Sabine's looking kind of strange lately. She's been blacking out, losing hours, sometimes whole days. Sometime she just disappears. I have no idea where. Today she started chanting out of no where.
Must be that True Blood.
: )
For love of Blythe and other dolly wonders...
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Recent Purchases
Found this blouse on the flickr page of Blythe clothing seamstress. She lives overseas so it might be some time before I see it. But I adore it and couldn't let it go.
In the clean-out sale of another flickr member I bought #25 in the picture below. I've been wanting that dress for awhile. I also purchased #45, the tan heels in the last picture.
In case you were wondering I have been buying clothes for myself as well. I bought cords and a blue checkered blouse from Old Navy, and a black retro blouse with metal rhinestones on the shoulders at Urban Outfitters. I had to exchange the checkered blue blouse though because of size issues. That would never happen to Blythe.
: )
Friday, August 28, 2009
And I'm fading
It's been a long day. I haven't had a good nights sleep in awhile. Of course staying up until after midnight every night can't help.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Harlem Hottie
Took Shirelle out yesterday a Sunday afternoon stroll. I never took pictures of my Barbie as a girl, not until much later and it was for a completely different purpose then. Even then I never took pictures of them outside. I kind of like it. I'm certainly less self conscious then when I'm taking pics of Blythe, probably because Barbie is more readily accepted by the Public. I'm slowly getting over that though.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Vintage Barbie Suit
Just came in the mail today along with a blue stewardess uniform with the wings still on the lapel! I am loving it!!
Friday, August 21, 2009
More Trouble
So recently, I've been cooling down my Blythe doll obsession a bit, mostly because, after purchasing Sabine, I've had to re-focus and manage my finances around that investment. I've been broke. So while I'm still browsing etsy, Miss Blythe, picking up a cheap vintage Barbie outfit hither and thither on ebay, I'm really being more frugal, saying no to Moshi Moshi and staying away from Ann Blythe on flickr.
However, my curious mind always leads me down paths of mischief and I've noticed recently that on flickr there are literally scads of Blythe owners posting pics for clean out sales. You're not supposed to do this on flickr but if you're careful you can post pics of clothes and just indicate that people should contact you. I've done this on more than one occasion but always thought I was just lucky to find one or two people who happened to be doing this. It's great when the clothes are second hand but in good condition because they're much more affordable.
I just did a general search on flickr for the words Blythe clean-out sale.
....Ummm, I'll be riiiight back.
BTW: I have not forgotten about my Black Blythe Customization. I have gathered all the materials. The hour is close at hand.
: )
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Some Flash
I love "Surf's Up" NIkki but there is something so classic and demure about Shirelle and maybe all the old Barbies. They were always sexy but never lewd. Very fifties.
: )
How did I not even mention that I won a vintage "First Black Barbie" on ebay? I won her before I even thought about bidding on the fourth Blythe Doll! She is a NRFB (Never removed from box) genuine first Black Barbie Doll that Mattel ever released. She is also the first Barbie my mom ever gave me, the first I've ever owned, and I adored her! I named her Shirelle because she reminded me of one of those sexy, black singers from the 50s and 60s. I guess subconsciously I was also thinking of the Shirelles. I was only around ten years old or so. What the heck did I know about the Shirelles? It was no doubt the influence of my dad playing Hal Jackson's Sunday Morning Classics every weekend that had developed a fondness in me for those fifties all female group singers.
The picture above on the bottom is of the First Black Barbie's head on the body of another doll. It's very clever and a better picture than the top stock photo on ebay but the one I will be getting is the one in the ebay picture. I just got an email today from the very nice lady I won it from telling me it was shipped out in the mail.
