Dolly Dress Discussion: double vision?

I've been hitting the racks of separates hard these past couple of weeks.  I've got almost all of the pieces, and I'm looking forward to completing the collection.  Mattel has a good idea with these little tops and pieces, and I desperately hope they'll continue with the idea.  As well-priced as they are, it's a great way to flesh out a dolly wardrobe.

I noticed something about this dress, though (model is Artemis, a Fashionistas Swappin' Heads Sassy):

There's nothing wrong with the dress; the skirt is stiff and isn't printed all the way around, but it's a perfectly acceptable little dress.  There aren't any holes or bobbles in sewing, and the skirt is even hemmed.  However, it's also hauntingly similar to a Fashionistas dress I picked up in 2011 (model is Alexandria, a Fashionistas Wild).

The Fashionistas lived up to their name, being well-dressed and having cute extra outfits to match, but this one is one of my favorites.  I've always loved how it looks on my dolls; Alexandria usually gets it, but it looks good on everyone I've tried it on so far.

The two dresses aren't carbon copies of each other, of course.  The budget dress is shorter and has a higher waist, it's made out of shiny material that doesn't photograph well, and it has a plain pink bodice with a tie-top.  The similarities freak me out a little, though.  Both dresses are blue and pink, both have embellishments of some type on the skirt, both have low-cut sweetheart necklines, and the skirts are of similar length.

The Fashionistas dress is superior to the budget dress in terms of materials utilized; it's very soft and has a great drape.  But then again, it also cost four dollars more than the budget dress!  It's amazing what a difference four bucks will make in terms of quality!  I won't knock the budget dress, though.  It's landed on a doll's body and it's here to stay. 

Since we're on the subject of dresses, I feel the need to comment on some crazy idea I've got.  If you've paid attention to social media in the past twenty-four hours, then you've most likely heard of #TheDress.  As in, this dress:

#TheDress is a poorly-photographed, $77 dress, and people are going nuts over what color it is.  Public opinion appears to be evenly divided over whether it's gold and white or black and blue, with a somewhat smaller minority saying that they hate the dress and thus don't give a flying burrito what color it is.  I think it looks gold and white, but that's beside the point.  I'm dying to see what this dress looks like in a full-body shot, because I think it would be a cute design for Barbie.  Once I see what the full thing looks like, my plan is to make one in each color scheme and put the two dresses on radically different Barbie dolls.  Maybe a pair like this?

Soooooo...if you see that dress in full, kindly give me a holler.

Yours truly,

RagingMoon1987

On Barbie's friend Shani

Let's talk about Barbie again, or rather, Barbie's friends.  Babs has had plenty throughout the years.  Some of 'em have had a near constant presence in her life, like Ken and Teresa.  Some are constantly in and out, making sporadic appearances over the years like Midge has done.  Some were by Barbie's side for a number of years and then abruptly disappeared, like Kira, P.J., and possibly Christie.  And there have been plenty who were there for only a year or so, maybe even a shorter time than that, before disappearing into Mattel History.  Such is the case of one of Barbie's black friends, Shani.

Shani was available for a short time during the early 1990's, right around the time that my sister and I were into dolls.  The doll pictured above is Sun Jewel Shani, from the 1993 Sun Jewel line.  The theme was beachwear, and I could share my memories about the Sun Jewel dolls but we'd be here all night (we had a lot of fun with them, LOL).  Anywho, Shani is not one of my childhood friends.  She came along when I was about twenty, and I fell in love with her pretty face so I kept her.  She's missing a couple of toes and her hair required a boil wash, but she's cleaned up pretty well.

This evening I remembered reading that Shani was part of a spin-off series of Barbie friends, so while my Shani changed into something more comfortable I did a little research.  First and foremost, Shani's name is not pronounced the way I thought it would.  I thought it was prounounced "Shuh-NY."  In truth, the name is pronounced "SHAW-nee," like the Shawnee Indians.  According to this link, Shani's name is Swahili and means "Marvelous." 

The second thing I found involved Shani's world as a whole.  She had two girlfriends, one named Nichelle and the other named Asha.  Nichelle was the darkest of the bunch and had a new face mold with a closed smile, while Asha was the lightest and had an open-mouthed smile.  In this way Shani and her friends remind me of the So In Style dolls, both in numbers and in concept.  Both lines initially had three dolls, and both lines focused on dolls of color.

