*REVIEW* Dressing Barbie Book by Carol Spencer

Dressing Barbie

A Celebration of the Clothes That Made America's Favorite Doll and the Incredible Woman Behind Them 

160 - pages

If you've ever had a Barbie doll, or you know someone who did, chances are that Barbie was dressed in one of the thousands of designs created by Carol Spencer during her unparalleled reign as a Barbie fashion designer spanning more than thirty-five years. Published in commemoration of Barbie's sixtieth anniversary, Dressing Barbie is a dazzling celebration of the clothes that made America's favorite doll and the incredible woman behind them. Illustrated with more than 100 full-color photographs, including many never-before-seen images of rare and one-of-a-kind pieces from Spencer's private archive, Dressing Barbie is a treasure trove of some of the best and most iconic Barbie looks from the early 1960s until the late 1990s. Along with behind-the-scenes stories of how these designs came to be, Spencer reminisces about her thrilling time at Mattel working with legendary figures such as Ruth Handler, Barbie's creator, and Charlotte Johnson, the original Barbie designer, for a full, insider look into life with the beloved doll. Over the course of her career, Spencer won many accolades. She was the first designer to have her signature on the doll, the first to go on a signing tour, the first to design a limited-edition Barbie Doll for collectors, and the designer of the biggest selling Barbie of all time. Now, she is the first member of the inner circle to reveal the fashion world of the quintessential California girl as never before. 

Beautiful book. A must for Barbie fans! You can find this book at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books a Million and Book Depository.

*NEWS* GOTY 2019 Blaire Book Cover

This is from the Scholastic catalog. Sorry the image can not be enlarged.

*REVIEW* Madame Alexander Dolls: An American Legend Book

Published 1999

240-pages of beautiful Madame Alexander dolls. This book is full of history.

Part 1

The Madame: Her Life and Her Company

Covers the early years and establishing her vision. A pioneer at a time when women didn't own businesses, Madame Beatrice Alexander established herself as strong visionary. Her motto "Love is in the details" became synonymous with the impeccable quality of her dolls.

Part Two:

The Dolls

Showcasing collections from literature, fashion and film. Dolls ranging in size from 8" Wendy, 10" Cisette, 13" licensed dolls, baby dolls and 21" Cissy dolls. Beautiful handmade fashions.

Scarlett O'Hara - Gone With the Wind

Cinderella 

Alice in Wonderland Collection 

Cissy fashion doll

Part Three:

How the Dolls are Made

A look inside the NYC factory where dolls were created start to finish. (The factory has since closed).

 This book is a MUST FOR DOLL COLLECTORS!

Not only does it tell the wonderful story of Madame Alexander, but it is a great reference for dolls produced from the company. I highly recommend this hardcover book. You can find it online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and eBay, and at local used bookstores.

*UPDATE NEWS* Bosley's Blog and New Book

It is with great sorrow that I write this post. My beloved Bosley has passed away. In 2014, I wanted to write a children's book about his life. I am still following through with this. To stay in the loop and be alerted to updates on the books release, you can follow Bosley's blog. There you can sign up for newsletter alerts and read specific stories about his life, complete with video and photos.

Bosley the Maltese

He IS and always will be LOVED.

AG Play Scene Backdrops

Did you know you can use the backgrounds from the AG Paper Doll Play Scene sets for your mini dolls? Your minis can't "live" here, but you can spend the afternoon taking great photo stories with the back drops.

Shelly has a collection of these books.

Inside there are three colorful rooms to use for taking amazing photos. 
 

The paper dolls are similar in size to the AG mini dolls. These books are available on Amazon and ebay.