I remember not so much playing with Shirelle (she didn't have any friends yet) as much as posing her and placing her trophy-like on high objects in my room. Her arms were perfect for placing on her hips and in her hair. I liked that a lot. It was a bit awkward at first for me, this first encounter with a mature play doll. All my dolls were babies and stuffed toys. None were women with curves, breasts, sexy gowns and high heels. The messages of a womanhood years in the making began to speak softly through Shirelle's doe-like eyes. And of all the black Barbies that Mattel created afterward, none other ever looked quite as unique as this one or captured my heart in quite the same way.
She's my first used Blythe and my second Takara. I won her on ebay while I was at work and my heart nearly stopped. Her eye chips have been changed but I like the colors her previous owner chose. I paid for her today but I won't say how much. It was a bargain though. I won her literally within the last few seconds. Apparently someone else wanted her as much as I did because I was outbid at least two or three times before I won.
Her name is Sabine after the "Griffin and Sabine" books by Nick Bantock. I have two autographed copies on my book shelf and I was flipping through them last night. If you don't about Griffin and Sabine, they're this brilliant series of books by Nick Bantock which are essentially just this interactive, voyeuristic collection of correspondence between the two main characters. The pages are filled with letters and postcards, some which you can lift open out of pasted in envelopes and read. I discovered them as an employee at Kate's Paperie when it was still in Soho on Prince Street. I've adored them ever since. It's a stationary junkie's dream.
I looked up Blythe in the dictionary this morning. I hadn’t realized the spelling with a Y doesn’t actually exist in the dictionary. Blythe is a clever alternate spelling of the word Blithe but I imagine with the same meaning intended. I am noticing though that spell check on Word is not redlining the word Blythe at all so maybe it is in a dictionary somewhere but I when I look it up no results are found. Hm.
• Main Entry: blithe
• Pronunciation: \blīth, blīth\
• Function: adjective
• Inflected Form(s): blith•er; blith•est
• Etymology: Middle English, from Old English blīthe; akin to Old High German blīdi joyous
• Date: before 12th century
1 : of a happy lighthearted character or disposition
2 : lacking due thought or consideration : casual, heedless
synonyms see merry
— blithe•ly adverb
I don’t know, for me the definition of Blythe is not really what I think of when I think of Blythe dolls. Perhaps this is what was intended by the Kenner manufacturers; a joyful lighthearted play friend for little girls but that could be more easily accomplished by Barbie.
What does sound more like Blythe to me is just that, the sound of the word Blythe and what it brings to mind when I say it. It sounds more like aloof, complacent, gossamer and cool, which seems to me to be truer of Blythe’s whole demeanor. She’s a bit scary, a bit sensual, a bit childlike but for the most part always sort of cool, cute and disinterested.
Me and Baby Checkers
Last night on the drive upstate to Fran’s place in Rockland County, the names of all my old dolls started to stream back into my memory. They are long gone; mostly because of the house fire we had in the Bronx years ago. I could have kept them but there were a lot and I was just so messed up over the whole disaster that it felt foolish at the time to try and keep them. My Barbies, baby dolls, Cabbage Patches all went in the dumpster. I can’t even imagine what I would have done with them all if I’d kept them. I think it was for the best. But I guess what’s gotten me started thinking about it is my present obsession with Blythe dolls and just dolls in general, what they mean and how they influence our development racially, emotionally, socially.
Thinking about my dolls’ names made me realize that my mom may have been a bit of a doll collector in her mature years as well. One of my first dolls that I received from her for Christmas was a black doll in a wedding dress. Her name was Isis. That was what we called her although I realize now that I didn’t give her this name. That was all my mom and the influence of her interest and studies of ancient Egyptian history.
There was another black baby doll I had that I loved. She was all plastic and had a speaker in her chest so I imagined she actually spoke at some point but I certainly don’t remember when. I called her Checkers. No mystery there. I just liked the word Checkers.
Denanda was another black baby doll I loved, with a soft stuffed body with plastic arms, legs and head and eyes that closed when she was prone. Mom and I named her mutually, after a Buddhist chant my mother taught me as a girl. We used to sing it together like a song. Ananda means bliss. The chant is a sort of Buddhist meditation about God and following your own conscience.