Shani's world eventually expanded to include a boyfriend (another parallel to the S.I.S. line), or at least, a boy who was a friend.  His name was Jamal, and as far as I can tell he made his entrance with the Soul Train wave.  He wore an African-inspired outfit (as did all the Soul Train dolls) complete with a Kente cloth kofia (hat) and what appears to be a matching dashiki (shirt).  I find it fitting that Jamal would be wearing such items, since they're worn dominantly by those who speak Swahili.  You may recall that Shani's name is Swahili.  Anywho, I like Jamal.  His face has a lot of character, more so than a lot of modern-day Ken dolls.  He'd make a good catch for ANY female in Barbie's scale.  As an aside, if you want to know more about the Soul Train line, Debbie Behan Garrett has this post available.  Miss Debbie is a wonderful resource for dolls of color. 

I'm not entirely sure why Shani and her friends disappeared, though I can definitely hazard a guess.  My assumption is that her story ended the way the Generation Girls' story did; the line didn't make enough money so Mattel did away with it.  Either way Shani and her friends had only a short run, lasting around three years ('92, '93, and '94).  Not long enough to cause a stir, right?  WRONG!!!  Shani was created partially to reach out to black children, and it worked; little girls of color fell in love, and Ebony Magazine lauded her as a doll that "reflected...natural beauty."  But there were critics, of course...and they seized upon the very thing that has nipped at Barbie's heels since 1959.  Yep, Shani was too skinny.  Her legs were longer than the average woman's, her waist was nipped in too much, and her breasts were too big.  Some even went so far as to gripe about hair, saying that Shani and her friends had too much of it.  Mattel was able to rebut that one, saying that "little girls like to...comb and style their long hair."  As for the body, if one uses common sense one would understand why Shani's body is so similar to Barbie's.  They ARE friends, after all.  Similar bodies enable the two to share clothes!

Even though Shani, Asha, Nichelle, and Jamal have been gone for over twenty years, little reminders pop up from time to time.  Barbie's friend Christie has been seen with both the Asha head mold and the Nichelle head mold, as did Barbie herself when she was rendered in a black skin tone.  Also noteworthy are two of Barbie's friends from the millennial era.  First there were the aforementioned Generation Girls.  The Girls consisted of Barbie, six international female friends, and one guy going to a fancy school in NYC.  One of the females was a cute black doll named...Nichelle.

Her full name was Nichelle Williams, a fashionista and an NYC native.  I find her interesting because not only does she share a name with one of Shani's friends, but she also uses the face mold of one of Shani's friends.  The catch is that this is the Asha mold, not the Nichelle mold.

The other doll of interest is Shawnee, from the Mystery Squad.

Her name is spelled the way Shani's name is pronounced, firstly.  You may have also noted that she too sports the Asha head.  I never cared much for Shawnee, by the way.  Her face looked a little blah.  In fact, the only doll from the Mystery Squad that DIDN'T look a little blah was Kenzie!  And frankly, the only thing that saves her in my eyes is her hair.  The Mystery Squad was a cute concept with cute clothes and accessories, but I can see why the line fell flat.

Oh yes, the name Nichelle did make one other appearance.

Her name is Nichelle, Urban Hipster, and she belonged to the Model of the Moment line.  She shares a name with Shani's friend, but otherwise is a pretty far cry from the doll that little girls played with over two decades ago.  She's on the Model Muse body, thus rendering her a doll meant for adults.  Her skin is very dark, darker even than the original Nichelle's.  Her hair is similar in style to Generation Girl Nichelle's.  And her face?  Well...I'm not sure where that mold came from, but it's definitely not Shani's, nor that of either of her friends.  In fact, it's not even the Mbili face!  Anyone know what the name of that head mold is???

It's interesting how Mattel works, innut?  You think a doll line is dead forever and then it may crop up again years later.  I personally prefer the original Shani, simply for the reason that not everyone remembers her.  Most of my fellow doll collectors know Midge, Teresa, Kira, and Christie, and they remember shorter-lived friends like Jamie, Stacey, and Steffie.  Usually when I run into someone who likes Shani, that's an indication to me that they're a fairly serious collector.  Either that, or they owned one as a child and have some great memories!

Oh, and my Shani?  Yeah, she got comfy like she said she would.

Gotta love windbreaker pants...or not.  At least these don't make that super-annoying swishing noise.  LOL!

Happy Black History Month,
RagingMoon1987

UPDATE, 2/28/2015:  Apparently the first wave of Barbie Basics were supposed to have individual names.  If this had come to pass, Model #4 would have been named NICHELLE!!!  It never came to be, but those who own a Model #4 in the little black dress can consider themselves owners of a Nichelle doll.  If you need a refresher, here's what Model #4 looked like. 

