Dolly Dress Discussion: Etsy haul for curvy Barbie

It's been another interesting week at the Moon House.  On Monday I found this under the neighbor's carport, and he's been terrorizing my house ever since.

His name is Stormy.  He's old enough to fend for himself, but he sounded lonely and sad and I couldn't stand to just leave him outside (it's still pretty hot).  When the neighbors didn't answer my knocking I took Stormy home and he'll likely be staying.  He and I are already very strongly attached to one another, and like all kittens he's full of mischief.  So far he's entertained himself by scattering kitty litter everywhere, jumping into my trash can, bedeviling my chinchilla (which the chin won't tolerate) and chewing on my phone cable (which I won't tolerate).  The other cats are outraged of course, but they'll just have to get over it!

Now to the point of this post.  When Mattel announced that they were going to start making Barbie dolls in different body shapes I predicted that dressing them would be a pain in the posterior.  We all know that different body shapes can't wear the same clothes, but as y'all can see I have had virtually no trouble dressing Deb (left) and Billie Jean.  Neither of them are in their original clothes at the moment (except for shoes).

Le sigh, so far Deb and Billie Jean are the only curvy dolls I own, as I'm still waiting for Fashionista #125 to make an appearance around here.  I sort of wish I'd grabbed Daisy Pop and To Tie-Dye For when I had the chance, LOL.  #125 is so dark that she'll likely be a difficult photography subject, just as Deb here is.  I solemnly swear that Deb is a beautiful doll in real life, but she always looks so devious in the pictures I take of her!  Anywho, several years back Miss Emily compared a curvy Barbie to one of her Lammily dolls, and during the span of that review she showed the Barbie (nicknamed "Ruby") in a drop-dead gorgeous dress that was made especially for curvy Barbie dolls.  The dress was a Cora Gu dress from Amazon, and while I try to avoid Amazon (it's a dangerous place for shopaholics like me) Ruby's lovely getup made me want something nice and new for my curvy girls.  Something that Mattel didn't make.  Something like this.

UNICORNS!!!  LOL, this dress actually reminds me of a situation I saw many years ago on...yes, another kids' show.  My sister and I were WAAAAY too old for The Puzzle Place, but it was a cute show and we were watching it anyway.  The episode in question was entitled "Dressing Up is Hard To Do."  The children were shopping clothes for "a grown-up party," and Jody picked out a sweater with a bunny on the front.  Julie derided the sweater on the grounds that bunnies were "for babies," but the bunny-themed outfit proved to be a big hit at the party (Jody even accessorized the outfit with carrot earrings, super cute).  Anyway, I thought of that when I saw these unicorns, as they too are considered childish by some circles.  Being a casual My Little Pony fan means that I'm obliged to like unicorns, but that's beside the point.  The Designing Rose made this dress, and it's made of pastel quilt cotton with the aforementioned unicorns all over it.  I can hear what some of y'all are saying, that quilt cotton has no business being used as a doll dress.  Yeah, yeah, I've heard that, and usually I agree...but for me this print just...works.  There are silver stars in there too!

The back closes with Velcro, which I'm not thrilled with since I fear it may catch in the neckline's silver trim.

A strip of marabou feathers rounds out the look.

Having looked over Designing Rose's reviews I believe this may be one of her more popular dresses, as plenty of people have bought it and seem to like it.  I think Billie Jean's blue hair may be a bit over-the-top for the soft colors in this dress, so here's how Deb looks in it.

The dress earned Mama's stamp of approval AND the admiration of the library's younger patrons, so I'll call it an unique, pleasant success.  The Velcro is indeed the snaggy kind so I'll have to take care not to catch it in the trim, and the feather boa makes me sneeze (as do a lot of things), but this is a very cute outfit, especially with Deb's sideswept hair.  The Designing Rose makes other cute things in a wide array of styles, meaning that I'll have to hit up her shop again someday.  Lottie and Stacie are among the dolls she sews for, which is good since my Stacie doll doesn't have a lot to wear.

As much as I love dresses I usually prefer a casual look for my dolls, so I picked up some casual clothes.  These items all came from KUKLAfashion.  The package consists of a tank dress, a pair of jeans, and a tube top/skirt set.

The proprietor of this shop mentioned that Lithuania, where she resides, has been having very hot weather and thus some delays in shipping might occur.  I feel you there, chica!  I daresay that heat makes ALL of us lazy!  Anywho, I'd been eyeing that blue dress for quite some time, and since it felt silly just ordering one piece I added in some other odds and ends.  The Etsy store shows the dress in gray and models with a super-cute necklace, but I'm currently on a blue kick so I ordered the dress in blue (it also comes in deep rose, black, white, gray, and lavender).  I can always recreate the necklace, and I'll probably do just that because a dress this simple just begs to be accessorized.  But let's see how it looks on my dolls first.  Since Billie Jean has blue hair she'll be wearing the blue dress.

The dress is made of this soft, stretchy knit material that has a great drape but unfortunately holds wrinkles.  Hey, I reckon I'd be a bit wrinkled too if I'd traveled from Lithuania during the summer!  I predict that the wrinkles will hang out before too long.  This is a simple but wonderful little dress, and as I said above it'll be great for accessorizing.  It would look cute with a cardigan, or with a big goofy-looking hat and a contrasting belt, or with an interesting necklace like I mentioned above.  I think this dress is also short enough to work as a blouse, but I didn't think to try that until just now!  LOL, I'll have to examine that possibility in the future, particularly since I want one of these dresses in each color available now!

It saddens me a little to take Deb out of her cute ballgown, but only having two curvy dolls means I'll have to.  Hey, it's either that or undress Billie Jean again, LOL!  I think the jungle print of the tube top and skirt suit Deb's darker skin anyway.

Too bad I don't have any sandals!  This outfit is just this side of outrageous, but my mother and I have both given it our stamp of approval.  The high waist of the skirt creates the illusion of a one-piece dress, but it's not!  Like Billie Jean's new dress this outfit is made of stretchy, drape-y knit fabric, but unlike Billie Jean's dress it doesn't hold wrinkles (always a good thing).  The skirt is not hemmed and that's a bummer, but the material is so lightweight that I'll bet hemming it would've been tricky.  I can always seal that hem with something if it becomes troublesome.  The good news is that the top can be worn with the jeans, like so.

Indeed, that's why I got those jeans in the first place, though in truth I think they'd look better with Deb's red Hello Kitty shirt.  Mama thinks that the tube top would look better with culottes or cutoffs, so I may have to tinker with that idea some.

And that's my curvy pair for now!  It's nice to have things just for them.

Both the Designing Rose and KUKLAfashion are worth buying from.  The items I got are well-sewn and becoming for my curvy girls, and they're pretty kid-friendly if you want to buy for a child.  The waistbands of the flowered skirt and the jeans are a little tight, so small hands might have trouble getting those over their dolls' hips.  But otherwise these are great for kids and adult collectors alike.

Now to exhibit some hefty self-control and NOT buy one of those tank dresses in every color!  I do plan on doing it someday, but someday is not today with my bank account reeling from paying bills.  Gotta love adulting!

Cheers,
RagingMoon1987