Dollheart Box-opening & Review

On Tuesday, I was able to pick up my order from Dollheart. Here's the box-opening and a review, partly cross-posted from DoA.

Mr. Black came to supervise the box-opening process.



Starting to open the package.



The inner box with a post-card sized print inside.



First glimpse of the outfit!



I put the hat on Mr. Black, who was affronted by its girlyness.



The accessories in the bottom of the box: stockings, corset, and neck ruffle.



Close-up of Aurora to show the dress without the neck ruffle and and corset. I actually prefer it without the ruffle, but options are always nice to have.



The full outfit. I'll have to iron it eventually, but I'm very pleased on the whole.



I'm so glad that Aurora can now have an outfit that fits her properly. For ages, she's been stuck with the robe I made her.

In this dress, she reminds me a bit of some post-impressionist character. Her face seems to emerge from the sooty colours of mourning like one of Edvard Munch's figures, only with the urban mask stripped away to reveal a uncorrupted subject.



This picture was to show how amazingly well the stockings fit around her feet. There are no floppy edges at the toe or heel. I'm not sure if it really can be see very well in this picture though.



Aurora and Mr. Black. :0)




* * *

The Den of Angels Company Review


* What did you order?

GD000011 - Alysha

* When did you order?

March 6th, 2012

* Did you order directly from the company, or through a distributor or dealer?

Directly from the company

* How was the communication?

Really excellent! I only found out about the Dollheart.com site being hacked after I placed my order, and since that was the site I had used, this caused me a quite a bit of alarm. I emailed the Dollheart.net site in a bit of panic, asking if they had received my order, and they replied within the hour (they were actually that fast!) to reassure me that everything was fine.

* How easy was it to pay?

Almost too easy. >.<

* How long did it take to ship?

The package arrived on March 19th, 2012-- faster than I expected.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?

Definitely!

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?

A little better.

* Were you satisfied with the product?

Very much. The only thing that surprised me was that the dress fabric had kind of strange, synthetic feeling to it. The zipper is a bit stubborn too, so I will have to be careful about it in the future. Otherwise, the dress is very beautiful, fits the intended doll perfectly, and can make a number of different looks with the accessories.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?

N/A

* Would you order from this company again?

I would without any hesitation.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?

Certainly, provided that I was accurately informed of their condition.


* * *

A Thief of Clothes

Mr Black: And so I found many treasures hidden in the cave, but there were too many for me to carry home.

Marlowe: You must have been disappointed.

Mr Black: Most terribly!



Eric: Pardon the interruption, but have either of you seen my clothes?

Marlowe: Have you tried the clothing drawer?

Mr Black: Perhaps ask Elena, she has a history of eating clothes.



The most familiar example of reptile molting is when snakes shed their skin.



Elena: I like to think of new clothes as an opportunity to choose different identities.

Aurora: His trousers are too short on you.

Elena: All the better to display my toes. Next, I will try the jacket.

Eric: Ahem.



Eric: Why are you wearing my clothes?

Elena: I have no recollection of wearing your clothes. Especially not your jacket.

Eric: But the empirical evidence is here. And I have a witness.



Aurora: Even I am not sure how she suddenly came to be wearing the jacket.

Elena: Why would I wear trousers that are too short for my legs? Your accusations are absurd.

Eric: Oh. You know, Aurora, I am suddenly reminded of a dream.

Aurora: What was your dream?

Eric: There was a garden in Spring.



I feared there would be serpents in the garden. Instead, there was a lady amongst the flowers.



She told me not to be afraid.



I felt that she could help me, and I confessed to her all my deepest regrets and wishes.





When she had heard everything, she reached out with her small hand,

and told me to drink the dew from a flower.



I woke with the taste of an August sunset on my lips.





Aurora: I had the same dream. The sunset tasted like Chardonnay.

Elena: This morning I had a nightmare.




Eric appeared, wearing my favourite dress.

He left me his cast-off clothes.



Everyone said that he looked better in my dress than I ever had.

I asked for my dress back.



I pleaded on bended knee.



I offered him treasures untold.

Golden rings, radiant jewels, and ancient secrets.



But he said he would keep the dress.



So, to cheer myself, I decided to see how well his clothes suited me.

Marlowe: that case, Elena, listen to a re-occuring vision that I have frequently reflected upon.



It is an unseasonably warm evening.

So warm that you are not wearing many things.



Yet even being thus sensibly attired, you complain of the heat.

I advise you to remove all of your remaining garments and to instead wear three drops of French perfume.



And you agree that this is sage advice.





What do you suppose this delightful vision could possibly mean?



Elena: Probably that you really do think Eric would look better in my dress.

Marlowe: What? :-O No...

Eric: I have no desire whatever to wear anyone's dress.



Elena: Even if it made you irresistible?