Dolly Dress Discussion: return of the B.F.C. Ink outfit

This is hearkening back to my ownerless B.F.C. Ink outfit, which I've had in storage for...oh gosh, I've forgotten exactly how long, but it's been awhile.  I finally found someone who can wear it, albeit imperfectly...and she's been under my nose this whole time!

Mosi, from the Hearts 4 Hearts line, can wear the top and shorts.  The shorts are loose enough that I can pull them off without undoing the Velcro, and the top gaps at the neckline, but it's still a workable outfit.  With a little tweaking it can be made to fit perfectly.  And frankly, I'm tired of looking for a B.F.C. Ink doll.  The search has been completely fruitless, and I've grown weary of it.  I'm also tired of futilely hunting for clothes that fit Mosi, so this outfit now belongs to her.  Next on the agenda is to make a strand of love beads; you may recall that I was curious to see how this getup would look with some beaded jewelry.  Since Mosi's earrings come apart I may also make some new dangles for those posts.  She can be my little flower child!

It's a good thing that this B.F.C. Ink outfit can fit Mosi, because according to Beastsbelle the Hearts 4 Hearts dolls have been discontinued.  She apparently heard this from Ashley, the Doll Collector's Daughter, though I couldn't find where Ashley said this.  Ashley does have plenty of news from the recent toy fair, so I'm going to cautiously believe her.  Beastsbelle adds that the dolls had already become scarce in stores; I haven't been to Target in forever so I wouldn't know.  I do remember that the last time I saw H4H dolls in Target they had about six of Laurice, the character I initially wanted.  I wish I'd grabbed her, but I needed another H4H doll like I needed a hole in the head, so I didn't get her.  Oh well, I'll have fun with my Mosi instead.

Yours always,
RagingMoon1987

Separates, Shopkins, and some unfortunate news

More Barbie seps!  Remember during my last post about these separates that I mentioned a pair of blue jeans?  Yeah...they fell out of the cart while I was traipsing around Wal-Mart, and I was too lazy to retrace my steps so I just bought the yellow dress and let that be that.  Second time proved to be the charm.  I found the last pair of blue jeans that Wally World had, plus this top.

The top is a combination of basic camisole and peplum top.  Unlike the dress, it's printed all the way around with a garish combination of purple, pink, and yellow flowers on a navy blue background.  The jeans are slim-cut jeans with a somewhat distressed look.  They're not super-special, but jeans are usually hard to come by in Barbie's size so these are a welcome addition to my dolly wardrobe.  Given the fact that this is the second pair of Barbie jeans I've seen from Mattel this year, maybe it could mean a revival of the style!  Sherralee (right) got the first pair, by the way.  Those came from one of those two-outfit packs that I think highly of.

As an aside, notice that Sherralee is carrying a Shopkins basket.  Shopkins make fabulous little props for dolls Barbie's size.  See?

What are Shopkins, you ask?  If you want to learn more about Shopkins, Miss Emily and Toy Genie Surprises can school you, or you can check out their website, OR you can check out their Wiki.  Those sources can describe these in better detail than I can.  But in short, Shopkins are blind bag mini-figurines that resemble items that one can buy in a store.  The baskets like Sherralee has contain two apiece, while the bigger packs have five or twelve.  I have two baskets for a grand total of four Shopkins, but since these guys are small I was able to fit all of mine into a single basket.

From left, these are Lana Lamp, Danni Danish, Peta Plunger, and Choco Lava.  So far there have been two series of these, with all four of mine belonging to the second series (series 1 came in blue baskets).  Some characters are more common than others, some are only available in the playsets, and certain rare characters come with fancy finishes.  If your figure is sparkly, transparent like Lana and Peta, fuzzy, or metallic, then you've gotten your hands on one of the harder figures to find.  The metallic characters are the hardest to find.  My intention is not to get a huge collection of these, but I do want to add a couple of the fuzzy ones to Sherralee's basket.  The fuzzy ones are baby-themed and I think they're super cute.  Dum-mee-mee is my favorite; she's a pacifier.

Sweeping change of subject now.  If any of y'all are devout followers of the Toy Box Philosopher (and I am), then you probably know by now that Miss Emily busted her leg in a car accident.  Apparently this was up on Facebook, but I had my head up my butt and didn't see it until just now.  Miss Emily, if you read this, I want you to know that you're in my thoughts and prayers.  A broken leg is nothing to sneeze at, but I'm thankful that you weren't hurt worse or killed.  I hope your recovery is quick and free of complications.  And to the rest of my followers, go check out her latest review if you haven't already.  Her new dolls are lovely.

