Hello everyone! I'm back and today I'll be doing a review of one of the new Shibajuku Girl doll I got not too long ago. Unfortunately I don't have a Pullip doll to compare it to, so I'll be giving my opinion based on the doll's quality, design, and price. Let me know in the comments if you have one of these dolls or are considering getting one!
Quality
Shibajuku Girl dolls are made from a hard plastic, with rooted hair, inset eyes, a moveable head, and articulated joints at the wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, and knees. The entire doll is made from a hard plastic with no mobility outside of the joints. The hair fibers feel nice, but had some glue or styling product on them when I first opened the doll. While not especially thin, I feel there could be more hair since her scalp can show at times if her hair isn't placed right. While looking at the painted on makeup, I noticed it was a little sloppy in places and there appeared to be a spot of misplaced paint on her face as well. While posing my Shibajuku Girl, I noticed that it's very easy for her limbs to twist the wrong direction, which could easily lead to damage or breakage if I'm not careful to make sure they're turned correctly when trying to flex her joints. Other than that, her joints move well. My first impression of the Shibajuku Girl I have is that, for the price, she's pretty good quality, but she's definitely not top quality.
Design
So, the first thing I noted about the Shibajuku Girl dolls is how much they resemble a Pullip doll (number 1 reason I wanted to get one). I couldn't say for sure how much inspiration was drawn from Pullips since I don't personally have one, but I have a feeling that Shibajuku Girl's design was heavily based off of the Pullip's. Judging from the recent influx I've seen of certain Japanese trends (usually ones that have been around for a while), I'd say this is another instance of that. The dolls all have the same base design with slight differences in hair and eye colors and hair and makeup designs. Each doll has its own style of clothing as well. Overall, I'd say the dolls could use a bit more variation on their base looks, but they're still all a cute design.
Poseability
As I mentioned before while discussing the quality of the Shibajuku Girl dolls, there are some problems with joints moving out of place when moving them. Outside of that, the dolls have fairly good poseability due to the joints in their limbs. However, due to the size and weight of the doll's head in comparison to their bodies, it's very difficult to get them to stand on their own, if not impossible. The Shibajuku Girls unfortunately do not come with stands, making it difficult to have much posing variety on their own. Overall, I'd say they have pretty decent poseability, but could have better with a stand.
Clothing Variety
If you're like me, you like dolls not just for aesthetics and like to dress them up in different outfits too. The Shibajuku Girls all have very cute base outfits that come with them and they're all different J-fashion inspired looks, so it's not too difficult to get one that matches your aesthetic. There are a handful of outfit packs available as well which usually come with a hair accessory and a top and bottom or dress. Unfortunately, there are currently no available extra shoe or sock options specifically made for the Shibajuku Girl dolls. After doing a bit of research, it looks like there are some other doll styles that have compatible clothing, but many come with clothing on the doll only. It appears some Pullip clothing and shoes may also work for them, but I don't have any to try out.
Final Rating: 3/5
While the Shibajuku Girl dolls are pretty cute, they're still lacking the variety I'd like to see in a fashion doll, like Barbie and Licca have. I also am a little disappointed in the quality level, but it's understandable based on the target market (young children) and the price point. While I do regret buying her a little bit, I do still enjoy my Shibajuku Girl, but don't anticipate getting any more unless their quality improves.
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Showing posts with label dolls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dolls. Show all posts
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Lolita 52 Challenge: What Influences my Lolita Style
Hello everyone! Today we have another Lolita 52 Challenge topic: What influences my Lolita style. I'll be doing this in a bullet style to list my influences. Let's go!
#1: Bakery goods and sweets
As I mentioned in my 5 keywords Lolita 52 challenge post, I have a bit of a foodie theme to my wardrobe. The main reason for this is that I really love the look of cakes and candies and such. I love how delicate frosting roses are, how delicious a spongy jelly roll looks, how jewel-like, yet sweet candies are, and many other aspects of sweets that definitely translate into the general theme of my wardrobe. Additionally, due to its white base color, frosting more often than not turns out pastel even with stronger gel food dyes, and the aesthetic of that is clearly translated in my Sweet Lolita wardrobe.
#2: Trends that I never got to try
While there's still a lot I want to try out, I find that both current and outdated popular trends can influence my Lolita style a fair amount. Some aspects of my wardrobe and aesthetic are more oldschool Lolita since that's the era I discovered Lolita during and I have plans to add some more oldschool pieces like rocking horse shoes to my wardrobe. Additionally, I'm kinda catching up with Sweet Lolita trends I missed when I wasn't able to afford Lolita clothing.
