Sweet as Cherry Pie

This is one of the first Gene outfits that I bought in 1999 and one I have never sold (obviously!). I think it is the shoes that have swayed me to keep it - they are just too cute; red gingham with ankle straps. I've seen it with the skirt and top split and the top looks great with turned-up jeans; must do this sometime.

'Green Eyes' Gene is wearing the 'Picnic in the Country' outfit by AD. Rhinestone apple pin by Facets, and chair from the Gene Patio Set. The basket is a vintage one - the bunch of fruit on the front is an old vintage earring.

Dinner Date

I got a nude 'Distant Venus' Gene a week or so ago and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE her ... she is fantastic! Her hair colour is a kind of blush grey (if that makes sense) and is beautiful. The style wasn't great as it was long and flowing in a pony tail so I restyled it and did the copious spraying with Elnett to make it rock hard (best way with the Wu Gene hair).

I was not unhappy to have her nude as her gown was not my thing (Sci-Fi) even though it was very nicely done in a retro-Buck-Rogers kinda' way. She is a very elegant Gene and certainly will be more at home in tailored suits and gowns etc... can't see her in jeans or capris.

'Distant Venus' is wearing the Tonner 'Dinner Date' outfit (from the 'Bewitched' range) which is a very beautiful duck-egg blue beaded cardigan and an oyster pink tulle and satin skirt. Her silver pumps are from Tonner (Roxie Hart 'Finale' outfit) and the pale pink purse is from the 'In The Pink' Silkstone doll.

Parfum

Any glamourous screen siren worth their salt was linked with a cosmetic product of some sort, be it Lux Soap (Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren) or perfume (Ingrid Berman and Audrey Hepburn to name but two) and the trend continues today.

I do not like the majority of 'celebrity' endorsements of late (no reflection on the products) and in particular I loathe the Nicole Kidman/Chanel No 5 ad ... it just makes me cringe every time I see it and hear her say "I'm a dancer" (Arrrghhh!). To me she just has no cachet at all and the same goes, maybe moreso, for another Chanel No 5 endorser, Keira Knightly - well at least she had the sense not to submit us to her atrocious gummy gurn on the ads! In fact, I think that the only recent'ish Chanel/celeb ad that I liked was the Coco/Vanessa Paradis birdcage one.

Not only was Gene the 'leading lady' in this advert, but she was the inspiration for the creation of 'Ooh-La Noir' by Chopard, which is still a classic today!

'Ooh-La-La' Gene is wearing a Tonner gown called 'Mystique', gloves from 'Unsung Melody' ruby and diamond earrings and braclet by Franklin Mint and ruby and diamond necklace from Tonner.

Puppy Love

On a roll with the old 'pin-up' style shots here! Got this Gene yesterday - she's old to most people but new to me. Great price too ... $70 including shipping and NRFB. She retails at $99 so that was what I'd call a deal Wheee!

She is really, really pretty; her eyes are more of a turquoise blue than the standard Gene blue and her make-up is lovely too. She is called 'Special Scene' and was from the series of three sweater-girl dolls (with Madra and Violet). I initially liked the Madra but did not want her but when someone posted a picture of her on the ICOG board, she went on my list!

'Special Scene' Gene is wearing her original outfit and shoes, pink stole in the hatbox is from 'Blue Evening'. The hatboxes, shoes boxes and ornament boxes (tied with pink organza ribbon) are all from the AD Gene line. The white Maltese terrier is from ebay.

Cognac Evening

Way back in 1999 discovered Gene, I proceeded to buy pretty much every regular line outfit, with the exception of the more 'fancy dress' type ones such as 'Bolero' and 'Song of Spain' etc which are not really my type of thing. Well some have stayed and a lot have gone but I always loved 'Cognac Evening' and for some reason it always went sky-high on ebay and has always been one outfit that I wanted but was never successful in obtaining.

So, almost 10 years down the line I have finally succeeded in adding 'Cognac Evening' to my collection, thanks to a very sweet friend and I was worth the wait! The style and fabric are gorgeous (I think ADs attention to detail and quality slipped during the later years) with it being an earlier outfit. Sadly, the ribbon tie shoes that came with it have faded to an olive green colour (quite nice actually and still usable with something else!) so I've used the shoes from 'Champagne Supper'.

'Cocoa Crisp' Gene is modelling the cocktail dress, hat and beaded clutch from 'Cognac Evening'. The mesh gloves are from 'Blue Fox' and the shoes are from 'Champagne Supper'. Earrings are OOAK by myself. Trent is wearing 'Formal Introduction'.

Sheer Glamour

This is 'Special Appearance' Violet Waters and is the only AD Violet that I have kept. She does have a beautiful hair-do (40s rolls) and face and I must get her a new 'Wu' body sometime.

I always seem to want to dress Violet in gowns and do not have any pix of her in anything other than gowns so I must try to take some of her looking more casual.

This gown is a Tonner gown from one of the very first Sydney Chase dolls called 'Sheer Glamour' and I think the pale yellow looks great against Violet's skintone. Tonner do have some nice gowns and I still have about five of the earlier Sydney Chase dolls that I can't part with. I think the newer Sydney leaves a lot to be desired though!

'Special Apperance' Violet is wearing the Tonner 'Sheer Glamour' gown, opera-length gloves and heels (not seen). The microphone is from the AD 'USO' accessory set and the white mink stole is by Dimitha.

Leopard Lounge

I am really finding it a challenge to pose Gene after the Sybarites! This is about as 'bendy' as she can get but I think she doesn't look too wooden here, choosing her tunes!

'Green Eyes' Gene is wearing the 'Hi-Fi' capris, shell top and cardigan. Leopard-print scarf is from 'Safari' and the leopard-print shoes are by Tonner (can't remember the name!). Her fab gold charm bracelet is by Fil Baldowski as are the records - with the exception of the 'Blue Evening' album which is also from 'Hi-Fi' . The chair is the Tonner Bordeaux chair that I re-upholstered in leopard-print velvet and the 'Panther' lamp is Gene's own.