So I've been spending the last several weeks researching, planning, ordering, buying, and even making Asian cultural clothing and accessories for my 18" My Twinn rescue dolls Berkeley, Cai, Pearl, and Kim.

 

This has probably been the largest, most complicated doll repair endeavor for me, but it's also been the most fun. Cleaning up and repairing the Twinns was just the beginning. Deciding which Asian cultures to choose and which each girl would highlight was a whole different venture. A bit of research was involved.

 

I knew at the least I wanted Chinese Hanfu style for one of the girls, as I already had a little familiarity with it. I also knew I wanted traditional Japanese style because it is one of the most iconic and beautiful. But the other two were less clear to me. There are so many lovely and signature Asian cultural styles that I had a hard time choosing. 

 

 

But first things first: out of the four dolls, Kim had originally arrived from the seller with pierced ears. That inspired me to pierce the other girl's ears in a similar style.

 

 

So to get things started, I brought out the rotary tool and got to work. I warmed up on one of my vintage Berenguer Classmates doll (who's going to get her own rescue post soon!).

 

Next thing, all the girls were wearing American Girl stud earrings similar to Kim's. I planned eventually to get them drop earrings for a more formal look once all the clothing had been decided on.

 

Berkeley was the first of the four to finally get her clothing! I thought that she looked perfect in Carpatina's Red Brocrade Japanese Kimono, especially as her long, lightly textured hair was perfect for styling into a Japanese themed "up do."

 

 

Unfortunately, Carpatina's soft-body version of their kimono doesn't come with hair accessories like the slim-body version (no idea why) so I had to search around the internet to find Japanese hair sticks and accessories for Berk's hair. The only ones I could find had to be shipped from overseas (which meant a longer wait time than I hoped for). So while I was at it, I ordered a several styles of Chinese hair ornaments as well. I knew was going to need both.

 

When I ordered the kimono, I also picked up Carpatina's Indian Sari outfit for one of the girls. I really love Carpatina's beautiful and diverse clothing styles. And this particular Kim always looked somewhat Indian to me, especially so after her renewal, so I really felt the Rajasthan Indian style clothing would suit her well. I was right! Here are Berkeley and Kim trying on their new things for size.

 

 

I had a basic idea how I wanted Berkeley's hair styled. I borrowed a little bit from a traditional maiko/ geisha style but also kept it simpler and more casual.
 

 

I actually had to re-do Berkeley's hair several times before I got it right.

 

 

 

I even tried partially loose hair, but in the end I found I liked the full "up do" better.

 

 

I wasn't able to find any American Girl drop earrings to match Berkeley's kimono so I decided to make my own. This was definitely a bit of branching out for me, as I had never made earrings before.

 

But I had recently been experimenting with some DIY elf earcuffs for American Girl dolls, so I was already feeling adventurous.

 

 

The earrings turned out well enough, considering I used what beads, wire, and gems I had lying around. While I was at it, I made jewelry for Kim too.

 

 

I was pretty happy with Berkeley's final hairstyle. When the hair accessories finally arrived, I was able to complete her look with these jeweled wooden hairsticks and flowery Kanzashi.

 

 

Also, since the obi (the broad sash) that came with the kimono was a little simple, I added a faux obiage (narrow sash) and tucked it into the obi. I think it added dimension to the overall look.

 

 

Kim's turn came next. Although the Indian styled dress I got for her is listed as "Indian Sari" (traditionally a long drape of cloth covering most of the body) it's actually more of a lehenga (flared skirt) choli (midriff top) and dupatta/chunni (veil). It's really beautiful and authentic looking. Here is the outfit right out of the box.

 

 

I added a little embellishment to the veil (and the skirt).

 

 

From what I've seen, the hair is usually worn up under the dupatta/ chunni, so I tried to put Kim's hair up as well. But because of how straight the wig is and due to the shorter length, I had to leave part of the hair down. I also pinned the front of her hair to the sides to keep the look of a center part.

 

 

Then I carefully attached the hair gem, or maang tikka to the hair, and followed some guides on how to pin the chunni veil in place. Admittedly it was a little tricky, since the veil is very thin and sheer while most full sized ones are very embellished. This was one of the reasons I added the extra trim.

 

 

The jewelry is a bit overstated, but I think it goes well with the maang tikka that came with the outfit. I feel the necklace and earrings complete the look.

 

 

Kim and Berkeley look beautiful IMO. They were also the easiest to dress, thanks to Carpatina. :)

 

 

Cai and Pearl required a bit more effort. In Part II of Dressing my 18" Twinns, I draft patterns for making their cultural clothing, including a somewhat challenging headdress that took me several tries before I got it right. . .