#3: Fashion Icons
Lolitas and other J-Fashion enthusiasts I follow on Youtube and Facebook have a HUGE influence on my wardrobe since secretly I kinda wish I was them to some extent. For example, I got a blue/pink mixed wig because Lawl Factory (Now Anna Drake) wore one in a couple of her videos. Additionally, I decided to add a yellow JSK and a pink blouse to my wardrobe because of Lovely Lor's coordinate for Japan Festival Houston. The people I follow are big inspirations to me, so I copy trends and looks they do as much as I can, but I also don't try to force myself to try a look that wouldn't suit me just because someone else looks good in it. Like I tried Decora out since Mahou Prince is such a big inspiration to me, but I learned pretty quickly I don't like it on me as much, so I focused more on styles I do like on me.
#4: Dolls
I've always really loved the outfits you see on porcelain dolls as well as just dolls in general, so they were kinda the underlying influence that made Lolita such a perfect fir for me. I've always loved dressing up dolls in pretty clothing and having porcelain dolls dressed in elegant fashions, so being able to dress myself up in similar styles is a lot of fun.
What influences your guys's wardrobes? Let me know in the comments below!
Go like and follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
Subscribe to me on Youtube: WatashiWaChoCho
Peruse my wares: animelolitacouture.storenvy.com
#1: Bakery goods and sweets
As I mentioned in my 5 keywords Lolita 52 challenge post, I have a bit of a foodie theme to my wardrobe. The main reason for this is that I really love the look of cakes and candies and such. I love how delicate frosting roses are, how delicious a spongy jelly roll looks, how jewel-like, yet sweet candies are, and many other aspects of sweets that definitely translate into the general theme of my wardrobe. Additionally, due to its white base color, frosting more often than not turns out pastel even with stronger gel food dyes, and the aesthetic of that is clearly translated in my Sweet Lolita wardrobe.
#2: Trends that I never got to try
While there's still a lot I want to try out, I find that both current and outdated popular trends can influence my Lolita style a fair amount. Some aspects of my wardrobe and aesthetic are more oldschool Lolita since that's the era I discovered Lolita during and I have plans to add some more oldschool pieces like rocking horse shoes to my wardrobe. Additionally, I'm kinda catching up with Sweet Lolita trends I missed when I wasn't able to afford Lolita clothing.
#3: Fashion Icons
Lolitas and other J-Fashion enthusiasts I follow on Youtube and Facebook have a HUGE influence on my wardrobe since secretly I kinda wish I was them to some extent. For example, I got a blue/pink mixed wig because Lawl Factory (Now Anna Drake) wore one in a couple of her videos. Additionally, I decided to add a yellow JSK and a pink blouse to my wardrobe because of Lovely Lor's coordinate for Japan Festival Houston. The people I follow are big inspirations to me, so I copy trends and looks they do as much as I can, but I also don't try to force myself to try a look that wouldn't suit me just because someone else looks good in it. Like I tried Decora out since Mahou Prince is such a big inspiration to me, but I learned pretty quickly I don't like it on me as much, so I focused more on styles I do like on me.
#4: Dolls
I've always really loved the outfits you see on porcelain dolls as well as just dolls in general, so they were kinda the underlying influence that made Lolita such a perfect fir for me. I've always loved dressing up dolls in pretty clothing and having porcelain dolls dressed in elegant fashions, so being able to dress myself up in similar styles is a lot of fun.
What influences your guys's wardrobes? Let me know in the comments below!
Go like and follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
Subscribe to me on Youtube: WatashiWaChoCho
Peruse my wares: animelolitacouture.storenvy.com
Saturday, October 31, 2015
What's a Living Doll?
Hey everyone! So, today I want to talk about a style that I've been interested in as well as imitating for several years now: The Living Doll style.
