After her birthday, she had a lot of fresh material, some patterns and new direction...
Now we have entered the world of fashion. Especially that of 18" Doll Fashion. Her favorite creations of late are doll nightgowns, made from dollar store baby blankets. This was from a pattern we found on Pintrest (click here to see the pattern). Mind you, she decided on leaving the scalloped edges from the blanket and not sew up the cuffs and the bottom, which added a personal flair. We also altered the pattern to put the bow on the nightgowns to one side instead of the front. I think that the outfit turned out pretty cute!
She even made a doll nightgown for a friend we are going to visit this week.
Although still a beginner with many patterns to go, she already wants to put her own spin on things. She wants to design some of what she makes. Altering patterns is a pretty great way to start if you ask me. Of course I encouraged her and hoped that this was not going to be beyond my skill to assist her. Not that it would take much, we are pretty much at that point now. I can barely thread the machine.
She began her pursuit of fashion design in the most logical way, she started with research on the internet. Her goal was to design fashion for faeries. Since she loves the Winx Club, these were her models of choice, and she poured through pages and videos of these characters in various outfits. We discussed some of the outfits and decided that many were not very appropriate for girls. Actually, I thought most the outfits were not appropriate, but faeries have never been too choosy in their selection of wardrobe throughout the ages, so we pushed out the more scandalous of the selections. Then with a burst of creative energy, she began creating outfits from her extensive dress up wardrobe.
Fortunately she has lots of really cute ballet flats that she can wear with the outfits that she dreamed up. Which I thought was a good thing, since what troubled me more than the outfits were the shoes. Nearly all the characters wore high heels. And not just high heels, but skyscraper high stilettos! What faerie needs stilettos in the depths of the forest? Or the sunlit fields of flowers? Or anywhere for that matter? I am aware that they would be light on their feet, what with the wings and all, but if they have wings, what do they need the heels for? Certainly not height. Height is primarily why I wore heels for years. Topping out at 5'3", an extra 2" often came in handy. Not to mention the fact that slacks are not typically made for those of shorter stature. But if a fairy wants to be taller, they have only to flutter those gossamer wings and hover. What would be the point to heels? And especially stilettos?
Don't get me wrong, I don't expect to see faeries dressed in cute sundresses and hiking boots. Even with my challenged sense of fashion, I know better than that! But wouldn't ballet flats do just as well as pin point heels on our questionably clad characters? Heck, even a standard search of faeries with their gauzy outfits and flimsy wings typically show them with no footwear at all, so why, oh why are the heels so high on my young daughter's favorite cartoon figures? Why did she have to be so enamored with the questionably dressed of the faerie world? Even with my long lost love affair with heels, never did I stumble into the realm of stilettos! Stilettos imply something more than adult, something risque. Something that is not quite right for an 11 year old.
Perhaps I worry needlessly. With her tall slender frame, she is not likely to ever need heels, and more likely to select lower ones than even I chose in my past. Yet, there is a nagging at the back of my head that tells me that there is a bigger problem here than my issues with footwear. A problem that has more to do with my daughter needing me to help her sift through countless outfits in clothing stores for age appropriate attire in her size than what size heel she may prefer in the future. It has something to do with cartoons that are geared to my daughter's age range in subject matter, but not in apparel.
I will continue to encourage my budding seamstress to design and create and sew. Hopefully together we will be able to navigate the fashion world, and perhaps make it a new and intriguing place. And hopefully we can steer clear of stilettos - and all they imply.
