#fashion packs

[monsterhigharchive]

Newspaper Club Draculaura Fashion Pack (2011)

[taybatwo2]

I have been both busy and in a slump lately, but wanted to make a post on some of the new fashion packs I’ve been finding in stores. So, here’s a compromise: I just take pictures at my beat up art desk, only turn on the easy to get to light, and just use dolls that are within arms reach.

Here are the Naturalistas/Latinistas clothing fashion packs. I thought they were all pretty nice (the pink one’s fabric is kinda thin and see-through though). The yellow one ended up being my favorite and that’s what this Naturalista’s going to be wearing back on the shelf.

I knew that she couldn’t fit the LUV packs, but the purple dress is so loose in the top I thought she miiiiiight be able to fit in it. It was pretty short on her and didn’t close all the way in the back.

The shoes were also a bit too small on the Naturalista.

But they fit a Pinkie Cooper doll pretty well (the two black pairs of shoes were a smidge bigger though). They also fit a regular Barbie well too (the black strappy sandals and black heeled shoes might fit a curvy or tall Barbie’s foot better).

LUV fits both G1, G2 (pictured here because I didn’t want to redress any G1’s around me and my cat decided that the table was now hers). The sleeves are a bit short on the jacket, but not bad. I really would love to see if I can put this outfit on the new G3 Catty as the material has some stretch to it.

I LOVED this outfit on this G3 Clawdeen. After I recurl her hair and give her an Afro puff, she’s going back in this.

The outfits are also a pretty good fit for Pinkie Coopers (the top is a bit loose due to their lack of boobies).

Then I spotted four Hairmazing fashion packs and picked those up (they were much cheaper than the LUV packs). This one is a bit short on Barbie, and the headband didn’t really work. It’s a better length for Clawdeen, but loose in the top.

Sleeves were short on the jacket on my Barbie, but could work for 3/4 long jacket. The top was a bit tight, and the skirt was a bit loose. Jacket was a better fit on Clawdeen, the top was horribly loose, and the skirt was on the loose side too.

This one WOULD NOT close in the back for Barbie, but was a bit of a better fit for Clawdeen (also, the top can be seem ripped to separate it from the overalls pretty easily).

I liked the shiny fabric on this one. The skirt mostly fit Barbie (it was a bit higher in the back though), but the top was a no go).

Clawdeen could get away with it, but the top was loose.

I grabbed several curvier G3’s to see if it was a better fit on them. The skirt would not fit up Abbey’s legs, but the top was a perfect fit! The skirt actually fit super well on Draculaura, but the top was a smidgen too big.

The sunglasses fit Monster High well.

The headbands were not really a winner on either Barbie (too big and bulky), or Monster High (to small).

The shoes were a PERFECT fit on G1/G2 Monster High (so probably Ever After High too).

My Bad Batch boys were jealous they didn’t get to try on anything and just stood on the nearby shelf…so here you go! They felt very pretty afterwards.

If I had a Crosshair and an Omega they would have also joined in.

[toychest321]

Alright toy lovers, I finally went out to Dollar Tree and got all four Friends Forever Club dolls! Read below for a fully comprehensive review of each doll and four out of five of the available fashion packs!

First impressions, I'm genuinely impressed with what Dollar Tree was able to accomplish with these! Some pretty good diversity for the few dolls they've released thus far, and the rubber fashions remind me of Polly Pocket. One aspect I really like is the fact that they went down the friend group doll line route, because as cheap as they are ($1.25 each) it won't be difficult for kids to afford to collect them!

I've ordered each one from favorite to least favorite left to right: Iha, Viera, Alanis, and Carina.

Iha is perfect imo, 10/10. The best example of the concept they were going for. Just by looking at her design you can immediately tell her personality and interests (Marine Biology). And all the little details in her outfit! Her sleeves resembling fins, the scale pattern on her skirt, the shell in her hair! And multiple pieces allows for more creative outfit combos

Viera certainly looks nice, no doubt about it (although her face kinda reminds me of Ferngully), but I'm not sure the design works as well as Iha's. Apparently her likes include Geology and Minerology? Her pink and green outfit meanwhile seems more fruit-like, reminiscent of strawberries or watermelon. I feel like they could've done a little bit more to get her character across

The first thing I noticed about Alanis is either because of the doll's construction, her uneven shoes, or her big ponytail, for some reason it's far more difficult to get her to stand than the others. I feel like the designers unfortunately hadn't taken the weight of her hair piece into account. I also dislike that 90% of her outfit is painted on, the only rubber pieces being her overalls (which would leave any other dolls wearing them rather bare) and her shoes. Luckily Iha's shirt works relatively well underneath them. Despite all that, her interest in robotics is clear, although like Viera's outfit they could have done more to get it across.