Sincerely,
RagingMoon1987

Dolly Dress Discussion: clothing options for Ever After High dolls, part two...plus a brief gripe

Bad news first.  We got up this morning and discovered that one of our pipes has gone blooey.  The utility room, though mercifully detached from the main house, is flooded.  We had to have all the water in the house turned off, and that utility room is a hot mess right now.  It could've been way, WAY worse, but we're still reeling from the shock of it.  The good news is that the stuff that got wet is likely salvageable, and we'll get to see my sister and brother-in-law because of it.  Brother-in-Law wants to be a plumber, and odds are he can get the busted section of pipe fixed, so they're going to come down and look at it.  The roads are thawing out already, so they shouldn't have any problems.  Key word:  SHOULDN'T.

Anywho, that's been our day in a nutshell, and it's just past two p.m.  To get over the shock of our latest incident I dragged out Cupid and the Monster High clothes.  Let me just say that it didn't work out so well.  The only, repeat, ONLY clothes that would fit Cupid were first-wave Spectra Vondergeist's stock skirt and the CAM top that came with the mermaid add-on pack.

Spectra's skirt has a very generous elastic waist, and this top is loosely cut.  As such both pieces make great separates; note that I paired the CAM top with Cameron's jeans (again).  But in general I'd stay away from standard Monster High clothes.  AJ and Miss Emily both noted that Ever After High dolls can wear some of the clothes intended for the smaller-bodied MH dolls (Howleen Wolf, Twyla, Lorna McNessie, and River Styxx).  That's a pretty good selection NOW, but when the EVH dolls were initially released the only options were first-wave Howleen and first-wave Twyla.  Plus, one has to buy the dolls in order to get the clothes!  Talk about a missed opportunity!  With Ever After High being a spin-off of Monster High you'd think there'd be more opportunities for sharing clothes.  Not so, unfortunately. 

Oh, I forgot those shoes.  Cupid is wearing Monster High shoes.

Those belong to a fashion pack intended for Draculaura, and since Cupid and Draculaura both love pink this works out quite well!  The heels are even heart-shaped!

So long story short, only the occasional Monster High piece will fit Ever After High dolls, but shoes can be shared between the two.  Since I plan on adding both River Styxx and Haunted Twyla to my collection, Cupid might have a few more clothing options in her future.  As a final thought, I know absolutely NOTHING about clothes for the bigger MH girls (Nefera de Nile and Marisol Coxi) or the boys.  Since they've got thicker hips and shoulders their clothes might fit Cupid.  Definitely something to examine.

Happy Saturday,
RagingMoon1987

Dolly Dress Discussion: clothing options for Ever After High dolls, part one

When I posted earlier it was merely cold, damp, and windy.  Now the rain has started falling, and since it's below freezing the rain has turned into freezing rain.  The power has already flickered once so I'm going to try and get this done before we lose power for good (please pray that we don't).  Anywho, one of my friends was having fun with his Ever After High dolls earlier; he was putting them in outfits that looked cute...but not familiar.  I asked where he got such clothes and he answered "It's a mix of Bratz, Monster High, and handmade stuff.  The shoes are Stardoll shoes."  Well!  Why on earth didn't I think of that before???  I don't have a lot of handmade stuff in EVH size, but I've got Bratz and MH clothes coming out my ears.  Tonight we just do Bratz clothes, because I wasn't in much of a mood to undress a dozen Monster High dolls and try their clothes on my EVH doll.

Okay, let's get this show on the road.  Outfit #1:

COMPONENTS:  First-wave Meygan's top and jacket, first-wave Cameron's jeans, and Cupid's stock shoes. 
DISCUSSION:  The top fits almost perfectly...maybe a little short, but tolerable.  The jacket's sleeves are a teensy-weensy bit long, but not enough to spoil the look.  Meygan's stock jeans were too tight to fasten around Cupid's hips, so she got a pair of Cameron's instead (Cameron is a Bratz Boyz, by the way).  As for the shoes...well, the only ones I had that both matched this getup and would fit Cupid were her own.
RULING:  Cupid doesn't look too thrilled about this outfit; I guess her belly is cold (LOL).  In spite of that I'd definitely put this on her again.  This has an autumnal look to it, so it may reappear around September or so.

