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Couture #1: ComPLEAT Elegance




A floor length, strapless, fitted, silk dupioni gown with an empire waist, a three-tier pleated trumpet-style skirt, and a band around the thighs that is "tied" at the back into a complex bow with sweeping flared ends.

The top of the bodice is edged with minuscule pleats and comes with detachable adjustable silver-lined glass bead straps. The entire dress is lined in light peach.

Because the color can be worn year-round, the ensemble comes with a summer wrap and a winter wrap.

It also comes with a pair of sequined shoes, a hair comb studded with Swarovski crystals, and a suite of "jewels" that can be worn in alone or in combination.

The final touch is the silver-lined glass bead purse that coordinates with the jewelry but is versatile enough that it could be worn with almost any other evening outfit.









I had trouble getting the camera to accurately capture the gorgeous color of the fabric. It is a fine silk dupioni woven with fuchsia threads in one direction and orange in the other which together create a light scarlet/deep coral color with incredible sheen. The picture below is pretty close, on my monitor.



Here is the dress.
Yes, this dress really does "stand alone"!




This dress was originally designed to fit all body types: Fashion Royalty non-articulated old-body, Fashion Royalty articulated new-body, Silkstone body, and Model Muse body so I left the back unfinished until the gown sold. It was completed before the new taller articulated body was released and will NOT fit that body.

The pictures with the green background were taken with the unfinished back.

The back is constructed so that if it is not closed all the way (for instance on an old-body FR doll) there is a panel of silk inside which prevents the doll's skin from showing.

My favorite part of this dress is the bow in the back! (Keep in mind the dress was sewn completely by hand, including this bow). Notice how the seams (which were necessary to create a strip of the length necessary to tie such a large bow) are mirror images of each other.





My second favorite part of the dress - the pleated ruffle at the top! Imagine how hard it was to create such a small ruffle with such a thick fabric.



This shot shows the loops in the back to which the optional beaded 'straps' can be attached. It also shows the lining, a lightweight knit fabric in a light peach.





The gown’s new owner requested that the back be finished to fit the first articulated body, as shown on Skin-Is-In Kyori above. She also asked me to create a similar hairstyle on her own SII Kyori, which can be seen in the photos below with the black background.

Here are some shots of the finished dress with all the accessories and the fur wrap. The wrap is show in detail further down.

The new owner told me that she loves the flapper look so I created a ‘headband’ with matching Swarovski crystals for her, which is shown in the shots below but not in any of the other pictures.









This is how the dress fits the old-style non-articulated Fashion Royalty body. The doll pictured is Urban Geisha Kyori with her hair pulled back.

I like the way the triangular Fashion Royalty stand causes the bottom tier of pleats to fan out, mimicking the sweep of the 'train' - compare this picture to the one of the dress standing alone, shown above.

See how the doll is holding the purse in her hand?





The winter wrap pictured below is genuine mink in a light coral color, lined in the same peach which lines the dress. The lining is sewn so that there is an "armhole" on the wider end which enables the wrap to stay on the doll's arm.

The narrow end of the wrap forms a loop that the doll's wrist slips through so that the wrap can be twisted around her arm.

Even though the wrap is lined, the fluffy nature of fur causes it to touch the doll's skin. It has not discolored my models but I would not leave it on the doll for extended periods.






The center panel of the bodice is cut with the grain of the fabric for stability, the side panels are cut on the bias to give them flexibility and make the bodice fit better. In this shot you can see the bias lines of the side pieces.



This is how the dress fits the new-style articulated Fashion Royalty body. The doll pictured is Skin-Is-In Kyori with her hair slightly curled and then pulled back.

I love the way this doll looks in this dress and I’m THRILLED that the new owner is displaying the gown on this doll!











The shots below are of the back closure. The “buttons” are Swarovski crystal rosettes.

The top rosette is centered in silk bow reminiscent of the bigger bow at the bottom. The top three buttons have elastic loops on the underside which attach to hooks sewn into the dress. These enable the dress to fit tightly yet be removed. The remaining “buttons” are sewn into the back seam and do not open.









The summer wrap pictured below is a ruffled shawl made from an orange and fuchsia leopard print (the same two colors that are in the fabric), pleated to match the bottom of the dress and attached to a silk dupioni band which wraps around each arm so that the shawl doesn't fall off.

(Please note – the picture below was taken of the prototype and, unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of the completed version. The final version was double sided and had loops that fit around the arms. It looked identical from the front and the back and much better than the one below!

It took me longer to complete the dress than I had anticipated and I did not have time to take adequate pictures before shipping the doll so she would arrive by the date I had promised so I don’t have as many photos of this doll as I would like. )





This is how the dress fit the Silkstone body. The doll pictured is Silkstone Spa Getaway without her wig as that was the best way to photograph the accessories. Notice the detachable beaded 'straps' that can be crossed or not (there are several loops to attach them to to control their length and tightness).









The Purse.

The purse was made entirely by hand and without a pattern using silverlined crystal beads for the body and a Swarovski bead for the 'clasp' (the purse does NOT open). It is shown below with a Fashion Royalty hand and a Silkstone hand.

Yes, the dolls can actually hold this purse in their hands!

Picture A: Purse side on FR wrist:

Picture B: Purse side with SS hand:

Picture C: Purse top in FR hand:

Picture D: Purse top in SS hand:

Picture E: Purse top with SS hand:


The two wraps.



Here are the accessories which can be worn with this outfit. They were hand made with stainless findings using silver lined glass beads, rhodium plated metal beads, and Swarovski crystals.
1) A beaded chain with hooks on both ends which can be attached to the loops sewn into the back of the dress and then draped under the doll's breasts to resemble "straps".
2) A long beaded necklace with a tassel which can be wrapped around the dolls neck up to three times.
3) A super long beaded necklace which can be wrapped around the doll's neck up to 6 times!
4) An egyptian-style bib necklace with an adjustable clasp.
5) (Not pictured above) Two-strand bracelet.
6) Two-part earrings that can be worn as studs or drops. The studs are Swarovski crystals.
7) A reversible silk dupioni pleated fan on a custom made hair comb embellished with Swarovski crystals - clear on one side and multicolored fuchsia, orange and clear on the other.
8) (Not pictured below) A beaded rope with tasseled ends which can be wrapped around as a headband or ponytail cover.
9) A minaudiere evening bag with a wrist loop.
10) (Not visible above) A pair of Mattel(R) shoes embellished with fuchsia sequins and glass beads.



The new owner’s Kyori with her new hairdo and jewelry!




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OOAKFolk, Inc., and artist Barbara Healy are not affiliated in any way with the original manufacturers of the dolls pictured in this site. No photograph, text or graphic on this site may be copied without written permission from Barbara Healy. Copyright © 2004 OOAKFolk, Inc.

Last Revised: January 21, 2007
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