Carina is sadly the most dissappointing out of all of them. Im always a fan of textured hair in dolls (or at least as textured as hard plastic can be), and her glasses make her stand out from the others. Her outfit's deep colors even work in service of displaying her interest. But the number one dealbreaker is her outfit, namely the detail I hadn't noticed until she was out of the packaging: the sleeves of her hoodie are painted on. While this was an issue with Alanis, at least her sleeves were short enough to be easily covered by the available fabric fashions. But because of the length of Carina's sleeves, even though the rest of her body is completely unpainted, there isn't a single outfit you can put her in where they don't show. You can't even remove them, because her arms are made from that color of plastic with her hands painted on. This not only seems pointless, as her design could have worked just as well without sleeves, but it defeats this doll line's entire selling point of mixing and matching the dolls' styles. For this reason she is my least favorite, until I can find the time to paint over them. I hope that if they continue this line with alternate looks or different characters that they resolve this issue for her doll, as she clearly has a lot of potential.

Similarly to the previous image, I've arranged the dolls by the fabric fashion packs they're wearing from favorite to least favorite.

The yellow dress, due to a lack of sleeves, fits very well and gives a nice summer beachy look. While I wish the blue cherry dress had velcro in the back for the skirt, the collar is nice and snug and the ribbon belt stays in place rather easily. The pink flowery dress, on the other hand, has a much looser collar and a belt that needs some stitching to keep at the waistline. Finally while I admire their attempt at a doll-sized sweater, it seems to unravel very easily (although for an off-the-shoulders casual look you can combine it with Carina'a shorts and sneakers); the corresponding skirt piece is also too low and loose to work with its shirt, I'd suggest shortening the ribbon straps.

I've also checked, and Friends Forever fashions also fit on Chelsea and Barbie Extra Mini bodies (the latter of which matches the Fashion Friends bodies almost perfectly in height and proportions)! The fabric fashions are a bit too loose for the Extra Mini bodies, and the rubber fashions the dolls come with are unfortunately too tight to fit a Chelsea. Regardless, I'd definitely suggest them for cheaper alternatives to official Chelsea fashion packs.

Most of my nitpicks, though, can be easily forgiven by the dolls' low prices. Taking that into consideration, I can't reccomend these dolls enough! Overall I give the line a

7.5/10

[viridian-pickle]

[ilovenycee]

Nia Long as Debbie in the movie Friday (1995)

[archerinventive]

With less than 48 hours of 2023 left, I wanted to take a look at a few of my favorite adventure gear designs from the year. :)

Thank you to all the adventures who visited the shop either online or at faire. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Just a quick reminder that you have until New Years Monday to save 15% off all Limited Edition items in the shop, so it's a perfect time to snag some new gear for the new year :)

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArcherInventive

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

[v6que]

ㅤ 𝘰𝗇𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝘦 𝗆𝘰𝗇𝖾𝘺, 𝗍𝗐𝘰 𝖿𝗈𝗋 th𝘦 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝘸ㅤ♱𝆬

[purposechef]

paper dolls: slow burn edition

[lurkingshan]

Japanese BL Starter Pack

It’s been awhile since I dropped a rec list, so I am here today to share one that is very near and dear to my heart—a Japanese bl primer for those who are new to the jbl game. I created this for @neuroticbookworm to help her on her journey when she decided she wanted to start getting into Japanese works. The fandom (on Tumblr and generally) tends to focus primarily on Thai shows because they are the easiest to access for international fans, since Thailand is working its way toward world domination via ql media and wants us all to be able to watch. But there is a lot of great stuff to watch beyond the easy access Thai channels, and Japan is the country where this genre originated, so its shows are important for anyone who considers themselves a bl fan. Japan doesn’t cater nearly as much to the international audience so tracking down the shows sometimes takes some ingenuity and can-do spirit, but that’s part of the fun!

And so, the list! Bookworm is about halfway through it and having a ball, so I figured it was time to stop hoarding it and share it with anyone else who would like to dip their toes into jbl and isn’t quite sure where to start. A few notes: 

I am not here to teach you about the deep roots of the jbl genre or give you a primer on yaoi manga. I am by no means an expert and there are other places to find that information. Start here with this great post by @nieves-de-sugui and then maybe wander over to @absolutebl to read up more on the evolution of the genre.

This list is by no means an exhaustive accounting of every important Japanese bl ever made; it is simply a nice sampler platter of the cream of the crop among various styles you will find in jbl. Watching through this whole list will not only expose you to some fantastic shows, but also give you a sense of what makes jbl unique and how the country’s style differs from others, and point you toward the types of jbl you’ll like most (they tend to put shows in pretty specific style and tone lanes and once you find the ones you like there are lots more where that came from). 

