When? When? When?

On Reddit I saw how Skelita Calaveras's G3 self is going to look.  She's freaking adorable.

I repeat:  when, when, WHEN is she gonna be released???  I know I said yesterday that I need to watch the ol' pesos, but for Skelita I'll make an exception, particularly if she's released sometime this month.

Of course I can't let things go without a little critique.  Skelita's pet is a dog, and that's kinda a bummer since a lot of the current Monster High characters have either a dog or a cat now.  Not all of 'em, mind y'all; Nefera de Nile still has her scarab beetle, Hissette remains one of Cleo de Nile's pets, and Ghoulia Yelps never parted with Sir Hoots-a-Lot.  Plus, Candelita is apparently supposed to be a xoloitzcuintli, a hairless breed that was developed in Mexico.  She LOOKS like a Chihuahua, but Skelita's wiki page says she's a xolo.  That's not a breed one sees every day, so I can live with Skelita owning yet another dog.  Candelita also has a pink mohawk, which I love.  I gotta admit that an axolotl would've been a good pet too, since the original axolotls are only found in one pond in Mexico City...and they're ridiculously endangered!

Spooky love,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday randomness: Skelita and Pix

Today's image dates back to 2014, around this time of year.

At the time both Monster High and Lalaloopsy were a thing, and the dolls pictured are Art Class Skelita Calaveras (whom I didn't review) and Pix E. Flutters (whom I did review).  I just thought they looked cute on top of Mama's couch (I was living with her at the time).

November 17th is D-Day for both Mama and a second or third cousin of mine.  Mama will be seeing the oncologist to see how her bloodwork reads, and we'll be going from there.  She's been a-drinkin' the water to rehydrate herself, and I'm still praying that that's all it is.  My opinions on cancer have never been high, but they are at an all-time low right now, with Mama's cousin being sick and inoperable, and two of my favorite ex-teachers being sick, and Graeme Edge being dead...<wails and gnashes teeth>...NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  Ahem...Second-or-Third Cousin does NOT have cancer, but he hasn't exactly had a fun year either.  He is (or was) a baseball player, and back in the spring he got plugged in the eye by a baseball.  He kept the eye, but the ball did a number on it and the doctors are STILL trying to determine how much vision he'll regain in that eye, if any.  He's had multiple surgeries and procedures and has been in a lot of pain, so we're hoping that this last surgery will be it.  The surgery is to close a hole in his retina and hopefully return his center of vision.  His peripheral vision in that eye is fine, he says, so maybe closing that hole will help.  I'm hopin' and prayin' for the best for both Mama and Second-or-Third Cousin.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

Custom Ever After High doll

Yes, one of my favorite holidays has come to an end and the Great Pumpkin was a no-show, but happily I had quite a few Trick-or-Treaters come by (last year I didn't).  It started off slow, slow enough that I dragged Chloe out to take some pictures.

Chloe is a leprechaun, by the way.  I've made that clear on Den of Angels that she's supposed to be a leprechaun and not a witch, but I haven't made it clear here.  Chloe is a leprechaun, and while she's not any keener on winter than her friend Johnny is, she does love Halloween...provided the Trick-or-Treaters come, which they didn't at first.

 "Le sigh...Mother, it's growing cold out here."

Chloe always calls me "Mother," for reasons I'll never know.  Anyway, the Trick-or-Treaters did eventually show, after I'd put Chloe back on her shelf and dragged out my computer, and within an hour my candy was gone and my Halloween was over.  Of course we still have Day of the Dead in full swing (plus All Saints' Day if any of y'all are Catholic), and Day of the Dead is what we're going to discuss today.  I've had this post in Draft Limbo since my birthday on October 6th, but the doll in this post has a Day of the Dead theme so I decided to hold off until now.  I've been in the doll hobby since I was eleven, but unless one counts the ball-jointed dolls that I own I've never purchased a custom-made doll.  The ones that I like are usually the higher-end ones that were way out of my price range, and in some cases I tend to prefer the original product.  I don't care much for those super-customized Blythe dolls, for example; they're cute, but I prefer the subtle edge of the original Blythe face.  We'll revisit Blythe in the future, as I finally have one...sort of.  Today is for Monster High and Ever After High though; I bought a customized Ever After High doll from a Facebook friend.  My buddy Alyssia Brown makes these drop-dead gorgeous repaints of Monster High and Ever After High dolls, with themes ranging from pop culture to fan art to fantasy.  Here's what some of my favorites look like (pictures used with permission).

