Keepers Dolly Duds 1940s Plaid Dress for Linda

Waaachaaaa! Sneaky sneak sneak attack!

Back on September 3rd one of our readers- Avery V. - noticed Chrissa in the guest review of the VintiqueDesigns56 Work-A-Day set. She was surprised to see her since we had never announced owning Chrissa. This was in fact Adventures in AG's Chrissa.

But indeed, we actually did already have Chrissa here in Badger's Wood. Yes, with the subtle moves of a highly-trained ninja we acquired ourselves a "Linda Rinaldi" doll to complete our 1940s four-pack of friends. We just wanted to wait until December 2009 to show her off. "Why?," I hear you ask....

Well because Linda, fka Chrissa, is the Girl of the Year 2009 and December will be the last month to buy her from AG. So this is going to be our little farewell tribute month for Chrissa. We will try and post about Linda/Chrissa several more times in the coming weeks.

First off for our Chrissa tribute we have Linda modeling a Keepers Dolly Duds plaid 1940s dress which is ideal for school-day attire. We just love this dress with its two-fabric design and the little buttons and bow on the front under the collar. And the light blue in the plaid fabric looks pretty neat with Linda's eye coloring. To top it all off, Linda is sporting some mighty fine pigtails to complement her new Keepers frock.

She is quite a pretty doll and we are lucky
to have her here in Badger's Wood.

Stay tuned to The Doll Wardrobe for more
Linda/Chrissa posts this month! Yay for 1940s clothing!
And yay for GOTY dolls!

Melody Valerie Wintry Meadows

Outerwear!

Yes, that's right folks--- The Melody Valerie Couture small Christmas line was outerwear! Wowser! We had been dreaming about MVC dresses, while we should have been imagining coats and cloaks! What a nice surprise! :)

We ordered one of each item, the Ivy Cape and the Holly Coat, and they are already here! So we should be showing them to you today on the blog in order to be timely, but I think we all know that I am a wee bit behind in my posting. I haven't even finished posting on the Fall 2009 line!

So that is why today we are looking at my twin sister Ellie modeling the Fall '09 Wintry Meadows dress. This is a very elegant dress and its beauty is difficult to capture in photos. But we added an up-close shot of the fabric in the slideshow to give you an idea of the texture and color of the dress. It is a deep green, but in most of the photos it looks darker than it is in person.

Ellie said this dress was her favorite because of its uniqueness with the long sleeves, wide neckline, and gathered bodice. With her honey-blonde-reddish hair and hazel eyes, the Wintry Meadows dress looks especially smashing on Ellie. And I bet it would look really fabulous with the MVC Ivy Cape and Holly Coat.... if I can ever get around to taking pictures of those items.....

Interested in shopping at the MVC Etsy shop?
Click here!

Want to learn more about MVC?
Read their blog here!

Melody Valerie Statement in Taffeta

Happy Friday everyone!

We thought we should finally get back to some of the Fall 2009 line for Melody Valerie Couture since the small Christmas Line is being released tomorrow, November 21st...

What? The Christmas Line is being released tomorrow?!!?
Wholly Christmas bulbs Batman!!!

Yes indeedy, and we are pretty excited over here at The Doll Wardrobe. I wonder what the dresses will look like??? So many wonderful ideas bouncing around in my head, but the reality is always 100 times better.

For instance, this Fall 2009 "Statement in Taffeta" dress that you see below: It is truly fantastic and looks great on Sundari, who is modeling it for us. Clearly, it is 100 times better than any idea that might have been in my head for a blue ballgown...

The combination of the dark blue color with the two cream accents is breath-taking, and the fabrics are gorgeous. The construction of the bodice is awe-inspiring and very flattering. Sundari is all set for this year's Holiday Ball at her high school. She is going to make quite an entrance!

Want one of these dresses for yourself?
Click here! There are still two left for purchase
as of me writing this post!

Interested in learning more about Melody Valerie Couture?
Click here to read their blog!

