Fashion Haul
Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing great.
Summer is passing by so fast and I still haven't done half of the things that I had planned to do. I feel like I'm busy 24/7 and I don't have much time to play with my dolls. As I told you on one of my last post, Mr. Monster and I will be moving home later this year, probably around November or December. However, before we move, we had to fix some stuff in the house, so we're often running errands and meeting with the contractor to make the last decisions. It's quite stressing, but I'm happy because our new home will look great. Also, I'm quite excited because I'll have more storage space in my doll/craft room.
I have lots of posts ideas for the blog, that I already know I won't have time to write before the next semester starts. I actually have a list on my computer where I write all of my ideas and I cross them when I write the post. I've wanted to do a corner room/diorama for ages, but that will have to wait until I move, so I'll have more time and space. Since during my silent blog periods I kept buying doll stuff, I have lots of stuff to unbox. Some stuff I've had for so long that I almost feel ashamed. So, I want to focus on unboxing some of those things. However, since I don't want this to look like plain reviews, I want to bring something different to the post, like a quick tutorial or a new background. Something quick,easy and simple. And since I've been trying to take more doll photos, I will also focus on sharing with you my ideas and see how I progress. I would also love to hear your feedback and ideas, I love hearing from you.
Besides dolls, I have some Barbie fashion packs to open. They're quite expensive here in Spain compared to the USA, and the quality isn't amazing. Besides that, lately I haven't seen any fashion packs around my local stores, and the only place that I've seen them is on Amazon... for twice the price they have in the USA. Not a great deal. Anyway, the first pack that I have is the one that I won on Phyllis' giveaway.
I also got this boho style pack. I mostly got it because I loved the light jacket.
And finally, I have a few of this single piece packs. For some reason, I have two of the shoe pack.
Since this are quite old packs, this isn't going to be a proper review, but more of a photoshoot type of post. I also have some new stuff for my photos, so I have a perfect excuse to bring them on.
First, let's start with Phyllis' pack (do this fashion packs have names?). Since it has some bright colors, I thought it would suit a dark skinned doll like Asha and XOXO (now named Christie).
I know that this fashion pack was meant to be for the original body and that Christie has a tall body, but I think she still looks good on it. By the way, I don't know in you area, but I never saw the fashion packs for the new bodies in any store or Amazon, neither I saw the shoe packs.
A few days ago I got some new cardstock sheets for doll photography and I thought this purple one would suit Christie. I thought it was a nice color, between pink and purple, but on camera it doesn't look true to its color. It looks quite similar to a light purple one that I already have, although in person they're quite different.
In this full body shot of Christie, you can appreciate how good she looks in this outfit. She's wearing Sweetheart Stripes shoes because both tall and curvy Barbie dolls have bigger feet. I know they made shoe packs for them, but never managed to get them.
I decided to bring a chair to the shoot, so I could take some different poses for Asha. Not the best pose to appreciate the oufit, but I really like how it turned out.
I know this pack came way before the movie "Black Panther", but she's totally giving me Shuri vibes with that top and that hairstyle.
For the next pack, I decided to bring Chloe and Drew. The style of the pack isn't quite what I had in mind for Drew, but I just wanted to get rid of her outfit. Drew is wearing the shoes from Barbie Fashionista Pink Pizzaz, because, again, I didn't have any shoes that would fit her.
For a while now I had been wanting to use LED fairy lights for doll photography. I've seen My Froggy Stuff use them in her dioramas countless times, and quite recently Barb also used them one of her dioramas. So, I thought they could give an interesting effect on a flat background. Here's Chloe.
They make the background look slightly greener when they're on, but I think you can't really tell. I also wanted to see how they would look around the doll. Does it look to Christmas themed?
Alongside the purple cardstock paper, I also bought a turquoise one. It is quite different to the light blue I already had, but it looks very similar on camera.
I'm a bit dissapointed that they look so similar. There were two turquoise shades, and I picked the darkest one on purpose, because I thought the light one was too close to the blue. Anyway, it's quite a cheap item, and I managed to get some nice pics.
In case you ar curious, this is how I set up the lights. Since this are made of wire, you can "mold" the shape of the lights.
And last but not least, Victoria (aka L.A. Girl) is going to model some of the single items pieces. This items feel cheaper than the 2 outfit packs. The jean skirt doesn't even have a print on the back and the shirt is terribly sewn. It also looks super baggy on the doll, but I tucked the excess fabric on the back of the doll, so you can't really see it.