So, what is a Living Doll? What defines them? To explain simply, Living Dolls are those who choose to imitate the look of a certain style of doll both with their makeup and hair as well as clothing. Many Living Dolls choose to try and modify their figure to be more doll-like through methods such as diet and exercise, corseting, or surgery. The type of doll imitated varies widely, but typical inspirations are Barbie dolls, Asian ball-jointed dolls, porcelain dolls, or anime. Barbies are known for their dramatic proportions, glamorous features, and somewhat flashy clothing. A few well known Barbie inspired Living Dolls are Valeria Lukyanova and Angelica Kenova. Asian ball-jointed dolls tend to have slender figures, large, but still realistic looking eyes, and a somewhat natural, yet still elegant look to them. By far, Asian Ball-jointed dolls seem to be one of the more popular inspirations amongst the group I'm in (an online community on Facebook). A popular Living Doll that has this sort of style is Dakota Rose or Kotakoti. Unfortunately, Kotakoti is known for achieving her look partly through image manipulation, but not all Living Dolls choose to do this. Porcelain dolls are well known for their child-like features, extravagant clothing, and perfect skin. Many Living Dolls also draw inspiration from porcelain dolls. Venus Palermo or Venus Angelic is a popular YouTuber that is known for her porcelain complexion and doll-like features. When she was younger, she used to dress more extravagantly like a porcelain doll, but more recently her style has become more natural like an Asian ball-jointed doll. Anime is well known for its long legs, huge eyes, and slender figures (actually more typical to Shojo anime, aimed at girls 12-16, but still common in other styles of anime). Anime Living Dolls tend to exaggerate their eyes greatly through use of false eyelashes, circle lenses, and white eye makeup. A very popular anime Living Doll is Anastasiya Shpagina on YouTube. There are some other doll styles that Living Dolls choose to imitate such as Pulips or French dolls, but these are the main inspiration for many Living Dolls. Now, let me answer some frequent questions that arise when Living Dolls are brought up.
So, are Living Dolls trying to actually be dolls?
In most cases, no. Living Dolls just like the look of dolls and choose to imitate it with their style and make themselves into what they consider to be an ideal look, similar how many people choose to dress like runway models or popular icons. While there are some dolls that choose to imitate their preferred style of doll very closely through use of plastic surgery, I find that most of us choose to stick to makeup, diet and exercise, and corseting (also known as waist training) to achieve our look.
Why do you want to look like a doll? Why not Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift?
Most Living Dolls choose to look like dolls just because we like how they look and we aren't as interested in trying to achieve the look of some famous actor, star, or model. In some cases, a Living Doll might have features or a build that resemble a doll and just choose to run with it and start making their looks even more doll-like (similar to Venus Angelic). They may also just be interested more in anime and Japanese fashion than typical European styles and looks, like me.
Are you obsessed with looking like a doll?
In many cases, Living Dolls are just as obsessed with our looks as any typical teenaged girl or fashionista. We typically aren't so into our fashion as to spend every living minute focusing on looking like a doll, but we make changes to our lifestyles to accommodate our style such as planning a wardrobe, makeup, or redecorating our surroundings. Just like anyone else interested in something, we surround ourselves with our interests and develop them. Much like someone into video games might collect games and systems or someone into runway fashion might surround themselves with model inspiration pictures and the trendiest clothing, Living Dolls tend to surround themselves with items they deem "dolly." For some this might just be the clothing and makeup required to look the way they like, or it might mean completely redecorating their surroundings to reflect their style.
I hope you all enjoyed this post. If you have any questions about Living Dolls, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer. I'll be doing a post later talking about the Living Doll community, so please look forward to that.
Check out my Facebook, where I post my dolly and other outfits and acquisitions: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
Peruse my wares: animelolitacouture.storenvy.com
My Twitter's pretty much dead. Let's just admit that and leave it in peace.
So, what is a Living Doll? What defines them? To explain simply, Living Dolls are those who choose to imitate the look of a certain style of doll both with their makeup and hair as well as clothing. Many Living Dolls choose to try and modify their figure to be more doll-like through methods such as diet and exercise, corseting, or surgery. The type of doll imitated varies widely, but typical inspirations are Barbie dolls, Asian ball-jointed dolls, porcelain dolls, or anime. Barbies are known for their dramatic proportions, glamorous features, and somewhat flashy clothing. A few well known Barbie inspired Living Dolls are Valeria Lukyanova and Angelica Kenova. Asian ball-jointed dolls tend to have slender figures, large, but still realistic looking eyes, and a somewhat natural, yet still elegant look to them. By far, Asian Ball-jointed dolls seem to be one of the more popular inspirations amongst the group I'm in (an online community on Facebook). A popular Living Doll that has this sort of style is Dakota Rose or Kotakoti. Unfortunately, Kotakoti is known for achieving her look partly through image manipulation, but not all Living Dolls choose to do this. Porcelain dolls are well known for their child-like features, extravagant clothing, and perfect skin. Many Living Dolls also draw inspiration from porcelain dolls. Venus Palermo or Venus Angelic is a popular YouTuber that is known for her porcelain complexion and doll-like features. When she was younger, she used to dress more extravagantly like a porcelain doll, but more recently her style has become more natural like an Asian ball-jointed doll. Anime is well known for its long legs, huge eyes, and slender figures (actually more typical to Shojo anime, aimed at girls 12-16, but still common in other styles of anime). Anime Living Dolls tend to exaggerate their eyes greatly through use of false eyelashes, circle lenses, and white eye makeup. A very popular anime Living Doll is Anastasiya Shpagina on YouTube. There are some other doll styles that Living Dolls choose to imitate such as Pulips or French dolls, but these are the main inspiration for many Living Dolls. Now, let me answer some frequent questions that arise when Living Dolls are brought up.