Sundari sure does love this luxurious gown!

Eventually we'll get around to showing you the other dresses from the MVC Fall 2009 line... along with all the other stuff we want to show you too.... hmm so much cool stuff to post about... so little time....

Next time: maybe Disney pics or Liberty Jane or something else.... what will we come up with next???

Terristouch Light Blue Ruthie Dress

So first here are some images of Ruthie's American Girl brand-name outfit: the so-called "Meet" outfit, which Kit initially stole from her upon the arrival of the original Ruthie doll. However, Kit decided she didn't like the dress because it was a little too girlish, lacy, and has definite traces of pink on it. So back to Ruthie it went, and now she has one more summery dress in her closet.

To beef-up Ruthie's warm-weather-wardrobe, in addition to the sleeveless Keepers Ruthie dress previously reviewed, Penny also bought the light blue, light-weight dress for Ruthie from Etsy seller terristouch pictured below. It has graceful lines, features a soft fabric, and sports a cute row of buttons down the front. Just the sort of dress Ruthie can wear when she and Kit visit the famous Cincinnati Zoo in the summertime! Thanks Terri!

Next up from Badger's Wood is a return to Susan Shapiro's wardrobe for a look at a daisy-tastic, flower-rific summer dress from Ebay seller suebesewing! See ya later!

Keepers Dolly Duds Red, White and Blue Ruthie Dress

Ok, so we are a little early for the 4th of July. But how can you write "red, white and blue" in a different order than "red, white and blue"- especially when you are writing about American Girl dolls? It is quite a conundrum, but....

....I guess we can try...this blue, red, and white dress was recently purchased by Penny from the Ebay store of seller keepersdollyduds. If it is possible to be addicted to an Ebay store, she is definitely addicted to Keepers. We may have to have an intervention soon. Heehee.

Truth be told, once the spring and summer warm-weather dresses started being released Penny started hunting them down feverishly in order to fill gaps in specific dolls' wardrobes. For instance, our dear friend Ruthie, who as a wealthy young lady should own a lot of clothing, is sort of lacking a lot of attire choices. So now she has a nice sleeveless dress to wear in the summer while sitting on Kit's front porch and sipping ice tea.

This beautiful blue dress with tiny white polka dots is accented by pleating, red rick-rack trim, a white cut-up layered collar with tiny red buttons, and a removable belt. Also included was the red hair ribbon which Stella managed to tie onto Ruthie's semi-fancy hairdo. (Stella was in charge of hairstyling for this photoshoot.)

Stop by next time for a look at our new Dollies' Dressmaker striped 1940s dress being modeled by Susan Shapiro!

Damsels-in-Dress 1930s Dress, Apron and Oven Mitt

Kit Kittredge is now the proud owner of our first outfit from Ebay seller Damsels-in-Dress!

We've been browsing the Damsels shop casually for awhile now, but were never quite sure what we wanted to get. There are always so many fantastic and creative new things, it can be difficult to choose!

Lately Penny has been concentrating our buying efforts on 1930s and 1940s clothing, with a sprinkle of this and that thrown in for good measure. This Damsels 1930s dress, apron, and oven mitt appeared as if by magic- just the type of thing we were looking for! And perfect for our new Kit- the blue fabric even matches her eyes!

Penny said she knew this was the dress to buy because the main fabric on the dress is very similar to the wallpaper that was once in the dining room of her parents' house. So....wait a minute...huh? I think I need to explain that one a bit more. According to her, the pattern and color of the fabric reminded her of home and fancy holiday dinners with the whole family gathered in the formal dining room. So she definitely wanted that dress. I guess that makes sense, in a weird sort of way.

Stella was the photographer again, so there are a lot of pictures. Below you will see the blue dress, the white apron, and the blue oven mitt that were included with this outfit. The dress features a detachable little bow-tie-esque collar. The apron has some really lovely embroidery work that we show in a close-up, as well as two functional pockets. And the oven mitt is just perfectly adorable and squishy!

