Lea's Outfit of the Day Featuring All Dolled Up Doll Clothes

So we've had Lea since around our birthday in February - 

but we've really only taken pics of her in three outfits.

So yeah - we suck.

We have posted these pics on Instagram, 

but we want to start a sort of Instagram round-up 

here on the blog so you can see the pics all together 

and also get more information about them.

(It's amazing - I've had this vest and skirt ^^^ forever 

and never really thought of putting them together. Derp.)

Lea's outfit consists of:

A vest - custom order from All Dolled Up Doll Clothes

And a skirt - custom order from All Dolled Up Doll Clothes

A white slip from Royal Doll Boutique on Etsy

(https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoyalDollBoutique)

and

A headband from Suzy M Studio on Etsy

(https://www.etsy.com/shop/suzymstudio)

All Dolled Up Doll Clothes doesn't do custom orders anymore, as far as we know.

What she does offer is patterns - lots and lots of wonderful patterns - for those of you who sew.

http://www.alldolledup-dollclothes.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

So if you want a vest like this one, go here for the pattern:

Sarah's Vest

http://www.alldolledup-dollclothes.com/store/p336/Sarah%27s_Vest.html

The website also features a list of people who make clothing from the patterns:

http://www.alldolledup-dollclothes.com/made-to-order.html

So they may be offering some items for sale in their shops, but you can also message them and ask if they will do a custom order for you of item(s) from the All Dolled Up patterns.

I bet a lot of them will be willing to create stuff from the patterns for you!!!

___________

As far as camera notes - the above pics were taken with a ye olde Canon Rebel with a 50mm lens.

This allows me to blur out the background.

It gives the pics a small area of focus and makes them kind of dreamy-looking.

Jfyi.

Also, they were taken inside my light box thingy. :-)

Which I have posted about before here:

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2015/12/improving-your-doll-photography.html

...in case you want to learn more about it. ;-)

And then the pics are heavily edited by moi.

Because I edit the crap out of my pics.

But the colors are generally true to life. :-)

I increase the sharpness, the brightness, the contrast, the saturation, and the structure settings - but not to the point of weirdness, haha.

Just so everything is more vibrant. :-)

_________

Thank You For Visiting Us Today!!!

p.s. If you have any questions for us, 

about this outfit,

our pics,

or anything really,

please comment below!

Instagram Shoutout: Candidly Charlie

In amongst the bizzillion pictures of Lea that appeared on 

Instagram in January of 2016, there were three that jumped out at me.

And they were taken by Candidly Charlie.

https://www.instagram.com/candidlycharlie/

Charlie Z.

 Whovian. 🌌 Geek. 👓 Book lover. 📚 Total doll. 🚺www.candidlycharlie.blogspot.com

I hope people don't mind me quoting them here, 

but some of the replies to these pictures included:

"americangirlwonderGorgeous! Where is that outfit from?"

"flannelandfirWow, she looks incredible in regular clothes"

"agkameoFinally Lea in real clothes!! 👏 she looks gorgeous!"

"meika.modeWow, she looks way better in real clothes...I don't love the pink "Barbie in the rainforest" prints and this ensemble is beautiful."

"jadeag2011Love that outfit, it's probably sad that I envy the style and look of a doll lol"

And I use these quotes because my thoughts were exactly the same.

Real clothing.

A real outfit.

And she looks wonderful.

She so much less fake, cheesy, and plasticky in this outfit.

And the subtle coloring of the white and grey looks fantastic on her.

So I asked Candidly Charlie for permission to post the pics here and share them with y'alls.

I wanted you to see how wonderful Lea can look in "real clothes."

:-)  :-)  :-)

And this got us thinking --

What colors does Lea look best in?

So we started up the Instagram hashtag #favcolorsforlea

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/favcolorsforlea/

So if you have any Instagram pics of Lea in colors that you think she looks fabulous in -- 

please feel free to use #favcolorsforlea. 

I'd love to see what you guys have been dressing her in!!!

Also, please follow Candidly Charlie's Instagram and blog for more wonderful photos!!!

https://www.instagram.com/candidlycharlie/

www.candidlycharlie.blogspot.com

Thank you for visiting us today peoples!

Trends to Sew: Conquering the Romper, Part One

Well, I was doing those "A Better ______ for GOTY Lea Clark,"

but that seemed to have a backlash.

Blergh.

So I will just secretly post about a 

better romper for Lea here in this post, haha.

When I saw the leaked pics of this...

...I was like dear God of the Parrots I hope those are pajamas.

And luckily, they were.

And as far as garish pajamas, they work well.

I can't see myself buying them.

But I have thought about it, because they are really fun.

But the issue I have with rompers is this - 

even the ones that aren't made to be pajamas, often look like pajamas.

Like this one:

It's beautiful.

I would wear this.

I would want one for my dolls.

I want one for my Lea.

But it screams "loungewear" to me.

I'm not gonna wear this out grocery shopping or out to the movies.

I am going to sit on my couch in this.

So yes -- make this, sew it, sell it -- but I would advertise it as loungewear.

And I think it will do very well.

The secret / key to a going-out romper?

Higher end drapey, silken fabric.

And darker colors.

Dark blues.