If you’re coming to this post as a jbl lover and you don’t see your favorite here, I promise it’s not because I don’t love it very much; I simply had to make some choices to get this down to a reasonable shortlist. Feel free to leave extra recs for others to find! 

I’m putting these in a loose suggested watch order that will take you through the various jbl lanes in a kind of popcorn style, because I always think it’s good to change it up so you don’t get too stuck in one mode, and it works its way up to most of the extremely Japanese stuff (you will know what that means by the time you finish). But do what’s in your heart and change up the order if you want, friends, I am not the boss of you! 

Cherry Magic (Crunchyroll or grey)

gif by @liyazaki

I believe everyone on Tumblr is pretty familiar with this one, which is not a coincidence—this is one of the most accessible jbls. Not in terms of actual access to watch it, mind you (we’ve all jumped through shady internet hoops to watch it) but in terms of its content and style. Cherry Magic is a classic workplace romcom with a magical twist, and it is charming af. It’s a great exemplar of Japan’s light and zippy comedy lane for bl—a lane in which, importantly, the romances stay chaste even when the actual plot is about sex, or lack thereof. My friend @waitmyturtles would kill me if I didn’t make sure you know that Cherry Magic also has a lovely follow up film. And bonus: there is now a Thai remake airing so if you watch the original you can get in on the discussion about the different adaptations between countries. This is pretty easy to find these days in all the usual places, but I strongly recommend watching it here.

Old Fashion Cupcake (Viki)

gif by @liyazaki

Moving on to a slightly more mature workplace romcom. Old Fashion Cupcake, another Tumblr favorite, is an age gap boss-subordinate romance, and it’s both very adult and somehow wholesome af at the same time. Sure, there is a lot of carnal desire going on here, but there is also a lot of wooing via fluffy pancakes. It’s a tight five episodes and a fantastic example of what Japan, with its extreme technical precision in writing, directing, editing, pacing, and acting firing on all cylinders, can do in two hours. There’s not an ounce of flab on this thing and you’ll want to watch it over and over again.

Utsukushii Kare (Viki)

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Time to get a little weird! Weird is a key feature of Japanese media, and lots of jbls explore unusual relationship dynamics rooted in complex psychology. This is the first show on the list that will likely feel very Japanese if you’re new around here—my advice is to lean into it and finish the show, even if you get uncomfortable along the way. In Japanese media, discomfort always serves a purpose. This is a high school story with a twisted relationship at its center, and I’m not saying any more than that. Don’t spoil yourself and go watch it! This one also comes with two sequels—one short second season and one movie—that continue from the original story. They are less essential but still excellent.

I Cannot Reach You (Netflix)

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Next up, another high school tale, but with a totally different vibe. This show is kind of a revelation in its willingness to tell a story about overwhelming desire—including sexual desire—with young protagonists. It’s rooted in a classic but often misunderstood trope, friends to lovers, and takes the angst of it seriously, giving us a low stakes story that feels extremely high stakes to our leads. It’s also gorgeous and uses a classic Japanese visual style (bokeh) that you’ll be dying to learn more about. 

His (Viki)

gif by @gabrielokun

Time for a break from high school, and we’ll sprinkle in a movie for some added flavor. His is a jbl film featuring a second chance romance between a stoic, introverted man who moves to a remote town to start over, and his ex-boyfriend who follows him there unexpectedly, adorable child in tow. Importantly, this movie does not take place in what we often refer to as the “bl bubble” where homophobia doesn’t exist; the leads’ experiences of being gay men in a homophobic society are hugely important to the plot and themes of the story. It’s a beautiful film and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it. @bengiyo would surely also like me to tell you that this film follows a brief prequel show called His: I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love about the characters originally meeting in high school; I do not think it’s really necessary to watch it but completists can start there.

The Pornographer series (Gaga)

By now you should be ready to get into some classic Japanese fucked up psychosexual material, right? Right! The Pornographer series is told in five installments in this order:

The Novelist, a six episode miniseries

Mood Indigo, a six episode prequel series

Spring Life, a 15 minute short

Pornographer: Playback, a two hour film

Spring Life Continued, a 15 minute short

Confused by that distribution model? So say we all; sometimes Japan likes to make us work for it to make sure we really appreciate its many gifts to us. The story across these installments is about a very difficult to love protagonist, what makes him the way he is, and the also-unhinged-but-in-a-different-way man who finally gets through to him. It’s an extremely satisfying love story and one of the best character arcs I have ever seen, full stop. For this one, you’ll want to just pull the word problematic out of your pocket and store it in a drawer; nearly everything that happens in this story is problematic and that’s the point. Lean in! All of these installments except for the film are on Gaga, if you get that far hmu and I will supply you with the final puzzle piece.

