Alice/Lovely Bear

Time for another costume change! This time we went with the 50 Sailor Collar One-piece (50 セーラーカラーワンピース) in off-white x green. This outfit is also available in saxe blue, but I went with this one because I liked the contrast between the white collar and cuffs, the brown bow and the mint green dress.

It was a whole ordeal to find this particular colour variation, as it was seemingly sold out everywhere. I somehow managed to snag the last one at Dollce (yes, Dollce sells Azone products), but truthfully, when I first tried it on Alice, I didn’t like it because the dress is the same colour as her hair. I actually really regretted my purchase at first, but held onto it in case I ever got an MDD or Kumako I could give it to instead.

But recently the Azone Labelshop in Nagoya posted pics of this version of Alice in this version of the dress, and she looked so nice I decided to give it another shot. I actually really like it now and her hair being almost the same shade as the dress is something I like about the whole aesthetic, so I guess it worked out?

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Another month, another outfit. This time is a bit different, though. Alice usually likes to wear very feminine dresses with lots of frills and bows, but this month she decided to change things up a bit with a somewhat out-of-character punk rock outfit.

This is the 45 Punk Bambi!! Ghost One-piece Set (45パンク★バンビ‼︎ゴースト ワンピースset) with the AZO2 Lacy Garter Stockings (AZO2レーシィガーターストッキング) and the 50 Side Buckle Belt Boots (50サイドバックルベルトブーツ).

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The dress is a bit shorter than I expected, but I guess that’s inevitable considering it’s for OB45 and Alice is 48. The stockings, on the other hand, are a bit too long for her. I don’t know if it’s because the legs on the 48 are shorter than the 50 or because AZO2 has curvier legs that would fill out the stockings better (probably some combination of both), but the waistband and straps are way too large and don’t sit right on her hips. The boots are great and I have no complaints. They zip up on the sides and are easy to get on and off.

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I love her purple dress! it's so hard not to buy a ton of clothes when you get a new doll.

On 5/4/2022 at 11:19 PM, asukakanea said:

I love her purple dress! it's so hard not to buy a ton of clothes when you get a new doll.

Looking back at all her outfits, I think the purple one is one of my favourites as well.

Which reminds me that it’s time for another outfit change. Since she was already wearing black tights, we decided to go with the AZO2 Sahra’s a la Mode Twinkle Twinkle Dress Set (AZO2 サアラズ ア・ラ・モード twinkle☆twinkle ドレスセット) again, this time in blue x black.

If you saw it, she modeled the bordeaux x white one in January. Normally I don’t like buying the same outfit twice, but I thought they looked different enough that it was worth it to get both (there is a brown x ivory version, but it’s too similar to the bordeaux x white one).

Without further ado, here it is:

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I like that the blue goes well with her eyes and hair, but the black blouse is NOT lined so I’m a bit nervous about staining 😰

she looks great! I really like the blue!

Have you had any issues with dark Azone socks staining? Nothing of Azone's has stained for me except for a pair of navy socks Mai wore for just a night. Luckily, just her feet stained, but I've stopped having her wear dark socks ever since. 

2 hours ago, chef_mai said:

Have you had any issues with dark Azone socks staining? Nothing of Azone's has stained for me except for a pair of navy socks Mai wore for just a night. Luckily, just her feet stained, but I've stopped having her wear dark socks ever since. 

Not yet, no. Maybe Azone clothing is a bit better than Volks in that regard?

Then again, Alice is always in her bodysuit (although there haven’t been any stains on that either), and admittedly the only socks we have are the black tights in the past couple of posts. Maybe if they were thicker or made of a different material they would have stained by now?

The boots are semi-lined—the seams have strips of black fabric, but they haven’t stained either.

13 hours ago, chef_mai said:

Have you had any issues with dark Azone socks staining? Nothing of Azone's has stained for me except for a pair of navy socks Mai wore for just a night. Luckily, just her feet stained, but I've stopped having her wear dark socks ever since. 

I just got my new azone doll. since she's older but was in and unopened box when I took her out the black bloomers has stained her legs a little. she's from 2014 so I think I can get it off but I need to look up cleaning info.

