized that Mattel had duped them into selling off their intellectual property and distribution rights for ridiculously low lump sums, Barbie had already made Mattel such a successful and influential market leader that law suits were struck down in favor of the ever-growing American toy giant.

 Portraying the risqué misadventures of a tarty, sassy blonde "working girl" living life in the big city, Lilli was an oversexed fashionista who enjoyed keeping the company of rich men. While she did maintain a job as a secretary, she was definitely the type of girl who, like Holly Golightly in 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's "got $50 to go to the powder room". Because of it's bawdy humor the cartoon was an immediate smash hit and became a weekly feature.

"I must insist that at least one of you stops following me!"

"Yes, I kissed him, but I didn't want him to get too serious so I stopped him after three."

To cash in on the success of the comic character, BILD released an 11 1/2" Lilli novelty doll in 1955, aimed at adult male readers and sold them in bars and smoke shops as an erotic gag gift. Since the dolls produced up until this point were babies or toddlers marketed to girls, a doll with a voluptuous figure sold to men as a sexualized plaything was quite titillating.

A smaller 7 1/2" version of Lilli was also produced and could be playfully dangled from the rear view mirror of a car, on a little included swing. Who needs a mudflap girl when you can have a three-dimensional "sex pet"?  The promotional material touted her lifestyle as "always discreet," and that her sexy wardrobe made her "the star of every bar"!

 

Not originally intended for children, little girls fell in love with the dolls.  A high quality wardrobe was produced featuring the fashions trends of the 50's such as tight sweaters, capri pants, pencil skirts, party outfits, cotton swing skirts, nightwear and traditional German dresses.

Although the design was tweaked, side by side Lilli and the original Barbie are nearly identical!