There hasn't been a creation that I haven't liked, but those will give y'all an idea of what Alyssia's work looks like.  Recently she did a line of sugar skull dolls, and being a Day of the Dead fan I knew I had to own one.  Meet Morrada Calaveras.

Yes, her name is Morrada, the feminine singular Spanish word for "purple."  Being based on a Mexican entity and clothed in purple, that seems fitting.  The last name "Calaveras" is not original, being Skelita's last name.  I own two Skelita dolls, the first-wave doll and the Art Class doll, and since they share a surname I've chosen to pretend that Morrada is Skelita's cousin.

Comparing Morrada to Skelita in-depth wouldn't really be fair since one is made for mass-production and the other is an OOAK entity...but I'm going to compare them anyway.  I like Skelita a lot; indeed, of all the characters Monster High has had I like Skelita the most of all, with her half-moth, half-skeleton cousin Bonita Femur coming in at a close second.  Now that I think about it...is Bonita Femur Skelita's cousin, or could she possibly be her half-sister???  Both are listed as daughters of skeletons, after all, though sources don't say if they're both children of the same skeleton.  Anywho, Skelita's style and aesthetic is merely based on Day of the Dead and the resulting sugar skulls, while Morrada IS a sugar skull, more or less.

Alrighty, nitty-gritty time.  Morrada is a repossessed Ever After High doll, and judging from her tan plastic and the tiny tufts of caramel hair still faintly visible she was probably once this Ashlynn Ella doll.  My hypothesis is further supported by Morrada's fixed arms, and by the fact that I can feel a molded bodice under her dress.  Hats off to Alyssia for finding a good way to repurpose and hide the craptastic bodies that Mattel bestowed upon these dolls.  I got this doll for a discount because of those arms, by the way; neither Alyssia nor I are big fans of the new bodies Mattel has started using, but Alyssia made it work and I applaud her for that.  Morrada's sleeves are a feat, but I'm going to pull my fascination away from the sleeves now and focus on the head for a minute.  Specifically the face.

Oooo boy, there's a lot to talk about.  This painting puts even the best factory paint job to shame.  It has the hollow cheeks, missing nose and sunken eyes that all skulls have, whether they're sugar skulls or regular skulls.  These features are all painted in, just like Skelita's blackened nose is, but Morrada's paint is clearly more ornate than Skelita's.  For one thing, Skelita's forehead is devoid of paint, while Morrada's forehead has both a two-toned cobweb and an ornate cross.

I love the details on the cobweb; the cross pieces each have a dab of white paint, and the threads of the web are highlighted in silver.  Both of these touches do a good job of emulating a dew-covered spider's web lit by the sun, an effect that can't have been easy.

Morrada's forehead and temples are further accentuated by these black and silver scrolls.

Skelita also has these scrolls, but not as many as Morrada does.

Morrada's eyes are...well, they're a sight for sore eyes!

The irises are this gorgeous shade of magenta, and they're heavily decorated with silver, black, and purple "makeup," plus some deliciously devious eyebrows.  Alyssia even put in a fleshtoned strip of paint under Morrada's eyes to simulate lower lids.  By comparison, the average Skelita has simple little flower shapes and small dots around each eye.  Both dolls also have some shadow on and around their eyes; the first wave doll has blue shadow and blue flowers, as do most of the other Skelita dolls.

