Clothes from Pegsdollclothesshop

As the weather warms I've treated some of my dolls to some new spring/summer clothes, as I often do during this time of year.  No biggie, except that this particular Etsy shop is undergoing an unusual dilemma.  Pegsdollclothesshop is run by a lady named Peggy Peterson, and a few weeks ago Mama got an email from Miss Peggy warning that she'd been diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer.  Since then Mama and I learned that the cancer has not spread, but Miss Peggy has something rare called...jelly belly, which I've never heard of, that she'll need surgery for.  Makes me think of those gummy tummy penguins that the Candy Blog wasn't enamored with, but I digress.  Peggy stated in her email that the doll clothes kept her busy, so...I've been trying to keep her busy, and to hell with money.  I've got...<pauses to count>...I've got six little outfits so far, four for the girls and two for Kyle.  Since I've been puttering about with Danica a lot here lately, she goes first.  

Y'all may or may not see something poking up underneath Danica's blouse; that would be the tubing from her diabetes pump.  Miss Emily reviewed the diabetes kit on her blog several years back, so if you want a detailed look at that set, you know where to go.  Anyway, the blouse is a sleeveless square-necked smock blouse, rendered in shades of purple.  The pattern on the blouse is floral and makes me think of the Lilly Pulitzer dresses that several of my girls wear in summertime.  It isn't this blue-tinged IRL; I took this picture indoors and the others outside on a sunshiny day.

The waist of the blouse is ringed with my favorite trim, ric-rac.  It appears to be tie-dyed as well.

The pants legs are trimmed with more ric-rac and bands of the floral blouse fabric.  The rest of the capris are made of this glorious royal purple quilt fabric.  It's a lovely shade.

If I had any critiques I'd say that Danica's blouse is a little tight.  The Velcro fastens, but I had to tug a bit to get it shut.  A slimmer doll like Kristiana could probably wear this without the necessary tugging, but Danica looks fine.  She can also sit down; while her blouse is a bit tight her capris are not.

Different day, different weather, different doll.  Marina's getup is made from the same pattern of capri pants and a smocked blouse, but in green.

Marina has green highlights in her hair, so why not toss her in green clothes?  While the purple set is floral, the green set has a nice pattern that looks like...kinda like God's eyes. 

The green set is trimmed with ric-rac like the purple set is, but this ric-rac is silver and sparkly.

The capris are made of a different material than the blouse (and all of Danica's getup, for that matter).  It feels a little like burlap but isn't as rough, and it looks like gauze but isn't as lightweight.  The legs are trimmed with more ric-rac.

The same fabric makes up the straps of the blouse, providing a nice visual tie-in.

Marina's blouse fits her like a glove, but her pants legs are a little tight where the ric-rac is.  I had to tug a little harder to get them past her calves, but it can be done.  Like Danica, Marina sits like a charm in her capris, though I didn't think to photograph that.  As I noted back during Halloween, Marina is a new doll and thus tightly strung.  It can be a struggle for both her and Danica to sit, thus why I make note of how well they can move in their new capris.  Birthday girl Luciana is also still fairly new, though she's loosened up a bit in the time that I've owned her.  However, sitting should be a breeze for her since her new outfit doesn't incorporate pants.  She prefers skirts and dresses during warm weather, and she loves studying space, so I bought her a constellation dress.

This new dress drew a better reaction from my mother than Luciana's LAST dress did, LOL.  After I put this on her, I see that it's not just a constellation dress, but a Zodiac dress!  Here's my sign, right up front.

Here's Luciana's sign; she shares a sign with Harry Truman, and with one of my great-grandmothers.  Don't mess with the bull, young man.  You'll get the horns.

Alright, Moon Girl, quit gawking at the various constellations and talk about the dress itself.  The dress is pretty simple, and it kinda has a silhouette like the dresses that Samantha and Rebecca would wear.  Drop-waisted, with a short skirt.

The dropped waist has this loopy white trim that feels smooth and soft to the touch.  This is a snagging hazard if treated rough.

That's about all there is to say about Luciana, so on to the one and only Rita Cheryl.  Rita Cheryl isn't big on dresses, but she loves purple so getting her in this dress was a cinch.

The cut of this dress is more like that of your traditional AG generidress.  The waist is trimmed with...guess what?  Gold ric-rac!

The neckline is a square neckline.  I don't have too many doll dresses like that.

