Warning! Long blog post of several parts. One story...
THEY WENT TO PARIS!! Without me!
Okay, so remember this photo I posted in my July 28th issue of the Dolltown.News?
We found this photo on April's Fashion Doll Stylist blog.
We thought...this looks like our Birdy! How cute!
IT IS BIRDY!
And this is an Elie Saab Couture Fashion Show...IN PARIS!!
All month, Fashion Doll Stylist, April, was making cryptic comments about my dolls, and her fashion dolls. I was too distracted to ask what she meant.
And several of my girls were tossing about French phrases, "Bonjour" and "Merci", asking for gelato for their Ice Cream Party, and making unusual style choices, like Tink and Xennia's Ice Cream party wrapped-cloth napkins outfits...sounding all knowledgeable, talking about drape and design.
Recently, when I had a little time, we started to track down these mysteries. I had our Dolltown reporter, Miley, digging up clues, listening in on giggled conversations, and trying to trip up the easiest targets, like Tink and Xennia.
"So...how do you know all this French?", she asked them?
"Chantal!", they said cleverly, since Chantal DOES know lots of French phrases.
But when Lula returned to Dolltown from Australia, we noticed even SHE was saying "Merci Madame"! And whispering words of endearment in French, to her little New Zealand family!
And then I heard Lula whisper, "Trumpette!" to Priscilla under her breath. I don't even know what that means! (Does Lula need a talking to?)
The story came out... Asa and Arlen called the Little Darlings together and brought out a splashy painting of the Eiffel Tower the girls had made after Birdy's Birthday party. And they told us about a remarkable adventure...
It's more than I dreamed of,
as the Agent for the Dolltown dolls!
(Okay, I am a little rattled by it all.)
Apparently, Asa and Arlen (and Willow below) knew all about it.... Knew all about it? They were on the trip!
Wait till you see the photos!
"Would you do it again?", Arlen asked Asa.
"In a heartbeat.", Asa replied.
(You would tell me. Right Asa? Of course!)
"Did I look pretty in my dress?", she asked.
And did I walk like a real model?", Priscilla said.
"Oh yes..."
Willow arrived with Lula. Willow was gathering the girls who went on the trip. She wanted a group photo,
now that the secret was out.
And...Priscilla?
She was talking about the beautiful dress she got to wear. Excuse me, but...Priscilla?
"Thank you for taking me to Paris!", Priscilla said to Asa.
How polite of Priscilla!
"You looked very pretty!", Arlen answered her.
"I love Paris!", Priscilla said.
"I think I will live there when I grow up!"
"Why does Priscilla look so cheerful? She usually looks so grumpy!", Lula wondered.
"It's the Asa effect, Lula!" Willow tells her. "Just watch when Asa leaves. It's the oddest thing!"
How did it all happen? The story unfolds...
Reporter Miley got Asa to agree to an exclusive interview while the girls had photos taken and shared their stories.
Miley reported to us later, that Asa said April, Fashion Doll Stylist, knew nothing about this Paris trip (at least at first).
April always leaves a small contingent of fashion dolls in her Paris apartment and they heard that children were going to be a part of an Elie Saab couture show.
April's fashion dolls, experienced in the process, called Dolltown to invite a group of our girls to come to Paris to try out.
The Paris fashion dolls told them there is a special Dolly Express to get the Dolltown girls over there.
An airline for dolls? Miley had never heard of it!
And April's girls said, "Don't worry about funds! We'll send you some Doll Coin. We use it all the time!".
So Asa and Arlen chose the dolls, several Little Darlings, just the right size and age.
And apparently Priscilla overheard one of the phone calls. And she was heading to tell me what was happening behind my back. So she was quickly invited!
Our redhead, Arlen, took the call.
She got Asa in on the action.
"Could we? Should we?", Arlen wondered.
"How can we not?" Asa said to her. "It's a chance of a lifetime!"
