Other IDEX Highlights and Reviews

DRESSMAKER DETAILS
On Saturday, before the doors were open to the public, I was chatting with Steven Fraser of Dressmaker Details. As you may know, DD now has two lines of fashions. The new line is called Pink Label Paks. They are simply designed and less expensive than the regular fashions. Take a look at this and tell me which line you think it belongs in.

Strolling Along $45.

Believe it or not, it's a Pink Label Pak. I want one. The style is a timeless sheath with a matching swing coat. The fabric looks like silk but isn't. I do want to see how the coat fits over the dress collar. That could be a problem but the sheath by itself with the gold lining and gold shoes are winners! The sheath is available in mauve without a coat for $25.

Here is a fashion from the regular fashion line.

Mon Cheri $85

A doll can never have too many red dresses or too many sparkly rhinestone bracelets!
Steven showed me his wonderful sketchbook. What a treat it was to chat with him about his work.
How about this fabulous black evening coat? Perfect for the opera, isn't it?

Swing Coat $25.

Two poorly behaved gals are seen here fighting over dresses.
For more information about Dressmaker Details, check out their website.

MADAME ALEXANDER CISSY
My Cissy collection consists of five dolls and a few extra outfits. They're all modern Cissy dolls. I mention this because I don't have a connection to the look of vintage Cissy dolls that so many do. I've been a lurking member of the most active Cissy group, however, and from what I've read, 90% of the collectors are very disappointed in the face paint of the new Cissy dolls. The beautifully designed Jason Wu fashions on these dolls were well received but the eye makeup was not. The combination of babyish body and face shape does not do well with runway makeup. I sure would love the clothes!

Envy Cissy 21" LE 200 $349.95

Jason is debuting new Cissy collections this year. In additional to wonderful designs with a 50’s flair and an exquisite make-up palette, Jason has provided these, the 21” Cissys, with newly engineered jointing which includes a concealed shoulder joint, an elbow joint with a 45 degree bend and the most inspired touch of all – adding ball jointed wrists with removable hands which bend and are removable for endless dressing possibilities.

You’ll be green with ENVY when you see this new design by Jason Wu. It, a navy taffeta swing coat with a shawl collar and black belt, is worn over a short-sleeved emerald green, silk dupioni, sheath with a peg skirt. It looks marvelous on 21” Cissy with her black bun and blue eyes. Her face paint looks perfect beneath her fox ‘fur’, pom pom hat that has an attached black net veil which covers the forehead and adds drama to the eyes. A rhinestone necklace, silver, bow shaped earrings and black gloves that reach her elbow, add accents and additional style. As does Envy’s black, platform heels with a black crisscrossed ribbon detail and nude pantyhose. She comes with a martini glass, which you’ll Envy too.

Vice Cissy 21" LE 200 $349.95

21 inch tall Vice Cissy is made of vinyl and shows off her hourglass silhouette wearing a cobalt blue wiggle dress with 3-quarter length sleeves and a black belt. She also wears black matinee gloves, a straw hat and golden jewelry. Fishnet stockings, peep-toe shoes and sunglasses are the finishing touches to her fashionable ensemble. Wearing a jeweled collar is her little black dog, kept close by her side on a golden leash. Vice Cissy is a 2010 edition from Madame Alexander's Couture Collection.

NEO CISSY DOLLS 16"

L'Enfant Terrible LE 200 $134.99

This new fashion doll, as designed by Jason, features a nostalgic Elise sculpt, re-interpreted with a brand new, fully ball jointed body with endless posing possibilities. There are 15 joints in all including neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, bust, hips, knees, ankles, and waist.
16” L’Enfant Terrible, a NeoCissy with green eyes, bright red hair in a side-parted ponytail and black nails, has an incredibly daring look. She is presented here in an ensemble that combines a bra-top bodice that has a black fishnet neckline and sleeves with a short black taffeta mini-skirt which is trimmed with black horsehair. Adding additional drama and finishing L’Enfant Terrible’s look is silver rhinestone earrings, black undies with attached garters and black stockings, bright green open-toed booties that have platform heels and a black feathered eye patch that is trimmed with jet caviar beads.