The quality isn't great, but I like the skirt, it looks very versatile. I just wish it had the same fabric on the back. This fashion packs have made me realize that I really need to learn to sew. That way I would only have the problem of finding shoes.
I still have more fashion packs to open, as well as a ton of dolls, but I think this is enough for one post. I don't think I will do another unboxing next. I have an idea for another background, but I also want to do some sort of "Retro review" of a Barbie playset from the 90s that I have. We'll see what I feel like doing next.
Besides my house getting fixed, I've also been focusing on boosting my Instagram account. I've been posting on a regular basis, almost daily. I don't just post the pics that you see here, but also some pics that don't make it to the post or even some that I take specifically to post on Instagram.
Speaking of Instagram, I've lately come across people calling themselves influencers on different social media, or even using the hastag #dollinfluencer and, to be honest, is something that I didn't really asociate to the doll world. I always asociate that term with the fashion and beauty industries, but it can really be in any other area. At college we've had some debates around the topic, discussing what really makes someone an influencer or if working with them really works. Since the age range of the readers of this blog is quite wide, I'd love to hear what some of you have to say about this. What's your overall opinion on influencers? Have you ever bought a doll because of someone's review or influenced by someone? The only time I've bought a doll after reading someone's review was Avea Trotter, and it was a review from The Toy Box Philosopher, but also helped the fact that the doll was on sale. Tell me what you think so far.
On a little side note, Ms. Leo wrote a lovely post called Doll Theraphy: a 12 step program, which I found very interesting. I really encourage you to go and give it a look.
That's enough rambling for me today. I hope you're all having an amazing summer and I hope to be able to write to you soon.
Take care!
M.C.
Similar posts:
Fashion Galore
Social Media:
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Summer is passing by so fast and I still haven't done half of the things that I had planned to do. I feel like I'm busy 24/7 and I don't have much time to play with my dolls. As I told you on one of my last post, Mr. Monster and I will be moving home later this year, probably around November or December. However, before we move, we had to fix some stuff in the house, so we're often running errands and meeting with the contractor to make the last decisions. It's quite stressing, but I'm happy because our new home will look great. Also, I'm quite excited because I'll have more storage space in my doll/craft room.
I have lots of posts ideas for the blog, that I already know I won't have time to write before the next semester starts. I actually have a list on my computer where I write all of my ideas and I cross them when I write the post. I've wanted to do a corner room/diorama for ages, but that will have to wait until I move, so I'll have more time and space. Since during my silent blog periods I kept buying doll stuff, I have lots of stuff to unbox. Some stuff I've had for so long that I almost feel ashamed. So, I want to focus on unboxing some of those things. However, since I don't want this to look like plain reviews, I want to bring something different to the post, like a quick tutorial or a new background. Something quick,easy and simple. And since I've been trying to take more doll photos, I will also focus on sharing with you my ideas and see how I progress. I would also love to hear your feedback and ideas, I love hearing from you.
Besides dolls, I have some Barbie fashion packs to open. They're quite expensive here in Spain compared to the USA, and the quality isn't amazing. Besides that, lately I haven't seen any fashion packs around my local stores, and the only place that I've seen them is on Amazon... for twice the price they have in the USA. Not a great deal. Anyway, the first pack that I have is the one that I won on Phyllis' giveaway.
I also got this boho style pack. I mostly got it because I loved the light jacket.
And finally, I have a few of this single piece packs. For some reason, I have two of the shoe pack.
Since this are quite old packs, this isn't going to be a proper review, but more of a photoshoot type of post. I also have some new stuff for my photos, so I have a perfect excuse to bring them on.
First, let's start with Phyllis' pack (do this fashion packs have names?). Since it has some bright colors, I thought it would suit a dark skinned doll like Asha and XOXO (now named Christie).
I know that this fashion pack was meant to be for the original body and that Christie has a tall body, but I think she still looks good on it. By the way, I don't know in you area, but I never saw the fashion packs for the new bodies in any store or Amazon, neither I saw the shoe packs.
A few days ago I got some new cardstock sheets for doll photography and I thought this purple one would suit Christie. I thought it was a nice color, between pink and purple, but on camera it doesn't look true to its color. It looks quite similar to a light purple one that I already have, although in person they're quite different.
In this full body shot of Christie, you can appreciate how good she looks in this outfit. She's wearing Sweetheart Stripes shoes because both tall and curvy Barbie dolls have bigger feet. I know they made shoe packs for them, but never managed to get them.
I decided to bring a chair to the shoot, so I could take some different poses for Asha. Not the best pose to appreciate the oufit, but I really like how it turned out.
