Runway Rococo Meets the Oscars

This week’s journey takes us down one of the shortest and most coveted pieces of carpet in America. For a few hours fashionistas all over the world will tune in to live feeds of some of the most beautiful gowns to be viewed for the year. Unfortunately some of the gowns viewed will be labeled as mishaps. Take note so your gown does not fall into the last category! 

Opulent fabrics, bows, elaborate hats, lace, and all kinds of frou frou are characteristics of this style.  However, overembellishing may not be what the judges are looking for.  It might be more logical to depend on the fabric or the cut of the design to tell your story.  Dior did it full skirted, but with an obviously overblown print, as we see in this pink concoction.
 

Alexander McQueen chose to transition Rococoian elements. By doing so, he came up with more sharply elegant evening pieces.  He had no trouble achieving "the look" in any color.  No matter which color he used, it spoke with a soft or hard boldness true to his style.

 

The accent color used or the cut of all the pieces in each outfit spoke truly but differently to the Rococo style we were once accustomed to seeing. So it wasn’t any wonder that gowns made post-McQueen began to emulate his work if only in the spider lace prints, crepe, and gold metallics now dominating the Nuevo-Rococo canvas.

Is your style more like the traditional Dior musings or will you choose to move forward like McQueen?.  Neither is right or wrong – it’s simply the way your style dictates the design.  Face it, all the great houses have tried it.  Think Chanel, Versace, and even Dolce & Gabanna. 

Each played off a fun, youthful look infused with the richness of Rococo style. Each was beautiful and spoke to the theme – but perhaps they didn’t speak to your entirely unique vision. 

Remember, this is your time to really shine! So walk your doll diva down that carpet demurely and sweet – or dazzle, dazzle, dazzle with something quite unique! 

Then we’ll soon see how the judges like it.  But one thing is for sure, based on the designs we have seen in the challenges so far, it will take more than an instruction to eat cake to win this one!

I'll be back to tell you more about the judge for this challenge, but for now I'll leave you with the fashion most anticipated around the world for weeks - direct from the wedding, and designed by Sarah Burton.

 Congratulations, dear Prince, I trust your dear Mother is smiling down on your happy occasion!

Huckleberry's Effort Wins Dual Prizes!

 

HUCKLEBERRY JACKSON

Even a cursory glance at the judge's comments would make it obvious who the winner is for Challenge Two.

Brilliant. The purse is genius. I love this fashion. . That vest is divine! You hit this challenge right on the mark, and made it your own. It is a beautiful look... I like the idea of a mini wardrobe. You did a great job.

Huckleberry Jackson decided to give the 70ies influenced outfit a whole black and white Paris couture chic. It is a style that is timeless and is fun for this type theme. This began with the graphic white and black pair of flares that start underneath the breasts and reach the floor to stretch the silhouette to the max. Her very high platforms also enhance the stretching.

To give this outfit some color it has a classic 70ies blouse in peach. For another possibility of wearing the blouse it was continued into a jumpsuit.. To make it very sexy silk crepe was used, and it was fitted to be very close to the body.  It was lined with the same fabric. The look was to be sexy but not see through! 


The accessories included a big hat, faux fur jacket, a big circle purse, and a faux leather braided belt. Everything was worked up to have both a designer look and one appropriate for this era. A peach patterned scarf for the head and some "magic hair" topped it all off for additional styling with flare!

Winner of the Photography prize is:

HUCKLEBERRY JACKSON

Honorable Mention
Gordana Niemela and Anita Stoklosa

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our winners!!

Challenge 3 - Oh fiddly dee - it's a hard one!!

OUTERWEAR WITH  ATTITUDE

Once again this week we turn to the predictors of fashion trends for Spring. According to fashion reports, fashion took a U turn this spring to focus on elaborately detailed, luscious, and seriously grown up chic. Your challenge this week is to create outerwear for spring that follows this trend.

Make your designs "highly considered, beautifully crafted designs with a fetishistic edge". Make it work designers!!!


When I read this challenge I felt like I had been living under a rock on Mars! I had only took small sneak peeks at the recent runway shows, so I wasn’t up on “grown up chic”, “outerwear for spring that is part of the new fashion trend”, and definitely hadn’t even thought about anything “fetishistic”!?! From the questions I observed on the CDDC Yahoo group, it appeared early on that some contestants were not sure of which direction to go with the latest challenge, either. So, at the risk of confusing the little darlings even more, I’ve done my homework, and will merely throw my thoughts out there now. Remember, however, what I write only has value if YOU give it value. Embrace what you agree with, and forget about the rest!

Grown Up Chic


Many young shoppers are ditching bargain basement looks – finally! Instead they want superior fabrics and tailoring, for which they are ready to pay more It seems ironic in our current season of doom and gloom from forecasts we’ve been listening to all year, that people are actually willing to trade up when it comes to their wardrobes. They're not as willing to spend on things they're going to throw away. Instead the trend is to invest in something like a nice coat rather than a similarly lower-priced one that will only last a season.


The brands ringing up increasing numbers of till sales are defined by a sophisticated look known as posh. Fabric and finish rather than extreme high fashion runway looks dominate. Sure, avant garde looks still impress on the runway, but people are taking a more realistic approach to choosing garments for their own wardrobes. The price of clothing has been falling at an incredible rate for the past decade, but these new trends have led forecasters to predict an increase in women’s wear of 4.7% by 2012.

Outerwear New Fashion Trend


Chilly and rainy days offer great opportunities for accentuating your fashion style in the best way – using outerwear. Fortunately Spring 2011 fashion trends provide us with a great option of wonderful classic trench coats and trendy leather jackets that can be perfectly complemented with various fashion details.


