Dolls' Eye View: Milan Fall/Winter '18 Trends

L'Italia è bellissima!! After the shows in NY and London, the girls were really happy to get to Milan where they were able to bask in the classic sophistication of knits, leather and old school glamour.

Animal Kingdom

From what we've already seen in NY and the UK, it's safe to say, animal prints are a big thing for next fall. Here in Italy, this trend is spelled out in a number of different ways. It can be worn as simply as a spotted jacket over a pair of jeans, or a top to toe "total look" employing a variety of different patterns (spots or stripes) or even scales of patterns teamed together in the same garment.

With this look, "more is better." Maybe neither you nor I can get away with wearing this much animal print, but our divas have the figures and the attitude to pull it off! The key to this look lies in the mix of two different fabrics with different scales of leopard spots. I already had the fabric for the top and pants, but needed a second knit for the skirt and handbag. With no fabric store around, I headed to the beauty supply store where I found a small turban with just enough fabric! The skirt has leather straps that attach to the waistband and drop down the sides of the skirt. The handbag is from the tutorial you can find by going HERE.

Fur Babies

This theme is about fur trim in a great big, old Hollywood sort of way. Any coat will suffice. It's all about simply adding a boa to pump up the look!

Dovima wears a straight grey wool coat. I made the boa by sewing together a few scraps of rabbit fur taken from the cuff of an old glove. The rabbit fur adapts to the scale of the doll, but scraps of faux fur can be used as well.

We had a LOT of fun here. Kate immediately grabbed a light grey "bathrobe" style wool coat already hanging in the closet. We had some striped faux fur on hand. It is fluffier than the rabbit hair and even though we tried to cut a narrow strip of it, the result still makes for a voluptuous allure. But still, my girls simply LOVED this 1930's glamorous Hollywood movie star look. I expect they will be getting into my stash of faux fur for some time to come!

Skin Flicks

This is the third variation of the animal kingdom trend. This time we're talking abuot garments made from leather and embossed animal patterns (scales). Even if you don't want to go the way of leather, you can still create the look using substitutes: pleather or faux leather, felt or vinyl squares embossed with snakeskin scales (carried by many craft stores). And if you are particularly motivated....you can create your own fabric by hand painting (or foiling) scales with metallic paint to create a sensational evening look like the one by Antonio Barard pictured above.

Coat Check

The cut of these coats are simple. It's all about the fabric! The choice of fabric is behind all of the sensational looks here...be it shiny vinyl, butter soft leather, cushy wool or very regal brocade.

If I had access to a wonderful brocade, I would have made a dolly version of the golden Albino Teodoro coat. Carmela reminded me, however, we already had a vinyl coat in the closet. This is a classic look that never goes out of style and can be worn over everything!

That Shirtwaist Dress

The shirtwaist dress is one of my all time favorites. It is both comfortable and stylish and can be worn in nearly all situations. Making this is very simple....it is an elongation of the oversized shirt pattern and can be cut from any fabric. But what's new here.....these dresses are cut from leather!

I used a lightweight leather for Brie's dress and the pattern for the oversized shirt which I lengthened into a dress. Her matching handbag was made from the tutorial found HERE.

Bar Code

Like most other seasons, there is a dominant presence of black and black/white looks running throughout the collections. All black can be rendered more interesting by using different materials in the same look, by raking in stripes of white, or by using contrasting accessories. Again, silhouettes are basic, skirt lengths tend to be long...dropping below the knee.

A simple leather car coat, a pair of stretch pants, a T-shirt with a face and Tamron is ready to hit the road!

Pinot Grigio

Like Italy's favorite white wine, this group is light, crisp and easy to digest. It's almost like cleansing the palette between the animal prints, the hot colors and the density of all black fashion.

Grey Scale

In between black and white there is grey. But unlike grey skies, these looks are glamorous! As with most other looks on this page, note the style trends: longer hemlines, looser silhouettes, shorter dresses worn with pencil thin pants.

Soft

Soft is a state of mind here....soft colors....soft,cuddly fabrics....soft in the way the garment fits and gracefully drapes over the body. Think about big, loose, jersey jackets over sweaters and wide trousers. A-line dresses under softly flared coats, or even ponchos belted over narrow pants.

