Sometimes all it takes is a little something to make an outfit fantastic, to bring it all together. My personal favourite thing to make an outfit perfect? The right pair of boots! Like many fashionable dolls, I adore both modern and vintage boots. There are plenty of stock boots that come with Blythe that are fantastic and there are some boots that were made for other dolls that fit my feet like Cinderella’s slipper to her own foot. What are some of my personal favourites? I’m so glad you asked!

All fashionable Blythes should own at least one pair of vintage laced boots. The reason that they’re so popular is because they’re rather classic, and the vintage style isn’t one that will go out of fashion any time soon! I’m quite fond of mine – I have cream and a few shades of brown. I’m led to believe that there are a pair of pink boots kicking around, but Eden never lets me wear them!

Other boots that I think are awesome are the always wonderful riding boots. They look great with tights and a short dress. Not too short though, you don’t want people thinking that you forgot to put on pair of pants or anything – but it’s always nice to have something that accentuates the legs and adds to your modelesque height.

My current favourites are these: gold boots. Who doesn’t need a pair of sparkly gold boots? The answer is that everyone needs a pair. Always. Full stop, no questions asked. I would recommended that you sneak into your owner’s Paypal and buy yourself a pair. But you didn’t hear that from me. *winkwink*

Sophie is a mostly stock Cappuccino Chat that came to live with me in June 2009. She loves shoes, new clothes, playing with her hair, fashion, magazines full of fluff and shopping. She aspires to be a model and would like to model for some of the ‘great’ dolly fashion houses one day.

Image by sxc.hu user foxumon.

Blythe is an expensive hobby. It’s a huge price range of costs for everything in the doll hobby. There are $0.50 shoes and $50 shoes. You can find $100 Blythes and then there are custom (art) Blythes that go for $4000 (or more!). There is a huge range that you can find yourself in, but my goal is to always shop smart when it comes to the Blythe hobby. I try not to overspend, as well as shopping around for the ‘best price’ that I can.

It kind of helps that I don’t have a money tree somewhere and that results in me needing to shop around and be smart about it. It’s hard to consider what my true maximum is, because it’s always based on what I have available and I consider what my doll family already has. I’d like to add a Middie (or two) to the doll family, perhaps a stock Neo Blythe or two, then Kenners. But really, it isn’t going to happen right now, as much as I’d like for that to happen. I’m still reluctant to spend a lot of money for a Middie (~$150), or a Neo ($200) or even a Kenner Blythe (no funds in the coffers for that right now, unless I find one at the thrift store or a garage sale).

Do you have a true “maximum” what you will pay?

I started 365 with the best of intentions, I really did. But somewhere along the way (in part due to school, and laziness), I fell behind in uploading photos. And then I’d get caught up for a little bit, only to fall behind again. And then April happened, and I was so busy with other things (e.g. studying and preparing for finals) that I fell behind again. And then finals week occurred and I uploaded nothing.

Did I really want to continue the cycle of getting behind, catching up, getting behind and catching up yet again? I decided I didn’t want to. I love taking photos of my dolls, and I do love taking photos of Eden (because, let’s face it, pink look great on her!) but uploading photos was becoming a chore. And I just wasn’t having fun anymore with it. 365 is meant to be challenge, but it shouldn’t become a chore and it should be fun and it wasn’t anymore.

So from now on – no more feeling bad about not uploading photos because I shouldn’t feel bad about it! I’m going to continue taking photos of Eden Mouse, and all of my other dolls, on a schedule that I decide for myself. As hard as it was to make this decision, I know it’s the right one. I barely got through March even with a week-long break in the term because of all the coursework and studying that I had to do for school. And while I’m “only” taking distance ed courses this summer, I just know that I wouldn’t be able to make the time to do 365 as well as keeping up (or even getting ahead) in my studies and my education is always going to be a priority over 365 (no matter how much I love Blythe). And you know what? This decision feels great. It’s one less stress in my life – and that is wonderful.

Hello, my darling fashionistas! It’s time for more Love, Sophie – featuring me, the always adorable Sophie!

Today I wanted to talk to you all about a lovely accessory item that can make or break an outfit. Quite literally, hats are wonderful. That is, until they give you the dreaded “hat hair”. Please see Exhibit A:

All that flat hair, there’s no volume, no body to her hair. It’s positively dreadful without the dreads! No, what you must remember is that the hat should add something to your outfit, not be the center piece. The hat should be wonderful and make you look awesome without taking away from your outfit. What is the point if the hat steals the show? So I wanted to show off some of my favourite hats:

From top to bottom, left to right, we have: slouchy boho hat, famed kitty helmet, newsboy hat (cute!) and the ever-wonderful black helmet with accenting button. Who doesn’t love accenting buttons?

I think that hats are fantastic, but they can only do so much for you. If you were wearing a brown paper bag, I don’t think even the bestest of hats would be able to save your outfit – so it’s a good idea to make your entire outfit stellar at all times. And never, ever ever let your owner dress you without any input from yourself, or else you end up looking just awful!

So fashion fans, what are your favourite types of hats? I want to see them! Send me pics below in the comments so I can see what I should get Michelle to buy for me!

Sophie is a mostly stock Cappuccino Chat that came to live with me in June 2009. She loves shoes, new clothes, playing with her hair, fashion, magazines full of fluff and shopping. She aspires to be a model and would like to model for some of the ‘great’ dolly fashion houses one day.

Pre-Blythe, I took photos of nature, people, for parties and family gatherings. After discovering Blythe, I had more opportunities to take photos.

I learned about white balance, contorting myself into odd angles to get a good photo, about lighting and using macro for small, close objects. I’ve learned about focusing, zoom, and I’ve added more to my photo editing skills than I previously knew. Blythe is a willing model, which is nice. Blythe is easier to control than a person is. Somewhat easier to dress (besides tights…), and Blythe probably has a more extensive wardrobe than any person possibly ever well. Lately (pretty much every since I got a smartphone), most of my photos have been Instagram photos, or directly uploaded to Flickr from my phone. It’s a bad habit to get into, but a habit nonetheless.

How has Blythe influenced you as a photographer?