Eric: There is no one I am trying to seduce. Here.





* * *

Later

Mr. Black: So what have we learned today?

Elena: Not to give undue credence to peculiar dreams. And to ask before I borrow other people's items.



Eric: To be more careful of where I keep my clothes and to stay out of Elena's dreams, if I can help it.



Aurora: I have been reminded of the importance of trust and of the many mysteries in the world.



Mr. Black: And you, Marlowe?



Marlowe: Well, disregarding that Elena's actions may be less irrational than they first appear . . .



. . . chiefly that you could not carry home all the treasures from the cave.



Mr. Black: Egads, after all those words, I did not expect such an insightful insight at the end!

Elena: I like how you explained everything, Marlowe.

Marlowe: Thank-you. It was nothing, really.


* * *

Notes: It's finally done! This photostory took so many detours, re-writes, and re-shoots, I have almost lost track. I enjoyed seeing (nearly) everyone tell their own mini-narratives. After this though, I may try to write slightly less strange photostories.

In other news, I have a Raurencio Studio Adonis head on order and am planning to try it on an EID female body. It's a rather expensive experiment though, so unless my mind is boggled with the amazingness, I might not be keeping the body and/or head.

In Limbo

I'm starting a new term in a few days, and the dread of that has more or less paralyzed me.

Den of Angels is also hosting a contest, and I am nearly at my wits' end with curiosity. After the results are posted, I may or may not have images to share.

There is also a photostory in the works, and assuming that I can escape the paralysis of school-induced dread and doll-induced suspense, I will finish it quite soon.

Until I have something substantial to post, here is Mr. Black looking out of a window at an airport in San Francisco. He is in a bag because I disguised him as a carry-on.

Eating Clothes

The Prologue













* * *

In the morning



Mr. Black: Hello, Marlowe. Are you very well today?

Marlowe: I suppose I've been worse.



Mr. Black: What is that you are writing? Something about Elena?

Marlowe: No, nothing, and don't speak of her to me.



Mr. Black: No? Well, are you aware that your appearance seems somewhat more neglected than usual?



Marlowe: Thanks.

Mr. Black: I'm glad that you appreciate my honesty. You could repay the favour, if you like.

Marlowe: Why not tell me about your adventures today instead?

Mr. Black: That does sound pleasant. If you insist, I could tell you some things.



Marlowe: Yes, tell me some things.



Mr. Black: Hm, that does not seem like a very natural position for listening.



Mr. Black: I said that does not seem like--

Marlowe: For the love of heaven, be quiet. She's coming!



Elena: Hello, on the bed. Who's there?

Mr. Black: It is I. Completely alone and talking to myself very emphatically.



Elena: Hello, Mr. Black. What are these lumps in the covers?

Mr. Black: Probably explosives. But O, Elena, where are the rest of your clothes?

Elena: Have you seen Marlowe?



Mr. Black: Has he eaten all your clothes and left you with naught but expensive underwear and furs?

Elena: Something like that, but much more delicious.



Mr. Black: No wonder he feels ill. Imagine eating all those clothes.

Elena: Well, I have been quite ravenous myself, as of late.



Mr. Black: Please don't tell me you are seeking Marlowe in order to eat his clothes. That would be awful! What will he wear if you consume all his garments?

Elena: Have no fear, I will devise a plan. Perhaps after I have my way with him, he shall wear bed sheets, like these.



Marlowe: Gah.

Elena: You, Sir, have been hiding from me!



Marlowe: I surrender.

Devour my garments,

O fairest of lycanthropes.

Tear me all to ravished pieces,

until mere choked nothings remain.



Mr. Black: Egads. This garment gobbling must stop. Not only does the habit seem wantonly destructive, but it also makes no sense at all.



Elena: Marlowe, is that how I have made you feel?



Marlowe: Just recently, I've been finding myself tired and distracted. It has become hard to be alone to read or write.

Mr. Black: O, but I love reading.



Marlowe: If you fetch me a book, I will read it to you.

Mr. Black: I have a better idea; I will go so you may finish this conversation in privacy, as is proper. Then, later, we can read something.

[Exeunt Mr. Black]



Elena: I wish you had told me. I thought you liked being interrupted.

Marlowe: O, I do--rather to excess, and especially when you wear that red thing. But therein lies my difficulty. How does one dare say that something is too enjoyable?

Elena: I have many odd desires, and you are patient with them all. Why not let me repay the favour sometimes?



Marlowe: I suppose I could try that.

Elena: Please do.





* * *

Then later, as promised...



And at last.







* * *

A Note: The last image in the prologue uses part of a picture that I took of Rodin's Gates of Hell.

Also, *gloats* Marlowe finally has books. Unfortunately, Elena's corset arrived on the very same evening.

* * *