This is Joan in a cream white 2-piece dress version of the Agona outfit. I started with a basic jewel-neck cashmere sweater knit dress over which a waist-length stole from the same fabric wraps over the bodice and snaps in the back. The back story-- Initially I made a capelet instead of the stole. When I finished, Joan resembled one of the nuns from my childhood Catholic school. It was NOT the look I was going for. At first I thought my choice of fabric had impacted the final look. So I stopped to analyze the style and what had attracted me to it. It was the tight square piece that drew the arms close to the body and cut across the shoulders in a horizontal line. I replace the cape with a stole that cradled the shoulders. After taking another close look at the original photo, I discovered the dress was actually designed with a stole and not a capelet! The cashmere, by the way, came from an old moth-eaten skirt belonging to my beloved mother. 

Late Bloomers

Atypical of winter fashion..... hybrid flowers blooming out of season. A necessary element to Italian style--femininity is sculpted in bloom of ruffles.

Getting the look is as simple as using two strips of decorative trim: one that fits over the bodice and the other gathered into a pretty ruffled skirt.

Very Berry

Another a color story with easy to wear styles. While shopping for fabrics, feast on tones of blueberry, blackberry, raspberry and strawberry.

South of the Border

Ole, ole!!! Hot spicy colors, flared silhouettes that swing and swirl around the legs...this is one of the most festive (and colorful trends we've seen in a long time. We loved the wild Pucci prints, the circle skirts with the big patch pockets and even the knit dress in curried tones edged with lots of fringe.

This can be any wild and wonderful print of any fabric. The important thing about Cathy's look is the circle skirt (with patch pockets) cut from a festive print and worn with a simple sweater or top.

After Hours Around the Duomo di Milano

The latest (Italian) version of the late night, go-everywhere black dress where the details and the accessories make the difference!

We LOVED Versace's version of La Dolce Vita (1960) starring the glamorous Anita Ekberg and Anouk Aimee. While I didn't do a line for line version, I did something similar and little bit sexier. The original dress is looser (the fabric fall down from one side of the neck and is caught in the center back seam) and it has a hoodie built in. I used a sweater knit for Sybille's version and added fullness to one side of the dress which is then shirred into the side seam. Sybille's dress has a funnel neckline. Thinking back of the movie stars from the 1960's (Gina Lollobrigida, Sopia Loren comes to mind), I simply wrapped Sybille's head with a jersey scarf and slid on a pair of over-sized sunglasses (borrowed from my 16" Tonners).

I normally wouldn't do something this simple, but since it was Versace.... and this doll begged me.....Katoucha's dress is made of a double layer of polyester organza drawn into the waist with a fancy belt. It's one of those basic looks that rely on the choice of fabric, a look that you can dress up with lots of jewelry or quietly slide under a fancy coat or jacket.

Easter's right around the corner. The girls already have a drawer full of hats thanks to previous posts.

In My Easter Bonnet, 

Belle du Jour,

Easy Straw Hats

Heart-FELT Desires

Joan's Agona dress has the kind of deep Southern style you'd most likely see in attendance at many Pascal celebrations. The only thing needed was a hat. So I made a small beret with a cluster of fabric scraps. The perfect way to top off Joan's holiday outfit! Happy Easter to you all!!

But wait, there's more! We'll see you next in Paris for the last of Fashion Month!!!

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Dolls' Eye View: London Fall/Winter '18 Trends

The chaos continues. All of the unrest, the socio-economic uncertainty, political mayhem seems to have leached into the design community. Again, much of what we saw ran the gamut of safe, very conservative garments to overly designed costumes....a sort of throwing everything to the wind. The girls decided not to stay very long here. But before they left, we had an exercise in how to be inspired by the spirit or a detail of a garment.

Hyde & Seek

This is a story about leather which the girls just love. Instead of coats and jackets, leather is treated like a fabric and fashioned into flirty skirts and dresses. This group signed by British designer, David Koma, reminded me pf my intentions to update my tutorial on working with leather. Let me give you a hint....glove weight leather sews like fabric!

Katoucha's outfit is a combination leather (the bodice) and a leather-like coated fabric (skirt). I made the two items separately so that I can use them for other looks. Katoucha's skirt is a bit shorter than the one in the photo to keep it a little more youthful and better suited for her proportions. Add a belt and it all comes together like a dress!

Midnight Warrior

Gareth Pugh made his mark as a young designer with extreme avant-garde clothing bordering on goth. What's interesting is how, over the years, his work as successfully transcended into some pretty sophisticated fashion. This season's look is comprised of massive, black on black silhouettes! Okay, so the shoulders are big (we did a tutorial on that), but that's the 1980's revival kicking in.