***

OUTFIT #2

COMPONENTS:  Bratzillaz all the way.  This is one was originally intended for Cloetta, but I never owned (or wanted) Cloetta so my other dolls share it.

DISCUSSION:  The fit is almost perfect.  The skirt was a tiny bit hard to pull up, but not ridiculously so.  The boots are a hair big around the calf but perfect at the foot.  They're roomy enough that Cupid could wear her fishnet tights under them if she (or I) so choose.  The jacket presents an interesting conundrum.  The sleeves are slightly too long, but when I lift Cupid's arms up THIS happens!

The jacket rides up!  I had the same problem more than once in high school and trust me, if you're up in front of a crabby teacher or the school bully and her band of merry bitches, it's mortifying.  Cupid's a doll, so she doesn't have that problem.  I don't like it when the jacket rides up, however.  Luckly, I've got the matching cape!

Problem solved!  Plus it makes Cupid look extra toasty!

RULING:  I'd put Cupid in this again, but I'll be keeping the cape on hand next time.  I'll also probably add her tights so that her knees don't look so exposed to the cold.

***

OUTFIT #3

COMPONENTS:  Old Bratz outfit.  I purchased this one when I was sixteen.  Of the five or so outfits available for the Bratz at the time, this one was my favorite. 

DISCUSSION:  The top fits like a charm, but the pants are too tight.  They do not close at the waist, and they don't pull up high enough to cover Cupid's molded-on panties.  Plus, I have no shoes that would both match this outfit and fit Cupid's feet.  Keep in mind that Bratz have shoe-feet that pop onto pegs at the ends of their legs.  The shoes that go with this outfit are designed for Bratz and Bratz alone.  Cupid's stock shoes didn't look good with this outfit, so there's no way to make it look complete.

RULING:  I might use the top if I can find an appropriate pair of bottoms and shoes, but I won't use the pants on Cupid again.

***

OUTFIT #4

COMPONENTS:  This is older Bratz outfit, plus Cupid's stock shoes.

DISCUSSION:  I had high hopes for this one.  It's another of my favorite Bratz outfits, and Cupid's stock shoes match nicely.  The jacket's sleeves are too long, but then again ALL of the sleeves have been too long so far!  No, what broke the deal for me was the dress itself.  Cupid has a longer torso and longer legs than the old-style Bratz dolls.  As a result the dress is WAY too short for Cupid.  She can't sit or bend over without flashing her hiney, and those molded panties aren't painted in any way so at first glance it looks like she's mooning the world. 

RULING:  Cupid may barrow the jacket in the future, but she won't be wearing this dress again.  I might try it on Twilight Sparkle in the future though.  Y'all definitely haven't seen the last of this dress!

***

OUTFIT #5

COMPONENTS:  Yet another old Bratz outfit.  I think this was one of the first three MGA released, in fact.  Again, Cupid wears her stock shoes.

DISCUSSION:  My feelings for this outfit have always been a bit ambivalent.  I love the way it looks on my Bratz dolls, I love the material it's made out of (especially those pants), and I love the cut of the pants.  The color combination didn't do much for me though.  But enough chatter, how does it fit Cupid?  Put bluntly, perfectly.  Well, almost perfect.  Notice again that the top is short on Cupid, but it's not as short as the others that I've shared.  The sleeves are the right length, for a change.  The pants are made of a stretchy, soft material, so they close around Cupid's waist with no fuss.  Wouldn't you know that the outfit I liked the least would fit Cupid the best!  I wasn't happy with the shoes though, so I gave Cupid Meygana's stock boots.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the logo on the top matches Cupid's hair to a T.  I think I've reached a point where she and I are both satisfied!

RULING:  I've gained a new appreciation for this outfit.  Cupid will probably be wearing it a lot.  I may also try the shirt with that pair of blue jeans that Cupid borrowed from Cameron earlier.

I should probably mention that my friend's EVH doll is Apple White, who is a blonde.  Certain colors looked better on her than they would on pink-haired Cupid.  If you have one of these dolls and a hoard of Bratz clothes, get them out and play around a bit.  Mix the pieces and try them on your doll.  It can be a little bit tedious at times, dressing, undressing, redressing, and all that, but it's worth the effort to see what your dolly can wear.  This is a great way to find some new duds for her and not spend any money.  Everybody wins.

The newer Bratz dolls have wider bodies, so I owe you a demo on some of those newer outfits.  There weren't as many released, unfortunately.  I can only think of five (I don't have them all), but they're worth a try.  Keep your eyes peeled for a discussion on those, as well as Monster High clothes.

