Dolls' Eye View: London Spring '18 Trends

Well.....here's the problem. There is still a lot of chaos in this part of the world. Designers are still trying their best to function while the ramifications of BREXIT (exit from the European Union) hover above. Many are playing it safe with commercial (read "boring") collections, while other toss everything to the wind in a flight of chaotic fantasy. The problem is...after you dismiss the under or over designed frocks, that which is left resembles.... New York. That said....my girls were not going to leave empty handed (die hard fashionistas that they are), so they made their pick, jazzed it up a bit with a few fun accessories then headed to the catwalk to strut their stuff!

Crispy Cremes

White continues to be a strong trend for Spring Summer 18. Fabrics like crisp cottons, Indian weaves--have a lot of structure which lend well to shirtwaist dresses, tiered skirts & tees, or even a simple top over wide legged trousers.

Foiled!

Houston...we have a lift-off.... colored metallics make their entry onto the scene here. The ones above are made of leather, though with a sheet of foil, you can create your own effect as we did with Renee's skirt below.

I started out with gold lame (so that the missed areas would still shine), brushed on a light layer of modge-podge then ironed on a sheet of copper foil. Small areas did not adhere which gave my skirt a more rustic, beaten up appearance. If you go this route, one thing to note...adding this much foil to a garment results in shrinkage! (I could barely get the skirt back on Renee). So cut your garment slightly large if you try this! Otherwise, a one-shouldered chiffon blouse softly counter-balances the hard look of the copper tone pencil skirt.

Post Modern World

For my girls, this represents a sort of "pause" while the industry figures it's next move. These are easy to understand, easy to wear garments with an interesting detail here or there. There is, perhaps, nothing to jump up and down about....but then again, these are items that any doll can wear well!

One-Sided Point of View

It's been a few seasons now since shoulders have come out of hiding. You could almost think of this as a nouveau classic. The other big new here is the prevalence of asymmetrical details. The basic dress is relative simple, but hems are cut on the slant, or in slats, all of which give a new look to a familiar silhouette.

Girly Girls

Shhhhh..... don't tell anybody but..behind the badass attitude, the steely cold side eye looks of a vinyl diva.....some dolls just want to have fun in ruffles, frills and floral prints! In general, these are looks that transform perfectly into 1/6 scale (or even 1/4 scale) doll fashions.

Just be aware that when it comes to ruffles and flounces...expect the unexpected. In this case, the result was (for Bea) more interesting than the original. Even though I used a soft chiffon, when gathered, the fabric still had lots of bounce which took the flounces away from the body. The idea of the double flounce over a straighter skirt, when scaled for this Barbie, resulted in a very Balenciaga avant-garde cocktail dress. But do you hear Bea complaining? Neither do I!!!

Give Her the Slip

One of my personal favorite garments, the slip dress, has established itself as quite a classic. Here it is again this season in jersey, satin and sequinned versions. This is the kind of basic garment you can use and reuse in any variety of ways.

Morgan begged me for this dress (made of a single rectangle of rayon jersey). She hit the hat drawer and decided to have a little fun.

Soft Serve

Soft fabrics in soft colors...creamy whites, peach and pink..this is what you should keep you eye on when looking for materials. If you can knit (and I wish I could), look for soft and fuzzy yarns but keep the garment simple! Or...tulle skirts, soft knits with fluffy trim all have the allure of early 1960's glamour girl.

I didn't have any fluffy jersey to make dolly a comfy dress, but I did have a gym sock and some faux fur to make this dress. Natalie's tube dress is made from a gym sock turned inside out to expose the nubby texture.  I added two small tubes for short sleeves to either side. The faux fur (although you could slice up some dyer sheets into tiny ribbons) is attached all along the top of the dress and sleeves. The dress is so stretchy, I didn't need any back closure!

Silver Service

We are still on silver standard! That's another thing to keep in mind the next time you're at the fabric store. Julien MacDonald, in particular featured lots of sexy looks carved from silver lame and silver netting to shiny sequins.

Ye Olde England

A page out of the history books from the turn of the last century. And while I'm not sure how well this looks on humans, it sure makes for some very pretty dolly dresses! Pictured here, lots of black lace and sheer dotted-swiss.

Monica figured that as long as you're going to do vintage, you may as well go all the way. Her dress began with a shift dress made of black chiffon. I pleated small bits of a sheer dotted material, then overlaped them in the front and over another layer of pleated sheer. I attached white lace to the under dress which peaks out from under the layers of the dress. I made her a hat using a black silk rose hair clip, to which I added tiny silk flowers and a scrap of dotted sheer.

Hold on, there. We're only half way through our fashion experience. Stay tuned, the girls are on their way to Milan!!! More fashions to come!!!

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