The secret to the look I made for Grace is that it's a composite of different elements. The leather top is a simple bodice with a peplum flared over the hips and belted. It's worn over a straight wrap skirt and accessorized with a with a pair of thigh high "Barbie" boots. If you can't get the boots, you can always make....spats to fit over a pair of shoes! Oh yes, the fur jacket was borrowed from the tutorial on padded shoulders!

It's a Wrap!

This is an effortless look. Simple garments made special with an element that wraps around the neck or body. This can be as easy as an oversized plaid square tossed over the shoulders of a satin top and pants, a big scarf knotted around the neck of a straight coat or a sleek pair of pajamas wrapped with satin cord. Note the color palette and the print!

This is shamefully simple! Helena's look starts out with a strapless sheath cut from herringbone patterned silk. We took another length of fabric and wrapped it around her neck then belted it! It's the leather gloves and thigh high boots that really pulls off the look!

Tip: I wanted to "control" the drapes so I pinned then stitched them down into the scarf.

Royal Encounter

There's not much to say here except....think brocade, on your next trip to the fabric store! This fancy fabric is all you need to transform any ordinary garment into something quite regal!

Soho Boho

It's the Arts&Crafts movement combined with the bohemian movement of the 60's and 70's. By itself, it's nothing your doll is going to want to wear outside of your sewing room, but we all were intrigued by the texture of the thing! I liked the idea of creating my own fabric using tiny bits of frayed scraps.

The top is simple. A simple bodice without darts, elongated to the hips in blue, covered with scraps. I did this pretty quickly. If I had more time, I might have designed a pattern then filled it in with color coordinated scraps. Personally, I would have stopped here and put this over jeans. But then I got the crazy idea that ripped jeans would be the perfect compliment. So I made a pair, ripped them and added a backing to the holes (so the pants wouldn't fall apart.) My first reaction was that she resembled a big, shaggy dust rag. But the next morning after the photo shoot, it somehow works as an ensemble while capturing the essence of the original look.

As I stated before....such a busy top works best when worn over something simple....like the pair of jeans Donyale is now wearing! (We'll save the tattered jeans to wear with a simple T-shirt, later on!)

Foiled!

By now you already know how much the 18-year old that lives deep within is attracted to silver! I'll admit, the light bright silver on silver is a bit much (pots and pans chic), but since I already had a little bit of silver leather left in my closet.....I couldn't help myself.

After close scrutiny, I noticed the dress had a shiny silver lace trim. For Iman's dress, I took white lace and foiled it. The gloves are tiny tubes of silver lame and the boots are silver leather covered Barbie boots. So Carneby Street Sixties!!!

While we've been busy with Fashion Week, the Academy Awards took place. And yes, my girls were there! While half the girls make their way to Milan, we'll be taking a break to find who upstaged who on the Oscars' red carpet last night!

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Dolls' Eye View: Fall/Winter 18 NY Trends

There was a lot not to love at New York Fashion Week. It would appear the chaotic transition we saw last season, is still very much alive. Designers are throwing everything and the kitchen sink onto catwalks: bizarre color and pattern combinations, clunky clothes or simply....the same old stuff!  My girls are looking for something new and had a difficult time weeding out the bad from the good. So I told the girls to concentrate on styles for which New York has always been best known: simple, sophisticated silhouettes, easy to wear pieces with a touch of eclectic pizzazz .

Animal Crackers

It is a winter collection, after all. The girls loved the Rock 'n Roll feeling of Tom Ford's animal prints that ran over everything from blazers and tights to blouson jackets and tunics. What we loved in particular, was the abundance of animal prints sometimes teamed with metallics.

Natasha loved Ford's snake skin printed blazer and  leggings, but since I didn't have a comparable print, we decided to go with the leopard printed fabric similar to the far right jacket. It may be a bit over the top for some, but my dolls like the "more is better" concept of piling on different versions of the same animal theme print! Her square, padded shouldered blazer is worn over leopard printed stretch leggings.

And if that weren't enough....we topped it off with a faux fur jacket in a matching print!

Check Mate!

There is LOTS of black and white combinations planned for next winter. This can be as simple as a white fleecy coat tossed over the shoulder of a black turtleneck sweater and black slinky leggings, or it can be a giant checkboard dress trimmed with fur.

