Tag Archives: silkstone barbie

Another New Arrival

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This fall, Mattel introduced another Silkstone Barbie BFMC. She’s the second in the series of new dolls that launched with the Sapphire girl, who moved in here in the summer.

Here’s their latest girl.

Silkstone Barbie BFMC Collection #2

Here’s a link to the landing page at Mattel.

I had mixed feelings about her, even though she’s pretty. I don’t love the articulated body, I wasn’t sure I liked the pink velvet scrunchie bit and I wasn’t loving the price. (She was $175CAD plus shipping and now is $190CAD plus shipping.) Someone in a forum noted that they could buy a vintage Silkstone for the same price, and I had an AHA! moment.

Silkstone Barbie Continental Holiday Gift Set from 2002 joined my collection. Here’s one of the promo shots of her from the original launch.

Silkstone Barbie Continental Holiday Gift Set 2002

I like the gift sets because they come with more accessories and garments. Here’s how this one was packed:

Silkstone Barbie Continental Holiday Gift Set 2002

She has lingerie and stockings, a second pair of shoes, the outfit in the first picture plus a pair of pants, the overnight bag and the clutch purse, plus sunglasses and other goodies. (A passport! How cute is that?!) Mine was NIB and I think she was glad to get out of the box after 22 years in there. We tried on her clothes, but it was hard to get her coat over that blouse with the wide collar.

Here she is, chez moi. She’s wearing the Trench Setting coat in shot linen and the dress that matches the lining in Tana Lawn.

2002 Continental Holidays Silkstone Barbie redressed in Trench Setting coat and dress, in front of DIY wardrobe made by Deborah Cooke

I’m not sure what to make of her hair arrangement. It’s kind of a double ponytail. The two sides at the front are pulled back into a low ponytail, then there’s a higher ponytail and a bunch of loose hair in between. Here’s the back.

2002 Continental Holidays Silkstone Barbie

At least it isn’t stiff with glue or spray. I’ll leave it as is for now, but the elastics on her ponytails are over 20 years old and will degenerate soon. Then I’ll have to decide about her ‘do.

Behind her in these pix is my latest DIY carrier for the girls. This one has all of the girls’ original garments, accessories and shoes, sorted and labelled. Instead of putting braces for the dolls on the door, I covered the inside of the door with hooks (each made from a head pin with a bead) to hand and organize all the goodies. It’s lined with the same Italian paper as the first one. Putting this together and hanging everything up gave me enormous satisfaction. (There’s another clothing bar behind the front two for longer gowns, too.)

2002 Continental Holidays Silkstone Barbie redressed in Trench Setting coat and dress, in front of DIY wardrobe made by Deborah Cooke

I also have been fiddling with that Advance pattern again, In Paris 4750. (You might remember that I made the Balenciaga ballgown with lace overlay.) I printed out the pieces for the Bar Suit (Christian Dior’s iconic New Look) but it ended up too big. I’ve reprinted it at 90% and the fit is better. Still fiddling with this one, but should be able to show a result to you soon. I made it of cotton this first time and will remake it in silk once I have the details right. It’s also made me realize that all of the girls have their hair down, and I need one with an updo to model the Dior suit.

That also meant I had a good look at this new girl’s clothes and bags, with a mind to copying them. I never like the fabrics chosen, and there are shortcuts that I might not emulate – the skirt, for example, isn’t lined – but there are other potential take-aways. At the very least, I may remake some of the original garments in fabrics that I like better. There’s always something with the girls!

Another Doll Box

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We’ve looked a few times at my DIY doll wardrobes – here and here – but this time, I made a carrying case for my dolls alone.

large gold polka dot trunk by ashland

As usual, I used a trunk made by Ashland that I found at Michaels. I have four of this style, two large ones – like the one at right – which are wardrobes for Tyler and friends, then two smaller ones. To date, those had sweaters and coats for Tyler.

One of them has been liberated and become a carrying case for the Silkstone girls. I have some storage bins for the girls, but I’m an unboxer and when they’re on their backs, their hair gets messed up. I wanted them to be standing.

As usual, I removed one handle from the trunk. This time, that was easy as the handles are knotted cord. I pushed that second cord through the eyelets for the top one, to double up the handle. I also added felt feet to the bottom.

This time, I used foamboard for my siding pieces instead of the heavy bookbinder’s board I used for the first wardrobe. I cut them to fit, then papered them over. I put the “floor” in first – which covers the eyelets in the bottom from the removed handle – then the three “walls”. In each wall, I cut paired slits and pushed ribbon through them so that the dolls can be secured in place. The ribbon is taped on the back side so it won’t move.