49 minutes ago, asukakanea said:

I just got my new azone doll. since she's older but was in and unopened box when I took her out the black bloomers has stained her legs a little. she's from 2014 so I think I can get it off but I need to look up cleaning info.

I haven’t had to clean anything yet so I can’t speak from experience, but from what I’ve read you have several options.

Probably the cheapest and easiest is to try using a Mr. Clean magic eraser first.

If that doesn’t work, there’s Remove-Zit by Twin Peaks. The formula is specially made for vinyl dolls and action figures, and because it’s made with an active ingredient that degrades over time, they make a fresh batch for you when you order so you don’t have to worry about it being ineffective from sitting on a shelf for months or years. You can buy a small 1 oz batch for $11.95.

http://www.twinpines.com/remove-zit

You can also use Dream Rescue from Volks, which is more expensive and not guaranteed to be fresh, but supposedly can be used on Pureneemos. Some members talk about it here:

https://www.dolldreaming.com/topic/618-pure-neemo/page/31/

Volks International:

https://dollfie.ec.volks.co.jp/item/4518992403298.html

Volks USA:

https://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=3016

16 hours ago, chef_mai said:

Have you had any issues with dark Azone socks staining? Nothing of Azone's has stained for me except for a pair of navy socks Mai wore for just a night. Luckily, just her feet stained, but I've stopped having her wear dark socks ever since. 

Had no staining issues with dark clothing from Azone as of yet.

Regarding socks, I only have a couple (black and white) striped ones, but I also have a few black/dark dresses and skirts. All of them have proven fine when worn for several weeks.

18 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

I haven’t had to clean anything yet so I can’t speak from experience, but from what I’ve read you have several options.

Probably the cheapest and easiest is to try using a Mr. Clean magic eraser first.

If that doesn’t work, there’s Remove-Zit by Twin Peaks. The formula is specially made for vinyl dolls and action figures, and because it’s made with an active ingredient that degrades over time, they make a fresh batch for you when you order so you don’t have to worry about it being ineffective from sitting on a shelf for months or years. You can buy a small 1 oz batch for $11.95.

http://www.twinpines.com/remove-zit

You can also use Dream Rescue from Volks, which is more expensive and not guaranteed to be fresh, but supposedly can be used on Pureneemos. Some members talk about it here:

https://www.dolldreaming.com/topic/618-pure-neemo/page/31/

Volks International:

https://dollfie.ec.volks.co.jp/item/4518992403298.html

Volks USA:

https://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=3016

thanks for the info. I think I'll start with the mr. clean eraser because I think we have some at home, I'll invest in a bottle of remove-zit later.

On 5/11/2022 at 5:47 AM, ragnamuffin said:

Not yet, no. Maybe Azone clothing is a bit better than Volks in that regard?

That's my perception in general, that whatever materials Azone is using seems not to stain at all (until I used these socks). In general, the Azone clothes I have aren't lined while most of the darker Volks pieces are lined, whether for protection, modesty, or both.

Would Mr. Clean be OK to use on blushed AP parts, or will the abrasive action take it off? Separately, Mai picked up a small stain that wasn't for clothing related reasons on her thigh 😑.

2 hours ago, chef_mai said:

Would Mr. Clean be OK to use on blushed AP parts, or will the abrasive action take it off? Separately, Mai picked up a small stain that wasn't for clothing related reasons on her thigh 😑.

Unfortunately, any method to remove stains will take out the blushing first.

If you can be precise, you may be able to just treat the exact spot with the stain leaving any blushing near it intact.

But there's another way: Just wait. - By the nature of the staining dye, it will continue to diffuse throughout the vinyl over time and so the stain will fade and become invisible eventually. Of course it depends on the staining agent and the severity of the stain. If it is just a tiny dot, it should be gone after a few months.

23 hours ago, asukakanea said:

she's from 2014 so I think I can get it off but I need to look up cleaning info.

In the Barbie and fashion doll hobby, acne creams that use benzoyl peroxide are used. You place the cream on the stain and wrap it with plastic wrap, cover the rest of the doll in a towel, and leave the cream covered stain in the sun for a couple days. I haven't tried it on a vinyl doll yet personally but this technique works most of the time on fashion dolls. 

