Sunday, September 27, 2009

VICTORIANA

Victorian clothes are so attractive to me.  I'm not sure why I (and many, many others) share this love of women's and children's clothes from the late 1800's - early 1900's.   I particularly love the "over-the-top" versions of these clothes, as expressed in French fashion magazines of the time.   And made so exquistely for the dolls of that era.


I have tried to recreate two of these dress for the American Girl Doll.   It was an interesting experience.  It took time to find the fabrics locally, (ah, to have a Mood Fabric Store in Oklahoma!) and to create my own dress patterns.   The dresses were expensive to produce as the fabrics and trim were costly and the construction was time consuming.   But I had the satisfaction of completing the victorian dresses and hope to do more for the spring line of clothes.  These items are available now at CSBSEWS American Girl Doll Clothes


The rose print dress reflects an American Victorian doll dress, while the silk dress and bonnet are modeled on the French Victorian style.




For those more interested in today's looks, I have added new winter items for the modern American Girl Doll to the offerings at CSBSEWS.  


Carolyn

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Working with wonderful fabrics

Our evenings are cooling down and the days are getting shorter. I am looking forward to putting out pumpkins and straw and greeting all the trick or treaters in our neighborhood. I have created two halloween costumes for American Girl Dolls. One is a traditional witch with a twist. Her costume has a sparkling witch design on a net layer and the dress is trimmed with sparkling sequin trim. The second costume is for all girls who love fairys. These are the only halloween costumes that will be offered at CSBSEWS this year.

As I wrote in my earlier blog, I am now getting wonderful fabric from a local fabric store that specializes in fine, fine fabrics. These fabrics and trims spur my imagination and I can't wait to finish an outfit and move on to the next. I picture an American Girl Doll owner opening a present during the holidays and seeing one of these beautiful ensembles. (I always send my items in a white gift box). I think these dresses qualify as very special gifts.
I'm adding items daily so stop by CSBSEWS.com often. OR follow me on twitter. You'll get a tweet everytime a new item is added.


Carolyn