Art Class is the oddball of the bunch, with lavender eyeshadow and pink flowers.

To set the stage for Morrada's mouth area, I present a deliberate digression.  Here's what the other sugar skull dolls looked like; again, all pictures are used with Alyssia's kind permission.

Each one is different and very special.  I reserve a particular fondness for the one in the middle, as Alyssia found a way to make Madeline Hatter's painted gloves work with the rest of the look, but these are all great and all found homes quickly.  Why do I bring this up, you ask?  Because Morrada is the only doll with honest-to-God teeth showing, rather than lines that simulate teeth.  And what fabulous teeth!

Those can't have been easy to paint.  Teeth are not unheard of on made-up humans, but dolls...well, they're not unheard of on dolls either, but they're not as common as lips with lines.  While the other three sugar skull girls have an ethereal, slightly innocent look about them, Morrada is all sass.  She's downright fierce-looking in fact (I'm talking the good kind of fierce, of course), especially when compared to the saccharine smile of Skelita Calaveras. Not that I don't love Skelita's face, of course!  She just pales a bit in comparison to Morrada.  The paint jobs vary from wave to wave again, by the way.  My first-wave doll has bubblegum-pink lips...

...while the others range from darker pink to brick red.  All Skelita dolls have lines on their faces and lips to simulate teeth, however; this is accurate for sugar skull makeup.

Let's go up now, to the hair.  The hair threw me for a loop.  It looks simple enough, being black and lavender yarn with a side part...

...but I actually thought for a minute that Alyssia had rooted the head with this!  If any of y'all have ever unraveled a strand of yarn, then y'all have likely noticed that when unraveled yarn becomes very delicate and easy to pull apart.  Thus why there's no possible way that this could be rooted.  It's glued, but look how perfectly it's glued to Morrada's head!  It blends in perfectly with her scalp, thus why I thought that Alyssia had tried to root it.

Compare that to my Ashton Drake doll's sloppy glue job.  It's very difficult to see where Morrada's original hair was cut off, but if I look very, VERY closely I can see it and it confirms my hypothesis that this doll was once an Ashlynn Ella, as the roots are caramel-colored like Ashlyn's.  These roots are not noticeable at all from any sort of normal distance, and they're only barely visible in the photograph above.

Topping off the style, right at the part, is a single purple silk rose with two little green leaves.  Sometimes sugar skulls sport a big crown of these flowers, but I prefer the single one myself.  It looks like the simple styles that everyday Mexican women tend to wear.

I'll have to be extra careful with this hair; the absolute last thing I want is to accidentally pull a chunk of it off like I did with my Little Apple Doll's hair.  In my own defense I suspect that Mirari's hair was poorly rooted, a problem that I won't run into with Morrada, but better to be safe than sorry.

Regarding clothes, I'm not sure where this dress came from.  Sometimes Alyssia makes her dolls' clothes and sometimes she re-purposes existing clothes that came off of other dolls she customized, which I think is clever.  This dress is definitely re-purposed, but I don't know where from.  All I know is that it's got a lattice pattern printed on, with skulls and drips added in.

The skirt is cut in a tattered manner.

Apparently this is a halter-top dress, as I can see Morrada's bare back shining through that vinyl.

The vinyl belongs to a vest, one that looks eerily like the vests worn by Amazing Nails Barbie and her crew.

At first I thought this WAS a modified Amazing Nails Lea vest, but having looked over Monster High dolls and their various outfits, I discovered that this belonged to Ghouls Night Out Spectra Vondergeist.  Knowing Alyssia like I do, GNO Spectra probably became Siouxsie Sioux; her Siouxsie dolls are pretty popular, and I happen to be one of their many fans.  This one has been my favorite so far, since I like the Star of David (photo is again used with Alyssia's consent).