Navy.

Black.

Deep reds, burnt oranges.

These things ^^^ make the romper look more sophisticated 

and for going outside into the world of people.

For example:

And...

That one ^^^ could have easily 

become a bathrobe-pajama combo -- 

but the choices of colors, overlapping shawl neckline, 

drapey polyester fabric, and slanted pockets, sells this as going-out attire.

In different colors...

A patterned fabric...

Even a thicker fabric...

And all I would be thinking is - spa day bathrobe outfit.

Alrighty then...

Again, I am trying to make my posts shorter so 

that I can actually produce more than one of them a week.

So this is all for today.

But I will be posting more on the "Conquering the Romper" theme though!

So stay tuned my fashion-forward friends!!!

Looking for Real-Life Pics of Lea Clark? Try Instagram Friends!

Welcome back to my super-intelligent blog.

Yeah. Totes intelligenty.

With super-obvious posts like this one.

Want doll pics?

Look at Instagram.

Duh.

But sometimes people might not put Instagram 

and American Girl together in their minds.

So I'm here to help you guys out.

So some of you, like me, might want to stare 

at pics of Lea Clark all week long.

Oh, that's just me?

Okay, well never mind on that point then...

But let's just say you want to see 

some pics people have taken of her -- in the store or in their own little paws.

Check out #leaclark

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/leaclark/

and #goty2016

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/goty2016/

You'll see pics of the doll, the catalog, the website, 

her clothing, her accessories, mini Lea, and so much more.

And it's just nice to see so many people excited about zee new doll and new shinies.

You can almost smell it! Haha. ;-)

So if you have Lea pics, please be sure to use one of those hashtags, or both.

That will help people find your pics and your account!!!

^^^ Sampling of zee Instagram pics.

Thanks for visiting us today friends!!!

Trends to Sew: A Better 'Aztec' Shirt for Lea

So Lea's collection has been released now, 

and I can innocently post pics of her outfits and stuff.

Innocently.

I swear.

Cough. Cough.

So we start with the Bahia Outfit.

That Lea got in Bahia.

Thrilling story, right?

The shoes and shorts aren't really anything to write home about.

At least the shorts are sort of a normal color that 

you could mix and match with other doll clothing 

items you might own.

(They are labeled as "chambray.")

The shirt however.

The shirt...

The shirt...

The shirt...

Is it just me or does this shirt look like it is crying?

Okay, first off -- you don't mix dip-dye fabric 

with this busy applique/iron-on thing.

You guys can argue with me all you want in the comments,

but this is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

If one searches for dip-dyed shirts - this is what you get:

Shockingly! Shockingly! : There is nothing on top of the fabric, 

messing with the beautiful shifting colors.

Duh.

And whose idea was it to put pink and yellow together as a dip-dye?

Yuck.

And then the Aztec/tribal/geometric/abstract/whatever...

pattern on top of the dip-dye thing....

Well, you can search for all or 

any of those words...southwestern, geo, boho, etc. etc.

(I'm lumping all of these things together, not in a 'I'm trying to be racist and culturally insensitive'-way, but because a) most of these patterns don't really come from anything culturally-specific - they are at most, culturally-derivative, and also b) I'm not really sure what you would label Lea's shirt design as....)

The list goes on and on for possible labels - but while doing an online search you will rarely find something as hideous as Lea's shirt.

So try all-over patterned shirts instead.

Tank tops.

^^^ Nice contrast neckline and straps

Yells: "BEACH!!!"

^^^Check out those flouncy tassels!

Screams: "SUNSHINE!!!"

More tassels below!!!

And all-over patterning.

Or you could just use one simple color 

with an embroidered or applique pattern along the neckline.

^^^Simple, cheerful, bold, not ugly

Or you can go with peasant tops.

^^^They are very "in" right now.

And you can go the all-over pattern method, as seen above.

(But don't make a dip-dye peasant top.

I'll have to kill you.

I mean...Maple will have to kill you.

She's the fashion-assassin around here.)

More peasant tops...

^^^I especially like the tie/un-tie option on this one, 

and how it makes a beautiful V-necklne

^^^ There's something very visually pleasing about the embroidered 

pattern just being on top of the white or cream gauze fabric.

Right?

(Not on top of pink-yellow dip-dyed fabric...)

Short sleeve, slightly cropped peasant tops.

^^^ Notice how the banding of the fabric can really change the "weight" of the shirt from focused around the neckline and shoulders versus focused on the bottom hem and sleeve hems.

Experiment with different approaches!

And onto something a bit less peasanty.

^^^ Beautiful high-contrast designs.

Two different style shirts -- but both are way more appealing than this....

Even this bizarre combination of "Aztec" print on 

a bomber jacket appeals to me more than Lea's shirt.

Yes, Roxy made that ^^^ and you can buy it from PacSun right now for like 50% off.

Honestly, if I could pull it off, I would totally wear that.

(But I'm not cool enough.)

And I think it would be completely awesome to have it in doll-size.

But I think it would be awesome to have any of the above shirts in doll-size!

Alright, I think I'm done whining about Lea's shirt.....sigh. Siiiighhhh.

Siiiiiggghhhh.

________

Thanks for visiting us today friends!!!