Being our first purchase from Damsels-in-Dress, we should comment on the high-quality of the product. This outfit is excellent. No flaws. Perfect proportions. Great detailing. And the fabric choices are just amazing. Everything a doll (and a collector) could ever want! Thank you Jean!

My next post will be a return to Keepers Dolly Duds with a new 1930s Ruthie dress. Ruthie is finally becoming slightly more satisfied with the amount of clothing in her wardrobe. I have to say that she only owns one official American Girl Ruthie outfit, and Kit kind of stole it from her. Bad Kitty, heehee.

Susan Shapiro Arrives! Her Homecoming Gift- A Keepers Dolly Duds outfit!

And faster than you can say puffy periwinkle pirate pants, our new light-brown-eyed Susan Shapiro, courtesy of the customization services of Mstangledwebs, appeared at our doorstep! Below you will see the gorgeous, up-close shot of Susan's happy face right after she arrived back in Badger's Wood.

As a homecoming gift Penny gave her a new Keepers Dolly Duds 1940s jumper and blouse. Please see the Ebay store of keepersdollyduds for more items like this from Eve Coleman! Her clothing is made of awesomeness!

In the photos you can see Susan modeling her new outfit and her new eyes, hahahahahaha- I kill myself! Gosh, I'm funny. She is too pretty for her own good and frankly, I'm a little jealous. I mean, how many other Mia dolls were created? At least 5 billion right? And how many light-brown-eyed #23 dolls are out there in the world? Probably not that many! I'm feeling a little, well, generic all of a sudden... but generic is not all that bad. Right?

Our next post from Badger's Wood will feature our beloved new Susan and an Apron set from Etsy seller suzymstudio. Catch ya later alligator!

Melody Valerie Green Spring Dress

Welcome Spring!

Well, spring hasn't quite sprung here in Badger's Wood but Melody Valerie Couture has just released the spring/summer line on March 27th. Please visit the Etsy shop "MelodyValerie" if you are interested in any of the spring/summer dresses!

Also, according to their March 27th release announcement there will be a surprise on April 3rd in their Etsy shop...I wonder what it will be? Another new dress? A free monkey with every order? Ok, probably not the second one... but the possibilities are endless!

Here we have Sundari modeling "The Precocious Party Dress in Apple Green" in the slideshow below. This dress is also available in pink- but there are only 2 of each dress available, I think. I guess that means there may only be one green one left now? Hmmmm.... I could be wrong.

Because these are limited editions, Penny snatched up the 3 dresses she wanted only a couple hours after Melinda listed them. She is like the Etsy version of "The Flash." And once again, we are thoroughly impressed with our Melody Valerie purchases!

Terristouch Blue Civil War Era Dress

And last but not least (for now), another Terristouch dress!

My sister Ellie makes another appearance today but this time in Cassie's place. Cassie is our 1860s girl so she should really be the one modeling this dress, but she was a little tired of the limelight for awhile and took a vacation to another floor of the house.

We really don't see Ellie in enough outfits, so we might as well show her off a little more! Terri used to offer this dress in a green fabric, which we liked but never got around to buying. Then it disappeared- snatched up by other shoppers.

We were almost tempted to ask Terri to possibly make one for us as a custom purchase when this lovely blue version turned up in her Etsy shop like magic! Perfect dress. Wonderful details of the ribbon and buttons. Good fit. Nice full skirt. Just what we wanted!

Ellie

This is my sister Ellie. She is my twin. We have the same colored eyes and our hair color is very close. But her hair is super-curly. Mine is just occasionally wavy. I'd show you a picture of Maggie as well, but she is currently at music camp at the Conservatory for the fall. She plays the clarinet. Her teacher says she is really great- hence why she got the scholarship to the Conservatory. But I don't really think the clarinet is very interesting.

Ellie is sporting the Joie de Vivre dress by Etsy seller MelodyValerie. She likes to think of herself as Audrey Hepburn when she is wearing this dress.