But for Liu, she wanted to stick to the classic look of a white "sheepskin" coat over a black turtleneck and skinny pants. The coat here is from our tutorial, "Fleeced!".

Tescla Trip to Mars

What would you wear if invited for a trip to Mars in Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster....it's a hypothetical question the girls began asking while looking at Alexander Wang's catwalk show. We all loved the kicky little dresses and ensembles all etched with silver zippers! We're going to set these photos aside and pull them out later after we get some metal zippers to experiment with! Another way to go--silver tights and shoes under a Tom Ford blazer! Houston, we have lift off!!!

Fruit Basket

My girls never get tired of black. But a few (and many of you) have been calling for color. It's not that color isn't on the catwalk. The problem has been the trashy, crashing way designers use it these days. But here, we were able to find a most delicious application of color. The silhouettes are simple, the fabrics luxurious. And for the palette...think citrus with a twist of raspberry on your next trip to the fabric store.

Family Jewels

Again, this is a story about color straight out of the jewelry box: amethyst, topaz and garnet or a pop of fuchsia.

Natalie fell in love with this hot pink dress by Oscar de la Renta. The fabric was a bit stiff for a doll dress, but the color was spot on! This is a standard dress: bodice joined with a flared skirt. The "embroidery" was painted on using fabric paint.

But let's not forget, this is a winter collection, so we added black accessories: a furry jacket and a pair of "gloves." 

Second Hand Rose

Anyone who has lived in New York for any length of time, knows all about its vintage shops. One trend we did notice was the return to garments with a distinct second hand look. Madras, velvet, art nouveau detailing, faded lace.....it's all about extracting the best of fashion's glory days in order to give a new direction to today's styles.

 I love the look of blush and claret. Violetta's dress is made in two parts. The top was fashioned with vintage lace, pieced together over her form to create a simple bodice. The bottom is a simple, evening length wrap skirt that opens in the front off to one side. I did not have velvet in this color, so I substituted a patterned silk. To further give it a "vintage" look, I cut out floral medallions from a length of lace and stitched them to the skirt.

But we weren't sure Violetta would be warm enough. So we added a cocoon coat made from a men's  paisley printed silk tie.

 Again, my girls' eyes were attracted to those sexy little dresses. It doesn't seem like much, but this is the kind of dress that goes everywhere! I chose a neutral silk to replicate the dress. I like how the straps wrap over the shoulders. But.....the doll is tiny. No matter what you do, the fabric will not drape the same as a full scale model. So we simply decided how the dress should drape and tacked those points down.

This is a very tricky color. I chose Meagan to wear this dress. The trick to making it work, once again, is by piling on the same or similar color. A big bathrobe coat is the perfect garment to wear over such a sexy little dress.

Pure Sugar

Again, pure white takes center stage next winter. These are simple-go anywhere-silhouettes with a touch of glamour....fur trims at the shoulders or hemline, asymmetrical necklines or the simple elegance of a bias cut fishtail gown.

Return of the LBD (Little Black Dress)

When in doubt...go with black....the little black dress, that is. There is a variety of fabrics, textures and chic all packed into the best looking black dresses. Consider asymmetry as a way to transform an ordinary dress into one of the hottest looks of the season.

 Laeticia' wears a very simple dress. We took the basic stretch dress pattern and cut this neckline into the front and the back. Since it stretches, there is no need for snaps or other closures. The dress can be worn by itself or with the over layers of draped tulle.

Skinny Black Tie

A New York night in the 21st century! It's a look that combines the ease and comfort of legging with the chic of a tuxedo jacket to be worn to those very dressy affairs.

Billie immediately grabbed a tailored jacket and a pair of stretch pants from the closet then headed out on the town.

This is a Fall collection, so don't forget the faux fur stole to toss over the shoulders when the party is over!

Twilight Time

Formal events call for something a tad bit more luxurious. So here we are....back to black shot with silver streams of silver sequins and sparkle. This can be as simple as a strapless, empire waist velvet dress etched with silver designs over the bust or a long shift streaming with silver sequins worn under a velvet coat. When duplicating this for the doll, you can make your own fabric by making lines of sequins and creating your own designs over velvet or attaching lines of silver sequins to a sheer fabric to recreate the look of the dress in the middle.

Well....fasten your seat belts.... Next stop....LONDON Fashion Week!

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