Hollywood Dolls

Two icons of Southern women.   The blurbs have been adjusted to see Gone with the Wind from a fashion magazine's perspective. I had fun doing these and hope you enjoy viewing them too.

The biggest party that Spring. The newest face in town, Melanie. The indulgence with fashion, looks, catching a beau. In the center of it all, Scarlett O' Hara, prized daughter of Gerald and Ellen O' Hara of Tara. Several years in the magazine world should at least rub off on a hobby such as this. This is Tonner's Drapery Scarlett (doll) wearing "What's my lamb gonna wear?" I like the loose curls and the black hair that frames the face better than a brown-haired Scarlett. Who's next on the cover? Why not?
The county's newest darling, Melanie Hamilton.

Looking back, in a previous post, I said I would try not to look back (consider purchasing) Tonner's "Don't Look Back". Reason being, I didn't find it really too much of an authentic Civil War Costume. Well, here I am eating my words. And Dave (of Daveland did challenge me if I could live up to my decision). I didn't Dave! That's what happens when you see lots of photos of this doll and how beautiful the outfit seems to "really" be on it.  Beyond that I hesitated because of the price. What the heck! Money comes back but the immense joy of holding, posing, photographing and repainting a doll like Scarlett is priceless! Sounds like the MasterCard ad, right? Well whoever made that ad surely got it right.

The doll has been repainted and I think this is one which I really pressured myself by getting the first stroke right. I hope I did. I haven't shaded the doll yet. There are times when you just have to stop. What I like about her? The dress drapes beautifully. I love beautifully draped dresses on dolls as they make the dress look more in proportion. The hat which was a big issue by one post in Prego (vis-a-vis the Franklin Mint version) was actually negligible (unless of course, you've actually seen the Mint version which I conclude from photos of it to be more in synch with the film).

The doll's hair has long curls at the back which I managed to set aside to be more faithful to the scene. Although shown briefly, the scene doesn't do justice. And eating my words further, I must say: It is a must buy for any GWTW doll fan to have this.  Perhaps like Ashley, how could I not be smitten by Tonner Scarlett's charm in this ensemble.
This is the last, I hope post of Tonner Scarletts for this year (unless the price of the drapery dress of Tonner goes down on sale). Well, here she is, me eating my words, and finally feasting on another: the joy of looking back...and now looking forward to 2010 for another joyful GWTW doll collecting. I hope Tonner or Franklin Mint will be more gentle with their pricing -- that among others is part of my simple Christmas wish list.

I've had fever the past few days. Must be the change of weather. What to do? What to do? One look at the Tonner "Return to Tara" doll -- it's time to "return" to repainting. It's been awhile. And I think I need more practice since I've been forgetting the steps. Well, here she is with rolls on her side and a pensive look -- must be the fever.

I was also able to scan a photo of a the scene where she wears the dress. A close shot of the hairstyle shows the bun to be much bigger at the back, whereas the doll has a bun that stops chin-length. I would think it was a hair attachment that Vivien wore during the scene. She had so many hairstyles there, it must have been torture on her hair. In real life, Vivien Leigh had curly shoulder length hair, so I surmise that there must have been a lot of hair extensions and attachments during the filming.

This doll still needs some finishing touches -- or retouches if I find something else that needs to be improved (from how I see it).

To all those posting comments. I've been a hard time replying, sometimes my comments get posted, most of the time, they don't but I do really, really appreciate your comments. Thank you for joining me in this journey into Gone with the Wind.

A beautiful purple dress with an overlay of black lace by Ashton-Drake for Gene. And Tonner Scarlett seems to just love it!

A Tonner Scarlett repainted now as Vivien Leigh peeps behind her fan.

It is not difficult to fall in love with Ashton Drake's creations for their Gene doll. Gene after all boasts of a fairy-tale-hollywood character, adorned with lavish hairstyles -- and befitting her character, amazing tailoring for her clothes. "Love After the Hours" is one of them.

It is a classic 1957 style dress of black silk (I was wishing they used something softer to capture the swirl). The brochure that comes with this describes the dress to be made with "superb tailoring" and it is true. The dress is cut vertically on the skirt to capture a fullness that accentuates the waist of the doll. The skirt billows just above the ankles to reveal black 50s inspired shoes (designed with "left" and "right" appropriateness for the doll's foot. It fits perfectly on the Tonner doll's feet. An underlayer of crinoline serves to add fullness to the skirt of the doll -- which is actually not needed as the silk is not that soft and holds the skirt well. Charming accessories: a painted fan, silk flowers, earrings, elegant evening gloves and hose. This ensemble is designed by New York fashion artist Tim Kennedy.

For the repaint. I wanted to capture Vivien Leigh's hairstyle in "Waterloo Bridge". The Tonner Scarlett though is blessed with abundant hair which is quite hard to flatten at the top similar to Vivien Leigh's. The swirl at the side of the head was done with hairspray and held by soft rubber bands. Voila! The Vivien Leigh swirl -- or at least in my eyes.

Herein are photos that marry the "dream" behind AD's Gene, and Tonner's "The Power of Play". Enjoy the portraits. I couldn't put in too much -- maybe soon.