Miley asked Asa, "Why didn't you or Arlen tell You-Know-Who?"
"She was too busy! We thought, we'll tell her later..."
Then Asa said they had questions for April's Paris girls...
"Who should go? How do we get there?
What about expenses?"
Ellowyne Willow, with her fashion show experience, was asked to join them. And very quietly, they all got ready.
"Pack your bags, girls! And don't breath a word of this. We'll make sure that You-Know-Who is busy with other dolls and photo shoots for a couple of days!"
As Miley reported all this to me, I thought about all the signs, all the clues I had overlooked!
But...several dolls literally MISSING for 3 days?
Mind you, it was around Awards Day planning time. Yes, I was VERY busy!
That's why those OTHER dolls were insisting on more photo time. Just how many of them were in on this?
I may never know!
At the gathering, the girls chat about their Paris trip...
"See? Asa's gone, and Priscilla's frown is back.", Willow said to Lula.
Priscilla left to find Asa while the little girls recalled their Paris adventure.
"We got to wear Elie Saab dresses!", Birdy said.
"I got to meet Lula in Paris!", Faith said.
"She was in Australia when I arrived in Dolltown."
"You were very brave, Lula!" Birdy said to her.
The other girls chattered about
what a trip it must have been!
"Wait til you see my dress. It has flowers!", said Xennia.
Tink said, "I got to wear a red roxy wig with my gold dress,
so I could match Arlen! She was my mom on the catwalk."
Birdy said, "Some of us, like me and Xennia, Lula, and Priscilla paired up with April's dolls.
They were very nice and gave us lots of tips!
We got to wear lip gloss!"
"We loved Paris!", the girls agreed.
"But we didn't all make it onto the Elie Saab runway.
Some of us helped the others get dressed!"
The girls who had gone on the secret trip arrived,
one by one, for photos.
"Where are the fashion show photos?" Birdy asked.
"The most beautiful dresses in the world!",
the other girls chorused.
"Lula traveled by herself from Melbourne. Lani put her on the Dolly Express with her backpack full of her best clothes for Paris!", the girls exclaimed.
"I am a world traveler...like Lani!", Lula said.
"And the Dolly Express was a lot of fun!
Even better than the Greyhound!"
"Asa was my mother on the catwalk", Chantal said.
"Willow was mine.", said Faith.
"Because it was like moms and their daughters!"
"April's Paris dolls are called the Phat Sisters", said Scout.
"Which is pretty funny because they are not fat at all!
They are So In Style Barbies, and great runway models!"
"But all of us got to have sleepovers in April's apartment. And she didn't even know until we were gone!
Secrets!! So much fun!"
"We got to visit the doll museums.
The dolls there live at the museums and hundreds of people come to see them every day!"
"I loved the doll museums!"
"I loved the gelato!"
"I loved the crepes aux fraises!"
"J'aime le cinema!"
The babble of girls' voices included a charming mix of French and English...
Zut alors! So cute... What does Merde! mean again?
Willow returned to send the girls off to bed.
The Little Darlings were very happy to finally share their story.
And they were especially excited to finally share the beautiful photos of their experience on the runway of a Paris Fashion Show...
Goodnight girls!
We'll have a chat tomorrow about keeping secrets....
(I'm pretty impressed, but I don't want to tell them that!)
Here they are, photos of our Dolltowners on the Paris runways!
The girls went to a casting call for the Elie Saab Paris Fashion Show. Then, off for fittings!
April tells me it is VERY unusual for children to be included in a couture show like this!
Arlen fell in love with this dress, and wanted to bring it back to Dolltown!
Talk to April, Arlen! Fashion Doll Stylist!
She's so good at replicating these fashions, she could probably make this in her sleep!
Tink looks so graceful! Well done, Tink!
Willow, an Ellowyne fashion doll, has had a little experience with fashion shows, but NOTHING like this.
She was as excited as the girls. And more nervous!
