Hollywood Dolls

If this dress looks a little familiar it is because it was inspired by this gorgeous DeaAnna Denton dress.



When I cut of the bottom of the pleated skirt that I used to make the "Rear Window" dress, I knew I had to make Gene a copy of DeeAnna's dress. Of course it's not exact, but Gene loves her version of DeeAnna's dress.









"Twilight Girl" is wearing a dress made with the same lace bodice and a full circle chiffon skirt.







Here is the same bodice with a lace skirt. I think the shorter skirt gives it more of a late 50's early 60's look.

This gown has been on my to-do list for years. When another Gene collector asked me if I was planning on making this costume from the Lana Turner film "Imitation of Life" I decided to move it up the list and take a break from making "Rear Window" costumes. It is made of silk chiffon, which wasn't too hard to work with.





This gown was relatively easy to make compared to my latest projects. The hardest thing was finding the right shade of blue for the sash.







The jewelry was a gift from Jennifer and Katherine O' Hare, that I received at the "Hollywood Ahoy" convention in 2009. It is perfect.



I watched the gown scene many times in the movie. In the first shots, the sash is a dark teal color, but then later it looks blue, like in the above photo. I found this blue silk chiffon in Seattle this past Summer. Almost every time I leave Whidbey Island, I try to hit a fabric store or two. My three sons love fabric stores, and by love I mean I have to bribe them with candy, toys, and gum.

Even though I have only blogged about one of the many, many things I bought at the last Gene convention, I have decided to write about the last batch of goodies that have made their way up to Whidbey Island.

A couple of months ago Integrity Toys had a Gene sale, I couldn't resist indulging in some more dolls and outfits, the prices were incredible, and they were selling Tawny.



Isn't she gorgeous? I need to figure out how to photograph the darker skin better.



Like many of my Gene dolls, she wasn't on my list as a "Must Have" until I saw Jurrie's website. When I finally decided I needed her, she was sold out, and selling on eBay for a high price. I was thrilled to buy her for a great price.











I initially passed up "Pool Pose" Madra during the 2008 Gene convention. Her sale price was too good to pass up. She is beautiful, and the perfect hat doll. I don't have pictures of her in her original outfit, because when Tonner's "Captivatingly Coy" arrived, Madra demanded to be the first one to wear it. She is still wearing it.



I have succumbed to the urge to buy more of the "Anne Harper" line by Tonner. I love the vintage styles.

Sambuca will fit in perfectly with the black cocktailers I am planning on making very soon.

I have wanted to write about doll hair for a while. When I first started buying Genes, the hair was the deciding factor for me when choosing which dolls to buy.

I buy most of my dolls to work as models for the clothes I make. My favorite Genes the first few years were "Love Paris" and Symphony in G Minor". I used them a lot. They look great in hats, suits, and in evening wear.

I know what I don't like; I don't like long, loose hair, and I don't like high up-dos. My favorite hairstyle is a low chignon on the back of the head. I think it is the most versatile style.

I started restyling some of my Genes hair myself a couple of years ago. I was very nervous to do it at first. I can sew very well, but hair is not easy for me.








My first hair redo was "American Countess". She originally had her hair in a bun on the top of her head. It looked beautiful with her tiara and gown, but I needed a brunette model that could wear hats. I took her hair down, it was long and not too thick. I used the instructions on Studio Commissary and what I had learned at the hair class during the 2008 convention to make a low chignon. I was very happy with my first attempt. She is one of my few AD Genes that has a IT body.











Distant Venus was next. She was my very first convention doll. I loved her beautiful face and silver hair, but her long wavy hair limited her modeling possibilities. I saw other people on the doll boards putting her hair up so I thought, "Why not?". I gave her the same low chignon as my American Countess. I left the curl by her face though. I think I cut a little off the bottom of her hair. I love the results. She has modeled many outfits for me. I especially love her in black, white, and red.


















