| Accoutrements - if the Shoe Fits... by Stefanie Baumler |
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| Welcome to my column for SeloJ Spa! In each issue we will explore the world of fashion doll accessories. Because as we all know, you can never have too many shoes, bags, jewelry, etc... In this issue we focus on the shoe. I love shoes and I love doll shoes! I don't know what it is... but there is just something about shoes that just grabs me! So, let's get atarted! And I MUST start with the Fashion Royalty line. Jason Wu is the Jimmy Choo of the doll world; the Manolo Blahnick of the vast vinyl land! |
| Lush Life's Shoes Ever since the first FR girls were released, I've been intrigued by the shoes. The simple open toe mules that came with the first Close-Up dolls grabbed me immediately with the fact that they were fabric and not plastic. Hooray! And after that, it was simply unadulterated love for their shoes. Various Fashion Royalty Shoes Beautiful fabric shoes with the tiniest of details: little buckles, bows, beads, chains, ankle lacing... Be still my heart! Behind Velevt Ropes' Shoes Take for instance, the shoes on Jason's latest, Behind Velvet Ropes, gorgeous color, contrasting insole, teeny tiny sequins, tiny ribbon straps with tiny D-rings for fastening - OY! All I can say is, "Hey, Jason"! "Can you make these in a size 10 please"?! He'd make a fortune, trust me! Another example of Mr. Wu's work that just blows my mind are the shoes that came with the four bathing suit dolls from the Exotic Fusion line: Seashore Rebel Natalia, Skin is In Kyori, Exotic Fire Veronique and Bombshell Adele. Shiny gold leather with criss-cross straps and a gold chain around the ankle with tiny bead drops! And to top it off, each doll's shoes had a different color insole. Exotic Fire's Shoes Ok, one last look at the Fashion Royalty footwear and I will move on. The boots! Jason's first boots appeared with the Graphic Flirtation line in 2003. The boots on Girl of the Moment were just perfect! Candy apple red ankle boots with tiny buttons! The knee high white boots on Glam Slam Kyori were to die for! Glam Slam & GOTM's Boots And finally the boots from the Fashion Spectacular accessory set! These just take the cake! Knee-high black boots with white trim and tiny white bows all the way up the front! Again I say, "Size 10 please"! Fashion Spectacular Boots |
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| I could not do a column on shoes without mentioning that "other" doll designer whose shoes make me wilt: Robert Tonner! I will admit I do not own very many of the "big" girls as of yet, but I do have a few and the few that I have I do love! Tonner's shoes have long enticed me with their attention to scale and detail! The shoe sets that are sold separately for Tyler and friends are worth every penny if you are a redresser! The shoes from one of his newest dolls, Just Divine Sydney Chase, are a perfect example of Tonner's perfect shoe! Pink leather right down to the heel with tiny buttons and bows! You gotta love them! Just Divine's Shoes And lastly I feel that I must mention the Bratz. There has been quite a lot said about the Bratz and their shoes. Well, OK, their feet/shoes. I don't dare say that I totally understand the point of snap off shoes/feet, but I will cop to the fact that I think they're kind of cool! I mean, they are totally oversized, but so are these girl's heads...so what? It's part of their charm, I guess. Bottom line is they do have some wicked cool shoes and some very fun boots too! Bratz Shoes For me, shoes can make or break an outfit. That goes for people as well as dolls. Ever seen anyone whose outfit was just so great and then you looked down and their shoes were just, well, blah?! Totally spoils the illusion doesn't it? So, here's to hoping that our favorite vinyl vixen;s (whoever they may be), continue to wow us and surprise us and thrill us! I have a feeling they will! And to Mr.'s Wu and Tonner, I'll say it one more time: "Size 10, please"! |
| On the other hand, Mattel, more often than not, drops the ball when it comes to accessories. Shoes in particular. Various Mattel Shoes Usually plastic and a single color, I have rarely been excited by one of their doll's shoes. At first I was a little bit excited by the Silkstone's shoes. Fun retro styles with stiletto heels and pointy toes, but alas, still plastic and one solid color for the most part. Silkstone Shoes There have been, however,a few highlights in Mattel's defense. The Byron Lars line has had some wonderfully fun footwear! The fur boots from Nne, the wire shoes from Tatu and the great blue leather boots from Mbili to name a few! Nne's Boots Tatu's Boots Then there are the awesome black leather boots from the first two Hard Rock dolls! Love them!! Sexy knee high boots with studs and buckles. Yummy! Hard Rock's Boots As far as Mattel's playline goes, there are hits and misses there too. These WAY oversized shoes were almost hysterical! BIG Mattel Shoes Then came the Fashion Fever line. Fun and funky with shoes to match! Fashion Fever Shoes / Boots |
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