Tuesday: Room Shopping

Room shopping was an experience unlike any other.

You get off the elevator on any given floor,
and if you look right, you see this:

And if you look left, you see this:

Doll dealers and convention attendees set up their rooms
as miniature boutiques where you can shop 'til you drop.

At least this re-purposed Alan doll was nice enough
to hold one of the doors open for us.

It was just like trick-or-treating on Halloween:

Is this door open?
Are they selling anything good?
What kind of candy to they have?!?!

There were about 18 floors in the hotel....
that is a LOT of hallways to walk up and down.

HAH! I wish this sign was accurate.
I don't think there was anything for sale that was a "dollah" that I wanted.

Meet the artist behind Bellissima Fashions: one of a kind outfits
inspired by MAD MEN.
She's holding Mattel's Joan Holloway,
one of my favorites at home.

And OH YES, this delicious green silk sheath came home with me.
Joan would have never forgiven me!

Diane was all about finding the fashions
of her beloved dolls from the '80s and '90s.
We had a great time sorting through all the bags of clothing
and discovering the outfits we had loved well as kids.

One of my favorite designers: Dressmaker Details
by Steven Frasier from Masterstroke Canada.
He was kind of a crab when I bought a dress from him,
so I didn't ask to take a picture with him.
He did donate tote bags to everyone at the convention, though.

Now this designer was another story!
Matt Sutton is just the sweetest!
He designed the convention doll
but couldn't tell us anything about it--
it is a closely-guarded secret until the big banquet at the end.

He generally repaints Silkstone barbies and creates new clothing and jewelry.

And they go for about $550.

Pictures are free, though!

Another designer who makes to-die-for
outfits for 11 1/2 inch fashion dolls: Randall Craig.
I was surprised how puny he is in person.

Autographs are also free, apparently.

Diane, me & Sandi Holder, a well-known doll dealer.
A tiny powerhouse of a woman!

Barbie BLING rings for all your Barbie GANGSTA needs

Diane saw these dolls and said, "look, it's US!"

Our overloaded tote bags...it was madness.
Only half of these were mine, but my arms got a great workout.

So much to see, so much to see....

I did find two dolls that I have REALLY
been trying to get my hands on for a decent price.

But this was a pretty exciting moment,
when I came across THE COOLEST LUNCHBOX EVER.

This was my Barbie & the Rockers lunch box from 3rd/4th grade!