I didn't have very many Madras and I decided I needed a brunette Madra. I loved Special Scene Madra's face and her dark hair. I loved her hair in the promotion pictures, but my Madra's hair wasn't as nice, I could see it getting messy on me. I decided to try to copy "Symphony in G Minor's" French Twist.

The first thing I had to do, was very scary. She had A LOT of hair on her scalp. Especially on top of her head. I wish I could have transplanted her hair to my head! I had to thin it out so I scalped all of her hair except for a few rows of hair going around her hairline. She still had a thick ponytail even after I took out most of her hair. I should of taken pictures of the process, but most of you would have freaked if you had seen her! I had instructions to follow from a HLAYG magazine that were very helpful.

I started sectioning off her hair and pinning it close to her head. I covered all that up with the roll. I had to thin her hair out even more to get the results I wanted. I have a rule about doll hair; my doll's ponytail should not be thicker than my ponytail. That is so wrong! I'm pretty happy with the results, though I wish it was a little smoother hair-do.

This is one of the first doll that I bought for the clothes. Her suit is stunning, but I hated her "Bride of Frankenstein" hairdo. I really wanted to give her a "Love Paris" double twist. I thought that would have looked beautiful on Zita.

When I took her hair down, it was long and thin. There wasn't much hair in the middle of her scalp. Unfortunately, it wasn't thick enough for two twists and I couldn't figure out how to make it work. It also wasn't thick enough for my good old stand-by low chignon. It was perfect for a braid though. So I braided it and pinned the ends under. I am satisfied with the way it turned out, but I would have loved it if I could have done it "Love, Paris" style.

I bought this doll nude for a good price not long ago. I was attracted to her dark hair and her bangs. I wouldn't want bangs on all my dolls, but I like the variety. She came to me with her curls a little messed up, and they were on the top of her head, like I don't like them. I dreamed of styling her hair like "Color Deal" Ivy"s.

That was before I took her hair down. The top curls were long and I knew I could work with that part of her hair, but I should have stopped there. The back and sides were very short and uneven. She looked almost as bad and my "Special Scene" Madra would look if I ever took her hair down, but that will be NEVER!



Scary pictures of her hair while I was working on it. My husband asked me "what the @&*# did you do to her?" I was wondering that myself.



There was no way I could do the style that I really wanted. I ended up putting the back and sides up again, but it isn't as nice as the original back was. I twisted the top of the hair and pinned it to hide the mess in the back. This is least favorite redo I've done, but I still like it better than the original do, at least she can wear hats, and she may be wearing a lot of them. I do not recommend taking her hair down.














When I first brought Stardust home, I told myself "I am keeping her hair down!" Her hair looked so pretty in the promotion photos, mine- not so much. It was a mess, and I gave into the urge to brush it out and "fix it". I tried to gel in the waves and clean it up, but it ended up looking flat to me.







I found a helpful article about doing an up-do in an old "Haute Doll" magazine that I have saved. I brushed Stardust's hair out and started pinning it up. I didn't cut anything off, and that is why her hair is so big. I didn't want to do anything drastic, and it could be taken down if I wanted to later. I gelled the ends of her hair into curls and sprayed it with hairspray. I love her now!
















I bought Calendar Shot nude at the convention. She didn't have her hairnet and her the back of her hair was in long messy ringlets. I knew I was going to have to put her hair up too. I brushed it out and straightened it with hot water. I gathered it into a low ponytail and then made two even braids. I didn't cut her hair and I twisted the braids around the back of her head. Hiding the braids' ends was the hardest part.














I received Oona at the 2008 convention for making an auction outfit. I was tickled pink. I love her but never liked her high ponytail. I knew I didn't want to take it down, but I wanted her hair up.



Her curls were always messy, and I felt like she could only wear evening wear with this style.





I braided her ponytail into three even braids and like Calendar Shot, twisted them around the back of her head.














This Gene was bought to be my Esther from "Meet Me in St. Louis" model. For more details about her hair click here.

I have my eye on a few more dolls that might need new hairdos. Fringe Festival Ivy, Glammed Up Ivy, and Love, Madra, better watch out!