A friend of mine has tried it on a Dollfie. It didn't harm the doll, and removed about 80% of the stain. You can only see it if you're looking for it.

 

4 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

By the nature of the staining dye, it will continue to diffuse throughout the vinyl over time and so the stain will fade and become invisible eventually.

This is interesting. Does the blushing also diffuse into the vinyl? Is this why the blush on their cheeks sometimes disappears over time?

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

Does the blushing also diffuse into the vinyl? Is this why the blush on their cheeks sometimes disappears over time?

I guess that depends on the pigment used for the blushing. The AP body blushing does not seem to stain / vanish into the vinyl (or at least not at a very fast pace).

The fading of some blushing may just be due to the pigment decomposing naturally (under sunlight or other environmental influences).

However, if a pigment is small and mobile enough to get into the pores of the vinyl to stain it, it is also capable of diffusing further so the stain will eventually disappear.

Edit: I managed to get rid of the occasional mystery-stains on my Ellie, just by waiting.

Edited May 13, 2022 by Tierparkzone

On 5/12/2022 at 7:36 PM, Veravey said:

In the Barbie and fashion doll hobby, acne creams that use benzoyl peroxide are used. You place the cream on the stain and wrap it with plastic wrap, cover the rest of the doll in a towel, and leave the cream covered stain in the sun for a couple days. I haven't tried it on a vinyl doll yet personally but this technique works most of the time on fashion dolls. 

A friend of mine has tried it on a Dollfie. It didn't harm the doll, and removed about 80% of the stain. You can only see it if you're looking for it.

 

thanks for the info. sounds like there are a lot of different way to get the stain off.  I'll be trying to get stain off this week now that I have more time.

It’s time for another change of clothes, and I am sooo excited about this set!

This time, Alice is wearing the AZO2 Fluffy Apron Dress Set (AZO2ふわふわエプロンドレスset), which was originally the fullset for Moka/Spring Symphony (もか/春のシンフォニー) from Happiness Clover.

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You may or may not remember this outfit from a post I made earlier in this thread last summer (here). I really wanted the complete outfit, but Azone was no longer selling it. Instead, I settled for another set that had everything except the blouse and translucent waist apron, expecting that I would never get the original full outfit.

Well, never say never, I guess? I was just thinking about it a few weeks ago and randomly searched for it on YJA last week. Lo and behold, someone was listing it for a very reasonable price!

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I thought I would regret buying the same outfit twice, but actually the scoop neck blouse and waist apron are so pretty that I’m not at all mad about it. Might list the set I bought last summer for sale, so if anyone wants dibs, PM me.

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It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but underneath the blue apron is a pink skirt, and sewn into the skirt is a lace hem and two tulle paniers. They give the skirt a lot of volume so it’s quite puffy and fluffy (hence fuwafuwa in the Japanese product name), which is something that bothered me last summer, but thankfully the waist apron distracts from the bulge.

Also difficult to see in the photos are the small ribbons on the socks—the pink used for the bows and ribbons is so subdued they almost look white. The shoes are not part of the set, but with the pink bows on the straps, they go perfectly with this outfit.

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This set also comes with a translucent head scarf/bandanna, which I didn’t even take out of the packaging this time, but you can see it here from the pictures I took last summer:

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by ragnamuffin
Had to add the photos back in one at a time due to an error.

Happy New Year!

新年明けましておめでとうございます♪

Haven’t posted in here in a while since once Alice got into the Spring Magical Girl outfit, I couldn’t get her out of it. She’ll probably put it back on again after January 😅

But for now, she’s in this AZO2 Furisode Set (AZO2 振袖 set), which is described as “light green” or “yellowish-green” (萌黄色), but is more of a teal colour.

If you’ll recall, last year’s kimono was for the 45 and was too small, so I picked up this lovely AZO2 one which fits her much better. She’s wearing the same tabi (socks) and pink geta (sandals?) as last year, which thankfully go well with this colour scheme. I might post more full length pictures later… 🤔

Very pretty! Happy New Year, little one!