Back on topic now.  Morrada's sleeves are separate pieces of black and white striped fabric, and as I said above I have no idea how Alyssia managed to pull this off.  The sleeves are extremely fitted, and there are no loose threads anywhere in sight.

I wouldn't be making this big a deal over these sleeves if Morrada's hands could come off...but they don't, and look how splayed her fingers are!

Dig that nail polish, by the way!  Another nice little detail that Alyssia threw in.  But still, I'm at a complete loss for how she did these sleeves, because that fabric has zero stretch.

The footwear made me chuckle a little, because I recognize these boots.

I'm 99% positive that those are the original Clawdeen Wolf's shoes!  If so, then they certainly work well with the rest of the outfit.  They're not ill-fitting on Morrada's feet, though Monster High feet and Ever After High feet are a little different.  As for the tights...are these Apple White's?  C.A. Cupid's?  Some Monster High doll's?  Anyway, they're stretchy black fishnet tights, the kind that my sister and I used to wear.  Alyssia was a little miffed that these tights have a few holes in them, but no biggie.  She noted that it added an extra bit of "tatterpunk" flair to Morrada's outfit, and given the tattered hem of the dress, I have to agree.  Besides, it's not like the holes are super-obvious!  For the sake of completion I'm showing the holes, but they do not detract from this doll at all, nor do they bother me.

Par for the course with fishnet tights!  LOL, my sister and I both wore these on a fairly regular basis during our adolescence, and they always managed to get holes somehow. 

I'm not going to undress Morrada because I don't want to damage her hair...or her clothes...or...well, I just don't want to mess her up.  But just for fun, here's how she compares to my other Ever After High dolls.  If I had an Ashlynn Ella I'd compare Morrada to her, but I don't have one and I'm regretting that a bit now, because Ashlynn had lovely coloring.  But anyway, here's how Morrada looks with C.A. Cupid, who is the closest to Morrada in terms of skintone.

At first glance it would be very hard to tell that Morrada has any sort of relation to the other EVH dolls, but if one looks at the shape of her head that'll give a hint.  The shape of the hands do as well.

I have no complaints about Morrada, and I highly recommend Alyssia's work.  She's not doing sugar skulls right now that I'm aware of, but she's got some other fabulous ideas in the making.  She has unfortunately had to stop doing commissions due to the time it takes to make them, and that's a bit of a shame since I was thinking of commissioning the protagonist from A Bad Case of Stripes.  But since I just bought Morrada I'll be content with her for now.  Getting those stripes properly lined up would be a fairly tall order anyway.  Alyssia's store can be found here if anyone is interested in her lovely repaints; she's very personable and does her best to make her creations beautiful and her customers happy.

Now, a change of subject to discuss a newcomer in my life.  Nope, I'm not pregnant, but I will be getting a new child today.  Some of y'all may remember my gripes in the past about winter weather, and how I feared for the well-being of my crested gecko Horatio.  Well...Horatio died about a year and a half ago, and I haven't had any other reptiles in that time frame.  That's coming to an end this evening, as I'll be getting a bearded dragon.  I'm super-excited, because I've been wanting a bearded dragon for a long time.  Yes, my cats and my chinchilla are wonderful and I love them, but I've still been wanting a beardie.  When I get her settled in tonight I'll share an update.

Happy Day of the Dead,
RagingMoon1987

Time to gripe: Monster High reboot

Let's talk about Barbie's...well, both of these are Mattel lines so I'm not sure if these dollies are Barbie's frenemies or rivals.  But let's talk about the Monster High dolls, those edgy, freaky-fabulous offspring of famous monsters and mythical legends that have been giving Barbie a run for her money lately.  The Monster High dolls remind me more of something that MGA Entertainment would've done, what with their Bratz-like proportions; big eyes, puckered lips, and slim, oddly proportioned bodies.  I absolutely love the Monster High dolls, to the point that they've taken over part of my bedroom.  In the past I've reviewed C.A. Cupid and Skelita Calaveras, shown how the Inner Monster masks looked good on the regular Create-A-Monster sets, lamented Mattel's oversight of new MH clothing sets, gawked at the new big dolls, and I've even cobbled together some knitwear.  Skelita Calaveras remains my favorite character, though River Styxx did give her a run for her money.  Being a mortuary student I feel a certain kinship with the daughter of the Grim Reaper.  Plus, River and Skelita have some of the same aesthetics, especially in the face.