I love the gold accents in this dress!  I'll have to get some gold shoes to match.

As for Kyle, he had two outfits to choose from, so he picked a Mickey Mouse-themed outfit.

The front of Kyle's shirt closes with Velcro, but it also has buttons that add a nice finish.

The shorts are...well, red shorts.  These are a nice length, and they're loose enuff that Kyle can sit.

Here's a closeup of the print.  It makes me giggle because I can hear Mickey enthusiastically whooping "Oh boy!"  I love Mickey Mouse!

I kinda wish Kyle's shorts had white buttons like Mickey's do, but then I can always add that myself.

Overall I can't complain about these outfits.  True, they're simple little getups that are a smidge tight in places, but I love the colors and I love the themes of the Mickey set and the constellation dress.  Overall these outfits are an easy way to flesh out a dolly wardrobe, and they go for...well, I think keeping Miss Peggy occupied during a cancer battle is a good cause. 

Now, Luciana is off to celebrate her birthday.  No stargazing will be done as more rain is in the forecast, but she did receive a box of her favorite cookies from Rita Cheryl and Courtney and Z.  I figure they'll eat those and binge-watch some TV.

Love, 

RagingMoon1987 

Halloween 2022

Amelia and Rita Cheryl don't have costumes at the moment, but they can still dress up cute!

Rita Cheryl is actually wearing Luciana's new coat instead of her own, but as we'll soon see, Luciana is wearing something else.  Now to the costumes.  C'mon, y'all know I've always got someone dressed up!  In her spotlight post Marina stated that she wanted to be a mermaid for Halloween.  Welp, I made it happen!  It cost way more than I should ever spend on doll clothes, but I regret nothing.

This is the oft-derided Sparkling Mermaid costume, available from 1998 to 2000.  It was always one of my favorite costumes; the other options back then were sock hopper, hippie, cowgirl, black cat, and princess, and the mermaid seemed (to me, at least) to be the most original.  Even today I don't see many mermaids among real-life Trick-or-Treaters.  This outfit seems to be unpopular among other AG fans, and...well, I guess I can see why, since it's not the most flattering getup in the world.  It's kind of hard to move Marina around in it too.  Sitting her down was an effort, for example, though that's not easy anyway since she's a young doll and thus a tightly strung one.  I was able to sit Marina down, though, so it is possible. 

I also had a difficult time placing the wrap as it's quite long, but luckily for me the AG wiki has some instructions for tying Josefina's rebozo.  I chose one of those methods for getting the wrap on Marina, and it works fair enuff, though the ends still drag on the ground.

Loop around the waist, cross the ends in back, bring the ends over her shoulders and tuck them in.  Reasonably easy, though it does hide some of the cute sea critters on the wrap.  The seahorse is visible here, for example, but the orange starfish on the right is all but invisible.

These critters are ON THERE, by the way!  When I was a little kid I presumed that they were sewn on to the wrap, just like a trio of plastic perfume bottles on my favorite top.  I thus predicted that the sea creatures would fall off with ease, just like my perfume bottles did.  Joke's on me, because these appear to be molded onto the mesh of the wrap.  See?

Or at very least the crab appears to be looped securely into the mesh.  However, if one looks closer one can see that he is very firmly glued onto the mesh of the wrap, rather than looped or molded in place.  The glue is even more obvious on this yellow shell.

Glue isn't always the best way to put an outfit together, but this glue looks and feels quite strong.  I don't think I'll have any trouble with sea critters going AWOL.  One thing that bums me a little about this ensemble is that the critters on the net aren't painted like the critters on the crown.

The pieces tie together just fine, stripes or no stripes, but...well, I like stripes, okay???  Polka dots will always be my favorite, but stripes are also pretty great.  Anywho, this costume is not a favorite among American Girl fans for this reason or that, but I actually quite like it.  It goes well with Marina's hair, and it comes with shoes.

American Girl's second mermaid costume inexplicably does not come with shoes.  As cold as the weather can be during Halloween, shoes are a must.  At least around here they are.  Anyway, I respect this outfit for its originality in a world full of princesses and sock hoppers.  Oh, and it's also green.  Y'all know my feelings on the color green.

On the other hand, putting together a sock hopper costume is relatively easy, and the components (flat shoes, a sweater of some type, and a long, swirly skirt) are easy to move around in.  Perfect for a little kid, I'd say.  So Silver Bird isn't the most original, but she does look adorable.  Silver Bird chose to be the sock hopper this year.  This is an Etsy getup that I've had on hand for awhile.