"A Gothic love story about a governess haunted by a romantic Ghost in a dark english mansion on the Yorkshire moors. When the lovely governess arrives at the gloomy mansion, she is chilled at her uncanny resemblance to a haunting portrait of a former daughter of the mansion who disappeared on the moors one night..." (from the leaflet of Ashton Drake's Midnight Angel)

What you see is a repainted Tonner Scarlett -- not to look like Vivien Leigh, but an imaginary character inspired from classical paintings of women. I think I was thinking of images of Maine and Monet when I thought of doing this portraits. I had been long looking at Ashton Drake's Midnight Angel Ensemble, somehow haunted by its beautiful detail. Thinking this would be perfect for an Edwardian/Victorian outfit for the Tonner Scarlett mold. I was never drawn to strong featured dolls. I personally think that feminine-ness is close to beautiful-ness! And so thought of repainting this close to classical soft features in paintings of women.

The outfit is just the cape over the doll. The skirt was a creation of Alana Bennett (notice the nice embroidery at the bottom which Alana did -- a good value if you have her do a gown for you; she does do more). The inside gown has "leg-o-mutton sleeves" and is made of a wonderful pale rose cotton, lace collar and detachable cummerband. Notice also the beautiful detail that Ashton Drake did at the bottom: a "looping" applique. Underneath this, you will find a full netted crinoline.
The navy blue wall coat is faithful to capes done during the period as it is made of wool; edged with gold piping along its hem. There are bows at the back is fully lined. The top of the coat sort of flies so I had to clip it at the back (thanks to Nikki for that suggestion). The pale rose dress underneath (I am surprised) fits the doll well; you just have to tug a bit-- although I would think she would be uncomfortable with it -- who wasn't during the Victorian/Edwardian corset era. Notice the bonnet of gold brocade, black chenille and black cord. I adore the little rose brooch! The outfit also comes with pearl earrings which the doll is not wearing. The dress is designed by Nicole Burke, winner of the 1997 Young Designers of America Student Competition. You have to hand it to Mel Odom for giving that opportunity to a lot of young talent. Over-all I think that Gene's clothings are classic and each one worth getting -- whatever fits your collection.

I hope you enjoy the portraits! Thanks to Joe Blitman of www.joeslist.com for this outfit. Coming up next: Vivien Leigh does Ashton Drake.

I was told by a member of the Scarlett Vinyl Yahoo Group that this dress is a re-creation of the movie by Gene Tierney -- "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir".




This is not Scarlett, nor is it Vivien Leigh. Having seen the cover "Great Women Masters of Art" by Jordi Vigue, I thought it appropriate to do a portrait doll following the softer features of women found in classical paintings. specifically the painting of "Lady Elizabeth Foster by Angelica Kaufman. This is purely coincidental (or better yet, by "accident"). I had purchased Ashton Drake's Gene Marshall outfit called "Love's Ghost". It was a bargain in joeslist.com; I was not aware however, that the Gene doll has perhaps the smallest waist for a 15" inch doll. It wouldn't fit the Franklin Mint Scarlett -- what more, a Tonner Tyler body.

But first things first.

It is by accident that I tried undoing the bun of a spare Tonner Scarlett "Receiving Guests with Melanie". It was a doll special to me as it was donated by good friend Eric Caron for me to practice on. I realized having undone the bun that the hair there had been cut shorter than those at the sides. You can just imagine the pain of realizing that. Also since I never liked the top hairstyle of simulated curls, I pulled it, unravelling long twisted bangs that didn't look so bad -- if only the hair at the back wasn't cut short and if I didn't test my curiosity and pulled it out. Silly me. But such is my curiosity with things. Life is short, why not just redo the doll with a whole new look. And since I love the Victorian era, might as well do something from that period.

Hair has been tied into a side pony -- only lower. This hides the shortened back well.

It is by accident that I also caught sight of Ms. Vigue's book with the cover of Lady Foster.

And since I had Gene's "Love's Ghost" which resembled the painting, might as well. The top of "Love's Ghost" is the only part of the dress used here; it is tightly held by a sash (Franklin Mint's Christmas with Ashley Sash). The skirt is from Alana Bennet's other creation, the hat is Gene's, tulle is by me.

So here she is. Pardon the photograph. I must learn how to fix the settings in my digicam. I must have touched something there that lessened the pixels.

I ordered at least 4 Gene dresses (this including). They might just go unused considering they don't fit the Tonner doll -- any suggestions?


"Great Women Masters of Art" by Jordi Vigue (image from Amazon)

This is probably one of the best sculpts that Tonner did. I wanted a gentler Edward, one like Heathcliff, a dark side but still you could see a loving face. I gave this doll a major haircut and sculpted the hair with gel and dabbing of hairspray. Held by little rubber bands as it dried, but taking them off so they won't leave a mark on the hair. By sculpted that means arranging the hair so that it looks proportional to the face -- less doll-like. The eyes appear blue here but they're actually black with some greys and whites. And of course those little points in the black that glisten. The hardest part for me were the lips. It is hard to find the right solution or mix of paints to capture the actor's lip color (which was actually stained/tinted red) in the film. The sides that frame the face have been painted on too. Edward's face is not rectangular in Twilight but rounded at the top because of hair that falls to the side of his temples. The eyebrows were brushed with a ratio of 3 parts water 2 parts paint then it progresses from there. I wish I had more patience and new brushes though.

Well, hope you like him. = )