A lot of fashionable brands present their outerwear pieces corresponding to the Spring 2011 fashion trends. Prepare to be lost in admiration with the latest offerings of vogue-looking outerwear. The latest perfectly combine high-quality fabric, flawless workmanship, and trendy style. Remember, you’ll want to also add a trench coat this year. Due to the length, one is absolutely essential if you want to sport a dress or a tunic. Though some can be quite expensive, opting for a few glamorous outerwear pieces that demand attention won’t break the bank

And then there’s “fetishistic”…


…and I didn’t even want to go there. Rather than venture off into what this word literally defines, I decided to pose a question of my own to Ms. Elcock as to what this meant in terms of the challenge. She directed me in a new, more appropriate path immediately! It seems you’d be designing with a more eclectic feel - -think Vivienne Westwood not bondage! Also, Larraine said, “The trend this year is towards overdoing embellishments. If you were going to put a button on a sleeve, it’s a put 10 in instead sort of thing.”


It looks like if you want to upgrade your look for the Spring/Summer 2011 season or satisfy this challenge, you’ll need to make a slight transition in your wardrobe and overall appearance. While it’s still cold outside you can sport neat new outerwear, then as it warms up you can continue with young, eclectic, cleverly over trimmed fashion…I guess! I only know one thing for sure, in my mind a lot of the new runway looks are sure trendy looking, and they are embracing a new season of fashion dominated by bright colors and beautiful, but lighter weight fabrics! Hallelujah, Spring has sprung!!

Bea Happy outfit by Durell for Marie
 Osmond Adora Belle Mop Top doll. 

A Returning Guest Judge
Durelle Brown, that multi-talented OOAK artist and dolly fashion designer extraordinaire is returning once again as a guest judge for this intriguing but misunderstood challenge. I have little doubt she will know the exact criteria for choosing the winner, as she well understands what place this challenge is coming from.


Durelle won her first DOTY for outfit
for Charisma doll, Journey.

 She still continues to love lots of family time – especially since the arrival of her second granddaughter. However, time hasn’t been a great commodity; rather she’s had a lot less due to her design efforts for Marie Osmond’s Charisma Dolls, and her full time work as an Interior Designer. Sandwiched in there tightly has been spending time on her one other passion – that of collecting and designing her own dolls. Whether it’s a doll for donation at a charity event or one for a contest, you can be sure Durelle always puts out her next best effort.

Durelle's passion - a Pirate
 for CDS' Pop Culture Challenge.

Her latest contribution to her doll doings was a pirate offering for a challenge on our sister site, Couture Doll Shops. Pirates continue to crop up in her portfolio, but every time I see one I marvel at the originality that is always prevalent in a Demi-Divas by Durelle creation.


Her desire to compete never wanes. In fact she is currently working on some designs for contests at the Tonner Doll convention as well as IFDC. Entries which she hopes to later add for sell to her doll shop at CDS, Chic Indulgence, but that will have to wait now till after convention season.

A fun couture outfit for Delilah Noir offered
 up yet another win for Durelle.

I’m always reluctant to anticipate what a judge might be looking for. But since I know this particular artist very well, I am going to venture a guess that she’ll appreciate good construction and attention to details. I say this with confidence because I do know these are things she pays particular attention to when making her own designs. Welcome back, Durelle; we look forward to some great critiques coming from you!

Elena Feathers Her Nest With A Perfect Score

ELENA TSELISHEVA

 "I love silk ribbons, and the theme of this Challenge has pleased me. Ribbons are very various, using them limited only by imagination of the designer. You can weave them, embroider, crochet and knit, weave, such as macrame, can make beautiful flowers."

Very impressive...Stunning work...Feather detail is amazing...Exquisitely crafted....these are just part of the overall critiques from the judges. So it isn't surprising that Elena Tselisheva not only pulled off a perfect soore of 80/80 Elena to become CDDC3's first challenge winner!!!


For her dress she used five kinds of ribbons, gold metallic thread, and a weaving technique plus a little crochet. A crochet hook was used to decorate the cut on the back of the dress, and for the skirt nylon ribbon was used. The skirt's feathered effect used more than 10 meters of ribbon, and took more than 20 hours to achieve. .In fact this ribboned marvel even included a zipper as a closure. The remarks, the scores, and the photos show clearly why this design moved up to the forefront to become this first winner -  CONGRATULATIONS Elena!

Winner of the Photography prize is:

HUCKLEBERRY JACKSON

JULIA REBESKOVA

The People's Choice Design favourite.

NATALIA SHEPPARD

The People's Choice Photography favourite.

Honorable mention goes to:  Julia Mezrina and Anita Stoklosa.  CONGRATULATIONS to all of our winners

That 70s Thing Gets An Update, Guest Judge Yana Emellyanova

Even as I am announcing these winners, I'm sure the contestants are knee deep in accomplishing the next challenge. And we are delighted that the winner of the last CDDC, Yana Emellyanova, has been moved up from contestant to guest judge for this phase of challenge.


There's little to write since my last update except Yana has been quite busy with commissions as well as making items to stock her new online store. As the winner of her own doll shop on Couture Doll Shops, she needed to build a website complete with a shopping cart. So her fans can look forward to buying direct from her soon!!
As some of you know, Yana creates fashions for Fashion Royalty, Poppy Parker, Silkstone, Tonner and Little Fee Dolls. She defines her style as classic, often inspired by vintage and retro fashions. She uses high quality fabrics and pays special attentions to details. Wouldn't it be nice to add something very couture to your collection - perhaps something like this would satisfy your diva doll??