#elven aesthetics
After a two years hiatus from the doll hobby, this one doll has inspired me again, and I am so very grateful, because fun size is fun!
Here is my 41cm Iman (Dollshe Erica Snow Fashion 26F in Pale Tan). She is inspired, of course, by the living goddess Iman Abdulmajid, who I’ve adored all my life. My little Iman is also quite a fashionista, and this is only the first of her many future looks.
Since these mini beauties are still relatively new, and finding fitting clothes and accessories is a bit of a guesswork, here is what I’ve used for her so far: faceup and mohair wig by me, glass eyes are Dollmore 8mm flatbacks ( had to file off the edges to make them a better fit), top by me, jeans are TTYA slim MSD fit, shoes are from ebay - a Tonner American Model size.
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Having been in the bjd hobby since 2008, I owed my inspiration to two OCs shelled both as the SOOM classics, MechaAngels Sabik and Meisa. Their oldschool beauty still enamors me, but I wanted to downsize (try to find props and clothes for an 80cm giant!), literally, reshelling my Yaret and Anna as smaller, SD-sized dolls. Since Soom has released a SG Sabik, Yaret wasn’t an issue, but finding a doll for Anna was tricky. In truth, Soom Meisa is “too pretty” for the character, whose beauty I always saw as unconventional and soulful in the way of Jennifer Connelly. When I saw Dollshe Aramis, I felt it could be reshaped just right for the character.
So, here she is, my new Anna Reilly, a Dollshe femAramis on Dollstown 18 y.o., modified by me.
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My new Anna, inspired - of course! - by the incomparable Jennifer Connelly. Guess what sculpt? Hint: it’s modded af.
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FINAL LOOK
This Jareth the Goblin King’s dark armor has been created in 1:3 scale for a 70cm BJD. I hope the tutorial below is helpful to those who wish to recreate the outfit for their doll or themselves.
PREFACE
When approaching Jareth’s costume design, it’s essential to understand that he is a monster. He steals human infants. He probably eats them too, which should explain all the human bones present in his garment. Also, goblin craftsmanship is not the most elegant, there always will be a degree of crudeness to his look. That said, Jareth is a fey of royal standing, so he will have luxurious elements to his outfit, with especial attention to armor.
REFERENCE
Since in the movie Jareth changes clothes more often than a Bollywood star, I started by choosing the outfit. I’ll admit, I hoped to cheat by using the action figure as a reference, expecting it to be an authentic replica. I was wrong. The figurine, although very well made, has some principal inaccuracies in the design of the chest piece and the cape. Since Jareth’s cuirass is the centerpiece of the outfit, I believe it’s very important not to follow the initially incorrect design of the action figure, like many cosplayers do, but rather refer to the film itself.
The problem is, the scene of Jareth appearing to Sarah in his regal armor is very dark, so the costume is hardly visible even in the HD version of the film. The only other scene displaying this outfit is the “You have 13 Hours…” dialogue before Sarah enters the Labyrinth. The lighting is much better there, but, again, there is no clear full body shot. I was lucky to find some promotional photographs from the press kit which features both characters in focus, with enough details to use for reference.
After examining the reference images, it becomes clear that the diamond-shaped cuirass is worn on top of the leather doublet, the bottom of the doublet showing from underneath the armor. I outlined the armor and mirrored the image to create a template, which I used to figure out the proper size for the doll.
CUIRASS
The cuirass was sculpted out of pewter Sculpey, but any polymer clay will do, because it has to be painted black for the final look anyway. I painted it with acrylics, adding some blue and purple shimmer to the edges for definition. I specifically tried to achieve an organic look and feel to the armor, as if the goblins crafted it out of some monstrous insect shell.
This chest piece is sized to fit a Dollshe DSAM, but it fits a Hound as well.
CLOAK
In the film, the cape consists of two pieces of fabric: the inner shimmery blue material and the outer dark ripped material. For the inner part, I used a royal blue lamé, which I crinkled by hand to add texture. For the outer part, I wanted a fabric with an organic, uneven texture, but I couldn’t find exactly the right kind, so I had to resort to making one myself. I found a triple-layered Italian silk chiffon in warm off-black, where top and bottom layers are hammered, and the middle layer is plain, and carefully cut holes in the top layer, fraying the edges of the holes. Then I applied streaks of metallic cobalt paint, which added color and dimension to already complex texture of the cape.
The shoulder piece and the collar are made of black and dark-brown leather of different textures. To keep the shape of the collar, I inserted a piece of steel wire into a woven ribbon, and glued it to the back of the collar with Aileen’s fabric glue. Same ribbons decorate the front of the collar.
The bones were sculpted out of Sculpey, and gently aged with acrylic paint. Please follow the manufacturer’s instructions when baking your polymer clay!
DOUBLET
The doublet is sewn out of glove-quality leather (a recycled skirt), bottom edge folded and trimmed using Aileen’s fabric glue for structure. The closure is a self-adhesive black Velcro strip. Cuff trim is painted with metallic acrylic.
Theleggings are store-bought, any tight leather-like black pants will do.
Theboots are regular store-bought riding boots with some leather trim I added to replicate the style of Jareth’s boots. With a slight modification, any black boots will do. His are much more elegant, but I’m fine with these boots because they add stability to a doll when standing on his own (also, I was too lazy to make boots from scratch ;) ).
I hope this was helpful, and best of luck with your own project!