It means absolute Consciousness, absolute Existence, absolute Bliss.
Mom also made me a doll out of brown velvet with no facial features. My brother and I called her Brown Baby. She had real hair on her head, though I forget whose hair it was. We cast her as the hero of countless doll adventures.
When I think about this stuff now, I realize that much of my self-esteem, self-image and curiosity about other cultures was grounded unconsciously by the way in which my mom integrated her own multicultural interests in the naming of my dolls. Somehow, the diversity in their names (They had traditional Western names like Mandy, Judy and Eve as well) informed my easy acceptance of differences on a wider scale. Somehow, even as a girl I knew that the way people played with dolls was very telling about deeper aspects of their personalities, home life, learned preference and future development. So much can be learned about people from the way in which they play, not just dolls but toys in general. As we get older, toys may change take on various new definitions, but for me, a lack of play is a lack of life. I had so much fun playing as a girl and I have never really stopped.
: )
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Perfect Fit
I bought this dress for Nikki Giovanni but I realize now that it was actually made to fit Shirelle's body type.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Shirelle Returns
How did I not even mention that I won a vintage "First Black Barbie" on ebay? I won her before I even thought about bidding on the fourth Blythe Doll! She is a NRFB (Never removed from box) genuine first Black Barbie Doll that Mattel ever released. She is also the first Barbie my mom ever gave me, the first I've ever owned, and I adored her! I named her Shirelle because she reminded me of one of those sexy, black singers from the 50s and 60s. I guess subconsciously I was also thinking of the Shirelles. I was only around ten years old or so. What the heck did I know about the Shirelles? It was no doubt the influence of my dad playing Hal Jackson's Sunday Morning Classics every weekend that had developed a fondness in me for those fifties all female group singers.
The picture above on the bottom is of the First Black Barbie's head on the body of another doll. It's very clever and a better picture than the top stock photo on ebay but the one I will be getting is the one in the ebay picture. I just got an email today from the very nice lady I won it from telling me it was shipped out in the mail.
I remember not so much playing with Shirelle (she didn't have any friends yet) as much as posing her and placing her trophy-like on high objects in my room. Her arms were perfect for placing on her hips and in her hair. I liked that a lot. It was a bit awkward at first for me, this first encounter with a mature play doll. All my dolls were babies and stuffed toys. None were women with curves, breasts, sexy gowns and high heels. The messages of a womanhood years in the making began to speak softly through Shirelle's doe-like eyes. And of all the black Barbies that Mattel created afterward, none other ever looked quite as unique as this one or captured my heart in quite the same way.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Last Blythe or the Latest?
She's my first used Blythe and my second Takara. I won her on ebay while I was at work and my heart nearly stopped. Her eye chips have been changed but I like the colors her previous owner chose. I paid for her today but I won't say how much. It was a bargain though. I won her literally within the last few seconds. Apparently someone else wanted her as much as I did because I was outbid at least two or three times before I won.
Her name is Sabine after the "Griffin and Sabine" books by Nick Bantock. I have two autographed copies on my book shelf and I was flipping through them last night. If you don't about Griffin and Sabine, they're this brilliant series of books by Nick Bantock which are essentially just this interactive, voyeuristic collection of correspondence between the two main characters. The pages are filled with letters and postcards, some which you can lift open out of pasted in envelopes and read. I discovered them as an employee at Kate's Paperie when it was still in Soho on Prince Street. I've adored them ever since. It's a stationary junkie's dream.
Blythe Etymology
I looked up Blythe in the dictionary this morning. I hadn’t realized the spelling with a Y doesn’t actually exist in the dictionary. Blythe is a clever alternate spelling of the word Blithe but I imagine with the same meaning intended. I am noticing though that spell check on Word is not redlining the word Blythe at all so maybe it is in a dictionary somewhere but I when I look it up no results are found. Hm.