Here’s a peek inside:

carrying case for Barbie Silkstone dolls made by Deborah Cooke

It’s kind of cozy for the girls, but that keeps them from falling over. This case holds 8 dolls – which means I have room to buy 3 more. (mwahaha) The extra ribbons are tied in place.

I feel like I should add a bar table in the middle with cocktails so they have something to do in there in the dark. Maybe a mirror ball or chandelier overhead…

I put the articulated girls on the door since they’re lighter.

carrying case for Barbie Silkstone dolls made by Deborah Cooke

Best to a Tea still needs to have her hair done. (No wonder she’s slumped against the wall. Bad hair days are depressing.) The little white wedge of foamboard needs to be covered to match the floor – I forgot that the girls needed to be elevated a bit to ensure that the door can be easily closed. I also ran out of the ribbon I used in the main case, so these girls get a coordinating one. They don’t seem to mind.

I’m kind of amazed that three of them are wearing dresses made from the same pattern – Trench Setting from Hankie Chic – which means I need to sew them some new things. At least they’ll be tidy and safe from dust while I do that.

Next up, the big girls get storage boxes…and the duplicate box of the very first carrying case I made is becoming a wardrobe, too. Instead of space for three girls on the inside of the lid/door, it’ll have lots of hooks for purses and hats. The girls will be organized!

Diorama Inspiration

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I’ve been sewing clothes for my dolls again recently – I’ll show you when something is done. There’s a lot of handwork on this particular couturier gown! – and went looking for a video I watched a long while ago. I found a trove of videos made by Mattel for Silkstone Barbies which show fantastic dioramas.

This one from 2012 is called Behind the Scenes of the Atelier. It features the five new dolls, but also a really terrific diorama. It’s like a visit to a Paris couturier in the 1950’s. This is a longer video with some behind-the-scenes commentary from the designer, Robert Best.

The 2015 video – again showcasing five new dolls – takes us to a runway show at a Paris couturier. There’s also a quick visit to the atelier again. I love the colour choices, how the backgrounds are all black and cream (hello, Coco Chanel) so that the dolls really contrast.

There are six dolls showcased in the 2013 video (there was a new Ken that year plus five Barbies) on a ship similar to the Titanic. This one has a fashion editor voiceover and is sepia-toned.

The 2011 video showcases five dolls, and the diorama setting is a train station – the train being the Trans Siberian Express. it reminds me of the opening scenes of the movie Murder on the Orient Express, the one with Michael York.

This video from 2014 spotlights one doll (Fiorella) in an Italian town. I like how it starts in black-and-white then changes to colour.

And this is the one I was looking for in the first place! It’s from 2016 and is the reason my girls now have a Vespa. (Who knew such a thing existed in 1/6 scale?) Again, there are five new dolls, photographed this time in a photographer’s loft – but check out the Paris streetscape! That’s a diorama. I would love the opportunity to explore it more closely.

I went hunting about information about the artist(s) who built the dioramas or any sites that show the dioramas in more detail. There is this video showing the artists building the Russian train diarama, which is huge!

There is also a suite of posts on this blog about the 2012 convention, where the atelier diorama was displayed. I can’t imagine having the chance to look closely at that beautiful diorama! The blogger mentioned a panel at that conference with the Mattel team, including set designer Lars Auvinen. Ha! We have a name! Here are some of the Barbie sets on his website.

I also discovered that the Silkstone Barbie Fashion Model Collection is coming back, according to Robert Best, which is awesome news. I can’t wait to see what he designs for the girls next.

There were four dolls in 2019, of which I bought only Best in Black, and three in 2020. I bought Best to a Tea. The Gala’s Best is usually listed as the last Silkstone Barbie, but she won’t be any longer. These two are also the only two articulated Silkstones in my collection – this body sculpt is thinner than the original Silkstone doll.

2019 Silkstone Barbie Best in Black
2019 Barbie Silkstone Best in Black
2020 Silkstone Barbie Best to a Tea
2020 Barbie Silkstone Best to a Tea
The Gala's Best, 2020 Silkstone Barbie
2020 Barbie Silkstone The Gala’s Best

Here’s a reference website showing an inventory of all Barbies. FYI, clicking on the images takes you to eBay instead of a larger version of the image. Here’s the Silkstone page.

I should have a finished ball gown to show you soon. 🙂