Our Dining Table (Gaga)

You could probably use a break after those last two, so it’s time to shift over to a heart-tugging twofer: family trauma mixed with the cutest shit you’ve ever seen. ODT is an example of another classic type of Japanese show: the food drama (you will see the GOAT in this category at the end of this list). In Japanese culture, food is love, and the act of preparing food for your loved ones is a common path to romance. You’ll love this story about an isolated office worker who meets a pair of brothers, learns to cook as a way of connecting with them, and begins to heal from his own trauma as a result. The image above is a scan from the manga, which @troubled-mind curates to make extremely cool comparison sets like this one. Many jbls are faithful adaptations of yaoi manga source material, so it’s good to have a bit of familiarity with them.

Minato’s Laundromat (Gaga)

gif by @liyazaki

Japanese media loves to explore taboo, and often manages to do it in a way that is surprisingly light and chaste. This is an age gap romance between a teenager and his adult neighbor that explores internalized homophobia, emotional repression, and falling in love across seemingly impossible social chasms. It’s also a great example of old school yaoi seme-uke dynamics that still show up across the bl genre. Also, take my advice: end your journey with this one with the first season and just pretend season 2 doesn’t exist.

Eternal Yesterday (Viki)

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Remember what I said about weird? Time to do that again, but with a heaping dose of grief and pain on top. It’s not a spoiler to tell you this show involves a major character death; a major character death is, in fact, the root of the entire story. This is a magic realist tale of first love turned tragic, and it will hurt and heal you. It is one of my favorite dramas of all time.

Restart After Come Back Home (Gaga)

And now for a break for your poor exhausted brain. This film is basically the jbl version of a Hallmark original movie, about a city boy who goes back home to the country and falls in love with a total sweetheart while working together on a farm. Enjoy it, bestie, you’ve earned it! 

Tokyo in April Is… (Gaga)

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

You’ve probably noticed by now that emotional repression and failed communication are big themes in Japanese works. This second chance romance has plenty of both, and it’s a great example of a kind of muted emotional style that Japan does so well, where the surface of the story seems almost placid and calm even as deep emotion roils underneath. This one (and Eternal Yesterday above) are part of a special line up of jbls on Japanese channel MBS called Tonku (Drama) Shower. The shows air one after another in the same time slot on Fridays (in Japan, perhaps Thursdays for you depending on where you live) and you truly never know what you’re gonna get, but they’re all interesting. Warnings on this one for sexual assault and trauma. 

The End of the World With You (Viki)

Time for sexy and weird again, but even more so! This has to be one of the most unique bls ever made; it goes to some truly divine and strange places, and it feels incredibly queer while doing it. Made by the same screenwriter/director of the Pornographer series with a lot of the same sensibilities, but in a more heightened apocalyptic setting. This one has existential angst, a road trip, a redemption tale, and a variety of interesting side characters in the mix.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? (Gaga)

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of the list and your reward is watching one of the best bls of all time, and a perfect slice of life food drama to boot. WDYEY now has two seasons (along with a couple specials and a movie that fall in between) because the universe clearly loves us. You can now get it on Gaga for easy access but I’m partial to the versions over at @kinounaniresource for better subs. Wherever you watch, settle in to get cozy with Shiro and Kenji and make sure to always eat before you hit play.

[monsterhigharchive]

Deluxe Fashion Robecca Steam Fashion Pack (2012)

[taybatwo2]

Disney ily 4ever outfits fit Naturalistas! All of the shoes pretty much fit their feet (the boots gap at the top due to the Nautralistas having arched feet, but they work good enough for me), the pants fit (even with the doll sitting), the jackets and shirts fit (the fingers will catch on Rapunzel’s sweater top and Pocahontas’ jacket cuffs, but you can maneuver it down and over their hands with patience), they have earring holes in their head that fit the earrings in the Tiana and Cinderella pack. The hats are a bit big, but with the Naturalistas’ bigger, beautiful hair, they are not a bad fit. :)

A few badly lit and staged photos (as I’m pretty sick right now with the flu) under the cut (I forgot to take a picture with her in the Moana pack, but it fit too).

[jewellery-box]

Picnicking ensemble, circa 1895

FIDM Museum Sporting Fashion Introduction

[lyraina]

✨Artist References Photos✨

Over the years I took a variety of photos of architecture, nature and costumes to use as reference in my art. And I've been sharing them - some for free (donation based) and some for a small fee - on my Gumroad.

Feel free to head over to my Gumroad here and have a look!

🍀 If you find these useful at all, please spread the word. 🍀

[columboscreens]

[lilivampire]

ㅤ࣪𝑂𝟥:𝑂𝟥

ʕ̢·͡˔·⑅ɂ̡̣ ❄️

ℐ 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊

[lovereist]

⠀❁ ּ ֗ ۪ ્࣪ ᭄͜͡ suddenly youre 24.