All Dolled Up

Although I enjoy seeing my daughters play with their dolls, I don’t consider myself a “doll person” as an adult.

But last year (late to the party) I discovered Blythe and the amazing community of fashionistas who design for her. I even bought two Blythes (blonde and red) in hope of styling them, though I quickly realized that I’d much rather look at photos than make their tiny clothes. (I sold them on eBay.)

I do like a doll with a certain look, however, like the one in these photos from Bazaar UK. I love the nineteenth-century quality to them—the painted socks and shoes, the slick of hair, and the pastel fabrics they’re wearing.

In fact, I like looking at these dolls more than at Karen Elson, who comes across as a sort of misfit toy herself.

Here’s Karen sans doll from the same shoot, wearing a pink frothy concoction.

And here’s Ellowyne Wilde, the goth girl who suffers from ennui, by Robert Tonner. In this “tatters” incarnation, she reminds me of Karen in the previous photo.

Living doll, doll-face, you’re a doll, all dolled up—hellooo Dolly.