Yours truly,

RagingMoon1987

Against all odds...

Today has been cold, windy, icy, gray, and generally disagreeable.  The roads aren't fully iced over yet, but they're slick enough to render driving hazardous.  Imagine, therefore, my surprise when one of the packages I ordered turned up in the mailbox.  On Valentine's Day I ordered a slip for Mama's old Barbie and some socks for Penny Brite from idressdolls.com, and today these made an appearance.  As with Wendy, Barbie's dress looks a lot different with that petticoat underneath.

Without (left) and with (right)

This petticoat is so thick and full that I thought two had been shipped by mistake!



Penny Brite's new socks are simple little white ankle socks with lace trim.

Additionally, I found a small red straw hat while digging my Skipper dolls out of the box yesterday.  Since Penny is over fifty and wearing a purple dress, I thought I'd initiate her into the Red Hat Society.

She doesn't look a day over seven!  LOL, the hat came from the nursing home where my grandmother stayed before she died; it originally had a pin backing attached to it and was meant to be worn as such.  I peeled the pin off and reclaimed it as a doll hat.  Here's what the top looks like.

Once Penny's red shoes get here she'll be complete!  I have no idea when those will get here, though; they were supposed to ship today and haven't.  And they have to come from Edgewater, Florida, 931 miles away.  AND the roads between here and there are quickly becoming icy.  So bottom line, it may be awhile before I see those shoes.  There's no word on the coat Mama ordered either.  Heck, it may be warm before we see either item!  Oh well, if so then I can put the coat back for next winter.  Oh Lordy...I don't even want to THINK about next winter!  I'm so ready for Easter and flowers and butterflies!  Heck, I'm even looking forward to tornado season, albeit with the usual apprehension.

This may not be the only post tonight, by the way.  One of my Facebook friends gave me some good ideas for Ever After High clothes.

Yours truly,

RagingMoon1987

Cute Barbie separates!

The oncoming ice storm prompted a trip to fetch groceries.  Odd...the side roads are still bad enough that the local schools are closed, but the main roads are completely clear.  Anywho, since I was the one who had to actually GET the groceries, I decided to check the doll isles for new spring outfits.  The My Life line has had new stuff since shortly after Christmas and apparently, so has Barbie.  Check this out!

There was a small box of individually packaged clothing items; skirts, jeans, dresses, tops, and such.  I got this cute yellow bunny dress and a pair of blue jeans, but the jeans fell out of the shopping cart somewhere along the way so I ended up with just this dress for now.  It's your typical budget Barbie dress, with simple lines and printed fabric on only one side...

...which is too bad, because the front has BUNNIES!!!  This will make a perfect Easter dress.  Right now my Winx Club Musa is wearing it.

I thought it would look cute with Musa's blue hair.  Plus, she just got a new pair of yellow shoes.  LOL, I got those a couple of weeks ago on a discount. 

Apparently these little clothing pieces have been out for a few months.  Presto at Growing up is for Quitters has known about these since December 18th and noted that they make great little stocking stuffers.  Christmas is long over now, but these would make fabulous little trinkets for a young Barbie lover's Easter basket, or as an end-of-school trinket, or just for the heck of it, they're so affordable.  They fit a decent number of dolls besides Barbie...or rather, this dress does.  Winx Club dolls and Fairy Tale High dolls can both wear this, though the fit is a bit big.  My Francie-bodied doll Mary-Anne can also wear this...

...as can Ariel, who has a body different from Barbie and Musa...

...and Teen Skipper...

...AND this 90's Skipper.

These little seps remind me of the Pak items Mattel produced back in the sixties.  I'm far too young to have owned any Paks, but they were still a splendid idea.  I hope Mattel will keep these up and maybe release some more accessories.

Happy Chinese New Year!
RagingMoon1987

On Pinkie Cooper and the Equestria Girls

The weather continues to be...well, less than perfect here.  The sun was out today and will be out tomorrow, but this weekend it's supposed to ice over.  Since I've already got cabin fever I dragged out some of my dolls and began playing Dolly Dress Shuffle with my girls.  You may or may not remember that my Equestria Girl can wear Lalaloopsy Girl clothing, but not the other way around.  Since Twilight Sparkle has a skinny little frame I wondered if she could wear Pinkie Cooper clothing.  Not one to sit idle, I grabbed Twilight and Pepper Parson out of the dolly bin and tried it out.  The results came out pretty good.  Here's what Pepper looks like in Twilight's clothes:

The top doesn't close all the way in back...

