Show and Tell Thursday: 2012 Dresses

Yesterday I commented about some of the new items in the 2012 Springfield Collection. It turns out that my local craft store (AC Moore) finally got in it's new stock of Springfield Collection Clothing. I had a coupon for $10 off a $30 order, so I got the 2 dresses and skirt & top for just over $20. I brought the items home and used some of my other Springfield Collection items to dress the up a bit.

 

 

For this outfit I added tights and white satin ribbon to the dropped waist. In this picture it looks prettier than it does in person. This is an attractive outfit and I can see how a 7 year old would really like it. For me, as a mom, a grandma and an adult, it misses the mark. In my opinion it would have been prettier if they had left off the white printed necklace and the gauzy overlay (which tends to get caught in the Velcro and develops pulls and snags). A simple, purple knit, dropped-waist dress would have been very pretty and easier to accessorize for mixy matchys . I would have liked it better if they had left off the printed necklace and the skirt overlay, leaving a plain dress.

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.

 

 

 

I really like this outfit. Extra brownie points for the designer. He/She did a great job. The top is really cute, the ruffle really gives it an extra splash of pizazz. I paired it with pink capri-length leggings, silver shoes and a silver scarf that I think has now been discontinued. You can still find it however, at CR's Craft. It's a great accessory and really picks up the silver accent from the shoes. The silver purse would be the perfect go-with.



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.

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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.