Y'all may remember from Marina's spotlight post that Silver Bird chose this getup.  I had this on Lindsey last year, but Lindsey's body is one of the slimmer bodies and didn't fill it out very well.  Spoiler alert:  Silver Bird's chunky Pleasant Company frame doesn't either, but since when have Halloween costumes ever fit perfectly?  The blouse tucks nicely into the skirt, so that's a plus.  Oh, and the proper shoes?  These...actually, I can't remember if I had to buy these separately or if they came with the outfit.  Either way, Silver Bird has the required saddle shoes.

Once I read (in American Girl Magazine, ironically enuff) that in some areas black and white saddle shoes were worn only by boys, while girls wore a blue and white variety.  Brown and white shoes were worn by both sexes.  I haven't found any information online that confirms this, so take it with a grain of salt.  Regardless, Silver Bird's shoes are the classic black and white that we all know and love/loathe.  I grew up wearing saddle shoes, believe it or not, so I grew to love them.  Silver Bird is one of my girls who prefers going barefoot, but as I mentioned above shoes are not optional during this time of the year.  So Silver Bird may not be as original as Marina, but it's at least obvious what she is. 

Luciana, on the other hand...Luciana's costume isn't immediately obvious, unless one knows me or her.  She's the Ninth Doctor...with the Eleventh Doctor's bangs.

Okay, Number Nine wore a pea coat as opposed to a leather jacket, but Luciana gives no flying burritos.  As long as she keeps that jacket away from her Tribble then all should go well (remember that Goldie tried to eat Lark's jacket once).  If y'all go back to Luciana's spotlight her decision to be the Doctor should be no surprise, though her decision to be the Ninth Doctor did surprise me (she prefers the Beloved Tenth, LOL).  I guess I should be glad she didn't want to be the Sixth Doctor, with that loud jacket he wore.  There isn't much to say about Astro Luci this Halloween; she's clad in black, and I have to admit that she looks pretty sharp.  

And with that, my lineup for Halloween this year is complete...except I think Silver Bird has something on her mind.

Silver Bird:  Either one of y'all fancy a dance?
Luciana:  Let's kick it!

Oh Lordy, I know where this is going.  Cue "In the Mood," Marina!

Marina:  I'm on it!

Glenn Miller for the win!  Don't get too close to the edge, y'all.  Remember what happened the last time Doremi tried to fly?

Luciana:  Served her right!
Doremi:  I HEARD THAT!!!
Silver Bird:  Oh crap...

Uh-oh, looks like my lineup ISN'T complete!  Luciana, you and Silver Bird keep dancing and I'll show off Doremi's costume; she's a princess, just like she wanted to be.  Like Marina's costume, this one is one of the older ones, the aforementioned Medieval Princess costume.

It's mostly velvet, one of my favorite fabrics, plus some sort of polyester (I presume) with a sparkly upper layer.

Both the sleeves and part of the skirt are made of that, while the bodice and other parts of the skirt are made of this velvet.  It's thin enuff that the lighter color shows through. 

Doremi's crown is made of gold...lame?  Sateen?  Some sort of shimmery gold fabric. It has no stretch, so it fastens in the back with Velcro.  I love the plastic jewels up front.  The front of Doremi's dress has these too, but the pictures of those wouldn't focus.

On her feet Doremi wears these cute gold slippers that are made of the same fabric as the crown.  These are elasticized and unfortunately like to slip off.

Doremi is the only one who has her Trick-or-Treat bag. 

Silver Bird's costume never had a bag, Marina's costume is missing the bag, and I had to piece Luciana's costume together so she doesn't have a bag either.  No problem, they can use these Rainbow High bags.

Luciana:  Sorry, Marina, but there's no green one.
Marina:  Never mind that.  You're standing on my wrap!

If you girls are good girls tonight I'll share my Almond Joy bars.  NOW my Halloween lineup is complete.  Line up, y'all!  Marina, you stay between Doremi and Luciana, lest they kill each other.

Marina:  No problem.

Even Doremi's friends love to hate her.

Doremi:  I HEARD THAT!!!

What're you gonna do to me, squirt???  You're about an eighth my size!  Anyway, Silver Bird and Luciana have unfinished business.  Fire up that radio again, Marina!

Luciana:  This sure beats resonating concrete!
Doremi:  How come no one asked ME to dance???

