Is it possible to overdose on vintage Skipper?

Or vintage Francie? Or vintage Barbie? Or non-vintage Daisy, my new custom from ruirui on Flickr/neroli on Ebay?

The answer to all those questions is a resounding NO. IMHO anyway. I'm having a great time searching out pieces and parts that I used to have in the 1960s. Yes, I will admit to being alive then. Such an impressionable bambina I was, but that's another story.

From top, Daisy wear the Francie "Clam Diggers" rain coat with a Teen Skipper Fashion Avenue dress, which you can see in full in the bottom photo, and Barbie repro yellow lace stockings. The groovy boots are by blythewithyouandme on Etsy. In the next photo, the repro fab coat is called "Smasheroo" for Barbie, and the boots are new Barbie.

Zena was just perfect to model the vintage Skipper "Fun Time" set. I've been coveting this for years, ever since I saw it in Gina Garan's Blythe book. I had that set as a young Barbie-crazed girl. The complete set, with croquet equipment and scooter, can sell for hundreds. I just wanted the embroidered top, but got the slacks, shirt and jacket in the set at a very good price on Ebay. if you search hard enough and long enough (125 pages of 50 views each late one night) you can find deals. Or you can always get a life instead. :) I plan to, but not just yet.

Knit vs. Crochet

Daisy in a sweater by nanistore on Etsy and Zena in an earflap hat by me. Mine is a Barbie pattern from the current issue of Crochet Today magazine. I simply enlarged it. Nanistore or Nanipatch makes darling felt mascots and knitted dolls items and toys.

Daisy leads the fashion parade

I love this girl! Daisy models some vintage Skipper. I knew "Crazy Daisy" would be perfect with her hair, before I even got it. Nabbed it on Ebay, along with a few other vintage goodies. She wears it in the top photo with Francie's stockings and some white moon boots of unknown origin.

Bunny Velvet's yellow eyes are perfect with Skipper's vintage "Tea Time" and black flats. Poor Bunny, her hair on order was lost in the mail. She's waiting for a new and improved do. Next up is Daisy in vintage Francie "Hill Riders" pants, found for $4 on Etsy, a Chanel T-shirt by rlkataja on Etsy and a green mohair sweater by DollyDressUp on Etsy. Elf hat by Glamourfae (I think) and faux Chucks.

Zena is perfect in a sweet dress by Dolly Molly on Etsy and a red fuzzy cardigan by DollyDressUp. And there's Daisy again, in a mod halter maxi by I Love George, a new Flickr friend.

I guess we see 'da girlz' have a better wardrobe than their owner. They even have better hair and skin. Oh, if I could just get sanded and spray-matted for good.

That's Megipupu to you, and me, too

Can't wait for these little gems to arrive from Finland! Heaven knows I spent enough time trying to get them! When I first learned about megipupu on Etsy from Maggie, I signed in on Nov. 22, just hours short of being able to buy anything from her line. Her November upload sold out in minutes, and I have been watching ever since for more, checking almost daily, if not multiple times a day. Yeah, I know.

Admirers watched as she uploaded dresses, hats, sweaters and more to her Flickr site the last few weeks, anticipating a re-load to her Etsy store. Finally, on Dec. 30, she posted that an upload would occur on Jan. 1. And so the next dilemma- Jan. 1 when? Finland time? Stroke of midnight anywhere? Five o'clock somewhere?

Turns out it was mid-afternoon eastern time, and about an hour after I had looked for the umpteenth time. When I did look, a gazillion things had already been uploaded and sold, but I knew from the volume of her Flickr more was to come. Sure enough, as I kept refreshing the page new items kept being added. Finally, an antenna hat popped up, and I popped it into my cart and checked out as fast as I could. There's no waiting to fill your cart with this girl; in fact, a sweater I had in my cart was grabbed out by someone else as fast as I put it in. And although there were sweater and hat sets last month, this time it was piece by piece. How on earth, and I do mean the entire earth, to get a matching set?