So, are Living Dolls trying to actually be dolls?
In most cases, no. Living Dolls just like the look of dolls and choose to imitate it with their style and make themselves into what they consider to be an ideal look, similar how many people choose to dress like runway models or popular icons. While there are some dolls that choose to imitate their preferred style of doll very closely through use of plastic surgery, I find that most of us choose to stick to makeup, diet and exercise, and corseting (also known as waist training) to achieve our look.
Why do you want to look like a doll? Why not Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift?
Most Living Dolls choose to look like dolls just because we like how they look and we aren't as interested in trying to achieve the look of some famous actor, star, or model. In some cases, a Living Doll might have features or a build that resemble a doll and just choose to run with it and start making their looks even more doll-like (similar to Venus Angelic). They may also just be interested more in anime and Japanese fashion than typical European styles and looks, like me.
Are you obsessed with looking like a doll?
In many cases, Living Dolls are just as obsessed with our looks as any typical teenaged girl or fashionista. We typically aren't so into our fashion as to spend every living minute focusing on looking like a doll, but we make changes to our lifestyles to accommodate our style such as planning a wardrobe, makeup, or redecorating our surroundings. Just like anyone else interested in something, we surround ourselves with our interests and develop them. Much like someone into video games might collect games and systems or someone into runway fashion might surround themselves with model inspiration pictures and the trendiest clothing, Living Dolls tend to surround themselves with items they deem "dolly." For some this might just be the clothing and makeup required to look the way they like, or it might mean completely redecorating their surroundings to reflect their style.
I hope you all enjoyed this post. If you have any questions about Living Dolls, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer. I'll be doing a post later talking about the Living Doll community, so please look forward to that.
Check out my Facebook, where I post my dolly and other outfits and acquisitions: facebook.com/CelesteChoCho
Peruse my wares: animelolitacouture.storenvy.com
My Twitter's pretty much dead. Let's just admit that and leave it in peace.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
My Pocelain Doll Collection
Over the years my love for porcelain dolls hasn't faded. As a child, they were a beautiful, delicate thing that I rarely was allowed to play with since I wasn't especially gentle as a child. I've always been enraptured by how elegant they are and have always wished that I could dress as elegantly as them. Currently my collection consists of three dolls, two of which I was given as a child and the third I got a few years back as I was visiting my grandparents.
The first doll I got was given to me when I was very small by a family member. My parents wished to keep her in good condition until I was old enough to appreciate her, so she was kept in our attic for quite a few years. She is very cute and has blond hair just like me, and I love her frilly white dress. My favorite part about this doll is that you can wind her up and have her play a little tune that she sways to. I've always loved listening to the tune she plays, so it's a fortunate that I haven't broken her sound box by winding her up too much!
The second porcelain doll I got was a gift from one of my teachers at church. It was so long ago that I don't really remember why she gave me the doll, but I think it might have been because of my hair color. Ever since I was little I've let my hair grow out and all of the older ladies at church always complemented me on my hair. So I believe this doll was given to me since her hair appeared similar to mine, which has red and strawberry tones in it as well blond. I've always loved the dress on this doll as it is very cute and delicate. The fabric on her dress has a silk-like texture to it and she has an adorable pair of bloomers on as well.
My most recent addition to my porcelain doll collection is a pretty mermaid who's hair matches mine. I got her as a gift from my grandparents when I visited them several years back. I chose her because she was the most similar in appearance to me out of all of the other mermaids that were at the store. Ever since I was a little girl I've loved mermaids as well as swimming, so my parents used to call me a little mermaid, so in a way this doll lives out my dream of becoming a mermaid. I love that there are little bits of underwater foliage as well as a little fish shaped bead on the cushion she sits on as well as her shell necklace and her tiara.
