Friday, August 17, 2012

Le Rouge et Le Noir

As a side benefit of making the threaded hairstyle wig featured last week, I developed a new technique for attaching locks to the wig cap which enabled me to create this Bantu knots style.


Grace had been languishing in a corner for months so she jumped at the chance to model it.


I've been using Grace as a fit model for new lingerie designs.  She just hadn't gotten any camera time.  This bra and panty set started as a variation on the hip hugger briefs I made last year:


The rear view is more daring than the original pattern:


***
While I was on the red and black theme, I remembered another lady who has been languishing for over a year:



Although I have purchased many doll-related items on eBay, I had never sold anything there so one of my 2011 New Year's Resolutions was to sell an item on eBay.  I chose a doll that I wasn't attached to -- Winter Splendor Avon Barbie. 


I always felt that the blue eyeshadow was a trick intended to make her eyes look blue and downplay the fact that she is a woman of color.  Indeed some of the sellers appeared not to be aware that she is a black doll or they were trying to help her pass for white.


In  Black Dolls:  A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion (2008), Debbie Behan Garrett values the doll at $60 but some sellers wanted as much as $120 for her despite the fact that there were pages and pages of listings for this Avon lady.  After watching the ones that sold for a few weeks, I calculated that the actual market price was about $10.  The gown was worth that much to me so I stripped the doll and gave the gown to an Integrity Toys lady who carries it with more flair:


The Goth wig topped it off perfectly:


I still haven't sold anything on eBay.  I always seem to find a way to recycle cast offs within my own collection instead.

À Bientôt

16 comments:

  1. I love the Bantu knots wig. You always seem to come up with such clever designs and techniques.

    Yes indeed, the red and black lingerie is more daring from the back. I immediately thought of Sisqo's Thong Song. :-) I like the new closure used on the bra and briefs.

    Winter Splendor's gown is perfect for the Goth Integrity lady. Her mane befits her theme also.

    Maybe you'll get around to testing the eBay selling waters one day. Your items are different and should interest many.

    dbg

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    1. Hi Debbie,

      I gotten some new inspiration since I joined the Dazzling Dames doll club. I really enjoy sitting with those ladies and working on doll projects.

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  2. Dear Limbe Dolls,
    I so rarely get the opportunity to comment on your blog and I am so excited I can now! I love these knotted styles! When I saw Fit For A Queen, all I could say was WOW! I hope to see a tutorial on the process soon. I find the new lingerie style fantastic. I think the CEO wig is special too and would love to add them both to my collection. The CEO story tickled me. I have a Lisa Jenkins head but never thought of using a Liv body for her. I will have to rethink that! Yogalisous, I watch that video many times. I just love it. I think you could do well selling on thedollpage to since there isn't a listing or picture fee. Let me know if you decided to do so first so I'm be ready! Keep up the good work! I look forward to your point of view on dolls! Thanks for posting!
    Ms. Leo

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ms. Leo,

      I appreciate your comments. Lisa Jenkins is the name of the candidate the CEO is interviewing. Now that the Liv dolls are being discontinued, I've been trying to score as many bodies as I can on clearance.

      Delete
  3. Love the new wig style! And yes, the new lingerie is more risqué. We love that. I've done the same thing when it comes to dolls I am selling. If the going price doesn't make sense, I just debox and use it myself. I think I am from the era right before the 'we hate blue eyeshadow' era. I sort of remember it in real life from a lot of real ladies who used to wear it. I actually like it on that doll, and quite a few other dolls. I like the nude look for everyday dolls, but when a doll is dressed up, I like the contrast of different makeup colors. Blues, silvers, hint of white, etc. This doll to me, can't pass for anything but an AA doll. Again, I think if I were a few years older, I may have different feelings. I know it is a major pet peeve for quite a Black doll enthusiast.

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    1. Hi Vanessa,

      I have been known to wear blue eye shadow on occasion myself so my objection is not specifically to the color. The white version of this doll does not have blue eye shadow which is another reason I think the blue eye shadow was a trick intended to downplay the African American doll's ethnic identity. The eye make up on the white doll would have worked just as well with the black doll's complexion.

      Delete
  4. Hello from Spain: I love this hairstyle. I congratulate you also create the panties and bra. These clothes are very sexy .. Keep in touch

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    1. Hi Marta,

      I always appreciate your comments. You keep me motivated to come up with new designs.

      Delete
  5. Let me know when you'll open your shop on Ebay, I want to be your first customer!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Sergio,

      Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll have to work on re-stocking my Etsy store.

      Delete
  6. Oh, that Bantu knots wig is cool. Very chic your Grace looks wearing it.

    I love the Avon gown on the Integrity Janay better than on that AA Barbie. I can understand your liking the gown more than the doll: that particular Asha-face job doesn't work for me either. I have and have had lots of dolls with that face - Mattel more than gets their fair share use from any of their molds, lol - but some I LOVE; others I could miss.

    It surprises me that anyone would think the Asha-face was other than AA, but I suppose people see what they want to see. Shrug. Like my usurping Sideshow Collectibles' Odd Job and re-categorizing him as an AA figure ... or me thinking that my Kaylas were the AA doll in the Fashion Fever line-up. The heart sees what the heart wants sometimes, lol.

    Oh and an interesting aside - the Asha face mold was one of the three new AA face molds in the Shani trio who were the first "real" AA face molds Mattel made back in 1991. Okay, zipping back up. Don't want to got into that rondelay again.

    P.S. My Joes and Power Team guys give the revised undies both thumbs up ;-D

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    1. Hi D7ana,

      I have the Shani trio from back in the day and I like that Asha. I like the face mold, I just didn't like the screening on this particular doll.

      Glad the Joes and Power Team guys like the lingerie set!

      Delete
  7. I LOVE this Bantu wig! Grace looks really good in it. I also love the new lingerie....will have to get one. ; ). I totally understand keeping a doll just for the clothes. I do it all the time especially when I realize that I could get more pleasure out of the outfit than what someone is willing to pay for it NRFB.

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    1. Hi Georgia Girl,

      Glad you like the wig and the lingerie. Keeping or even buying dolls just for the clothes is one of my vices. Good to know I'm not alone in it.

      Delete
  8. Hi your blog is awesome,I just followed you :) Please follow me back at:http://dollsvalley.blogspot.in/ thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pam,

      Thanks for joining. I just popped over to your blog and enjoyed your photos. Keep up the good work!

      Delete