...and the skirt was difficult to get around Pepper's chunky little thighs, but overall this works pretty well. 

Pepper's dress fits Twilight like it was made for her.

The colors of this dress don't flatter Twilight as well as they do Pepper, but other than that the dress looks great.  The only problem with this swap is shoes.  Twilight has rather sizable feet, and Pepper has small feet.

Pepper could actually wear Twilight's shoes pretty well if her feet (paws?) weren't so small.  Her calves are thick enough that these shoes can stay on without falling off, though they still slide around a lot.  Regardless of the fit, they look very cute on Pepper, and they finish the look.

Note that the slope of her foot is perfect for those huge platform heels.  I think that if Pepper had larger feet the fit would be near perfect.

There's no way that Twilight can shove her big feet (hooves?) into Pepper's dinky little shoes.

In all honesty the only problem that I have with this is the fact that these dresses don't really look complete without shoes.  In Pepper's case the problem can be remedied with another fashion pack.  There were three separate fashions available for Pepper and her canine compadres, and one of them happens to have purple shoes:

This fashion was meant for Pepper's buddy Ginger Jones, but all three characters can share fashions so no biggie.  Those shoes would match Twilight's default outfit without much fuss.  Doesn't solve Twilight's shoe problem, though.  Maybe some ball-jointed doll shoes will fit?  Might be worth a looksie.

It's amazing what you'll learn when you shed your adult façade for five minutes.  No, I didn't learn anything super-duper-important, but at least Pepper and Twilight have some more clothing options.  Small wonder that I never get any reviews done anymore, though.  I'm always too busy tinkering around with clothes on my older dolls!  LOL

Happy Ash Wednesday,
RagingMoon1987

Regarding the weather and some random dolly chatter

Up until now the winter has been fairly mild here in Southeast Missouri.  I'd daresay it's even been nice a couple of times.  Winter has never been my favorite time of year, but I don't mind it so much when the temperature gets above fifty degrees.  Lo and behold, just when spring's a few weeks away, we get this:

Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEMPHIS TN
218 PM CST SUN FEB 15 2015

...MAJOR WINTER STORM TO AFFECT THE MIDSOUTH TONIGHT AND
MONDAY...

.AN APPROACHING STORM FROM THE PLAINS WILL BRING INCREASED
MOISTURE TO THE MIDSOUTH THIS EVENING...OVERSPREADING AN ARCTIC
AIRMASS. A MIXTURE OF SNOW AND SLEET WILL SPREAD INTO AREAS NORTH
OF INTERSTATE 40 LATE TONIGHT. SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN WILL BE
MORE COMMON ALONG AND TO THE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. THE HEAVIEST
PRECIPITATION WILL LIKELY OCCUR BETWEEN 3 AM AND 3 PM
MONDAY...BEFORE GRADUALLY TAPERING OFF LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON
ACROSS THE WEST AND MONDAY EVENING FARTHER EAST. THE LATEST DATA
SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL FOR MAJOR ICE ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS EAST
CENTRAL ARKANSAS...EXTREME NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTHWEST
TENNESSEE. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL EXTEND NORTH OF A JONESBORO
ARKANSAS TO CAMDEN TENNESSEE LINE. ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
COUNTIES A MIX OF LIGHT WINTER PRECIPITATION EARLY ON WILL CHANGE
OVER TO ALL RAIN AND EMBEDDED THUNDER. FINALLY AS THE SYSTEM MOVES
INTO ALABAMA SUBFREEZING AIR WILL SINK SOUTH FOR A SECOND ROUND OF
A LIGHT WINTRY MIX. MAJOR TRAVEL ISSUES ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS
STORM AS WELL AS SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES. THESE IMPACTS MAY
PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEK IN HEAVIER HIT AREAS...AS SUBFREEZING AIR
WILL REMAIN FIXED ACROSS THE MIDSOUTH.

