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Fashion Angels: More Than Just Your Average Dolls
Rebecca Goldschmidt |
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 Dolls have come a long way from the paper cut outs and straw-filled puppets that our grandparents and great grandparents once played with. From Barbies to American Girl Dolls to Bratz, toy companies are constantly trying to reinvent fun, realistic, and relatable dolls for children. Now, more than ever, they’re emphasizing educational toys for all kinds of walks of life. It’s not only enough to have a baby doll that needs mothering; kids need doctors, soldiers and fashion designers too! That’s where Fashion Angels come in—they’re fun, easy to use, and helpful in developing design and fashion skills as well as creativity.
Oddly enough, Fashion Angels didn’t originate from a designer or a fashion student, as one would imagine, but from a chain of bead stores. Sisters Goldi Miller and Myra Mouloudji started selling beads in the Midwest and realized the niche they had found was quite popular.
Starting out as a family affair, the sisters got help from their mother and grandmother filling tiny vials with different combinations of beads to be sold to lines of eager customers at trade shows. Eventually they opened a store named GOLDI. The stores multiplied, with about ten in the Midwest including the flagship store on Chicago shopping-mecca, Michigan Avenue. From there, they began to develop several craft kits that they would sell in the stores, including Fashion Angels’ predecessor, the Fashion Angels 2D kit.
Originally quite rudimentary, the 2D kit included simple paper dolls, various fabrics and sparkles that could be velcroed on and off the forms. Just like the history of dolls, Fashion Angels have evolved quite a bit from those first bead vials and paper kits. Now the company is an entire enterprise, including several dolls, a career kit, and eco-friendly kit, and even a kit inspired and licensed by the hit fashion-design television show, Project Runway.
The soft, bendable dolls have bright, stylish clothes, jewelry, shoes, and even wigs that are interchangeable. Their big eyes and rosy cheeks are endearing and just beckon to be dressed and decorated with the edgy, funky clothing and accessories bearing skulls, lace, faux fur, tulle, and flowers.
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The quality is readily apparent; the shoes are even made in a real shoe factory instead of a toy factory. There is an obvious emphasis on trends and fashion, making the styles current and relatable for kids. Plus, the dolls are ethnically diverse and have a natural body shape that promotes a healthy body image that other dolls do not.
If your kid’s got the flair for fashion, her or she might be in need of a Fashion Angel. Open their doors to the creative, crazy world of fashion with an educational doll that’s fun and uncomplicated, cool and stylish. Pick one up at FAO Schwartz, Kitson Kids, or specialty toy stores across the world.
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Harumika Dolls: For the Young Fashion Designer
Rebecca Goldschmidt |
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Move over Barbie, there’s a new fashionista in town—the Harumika fashion doll! Brought to you by Bandai, the same folks who started other highly popular and lucrative toy trends like Power Rangers, DragonBall Z and Tamagotchis, have introduced the latest in fashion-related dolls to the American market. Unlike Barbie or Bratz, which come with prefab clothing and accessories, Harumika dolls allow children to create their own designs, unleashing creativity and individuality. Director of marketing for Bandai, Danielle Armbrust, says, “All girls dream of being fashion designers, and Harumika allows girls everywhere to create their own unique styles on a dress form doll and then show off their designs to friends on the Harumika website.”
Although the dolls won’t come out in the States until August, they are already a huge hit in Japan.
Shaped like a real designer’s dress form, the plastic bodies are headless and armless and come with various pieces of fabric and a stick-like tool. A slit down the back allows the user to push fabric into the form with the tool, holding in it place as it’s wrapped around the form in various ways. Because the fabric is just wrapped, not secured with pins or stitches, there are no needles or thread necessary, making it simple for even children as young as six to play with. For kids who are interested in fashion, it’s a really effective way to get them to think about fabrics, prints, and styling outfits on a very basic, intuitive level.
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Various sets are tailored to specific styles or scenes. The “On-the-go” set, for example, comes with a tote bag for easy transportation and mobility, and will feature different themed looks like Enchanted, Party Scene or Magical Nights. The “Runway Showstopper” set will come with a small digital camera for the designer to take photos of his or her creations and upload them to the Harumika website (www.bandai.com/harumika) to share with other peers. The prices range from $6.99 for the basic form and minimal fabrics, to the “Showstopper,” which costs about $39.99.
Although the dolls won’t come out in the States until August, they are already a huge hit in Japan. If there’s a fashion fanatic in your family, this might make the perfect gift- just in time for the holidays!
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Posh in Pink
Rebecca Goldschmidt |
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 Pink! It’s every little girl’s dream-come-true color. Pink frilly princess dresses; pink fluffy tutus with layer upon layer of pink tulle; pink satin ballet slippers; pink glittering tiaras; even pink stuffed animal backpacks and pink bedroom accessories! With all of this pink, Posh certainly knows “what a girl wants,” and they give it to them!
Based out of Los Angeles, designer Cheryl Chan gains inspiration for her girly designs from who else but the kids who wear and use her products. “You always have to think and feel like a girl,” a motto that has helped her create the highly successful dress-up and dance clothing and accessory line. Matt Huber, the PR contact for Posh International, makes their use of the girliest of colors perfectly clear– “If it’s not pink, it’s not for us.” It’s a simple mantra, but it works! When you’re a 5-year-old ballerina, there’s nothing better than a fuzzy pink rolling backpack with a curly hot-pink poodle attached to tote around your pink tiara and candy. Posh has certainly their niche and they are sticking to it, and have for the past nine years.
“If it’s not pink, it’s not for us.” It’s a simple mantra, but it works!
 Although the line is mostly geared towards dancers, with embellished tutus, flashy leotards, embroidered dance bags and other accessories, Huber claims that because every little girl is a dancer, the line is appropriate for all little girls, ballet-bound or not. The princess-ified jewelry boxes, slippers, and clocks don’t necessarily belong in a dancer’s room, and the sparkly, sequined purses could work for any little girl, dancer or not. There are fluttering fairy wands; long feather boas; self-proclaiming “princess”picture frames; and feather-trimmed gloves that any girl would dream of at night under her princess canopy (they have those too!).
Posh products, which include all of the above and then some, can be found at Nordstrom and at speciality children’s and dance boutiques. If your girls are still too young for the fancy dance costumes, keep your eyes open for the incoming infant dance-costume line that Posh will be launching later this year. Now you can plant the princess seed even earlier to ensure a long-lasting obsession with every girl’s favorite color–PINK! |
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