Blu Belle Cissy LE 200 $134.99

16” Blu Belle, a NeoCissy with blue eyes, a large, side-parted, blue Afro and black nails, wears a very chic black taffeta, dropped waist, mini dress. The bodice has a peach ribbon detail stitched to look like a corset and an overlay of ruched, black net with white, flocked, mini polka dots. A strap of the netting extends over one shoulder and the pleated, mini- skirt of the dress has a matching overlay of the same net. Blu Belle’s "‘je ne sais quoi" look is finished by nude pantyhose, orange vinyl, platform sandals, that are accented by orange suede rosettes on the middle strap, silver rhinestone stud earrings and a lacy black eye mask that comes with sticky dots to adhere the mask to the face.

Let the images speak for themselves. I thought the Neo Cissy dolls looked far worse in person than they look in the pictures.

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Picture of the Week ~ Not Really

I'm going to reward myself for quitting Farmville by posting some of my own pictures in place of the usual Picture of the Week Award. The truth is that I didn't spend much time on the doll boards this week and I don't have a nominee.
This doll was Cruise Control Vanessa. She was reviewed by me several months ago. She had terrible hair. This photo was taken after I tried to carefully comb out her disaster of a do.

She was re-rooted by Susan Korba who did her usual fantastic job using mixed blonde shades.
Shortly after that I saw a Cruise Control doll whose eyes had been re-done. I had to have mine done as well. When I received her yesterday I couldn't believe how gorgeous she was. Vin Trapani worked his magic and made her more beautiful than the one I saw to begin with.

While I am posting these pictures of her I might as well talk about her outfit. It's a Dressmaker Detail's fashion called "Feet First."This image is the property of Dressmaker Details.

I have wanted it since it was first released months ago but my experience with DD fashions has not been a good one as far as fit and quality of accessories. Originally priced at $79.00, when it went on sale for $35. directly from DD, (plus another $20. for shipping!) I ordered it. I hoped for the best with the skirt and sweater and left the rest to chance.
This time I give DD an A for effort as far as design goes. They have kept it simple except for the silly little bow on the back of the sweater which was easy to remove. The skirt fits nicely and has a tiny zipper closure with a hook at the top. The sweater has real buttons and button holes that are adorable and made very well. One needs a light weight pliers to help close the buttons but it's do-able.
The problem with the sweater is that the seams under the arms keep the doll from lowering her arms close to her body. There's got to be another way to construct a tiny knit sweater so the doll can lower her arms properly. Wu did it with several sweaters. Even Mattel has made a few sweaters that work.
I added the chains. The pearl studs and pearl bracelet come with the fashion.
DD plastic shoes are very good. They fit fairly well and come in lots of good colors. I knew that the tall gold boots weren't going to work; I could tell from their profile. They fit but they are Barbie-ish in look. The red shoes and the gold stretch cord shoes fit but look awkward because the foot bed is too large or off-center. At $79. I would have been very disappointed. At $55., I'm not that unhappy because I didn't expect much. I'm glad I got the skirt and sweater no matter what.
DD does great skirts. Construction techniques can be improved and I will jump for joy when Steven Fraser decides to eliminate the low quality frills and put all the manufacturing effort into the main pieces. Perhaps Steven can learn a few tricks by studying the construction and design of Randall Craig's doll sweaters. Take a look at this beauty. (LE 100 MSRP $58)This gorgeous and beautifully made/fitted fashion from Randall Craig is called The Gold Standard. It is part of his latest line. The skirt has inverted pleats and the sweater fits perfectly. RC still has a long way to go with their shoe fitting problems. These shoes, just like last year's, do not fit properly.
All of Randall's fashions this season come with cigarettes. Perhaps next year they will come with coke and I don't mean in a bottle.

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