I know this pack came way before the movie "Black Panther", but she's totally giving me Shuri vibes with that top and that hairstyle.
For the next pack, I decided to bring Chloe and Drew. The style of the pack isn't quite what I had in mind for Drew, but I just wanted to get rid of her outfit. Drew is wearing the shoes from Barbie Fashionista Pink Pizzaz, because, again, I didn't have any shoes that would fit her.
For a while now I had been wanting to use LED fairy lights for doll photography. I've seen My Froggy Stuff use them in her dioramas countless times, and quite recently Barb also used them one of her dioramas. So, I thought they could give an interesting effect on a flat background. Here's Chloe.
They make the background look slightly greener when they're on, but I think you can't really tell. I also wanted to see how they would look around the doll. Does it look to Christmas themed?
Alongside the purple cardstock paper, I also bought a turquoise one. It is quite different to the light blue I already had, but it looks very similar on camera.
I'm a bit dissapointed that they look so similar. There were two turquoise shades, and I picked the darkest one on purpose, because I thought the light one was too close to the blue. Anyway, it's quite a cheap item, and I managed to get some nice pics.
In case you ar curious, this is how I set up the lights. Since this are made of wire, you can "mold" the shape of the lights.
And last but not least, Victoria (aka L.A. Girl) is going to model some of the single items pieces. This items feel cheaper than the 2 outfit packs. The jean skirt doesn't even have a print on the back and the shirt is terribly sewn. It also looks super baggy on the doll, but I tucked the excess fabric on the back of the doll, so you can't really see it.
The quality isn't great, but I like the skirt, it looks very versatile. I just wish it had the same fabric on the back. This fashion packs have made me realize that I really need to learn to sew. That way I would only have the problem of finding shoes.
I still have more fashion packs to open, as well as a ton of dolls, but I think this is enough for one post. I don't think I will do another unboxing next. I have an idea for another background, but I also want to do some sort of "Retro review" of a Barbie playset from the 90s that I have. We'll see what I feel like doing next.
Besides my house getting fixed, I've also been focusing on boosting my Instagram account. I've been posting on a regular basis, almost daily. I don't just post the pics that you see here, but also some pics that don't make it to the post or even some that I take specifically to post on Instagram.
Speaking of Instagram, I've lately come across people calling themselves influencers on different social media, or even using the hastag #dollinfluencer and, to be honest, is something that I didn't really asociate to the doll world. I always asociate that term with the fashion and beauty industries, but it can really be in any other area. At college we've had some debates around the topic, discussing what really makes someone an influencer or if working with them really works. Since the age range of the readers of this blog is quite wide, I'd love to hear what some of you have to say about this. What's your overall opinion on influencers? Have you ever bought a doll because of someone's review or influenced by someone? The only time I've bought a doll after reading someone's review was Avea Trotter, and it was a review from The Toy Box Philosopher, but also helped the fact that the doll was on sale. Tell me what you think so far.
On a little side note, Ms. Leo wrote a lovely post called Doll Theraphy: a 12 step program, which I found very interesting. I really encourage you to go and give it a look.
That's enough rambling for me today. I hope you're all having an amazing summer and I hope to be able to write to you soon.
Take care!
M.C.
Similar posts:
Fashion Galore
Social Media:
Instagram Facebook Twitter
I do enjoy your posts MC, all the different coloured backdrops keep the photos bright and interesting. Thanks also for the link, I will check it out later...we're about to go out to dine. :)
ReplyDeleteBig hugs,
X
Thanks Xanadu, I'm trying to do my best and improve step by step. I have more ideas and stuff I'd love to do for my photos, but currently I don't have as much time to do them or space to store them, so they'll have to wait a little bit more.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Hola, I just discovered your blog after you commented on mine, and what a nice discovery it is. I like your photos, they're really pretty and colourful, your girls are lovely!
ReplyDeleteI have only seen a few of the clothing packs in our local Toys R Us which is in Malaga, I don't know whereabouts in Spain you are though. The packs were not cheap, as you say, and I thought that the quality didn't look great through the packaging, but I always like to have a look at them anyway.
As for doll influencers, I think that over my 12 years in the BJD hobby I've definitely been influenced by other people's photos many times. I tend to see a doll that I like then I do a lot of research and look at other 'real life' photos before making the decision to buy or not, as the case may be. So I guess that would definitely be being influenced. However, I've not come across the hash tag yet!