• Main Entry: blithe
• Pronunciation: \blīth, blīth\
• Function: adjective
• Inflected Form(s): blith•er; blith•est
• Etymology: Middle English, from Old English blīthe; akin to Old High German blīdi joyous
• Date: before 12th century
1 : of a happy lighthearted character or disposition
2 : lacking due thought or consideration : casual, heedless
synonyms see merry
— blithe•ly adverb
I don’t know, for me the definition of Blythe is not really what I think of when I think of Blythe dolls. Perhaps this is what was intended by the Kenner manufacturers; a joyful lighthearted play friend for little girls but that could be more easily accomplished by Barbie.
What does sound more like Blythe to me is just that, the sound of the word Blythe and what it brings to mind when I say it. It sounds more like aloof, complacent, gossamer and cool, which seems to me to be truer of Blythe’s whole demeanor. She’s a bit scary, a bit sensual, a bit childlike but for the most part always sort of cool, cute and disinterested.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
A Doll Story
Me and Baby Checkers
Last night on the drive upstate to Fran’s place in Rockland County, the names of all my old dolls started to stream back into my memory. They are long gone; mostly because of the house fire we had in the Bronx years ago. I could have kept them but there were a lot and I was just so messed up over the whole disaster that it felt foolish at the time to try and keep them. My Barbies, baby dolls, Cabbage Patches all went in the dumpster. I can’t even imagine what I would have done with them all if I’d kept them. I think it was for the best. But I guess what’s gotten me started thinking about it is my present obsession with Blythe dolls and just dolls in general, what they mean and how they influence our development racially, emotionally, socially.
Thinking about my dolls’ names made me realize that my mom may have been a bit of a doll collector in her mature years as well. One of my first dolls that I received from her for Christmas was a black doll in a wedding dress. Her name was Isis. That was what we called her although I realize now that I didn’t give her this name. That was all my mom and the influence of her interest and studies of ancient Egyptian history.
There was another black baby doll I had that I loved. She was all plastic and had a speaker in her chest so I imagined she actually spoke at some point but I certainly don’t remember when. I called her Checkers. No mystery there. I just liked the word Checkers.
Denanda was another black baby doll I loved, with a soft stuffed body with plastic arms, legs and head and eyes that closed when she was prone. Mom and I named her mutually, after a Buddhist chant my mother taught me as a girl. We used to sing it together like a song. Ananda means bliss. The chant is a sort of Buddhist meditation about God and following your own conscience.
Om tat sat sit chit ananda
It means absolute Consciousness, absolute Existence, absolute Bliss.
Mom also made me a doll out of brown velvet with no facial features. My brother and I called her Brown Baby. She had real hair on her head, though I forget whose hair it was. We cast her as the hero of countless doll adventures.
When I think about this stuff now, I realize that much of my self-esteem, self-image and curiosity about other cultures was grounded unconsciously by the way in which my mom integrated her own multicultural interests in the naming of my dolls. Somehow, the diversity in their names (They had traditional Western names like Mandy, Judy and Eve as well) informed my easy acceptance of differences on a wider scale. Somehow, even as a girl I knew that the way people played with dolls was very telling about deeper aspects of their personalities, home life, learned preference and future development. So much can be learned about people from the way in which they play, not just dolls but toys in general. As we get older, toys may change take on various new definitions, but for me, a lack of play is a lack of life. I had so much fun playing as a girl and I have never really stopped.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Getting ready
This was taken by a guy named hazymat on flickr and I'm totally in awe. This is what I love about photographing Blythe. This photograph, possibly because of the angle or because it's black and white, or because one eye chip is light than the other, doesn't read as merely cute. And check out those leg warmers! The was a clear intent and a back story, behind this picture.
He is my first Fave Blythe Photographer of The Week.
He is my first Fave Blythe Photographer of The Week.
