The Emilia Couture Contest

A contest was held earlier this year by Emilia Niemen. It ended on March 16th.
The rules were:
"Take a doll box, tie in your favourite doll and fashion to build your dream giftset. Just pile in everything you ever wanted and feel free to use Photoshop or other means to enhance the looks and colours of your dream doll set. The doll, box and fashions can be any size or brand....The doll must be photographed in the box wearing one of the outfits..."

 The grand prize was this fabulous "Ants" outfit.

All entries were posted to a special group Emilia created on Flickr.

The winner of the contest was Micheal Jarvis aka monkeyhaircutter with this amazing gift set consisting of two men dressed for their wedding. The accessories included a three-tier wedding cake, a bottle of champagne and two fluted glasses, a bottle of liquor and luggage. Their clothes included lounge and pool wear in addition to their formal wear. The case is from an earlier Fashion Royalty gift set. Everything is arranged in a appealing way. If Integrity produced a set like this it would fly off the shelves faster than a New York minute!

First runner-up was Laura/LA with this wonderful gift set consisting of a dressed Agnes, two additional fashions and a furnished wall! WOW! I love the way Laura color coordinated the fashions by using red and black throughout. The fireplace, framed paintings and crystal chandelier could make a backdrop for photography. What a great idea for a gift set.

Second runner-up was Dollster for a stunningly arranged grouping of HJ Couture fashions and dressed doll in lacy lingerie. She is presented in one of the "Atelier" gift set boxes that we don't see anymore. Wonderful!

A special "Out-of-the-box-thinking" award was presented to OddMod for her very clever and amusing Glinda-The Jeti Hunter gift set. This really cracked me up. It was adorable and so very creative.

I felt joy and pleasure looking at the entries because they show how people are playing with and loving their dolls. This was very special!

I was planning to post only the winning entries but I feel like they are all winners. The dolls and fashions are gorgeous. I don't know how Emilia was able to whittle down her choices. I would love to have each and every one of these sets for my own as I bet other collectors would, too.

You can click on each picture to enlarge it.

Katana Restyled

Check out these fabulous photos of Katana restyled and posted by Stacy Leigh yesterday on Prego. Stacy has provided this information about the fashion Katana is wearing.
Wig by Superfrock.
Jewelry by Stacy herself.
Bustier by Ficon from Denimish.
Cigarettes by Fashion Boulevard.
Pants by Tonner from the 20th Anniversary convention.
Sneakers by Ficon.
Handbag is a memory stick.

Katana actually appears to be standing on a street at night. Well done!

Cheryl Wood Wigs

My two newest wigs by Cheryl Wood are modeled below by Talc and Jamieshow Winter.

CDDC Challenge #5 Winners

Congratulations to the winners of Challenge Five!

BEGINNER: KEVIN ROBERTS

 INTERMEDIATE: CHOLO AYUYAO

PROFESSIONAL: SUYANEE WONGCHOTWIRIYAKIT

Photography Winner: Julia Peshkova

CDDC Challenge 5 "Say Konichiwa to Fashion"

The current challenge is to take the idea of the traditional Japanese kimono and couture-ize it.  It's a great (and easier) challenge as it relies solely upon the contestant's own creativity without having to incorporate or interpret the styles of other designers or eras.

The ranks of contestants has thinned.
In the beginner section, I like this one because it's modern-looking with distinct traditional Japanese motifs and accessories.

The image suffers from uneven lighting which seems to be a problem the majority of the entries suffer from. Some aren't lit well enough at all and the beauty of the fashion can't be seen.
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This entry in the intermediate category is so gorgeous but it's difficult to see except in the last image where the pieces are turned inside out. The linings are fantastic. Layer upon layer - just like a real kimono with a truly modern, wearable twist.

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In the professional category, the following entry is just stunning. There is very little 'kimono' incorporated but I would love this outfit for my dolls. Again, the photograph does not enhance the beauty of the fashion although the images submitted for the photography portion of the contest are lit much better.

There is no law against using the same color for the backdrop as the doll is wearing. It's the light and shadow that will make or break the photo. Photography is about light, not about color. Of course I'm coming from old school photography  -  film, darkrooms, black & white, etc.

Go to this page to see all the entries for this segment of the contest.  http://www.couturedoll.com/ch5.html

Poppy and Chip, Baby It's You Giftset

 Chip makes his debut in this giftset which depicts a prom scene. I don't collect male dolls anymore but I had to order this set to see this long-awaited guy. He comes dressed in a white dinner jacket and black slacks with suspenders. His shoes are very cool. If only there were a substitute for hooks and eyes. The shirt collar would lay flat and look better. Alas, no one is coming up with anything short of sewing the fashion onto the doll. And we don't want that.

What happened to his hair? There's a giant flap of glued hair sticking up. I don't think it's supposed to be this way.

Poppy's outfit is not my taste - neither the color nor the drapery valance skirt appeals to me. The artificial flower at her waist cheapens the outfit. I thought it was interesting that she came already wearing gloves and her rhinestone bracelet and earrings. Perhaps other Poppy dolls came fully adorned with their accessories but I don't remember.

Warning, you can't leave these two alone.