Spicy Night was one of the more under-rated Deja Vu dolls to come out this year. I think she was overshadowed by the flood of amazing historical costumes in this line. I got Spicy Night because 1) she went on sale (best reason ever) and 2) I've never seen a bad picture of this particular doll. There is something about the colors they used for her face that is so perfect, and I love green eyes. (Plus, her hair is the same color as my daughter's, so there's that.)
I love her outfit. I'm sure it's not to everybody's tastes, but something about it makes me think of Spain. (The bolero? The bold-colored, oversized lace? Don't know.) I want to go shopping in Madrid when I look at it, which is pretty pretentious of me, since I've never been to Spain in my life. LOL! I really have no idea if this outfit looks Spanish-inspired, or if it's just my ignorant view of what a Spanish-inspired fashion should look like. In any case, it works for me.
I was a little let-down by the choice of fabric for the dress, though. The yellow fabric is merely an inexpensive cotton knit. The cranberry-colored lace, however, is meticulously sewn to the dress. It's machine-sewn along the edges of the dress and bolero, with each of the roses being individually sewn on by hand. The overall effect is stunning, though, and I love the design. The bolero is a separate piece, by the way, so you can take it off and just have the doll wear the strapless dress on its own. (The black part of the bodice is attached to the skirt.)
I tried this outfit on a couple of my other dolls. On my 16" Poppy Parker Fashion Teen, the dress fit in the waist, but was too small in the bust. I couldn't get the top snap closed. On an Antoinette, it fit even worse: it fit in the waist, but I couldn't get the top TWO snaps closed. It absolutely wouldn't fit a Tyler doll.
The shoes are cute and different, and work perfectly with the outfit. *Loves*
The jewelry is pretty nice, too. I took a close-up of the bracelet so you can see it. It goes with the earrings, and has a real clasp so it won't fall off your girl, not one of those annoying hooks. I love Integrity Toys' doll jewelry, but they like to use hooks on doll bracelets, and they're absolutely terrible. When a bracelet uses a hook and no clasp, it falls off the doll every two seconds. I think overall, Integrity makes better doll jewelry than Tonner, but boy, it'd be nice if they stopped using hooks on jewelry. So, Tonner definitely did it right with this bracelet.
I have to warn you about the headband: It's sewn to the doll's head in five places, and the only way to get it off is with a seam ripper or scissors. It does NOT have an elastic band, so once you snip it off, it's just a simple strip of fabric. In order to get it on the doll again, you'd have to hand-sew snaps or bit of elastic to the ends, and tailor it yourself to turn it into a usable headband again.
And a couple more random pictures. Click on the pictures to see them larger.
Adios.
I just received her and she is, as you say, an undervalued beauty. Perfect in every way except for the headband thing which also bugs me extra sewingin perspective. I maybe would have opted for a totally red or yellow upper part of the dress instead of black, but it's a detail.I had quite some difficulty attaching the bracelet, but once in place, it stays there! I can see her both in modern garbs and in medieval dresses. A true beauty - your remarks are right on the nose. Thank you! Glad I discovered your blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Sydney, she is abslolutely beautiful. I can understand why you say her outfit has a Spanish vibe, the fabric reminds a bit of matador's outfit
ReplyDeleteIn a nice coincidence, my Spicy Night outfit arrived today (less the headband). It is beautiful! I already had a Penelope doll, so I decided against adding another one. Fortunately, I found the fashion/shoes/jewelry for a decent price. I agree with your review -- totally. :-)
ReplyDeleteI do wish doll companies would stop fastening headbands and decorations (say, a flower like in Red Hot). It limits redressing if you keep it, but you risk rendering it useless if you remove it.
That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I received my Princess of Paradise Island doll. The gold headband wasn't attached to the doll's head! Hooray!
I was thinking of getting Princess of Paradise Island, too! I just haven't gotten her yet. My mother is Greek, so having a doll in ancient Greek garb seems extra wonderful to me. Plus, she's a beauty (both the doll and my mother, LOL).
DeleteThanks everybody! She's turned into my surprise favorite this week. I just redressed her in something casual. She's really super cute in a simple longsleeved knit shirt.
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