This is where my gripe is going to get hypocritical.  Both River and Skelita are smiling dolls, which is not something one sees every day in the Monster High world.  Most of my other MH dolls have either a neutral expression...

...or they've got their attitude on.

Skelita and River are both smilers, as are Bonita Femur, Honey Swamps, and Clawdia Wolf.  In fact, I suspect that Bonita may be Skelita's mother's secret love child, since she's supposed to be a cross between a skeleton and the Mothman.  Or maybe the two are cousins.  Go figure.  Anyway, every so often we get a Monster High doll that's smiling.  With the exception of Clawdia, I've liked these happy little dolls.  Unfortunately, Mattel is once again mucking around with something, trying to fix that which isn't broken, and they are apparently revamping the Monster High dolls to where nearly all of them are smiling!  Look what they've done to Frankie and Draculaura!

The new faces are cute, but what on earth is wrong with the old ones???  These dolls are supposed to be freaky fabulous, not generically pretty like Barbie or cute and sweet like the Ever After High dolls.  Don't get me wrong, I like Barbie and EAH, but after growing up in a world full of perpetually happy playline dolls, it's nice to see something different.  Something edgy.  Something with a bit of attitude.  It's my opinion that edge and attitude are what made the Bratz such big sellers, and I believe the same is true of the Monster High dolls.  Heck, the dolls even look a little alike!  Check this out!

Meygan and Lagoona are very different, but they've got a lot of the same attributes.  Their expressions are similar as are their features.  They've both got full, pouty lips and big, made-up eyes that suggest a hint of personality.  Compare that to Barbie, whose wide eyes and wide smile remind me of something you might meet on Sesame Street.

That doll is a cute one, no question.  But if she could talk, I'd expect her to sound like a female version of Big Bird.  She'd walk up to whomever she met and go "Hiiiiiiiiiii, everyone!"  No offense meant to either Barbie or Big Bird, whom I'm still quite fond of at my age.  I don't mind the innocence that Barbie projects with her big eyes and her friendly smile, but the problem is that 99% of the Barbie dolls in stores look alike.  They all wear the same smile, and they all look perpetually cheerful.  Compare that to Ghoulia Yelps, who looks slightly perplexed, or Cleo de Nile, who looks slightly put-out, or Lagoona Blue, who always looks innocent and approachable.  These ladies do not wear plastic smiles, and yet they each have their own personality.  The new faces, with their overly large eyes and innocent little smiles, rob each character of much of her personality.  If that weren't bad enough, the new faces make the characters look highly similar to one another.  Mattel made that mistake once with the first wave of Ever After High dolls, and they appear to be doing it again with the Monster High dolls.  Don't believe me?  Check out this post by Kazuya Mishma.  Cleo de Nile still looks like Cleo de Nile, but Frankie, Clawdeen, and Draculaura all look similar.  The new face suits Draculaura, who has always had a bit of a sugar and spice attitude about life, but the same can't be said for she-wolf Clawdeen, who has always been sassy, saucy, and fierce.

I may live to eat my words, but I think this is a dumb move on Mattel's part.  Children seem to like the dolls the way they currently are; every girl I know under a certain age owns at least one Monster High doll, so they're obviously selling.  The new face IS attractive, and it would probably make for some decent NEW characters, but I feel that the OLD ones should be left as is.

