Less than a week? I haven't even completed the Christmas whirlwinds of activity and GOTY 2015 is appearing in just five days! New photos of Grace keep showing up on social media sites and even Amazon now has the book cover images up. The more I see of Grace, the more I am enamored. Will she come home with me on January 1st?
So these are truly the waning days of GOTY 2014 Isabelle's reign. But what better way to celebrate her year than to engage in some dress up fun?
Look at what my husband picked up for me from AGPSF. I had been resigned to not getting Isabelle's Sparkle Dress, especially after it sold out online as well as in our local store. But a late restock at AGPSF had me reconsider--it was the last outfit of Isabelle's that had not made it home. My husband was a doll and he made a second trip back to the store just to put this under the Christmas tree!
Isabelle's Sparkle Dress was a late release (late spring) and initially did not catch my eye. I also thought the stretchy sequin material of the leotard construction a bit strange. But once this dress was out of its box and displayed at home, I changed my mind completely. I love it!
I think the crowning touch is the hair piece--its delicate mesh and sparkle "wings" shimmer in the right light. AG packaged this piece smartly by affixing it to a piece of cardboard for transport.
Because I still have both of my Isabelle dolls with their original hair twists, the hair piece sits easily and securely in her hair.
The outfit also comes with cotton ballet slippers trimmed with silver sequins. I could see immediately out of the box the slippers were two different sizes--a bad batch. The larger shoe slipped on easily, but the second smaller shoe was a struggle.
I was hoping it was just my imagination, but below one can see how the slipper covers the toes entirely on the one foot but not on the other. I don't think this is enough of an issue to exchange the whole outfit just for better matched slippers--but it does bother me and I do feel it falls outside of acceptable variances of manufacturing for the prices AG demands.
The dress also comes with a clear beaded bracelet on a deep salmon colored elastic ribbon with a tiny bow. The bracelet is well constructed, easy to get on and off, but is rather unremarkable.
Yet in spite of the issues I have with the slippers, I was able to set them aside when I saw how charming and happy my poppet looked in this dress. The rosy salmon pink is a delightful color against her skin and hair color. This dress on Ingrid (my Isabelle I) makes me want to learn how to set up and take better photographs so I can really capture the magic of this dress.
Because of the questionable quality of the ballet slippers--even though I really do love the dress and hairpiece--I feel compelled to lower its review grade to an A-.
And while it may take some time and study and might not happen until well into the new year, I will revisit this outfit at some point for a new photoshoot in order to better capture its full and magical effect on my poppet.
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