Faith looks like a little angel!
Asa has the perfect face for the runway, But she was the one who wanted to get back to Dolltown!
She takes her responsibilities here seriously.
And she is "The buck stops here!" doll, and knew she would have to answer to me for this Paris decision!
Chantal looks perfect in this little dress!
Xennia looks a little anxious here, but they say she hardly cried at all on the trip! Way to go, Xennia!
And your "mom" looks so beautiful!
Oh Priscilla! You are sooo cute. I almost fell off my chair when I saw this photo!
When April and I finally talked about this amazing trip, she told me a story her divas recounted to her...
When Priscilla arrived here in Paris for the fashion show, she told us she was NOT AT ALL INTERESTED!
But we knew deep down, that Priscilla could imagine stepping into the spotlight, and becoming a supermodel for one brief moment!
And when Priscilla 1st walked out on the catwalk, she maintained her signature grumpy face look. But when she got to the foot of the catwalk, she broke character and smiled for the audience. Just for a brief moment.
And they jumped to their feet and cheered her on!
We've heard that Jean Paul Gaultier, noted for his outrageous antics, is considering Priscilla for his next show. Do you think it could be true?
April tells me she chided her dolls for spreading unconfirmed rumours...
Yes, we saw that happy face on Priscilla earlier...with Asa.
It's gone again. But how cute she is anyway, in a pretty lace Elie Saab!
Okay, no more trips without telling me. Okay?
Unless it's with Auntie April...or Lani, or Aunties Mischelle and Jackie...
Okay, okay. I obviously have feelings of ambivalence about the "secret".
Welcome to the human world.
Look at these two in their bird dresses!
Lula in her wild do! They say the stylists wanted to take a brush and some gel to Lula's mane. But she said, Take me or leave me!" And they let her go, with her own hair bow!
So, here is the original photo from April's blog,
with other designers included.
I can't tell you how truly excited I actually am
...for my dolls.
I LOVE Elie Saab fashion! What are the chances?
(April tells me he is a Lebanese Couturier, whose house is based in Paris. And this is his Fall/Winter 2016 collection.)
How wonderful for my girls, all of them, to have this experience! How wonderful for my girls' portfolios!
So, in the end, I am sending out a big thanks to April
and her very hospitable Paris dolls!
We would like to invite you all, to Dolltown!
Bring your jeans...
Xennia asks...
Do you like our Eiffel Tower, Auntie April?
We are going to give it to you and your dolls.
It's a thank you.
It's for your Paris apartment.
(Your Phat girls and those funny dude guys will love it!)
Thanks to April, Fashion Doll Stylist, for the story, and the unforgettable photos of our Dolltowners with her divas on the catwalk in Paris!
Here is the original blog, where the Birdy photo was posted...
Write a comment
April (Saturday, 20 August 2016 17:22)
This is SUCH a wonderful story that I promise to forgive all those dolls who kept the whole affair a secret from me until the very end. After all, you all look so beautiful in your Elie Saab dresses, it makes me wish more designers would show children's wear in their regular catwalk shows. Oh well...perhaps you can stage your own catwalk shows right there in Dolltown! I hope you had a wonderful time during your visit in Paris with the Phat girls. I'm sure they'll tell me all about it when I get back.
Jano (Monday, 22 August 2016 15:17)
Hi April, Fashion Doll Stylist!
Well, I would love to hear some of THEIR stories!
It was so fun to get these girls together and hear all about it.
Yes, I had to forgive too. And so many good things have happened since with the dolls who went, that I didn't do more than have a chat with all of them about future adventures. (Of course they want to do their own fashion shows now!)
I mean, it really is a dream come true for me! Even though I wasn't there myself, I am so happy for my girls.
It even mirrors my own children's lives, with me helping them pack for their own adventures while I hold down the fort. So to speak.
Well, a trip to the beach next isn't quite a Paris trip on the Doll Express, but no one is complaining...yet!