Yours always,
RagingMoon1987

Dolly Dress Discussion: new duds for Barbie and Monster High

Mattel has produced some very cute two-outfit packs for Barbie this year.  My intention is to get all the sets, and so far I have three so I'm keeping up with the pace pretty well.  Here's what I've got so far:

OUTFIT SET #1:  Barbie Fashion Complete Look 2-Pack, Birthday Set
MODELS:  Life in the Dreamhouse Midge ("Midge") on the left, and Barbie Style Teresa ("Mara") on the right. 
DESCRIPTION:  Midge is wearing a white t-shirt with the word "pink" printed on in script.  Over that she wears a silver plastic necklace and a tiered skirt made out of salmon tulle.  The skirt has a gray knit waistband and pink glitter on the tulle hems.  Mara is wearing a pink flowered blouse and a hot pink jumper.  She got the purse that went with the set, and the sole pair of shoes (Midge's shoes are borrowed from one of Raquelle's dresses).
PROS:  Both of these outfits are well-tailored, as one could expect from a Mattel dress.  The tulle layers on the skirt have...well, I'm not sure what's keeping them from raveling, but they're finished somehow.  The pieces are separate, the exact opposite of President Michelle's clothing and Midge's original outfit.  The tops, skirt, and jumper can all be mixed and matched around.  I can overlook the fact that Mara's outfit borders on pink overkill, since the theme is supposed to be pink.
CONS:  Accessories are nondescript.  Midge's necklace is made of that chrome-looking plastic, which I've seen on a fair amount of the recent dolls, and in several outfits as well.  The outfits are fastened with Velcro, which isn't a bad thing by itself...but DON'T let it catch on that tulle skirt, or it'll snag like crazy.  Lastly, there was only one pair of shoes, and the pair didn't match Midge's outfit.  That oversight is what bugs me the most about this set.  Mattel, if you read this, PLEASE start including two pairs of shoes.  Adult collectors like extra shoes, and kids usually need extra shoes.  C'mon, you and I both know that Barbie shoes love to get lost if they're not on the doll's foot or carefully stored away.
RATING:  8.5 out of 10.  Minus one point for the shoes, and another half for nondescript accessories.
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OUTFIT SET #2:  Barbie Fashion Complete Look 2-Pack, Sightseeing Set
MODELS:  Really Rosy Kayla ("Connie") on the left, and S.I.S. Trichelle on the right.
DESCRIPTION:  Connie is wearing a white sleeveless top with navy stripes.  Her skirt is copper and covered in glitter.  She has a camera around her neck and a small clutch purse in her left hand.  I made the mistake of hiding it between Connie and Trichelle, but it's nothing really special so no biggie.  Connie's shoes are her original shoes, and by a stroke of luck, they happen to match the stripes in her top.  Trichelle is wearing a cinnamon pink floral print dress.  The jacket is olive green with pink blossoms and green leaves.  Her shoes came with the set, and the hair ribbon is my own addition (it is usually worn by Connie, but she doesn't mind sharing).
PROS:  Well sewn, just like the birthday set.  Connie's top and blouse are separate pieces, just like the last set of clothes I shared.  There isn't as much potential for mixing and matching if you only have this set, but it's still nice to see separates.  Like Mara above, Trichelle's getup is bordering on pink overkill, but the cute jacket helps break it up a bit.  Furthermore, the jacket is printed all the way around.  Remember in the past that I've complained about that?  Not a problem here.  Connie's skirt also has glitter all the way around.  The accessories are better than those with the birthday set; Connie's purse isn't super-duper awesome, but it does have painted details.  And I absolutely LOVE that camera!
CONS:  Again, this set only came with one pair of shoes.  That wasn't a huge problem with the birthday set since I have a lot of pairs of shoes that would match those two outfits.  This sightseeing set posed a problem in the shoe department, however.  It was obvious that those pink shoes would have to go with the pink outfit, and I don't have a lot of navy or copper shoes lying around.  Connie just happened to have those navy boots with her stock outfit, so it worked out.  That was the biggest problem with this set; if I wanted to nitpick I could say that Connie's skirt has too much glitter, but that would be pushing it.
RATING:  9 out of 10.  Minus one point for the shoes.  The sightseeing set gets one half-point more than the birthday set because the accessories are better.
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OUTFIT SET #3:  Dreamhouse Day Looks.  The package's backing had a picture of Teresa, so I assume these were meant for her.
MODELS:  Birthstone Beauties Caucasian Miss Sapphire ("Miss September") on the left, and My Melody Barbie ("Melody") on the right.
DESCRIPTION:  It is my passionate desire to find the original outfits for both of these dolls, but I'll admit I'm having a lot of fun changing their clothes!  Miss September is wearing a pink tank top with...A KITTY CAT!!!  With glasses, no less!  Squeeeee, I love cats!  LOL, anyway, the top also has a small white banner with the words "Think Pink" inside, and Barbie's name beside the cat.  Hmmm...maybe this set isn't meant for Teresa after all.  I can't think of why she'd want her friend's name on her shirt instead of her own.  Go figure.  Anywho, September's bottoms are stretchy Beetlejuice-type pants, plus some pink shoes which came with the set.  The unsightly band around her hips is her ill-fitting Kaiser stand; please ignore that.  Her purse is a pink heart with a white strap and a white tassel.  Melody is wearing a white t-shirt with flocked pink hearts and a black hem at the neck.  She got the necklace in the set, which is white plastic with glued-on glitter.  Her skirt is made of some sort of fabric similar to tulle, but not quite the same.  It has two tiers and is sparkly.  The shoes are also original to this set.
PROS:  The cat on Miss September's shirt is one huge pro, as are the two pairs of shoes in this set.  I wonder why Mattel includes two pairs of shoes with their Dreamhouse sets, but only one with the Complete Look sets?  Why not include two pairs with both types?  Or one pair?  NO, NO, FORGET I SAID THAT SECOND OPTION!!!  *ahem*  Where was I?  Oh yes, pros.  The outfits are separate pieces again, so once again you can switch these around.  I wouldn't recommend pairing that huge necklace with the cat shirt, though.  Too busy.
CONS:  This set's biggest flaw is this:

Bummer, the back is not printed.  I think I know why; remember when I said those little hearts were flocked?  Sometimes flocking is bad to catch hair and make it look messy.  Since most of the available Barbie dolls have long hair I think I can understand the reasoning.  That annoys me, though.  I think it makes the outfit look incomplete.  I also don't like the bow necklace, but that's just because it doesn't accentuate either outfit's neckline.  With another outfit it'll be fine.  Additionally, the whole set is pink overkill.
RATING:  9 out of 10.  Half a point deducted for the top's heartless back, and half a point for pink overkill.
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OUTFIT #4:  Barbie Dress-Up Pink Ruffle Dress with Fashion Accessories
MODEL:  S.I.S. Baby Phat Chandra
DESCRIPTION:  This pairing came from a crazy idea I had.  I wanted to see what this somewhat-odd dress would look like on my darkest doll.  Said darkest doll happens to be Chandra, whose clothes I'd never changed.  I put this on her and...well, I had Melody and Miss September all ready for their close-ups, but when I got Chandra all dressed up she stole the show!  I couldn't get over how pretty she looked (and still looks).  So, description.  The dress is a fitted strapless dress with a tulle band across the top of the bodice.  The front bodice has sparkly pink material that is gathered down the front.  The skirt is made of several layers of glittery pink tulle, looped and gathered around.  Her shoes and purse are silver and belong to this outfit.  Whoops...I forgot to show the purse!  It's a little silver heart.  It's cute, but if it were a real purse it would not be very functional.
PROS:  This has a great fit.  Some strapless dresses want to slide down, but this one stays up just fine.  I also love how the accessories match Chandra's earrings.  That's coincidental, but it still worked out well.
CONS:  This:

The back of this dress has no embellishment AT ALL.  No ruffles or sparkles or anything.  And unlike Melody's lack of flocked hearts, I can see absolutely NO REASON for this!!!  This is just cheapo.  Oh yeah, and that purse is nondescript.
RATING:  7 out of 10.  It's a cute dress and it looks amazing on Chandra, but that plain back demotes it to your average, everyday Barbie doll dress.  That's too bad, because Chandra really rocks it!
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OUTFIT SET #5:  Monster High Day of the Dead dress set, handmade by dolls4emma.
MODELS:  From left, City of Frights Skelita Calaveras, Fusion-Inspired Ghouls Scarah Screams, 13 Wishes Lagoona Blue, and Art Class Skelita Calaveras.
DESCRIPTION:  This set of dresses was handmade by Elizabeth Brookman, proprietor of dolls4emma, an online clothing store that I've spoken of in the past (this post).  The doll world doesn't have much in the way of Day of the Dead clothing, but Elizabeth had these on the Etsy branch of her store and I fell in love with them.  Again, my mother was a huge help here (she paid, LOL).  There are four dresses in the set, each colored differently but otherwise identical.  They are made of soft, thick, knit fabric that feels like sock material.  The bottom hems are trimmed with coordinating lace, and the bodices have little bows and skull charms.  These slip on and off the doll.
PROS:  These are sturdy, colorful, and they fit my dolls nicely.  They are surprisingly versatile; all fourteen of my MH girls can wear these, and they likely will at some point.  The trim matches wonderfully.  Seriously, I can't remember the last time I saw pink lace in a store, so hats off to Elizabeth for that one.  There is little risk of snagging, and one does not have to detach arms and hands to get these on a doll.  These dresses are cost-efficient; one can get three of Elizabeth's dresses for the price of two Mattel MH outfits...or less!  Lastly, my dolls can wear their stands with these dresses.  I was afraid that the knit material might be too thick for the stands, but it's not.
CONS:  The bodices sometimes slip down, leaving my dolls' breasts exposed.  This is less of a problem with the Skelita Sisters, since their chests have some texture.
RATING:  9.75 out of 10.  One quarter deduction for slippery bodices.  It's not a huge problem, but I felt it was worth mentioning.  Oh yeah, I also had to wait for them to arrive!  LOL, waiting comes with the territory when one is a doll collector, so it's not a problem worthy of deductions.

I wonder if it could be considered a bias to rate Elizabeth's dresses the highest because she is was my friend?  LOL, maybe so, but I don't care.  Her dresses were as close to flawless as any in this review.  That's not to say that my store-bought dresses are bad.  Far from it, in fact.  I could show you some dresses from Dollar General that ARE pretty bad, but I think I'll spare those for another post.  Regarding these dresses (all of 'em here in this post) I'd recommend all of them with a few cautions.  Elizabeth's business is based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, which can either be a long haul or a hop, skip and a jump, depending on where in the world you are.  If money is a concern, if you want something unique, and you don't mind a short wait, Elizabeth's wares are for you.  However, if you want or need a doll dress RIGHT THIS MINUTE for your daughter's birthday party, best stick with the store-bought stuff...and then get some of Elizabeth's dresses for her Christmas!  LOL

Alrighty, next post.  I desperately need to complete some of the posts that I've had lingering in draft limbo.  Cami's post has been there for a solid year now.  Since I'm not expecting my Hujoo to be here until around Valentine's Day, that'll buy me some time to FINALLY finish those up.  Seriously, Valentine's Day???  I ordered that darned Hujoo back before Christmas!  Oh well, it'll be worth the wait to have something that I've never even seen before.  I bet I'll be the only one in Malden who even has a Hujoo! 

As a final little note, if you really liked Elizabeth's Day of the Dead dresses, you can take a gander at her eBay store and her Etsy store.  As I mentioned in that other post, she has a wide range of stuff available.

Stay warm!
RagingMoon1987