Tying up the line
I took Molly to work yesterday and she tied up the line at reception, but it was a pretty quiet day so no one really noticed.
Had I mentioned that the latest set of jeans I bought for the girls are actually Bratz Dolls jeans? One of my flickr contacts put me onto the jean score. I saw one her pics of all these fabulous Blythe Doll Jeans and had to know where she got them but when I inquired I was sure she would refer me to some expensive Uk site. But no, they're none other than Bratz Jeans from Ebay and they are so cheap, as cheap as two bucks each! And they look so good! I got three pairs right away. I'll probably get a few more soon.
They don't really close all the way at the waist. I guess Bratz are even skinnier than Blythes, but you can't really tell when they have shirt on that covers the tops of the jeans.
Had I mentioned that the latest set of jeans I bought for the girls are actually Bratz Dolls jeans? One of my flickr contacts put me onto the jean score. I saw one her pics of all these fabulous Blythe Doll Jeans and had to know where she got them but when I inquired I was sure she would refer me to some expensive Uk site. But no, they're none other than Bratz Jeans from Ebay and they are so cheap, as cheap as two bucks each! And they look so good! I got three pairs right away. I'll probably get a few more soon.
They don't really close all the way at the waist. I guess Bratz are even skinnier than Blythes, but you can't really tell when they have shirt on that covers the tops of the jeans.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
3 Musketeers
Last Friday in Central Park doing my "Places in My Past" shoot with the girls. It was hot and muggy but I had a lot of fun.
Nikki in SugarMag coat2
Nikki decided to give that adorable Sugarmag coat a try as well. I love that coat so much I just had it lying around by itself on the futon. It's just so cute and detailed I can't believe it, I guess because it looks so much like something I might actually wear myself or at least see someone in the street wearing. On Nikki Giovanni the hood actually fits over her head. Seeing her in this coat made me realize how much she needs some really clothes, I mean besides her bikini and those matronly Barbie Dresses I bought her on Etsy. I found something I really like on Amazon by Fashion Fever. Should be arriving soon.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Collecting Materials for Black Blythe Customization
-SEM Vinyl Spray paint in Cordovan Brown
-Just ordered to Norton Sand Sponges from Ben Franklin Crafts online. These were recommended on Pucci Collective and the only place I could find them was online.
I guess I need to do a test run before I get another cheap ADG to do this on. We'll see. I also need get comfortable with taking Blythe's head apart and putting that eye mechanism back in. It's gonna be an adventure. More to come.
-Just ordered to Norton Sand Sponges from Ben Franklin Crafts online. These were recommended on Pucci Collective and the only place I could find them was online.
I guess I need to do a test run before I get another cheap ADG to do this on. We'll see. I also need get comfortable with taking Blythe's head apart and putting that eye mechanism back in. It's gonna be an adventure. More to come.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
On The Way
And I swear these two will be the last for a while...
...no really.
This coat above was made by Trio Blythe especially for moi. I love that orange.
This one was only available in grey.
...no really.
This coat above was made by Trio Blythe especially for moi. I love that orange.
This one was only available in grey.
On the Ball
So I had the fullest Friday I have ever had yesterday, taking the girls out to the park for "Pictures from my Past" walking from 110 St to 86th, wandering into Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and the "Church of Heavenly Rest", then going to Old Navy and getting a special discount from the lady who rung me up (saved my wallet!!) getting a pedicure and eyebrows done and then going grocery shopping. Nuts! But loved it. I packed so much in!
This pic is of Molly at one the ball fields we used to go to on field trips when I was in High School. I love that the few strands of her hair blowing in the wind are the only things in focus.
I got some really great shots of all the girls. Check 'em out when you can. Just click on pic.
: )
This pic is of Molly at one the ball fields we used to go to on field trips when I was in High School. I love that the few strands of her hair blowing in the wind are the only things in focus.
I got some really great shots of all the girls. Check 'em out when you can. Just click on pic.
: )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)