Imagine having your dolly items be so well-made and so popular that people all around the world are sitting by their computers poised to click the second, nano-second maybe, that you upload something. And imagine her nearly 2,000 sales on Etsy at an average of even $10 an item. Yikes! That is some good knittin'! Anyway, I can't wait to see what I bought (above) in person.

My New Year's wish

My favorite vintage Barbie/Francie/Skipper outfits
Originally uploaded by Gina2424

Oh wait. You mean I have to make a resolution, not a wish? Then I resolve to find as many of these vintage outfits as I can not only to recreate my childhood but to dress my Blythes fantastically! Happy New Year from Lilly, Maggy, Zena, Bunny and Daisy.

Francie! Skipper! Come back!

Wild Bunch. Fun Time. Daisy Crazy. Maybe it's just the names. Maybe it's nostalgia. Even deja vu'. I've been obsessing over the vintage Skipper and Francie fashions of my childhood. I prefer Skipper and Francie size, because of course that fits Blythe, and then I can enjoy looking at my vintage treasures.

After many (and I mean many many) hours on Ebay, I scored the great bargains pictured above. I know I looked at over 125 pages of 50 items each on-line into the wee hours last night. But it was FUN! I had so many of these outfits, dolls, cases, accessories, doll houses growing up, and then repeated Barbie in the early 1980s with my daughter.

It is just incredible that there are still outfit sets in the unopened, original packaging from 1964. And even the packaging was cool. Was there ever a better era than the Mod Era? It is also amazing what the price tags are for some of these vintage items in mint, complete condition. I saw Barbie outfits selling for more than $1,000 for a tiny little dress and shoes. And collectors are paying it. Obviously, those collectors have money to burn.

My goal was to find the items I wanted at affordable prices, and it can still be done, especially if you are not looking for complete sets in mint condition. I don't mind finding the outfit only, since I'm going to put them on Blythes, and I don't mind a little unnoticeable damage, especially if I can make a repair, or alter them in some way.

The blue set (next to last photo) is Skipper Fun Time, a croquet set. I had this as a child, and it was always one of my favorites. I just love the detailed, embroidered top. Can't wait to try it with my blue-haired Zena.

The clam diggers raincoat (bottom) will look great with some orange jelly boots I found on Etsy, as will the hairy Wild Bunch coat at top. I believe this coat is one of the older ones from the 1960s-1970s, although the entire outfit was reproduced with a Francie doll in 1996.

Also from Francie are the yellow shoes above (have no idea how they will fit Blythe), the red and navy striped vest and the yellow shirt dress with pink, white and yellow tweed skirt. That came with a pink knit vest- had all that as a kid, too.

The Daisy Crazy dress, also pink and yellow, was for Skipper, and came with a belt. But I think it will be just fine without. It and the yellow Skipper Tea Time dress will both look great with white go-go boots or chunky mary jane shoes, don't you think? Stay tuned for a great photo shoot!

My favorite Hipsters and their fashions

My favorite Hipsters and their fashions
Originally uploaded by Gina2424

Check out these gorgeous girls on Flickr. Click on picture to view larger size. 1. Arivis, 2. Mohair gnome felted Hat SOLD, 3. Perdita Up a Tree, 4. Toast, 5. daisy, 6. Arivis, 7. Flower power, 8. bella swan, 9. mabel morris, 10. Sunshiney Day 039:365 ADAD, 11. If you're going to San Francisco... be sure to wear some flowers in your hair..., 12. Nouveau Hippie, 13. Jonah Up a Tree, 14. Bluebell is glad that she isn't leaving, 15. Dottie, 16. New Maxi Dresses, 17. Rowan, 18. Bohemian Style Long Dress in Orchid, 19. Thora Kate, 20. Embroidered Caftan Top, 21. Rosy in the Garden, 22. blythe groovy guffey, 23. Vogue waves as she leaves for Glastonbury, 24. Adorable Aubrey, 25. Brigitte