Behave yourself, Doremi, or you'll get a rock.  

Happy Halloween,
RagingMoon1987

AG Spotlight: Marina Gutierrez

I'm the first hazel-eyed girl in the bunch...but not the last!

FULL NAME:  Marina Isabella Gutierrez 

WHERE I GOT MY NAME:  I just looked like a Marina, the Moon Girl says.

JUST LIKE YOU NUMBER:  #89

HOMETOWN:  Galveston, Texas

HEAD MOLD:  Josefina

HAIR COLOR:  Medium brown with blue and green highlights

EYE COLOR:  Hazel

FAVORITE COLORS:  Blue, green, and purple

THINGS I LIKE:  Skateboarding, swimming, beachcombing after storms, drawing with chalk, painting, street art and art in general, sunrises and sunsets (especially the ones over Matagorda Bay), camouflage anything, ponchos, growing roses

THINGS I DISLIKE:  Peer pressure, bullies, people who walk at a snail's pace on sidewalks (or in school hallways), hurricanes (Ike was no picnic, kiddies)

*Side note from the Moon Girl:  It was no picnic here either!  The remnants of Hurricane Ike were strong enuff to knock out the power here in Malden, and I almost got clobbered on the head by a falling tree limb.  If I'd been one step faster that limb would have...well, it wouldn't have killed me, but it might've seriously injured me.

MY CHOICE OF MUSIC:  Bjork and Glen Campbell.  How's that for an odd couple!

BEST FRIENDS:  Kailey and Joss due to their shared love of beachcombing.  Luciana also gets Brownie points for knowing Spanish.  Z and I also get on pretty well, since photography and painting have a few similarities.  They have some important differences too, but they're similar enough that Z and I sometimes compare notes.  I also like to hang out with Reagan O'Connor sometimes, just for the heckuvit.

SOMEONE I'D RATHER AVOID:  I get along pretty well with everyone, actually.  I have a bit of an artistic rivalry with Amazing Maddie, but it's a friendly rivalry. 

WHERE I CAME FROM:  Another eBay find!

ABOUT ME:  Unlike Lark, who came before me, and Llewellyn, who will come next week, I'm not a custom job.  My trippy hair is factory-original...or the color is.  The Moon Girl modified my original style a bit.  I love the way it mixes the colors.

It reminds me of the colors in Monet's water lily paintings, and I think that may be why I became interested in art.  Most of my friends put a heavy emphasis on auditory arts, but I'm more interested in the visual aspect.  Here are my weapons of mass creation. 

I love to draw and paint, usually animals or landscapes or bizarre abstract ideas.  Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte are my favorite artists (they're both surrealists).  I'm not terribly picky, though; the only painter I'm not a huge fan of is Picasso, and even then I respect the time it must've taken to get those cubist pieces right.  Ahem...I apologize for going off on a tangent.  Silver Bird has her tornadoes, Luciana has that British guy in the spinning blue police box, and I have my artists...and my own art.  Hold still, Silver Bird!  Still-lives are hard enough, but when my subjects are moving it's another story.

Funny, I don't recall Silver Bird being the dancing type!  I guess being a sock hopper for Halloween will bring out your inner Fred Astaire.  I plan on being a mermaid, if the Moon Girl can find the costume in time.

*Side note from the Moon Girl:  I'll try my best!  Adric got fixed this week and most of my paycheck went towards that.

No worries!  I tell y'all, I don't hate cotton fields, but I do miss Matagorda Bay!  This kind of sand is a far cry from the sand on the beach!  It's so hard I can stand on it with no problems. 

I don't miss the hurricanes, though.  My thoughts and prayers are with the folks still digging out of Hurricane Ian's aftermath.  As for us, as recently as Luciana's spotlight it was hot with fairly frequent rainstorms, and now it's cool and dry.  We haven't had a drop of rain in almost a month, and none forecast for over a week, or so Silver Bird has told me (she and Rita Cheryl keep track of the weather).  That's been good for the cotton, as y'all can see.

Take it all in, Marina.  You can draw from memory.  Cotton makes a wonderful subject for a pencil drawing.  And now that I stop to think of it, the sunsets here are well worth painting.

Beautiful as that view may be, my heart will always be in Galveston.  Hmmm...Silver Bird is from Texas too.  I wonder if she feels the same way about Wichita Falls?

Happy birthday, Moon Girl!

Love,
Marina Gutierrez