Picture of the Week Award ~ December 13, 2009

I've seen the name La Pierle many times connected with beautiful and trendy doll fashions. What I didn't know was that this same person is an accomplished photographer and Photoshop user. Her real name is Valerie Humbert-Deshayes and she is a free-lance textile designer. Her photography and fashion design demonstrate and echo her passion for textures and fabrics.

Valerie's native language is French but her English is excellent compared to my French. She described the image and fashion to me and gave me permission to reword her description. The part in quotes are her words.

Valerie obtained the embroidered tulle with irridescent beads and mother of pearl sequins from her Indian textile supplier. She wanted something transparent and light even though the fabric is quite heavy due to the beading. Once she had the fabric the style of the dress came easily.
The idea behind the image's mood is "inspired by the magic of Christmas. Salvation is the concept that other higher power, as part of Divine Providence, saves Humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life."

Post processing was done in Photoshop through the use of multiple layers and lots of skill!

You can see more of La Pierle's work at Etsy and Flickr. 

Congratulations, Valerie, on the Picture of the Week Award.

Happy Chanukah to Everyone

May your days shine brightly and may your hearts be filled with warmth.

Can I just get the shoes?

There are many who will spend $150 for a non-articulated doll dressed in a black catsuit with painted black hands and four pair of shoes. They are probably the very same people who bought my Platinum Cher doll for $500. I can't put you down because I take a look at my dolly spreadsheet from time to time and cringe when I see what I spend on doll clothes. It's obscene. But at least my dolls can sit, bend their arms and are fully articulated.

Anyway, I keep seeing these images of the Christian Louboutin Cat Burglar doll. The packaging is very nice. I wonder if the shoes are plastic? The doll is limited to 7700 worldwide. That seems like a huge amount to me when I collect dolls that are variously limited from less than 100 to about 1000. The range of retail prices I've seen is from a low of $149.99 to a high of $299.99. Unreal.

"Here is a brief description: Christian Louboutin has collaborated with Barbie to create this limited edition 'Cat Burglar' doll. In a black catsuit and Differa sandals, she is the perfect gift for fashion lovers. She comes with a collection of 4 red-soled Louboutins, each with their own shoe box and bag. "

I love the last picture. Definitely a hottie!

Mattel outdid themselves this year and their rising prices reflected the extra effort.