Sometimes Simple is Better

As an OOAK artist and collector I know that sometimes simple is better. Meaning you don't have to make major changes to every doll you own. Trust me once you go down the slippery slope of OOAK-ing, things can go downhill fast. It starts with a simple outfit change, then a new hair-do, maybe painting some new lip color over the old and BAMM! You are making at least minor changes to every single doll in the house.

I have found it helpful to only purchase dolls for a project. At one point, I was buying nude dolls like crazy for "one day". One day I'd love to re-root a Capucine into a Chantaine. One day, I'd love to repaint a Steffie mold. Oh, I love "so in so's" OOAK doll, I need to buy doll "X" so I can make my own version, one day. I'm a lot better now, though I do still have a box of "project" dolls in the hall closet, just waiting for me to get to them.

But you don't have to make major changes to a doll to make more unique or to change the look. Sometimes a simple change is all you need. Take Palm Beach Honey, my doll for this project,

I don't think the Yellow coloring of the outfit is very flattering to her skin tone or make-up palette. (Though the yellow does make the peach lips look more pink.)

By simply changing her outfit, you can get a more appealing look:

In white:

I think the color white works well with this doll. The white really shows of her skin color. It makes her platinum blond hair look blond, instead of white. The pale peach flowers on the dress, match her lips. The only thing that really stands out (and out of place) is her aqua eyeshadow.

In Aqua:

By matching the color of the dress to the eye make-up, the aqua now looks appropriate. The peach lips warm up the tone of the doll. (I love this color on her! In fact, it makes me wonder why this color instead of yellow was used. Or if the designer wanted to use yellow, then why wasn't a different face-up palette choosen.)

In Black:

Again by choosing a neutral color, the doll looks completely different and more pulled together. The black accents the skin-tone, make-up and hair color. I was surprised by how good this doll looked in black!

On a side note none of these dresses fit Honey. I had heard that the Palm Beach line of Silkstones was larger then the earlier lines and it is true. I couldn't button a single dress pictured and the black one was made for the Silkstone line.

This brings up another simple change that could have made the doll better. Lip color and hairstyle.

This is a picture of the 45th Anniversary Silkstone. She looks a LOT like Honey. There are a couple of differences though. 45th has the regular skin tone and pink lips and her platinum blond hair is in a ponytail. I really like this doll and think she works a lot better then Honey.

So small changes can make a big difference if you don't like a doll straight out of the box. Redressing can greatly improve a doll, as can simple hair styling which I'll go over tomorrow.