All pictures were taken by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.
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| My Porcelain Dolls |
The first doll I got was given to me when I was very small by a family member. My parents wished to keep her in good condition until I was old enough to appreciate her, so she was kept in our attic for quite a few years. She is very cute and has blond hair just like me, and I love her frilly white dress. My favorite part about this doll is that you can wind her up and have her play a little tune that she sways to. I've always loved listening to the tune she plays, so it's a fortunate that I haven't broken her sound box by winding her up too much!
The second porcelain doll I got was a gift from one of my teachers at church. It was so long ago that I don't really remember why she gave me the doll, but I think it might have been because of my hair color. Ever since I was little I've let my hair grow out and all of the older ladies at church always complemented me on my hair. So I believe this doll was given to me since her hair appeared similar to mine, which has red and strawberry tones in it as well blond. I've always loved the dress on this doll as it is very cute and delicate. The fabric on her dress has a silk-like texture to it and she has an adorable pair of bloomers on as well.
My most recent addition to my porcelain doll collection is a pretty mermaid who's hair matches mine. I got her as a gift from my grandparents when I visited them several years back. I chose her because she was the most similar in appearance to me out of all of the other mermaids that were at the store. Ever since I was a little girl I've loved mermaids as well as swimming, so my parents used to call me a little mermaid, so in a way this doll lives out my dream of becoming a mermaid. I love that there are little bits of underwater foliage as well as a little fish shaped bead on the cushion she sits on as well as her shell necklace and her tiara.
All pictures were taken by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Japanese Dolls and Geishas
Here's another one of my collections, this time featuring my items with traditionally garbed Japanese women. I have a statue, a doll, and a note pad in this collection (see below).
The statue features a lady wearing a kimono doing a traditional Japanese art: Ikebana or flower arranging. I like how delicate this statue is and how it mostly uses soft colors that all blend nicely together.
The next item is the doll. I believe that this doll is a highly simplified version of the Hinamatsuri, Japanese girl's day, Ohime-sama doll as it is in a similar style to other Hinamatsuri dolls and has a tiny fan, like the full sized versions of Ohime-sama have. I love how simple and small this doll is while still being very elegant and detailed.
The last item in this collection is the note pad. It's a very pretty note pad with a geisha featured on the front. The paper inside has a nice delicate pattern using different shades of purple. The outside has lot of metallic gold accents, making it very difficult to get a good image of the cover.
All images are by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.
The statue features a lady wearing a kimono doing a traditional Japanese art: Ikebana or flower arranging. I like how delicate this statue is and how it mostly uses soft colors that all blend nicely together.
The next item is the doll. I believe that this doll is a highly simplified version of the Hinamatsuri, Japanese girl's day, Ohime-sama doll as it is in a similar style to other Hinamatsuri dolls and has a tiny fan, like the full sized versions of Ohime-sama have. I love how simple and small this doll is while still being very elegant and detailed.
The last item in this collection is the note pad. It's a very pretty note pad with a geisha featured on the front. The paper inside has a nice delicate pattern using different shades of purple. The outside has lot of metallic gold accents, making it very difficult to get a good image of the cover.
All images are by me unless otherwise noted. Check me out on Twitter.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Dreaming of Dollfies
A few years ago I saw a very pretty doll at an Anime convention I was attending. She looked so delicate and dainty, I fell in love with her. I later found out that she was a Dollfie, an asian ball-jointed doll. Ever since then, I've been interested in getting one. Sometimes I'd look up pictures of different Dollfies. And then, one day, I looked at the price of a Dollfie on an online store. It was enough to make me shriek. Luckily, I didn't. I was startled that anyone would be willing to pay so much for a doll. My hopes of getting my own Dollfie were flittering away as fast as a bird being chased by my cat. However, recently I found that there are other doll manufactures that make similar dolls for much lower prices. My hopes of getting a Dollfie, or a cheaper imitation, were renewed. All of the dolls I found were still rather expensive for my price range, but I still hope that I can get one of these beautiful dolls that I can dress up in homemade Lolita dresses that match my own.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Hello to All
In this blog I intend to talk mainly on the subjects of Anime and the Lolita style, along with cosplay, sewing, dolls, and anything else relevant that catches my fancy. I plan to put up pictures of my Lolita and Anime related clothing, as well as tips and suggestions for making or putting together your own cosplays and Lolita outfits. Please enjoy reading this blog as well as commenting. Thank you all.
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