ARZ008-009-017-018-026-028-MOZ113-115-TNZ001>004-019>022-048-051-
160600-
/O.CON.KMEG.WS.W.0001.150216T0000Z-150217T0000Z/
RANDOLPH-CLAY-LAWRENCE-GREENE-CRAIGHEAD-MISSISSIPPI-DUNKLIN-
PEMISCOT-LAKE-OBION-WEAKLEY-HENRY-DYER-GIBSON-CARROLL-BENTON TN-
LAUDERDALE-CROCKETT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...POCAHONTAS...PIGGOTT...CORNING...
RECTOR...WALNUT RIDGE...HOXIE...PARAGOULD...JONESBORO...
BLYTHEVILLE...OSCEOLA...KENNETT...MALDEN...TIPTONVILLE...
RIDGELY...UNION CITY...MARTIN...DRESDEN...PARIS...DYERSBURG...
HUMBOLDT...MILAN...TRENTON...DYER...MCKENZIE...HUNTINGDON...
BRUCETON...CAMDEN...RIPLEY...HALLS...ALAMO...BELLS...MAURY CITY...
FRIENDSHIP
218 PM CST SUN FEB 15 2015

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING
TO 6 PM CST MONDAY...

* SNOW/SLEET/ICE ACCUMULATIONS...6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW...WITH
  LOCAL AMOUNTS OF UP TO A FOOT. UP TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH OF
  SLEET.

* TIMING...POSSIBLE HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS FROM SUNDAY EVENING
  THROUGH LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON.

* MAIN IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BECOME DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE
  ON MONDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING.  SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF
SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN
AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...
FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

&&

$$

To help you get oriented, I live in Malden, which is on the Dunklin/New Madrid county line in Southeast Missouri.  If you looked at the list of locations impacted, you may have noted that Malden is on the list.  All the locations north of Jonesboro, Arkansas are expecting anywhere from six inches to a full foot of snow, and areas closer to Jonesboro are expecting some sleet as well.  The main problem for us in Missouri right now is travel; the roads will be nearly impassible with all the snow.  I consider us rather fortunate, because areas south of Memphis are expecting freezing rain and subsequent power outages. 

So at the moment it appears that I won't have to worry too much about Horatio getting cold.  I may eat my words, but usually snow alone doesn't bring on power outages.  The biggest challenge we face right now is our hot water; it froze during the night and Mama and I are cussing about that.  Shame on us, we should be grateful that the pipes didn't go blooey.  LOL

Regarding dolly chatter, the spending spree on clothing continues, both in my mother's camp and my own.  I purchased some undergarments from a website called idressdolls.com last week, and the service was good enough that I ordered a couple more things yesterday.  At the moment the site offers several styles of panties, some slips, socks, tights, and pantaloons.  Sizes run small except for the panties, which are offered in sizes big enough to fit Chatty Cathy and American Girl dolls.  Prices are reasonable; I was able to get four pairs of panties and a slip for fifteen bucks plus shipping.  I would show you these items, but they're currently on my dolls and I really don't want to show you pictures of my dolls' butts just for kicks.  LOL again.  However, I will show you how the slip I got changed the way my Little Miss Revlon's dress hangs.

Notice that in the second picture Wendy also has a new pair of shoes.  Cute, but Lord have mercy, I'm glad she's just a doll and can't feel the cold!  I can't help wishing that there were boots in Little Miss Revlon's size.  Maybe there are.  But boots or no boots, Wendy is now officially complete.  I don't consider a vintage doll "complete" unless she has a dress, shoes, appropriate undergarments, and jewelry if she wore it.  Wendy is now at that stage, though I may want to make her some hose in the future.  Anywho, the next dolls on the list to be completed are Penny Brite and my mother's old Barbie.  You probably remember Barbie in her cute little flowered dress.

Technically Barbie could be considered there already since she got a new pair of panties and some shoes.  But since her dress will look better with a slip on underneath, I ordered her one.  I also need to cobble together some jewelry, and then Barbie will be good to go.  Penny Brite needs a little more work.

Firstly, let me just say that Penny is a splendid little doll.  Her arms and legs bend, but the limbs show absolutely no sign of breaking or splitting (unlike one of my poor little Liddle Kiddles).  This rugged construction has made me a big fan of the vintage Penny Brite dolls, and thus determined to fully dress her.  She came in a full Southern Belle costume, but the shoes promptly fell off and the dress didn't really suit her, so I knitted the purple dress that she is now wearing.  She's also got some shoes, some socks, and a coat en route, though they might get delayed by the snow.  Again, I'm glad dolls can't feel the cold, or Penny would be freezing to death right now!  I'll share some pics when that stuff does get here.

Lastly, just for the heck of it, look who else has a purple dress!

Stardoll clothing fits Ju-hwang without much fuss, so she got my extra Stardoll dress.  Not bad, but she'll still look a million times better when she gets her eyes and hair (which I HAVEN'T ordered yet).

Welp, that's all I wanted to say for now.  Y'all stay safe and keep your pets inside!

Cheers,
RagingMoon1987