Here is Gina, one of my personal favorite dolls, in one of my favorite Springfield Collection dresses. The top is velveteen, the skirt and sash are good quality satin. If you have a pearl bracelet that is people-sized, it would make a great necklace to go with this dress. I’ve paired this dress with white tights and red sparkly shoes. It would be equally pretty with black shoes or black tights. It would be appropriate for Christmas, New Years and Valentine’s Day.
This dress is my absolute favorite this year! It’s extremely versatile, as I’ve tried to illustrate in the pictures above. This dress can go from casual sporty, to retro to formal chic to trendy modest. I also tried it with the full black skirt worn over it, so that only the top part shows, and it becomes a cute zebra cami. I especially like how cute this dress is when paired with a bright color like the pink top in the center. It really pops with the color combination. I hope the 2013 collection brings us some stylish, versatile pieces like this one, and some bright new colors too!
My Olivia doll looks especially beautiful in this photo shoot. She has had her bangs trimmed short and her hair was trimmed and then curled under with curlers and a traditional boiling water Barbie-perm. This doll is older, at least 5 years old, and she looks great!
NOTE: If you are a child, DO NOT cut your doll’s hair or do anything with boiling water without adult supervision. Let the grown-ups manage any boiling water perms or hair cuts.
Quick Update on the Zebra dress, while it’s still a fashion favorite, it has already begun to fall apart. The ribbon strap on the right side is ravelling and coming off at both the front and back, and the bow stitched to the shoulder on the left side is hanging on by a thread. This is just after me playing with it for 2 days, dressing and undressing the doll maybe a total of 8 times. I’m an adult, and I play with my dolls like an adult. I’m very gentle. The ribbon straps should be attached more firmly so they are able to withstand more stress, or a different type of strap, one that is less prone to raveling should be used. Something the strength of shoestrings would work better than the satin ribbon. I got out a needle and thread and firmly reattached the frayed ribbon and both shoulder bows so that they won’t go anywhere. It’s an easy matter for me to do this and took less than 5 minutes, but not everyone is handy with a needle and thread. I hate to think that in a year this marvelous dress will be languishing in storage bins across the country because the straps have broken off and no one is able to stitch them back on.
6 Responses to “Show and Tell Thursday: 2012 Dresses”
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I can tell that zebra dress is your favorite. Too bad about the ribbons on it, though. I bought 2 pairs of red sparkly shoes for Susan and Raychel. They’ll go nicely w/ the red dresses they came in (purchased from Queen’s Treasures), and the Springfield red fur coats they have for their “being adopted” Christmas outfits. I think that party dress is a great companion to the Dressy Outfit. My 2 new dolls April and Wendy, (or Gina and Niya), will be sisters, and I think will look cute wearing these dresses together this Christmas.
I really like the red sparkly shoes. I only have one pair, but they look good with all the Christmas-Style Springfield dresses. It’s so sweet that they’ll get those red fur coats in their “Being Adopted” outfits. Those coats are really cute. I’m looking forward to seeing April & Wendy in your videos. When will they make their debut?
Probably sometime mid December, after Susan and Raychel go to the toy drive. *sniff* Wendy and April will not be donated, but another doll, Jennifer, (Abby) will. She’ll join April and Wendy and be w/ me for a year, and get adopted next December. But that will be the last doll who will be my foster child. I will still donate dolls, but they won’t be part of the family and go away…it’s just too hard.
I’m amazed you’ve been able to let so many go already. Once I start playing with a doll I really bond with her and parting with her is heartbreaking. I’m glad you’ll still be donating dolls, and I’m glad they won’t be members of your family any longer. I’m totally looking forward to Wendy & April and their new exploits in 70’s land.
I know this is late, but I hope it’s not TOO late for “consumption”. You ladies are to be congratulated. Anyone who can find time to do so much with dolls has my deepest respect. I love dolls and I’ve made an AG many years ago from a commercial pattern, i.e.., Butterick, Simplicity, McCall’s. I have 3 Springfield dolls, Abby, Olivia, and Emma. Today I ordered from Nancy’s Notions the Maria doll. I hope to dress and do her coiffure as an American Indian. Seems to me I got in on this AG/Springfield doll thing very late in the game. I would have loved to get the some of the discontinued dolls, but I’m budgeting my money for a Madison doll and then I’ll have all that are available. But the genuine AG and Goetz dolls were ‘way too rich for my wallet and when I discovered that Springfield Dolls were available for a pittance compared to the originals, I was overjoyed.
On another note, I buy men’s cotton shirts at thrift stores in the largest sizes I can find , take them home, launder them and cut them apart. They make the BEST aprons and doll clothes. Also wonderful potholders to match the aprons. Makes very nice gifts, too, and very little expenditure on my part which is what I LIKE!
I have a closet full of Barbies and Kens that I’ve picked up at garage sales and thrift stores and cleaned then up, had my DIL (former hairdresser) redo the hair and have dressed them and given them as gifts.
My hope is that one day soon I will be able to “rescue” dolls and clean and dress them and give them to the US Marines’ Toys for Tots drive at Christmas here in town every year. If they will only take new things, then I know I can probably donate them to shelters and Angel Tree and Franklin Graham’s Shoe Box Christmas drive. These boxes go all over the US and all over the world, especially third world countries, accompanied with gospel tracts in the local languages. Angel Tree, as you probably already know, is for convicts’ children who otherwise might not have any Christmas.
Frankie
I “rescue” dolls too Frankie. It’s so cool that your family can get involved with you and that you can share these thing with Christian Charity (love-in-action). A real inspiration. 🙂