Big hugs Sharon x
Hola Sharon! Welcome to my blog! Thank you so much for your nice words. Lately I've been trying to step up my doll photos and I've been playing with color. If you go back to my older post, my photos were quite dull.
DeleteMy question is: if 1€ is 1,12$, why are we paying 20€ for something that in the USA costs 10$??? The price for those packs shouldn't be higher than 10€-12€.
I think that many people want to be influencers (or pretend to be one) just to get brand deals and free stuff, but they have no real "influence" on people.
Thanks for stopping by!
Wow, I've got so much to say here! Your backdrops look great. I'm glad you like the use of lights, and they look very nice. :) I don't think it looks Christmassy. Of course, I don't know what it is like in Spain, but here there are light strings year round for every occasion.
ReplyDeleteI got the boho pack in Curvy size. I think that I had to get it off Amazon, though. It's so annoying; one of the things that people pointed out when the different body shape Barbies were previewed, was that they would all need different size clothes. Mattel pretty much gave up on that fairly early.
I do encourage you to try sewing for your dolls! It really helps your doll wardrobe.
I think the red plaid shirt was meant to be oversized. In the US, we would call that a "boyfriend" shirt. It's made for women, but it's supposed to look like you're wearing your boyfriend's shirt.
Odd that you would ask the question about influencers. It hit me a couple of weeks ago that I probably am an influencer, to a small extent. Someone left a comment on my very old review of Ginny Weasley, saying that the dolls had finally come to where she lived, but she wasn't interested in buying them after she read my review. It's also why I bought a Cori Cruize doll, because I know that a lot of people look for information about new fashion dolls when they come out. Still, I definitely don't have a huge reach, but it would be nice to someday.
Thanks Barb, I'm glad you like my backdrops!. In Spain, fairy light are getting quite popular too, specially in gardens or exterior decor. I wouldn't consider them Christmas lights unless they blink.
DeleteNice point about the "boyfriend" style. The problem with this shirt is that the fabric is too stiff, and it didn't really look good. Also, I didn't show it, but it's terrible sewn on the back. I've been wanting to learn to sew for the longest time, but I've never taken the time to do so. It's definitely on my to do list.
Great point about having real influence on people's purchases. The word "influencer" is often asociated with people with a large following, but that doesn't mean that they have real influence. Also, followers can be bought, that's why some "influencers" don't really get engagement and companies that work with them don't get a return of their investment. I guess that "fake it till you make it" is the moto for some of this people.
I guess I had a lot to say too! Take care.
Hello! Hope you are well, being a busy bee. I can relate to the feeling of being busy and trying to get some minutes over for the dolls. And then I plan a lot to do during the holidays and vacation, but then you are like so ’ugh’ and just want to relax. So this summer I have mostly been gazing at my dolls. But they are so pretty to look at, even that is a bit relaxing!
ReplyDeleteMoving is stressing, but the good side is that you get more space for your dolls and crafting! I hope it all goes smooth.
Barbie fashion packs are almost non existing here. If I find something, it is something I already have or for a price that could take you to beautiful places instead. And if I find something nice, it is almost overtime at the shops on the internet. Amazon has a lot, but the postage gives me nightmares. These packs you won on the giveaway are great! Love the boho style pack. I could wear that!
Your backdrops are just amazing! Thought about wallpaper too…over here we can by leftovers from wallpapers for a reasonable price and if you have cardboard or something like that, you can glue it on that or pin it in some way, so you can use the cardboard to many different once. My Froggy Styles is really a great place for ideas, been there several times! Love what you did with the lights!
Dollinfluencer, that was something new. Have not seen that at all. Influencers in other different media I have seen. It feels like these people have it as a sidekick, mostly, but some do it for living over here in Sweden. Other doll collectors, without calling themselves for influencers, give me ideas and inspiration. That is enough for me.
Enjoy your day and take care!
Hi DollsDolour! I often feel that european collectors are second class customers for Mattel. I'm not sure if you have Amazon in Sweden, but years before it came to Spain, I used to buy on Amazon.uk. I had to buy stuff that were on sale, because of the change from pounds to euros. Also, postal service here is crap too.
DeleteI'm glad that you like my backdrops. I try to keep it simple and affordable, so everyone that reads this can make it. I did use a wallpaper sample in an older post, I just stick it to the wall with tape or poster putty.
Once I scanned one of those "influencers" profile, and 70% of their followers were fake or bought. Many people just want to have a large following to get free stuff from brands. To me, if I could be an influencer and I got the attention from the brands, I would ask them to stop treating customers outside USA like 2nd class customers.
Thanks for your lovely comment.