Tonner Convention, 2008!!!

 

 

 

 

                                         

May 2008 Tonner “Dreamscapes” Convention Competition Categories

 

Competition Chairperson: Meg Hunt (meghunt@verizon.net or 703-243-7142); contact Meg for questions or clarifications on the categories listed below.

 

Child Doll Categories:

 

# 1 - World Traveler:  Marley loves to travel. She takes great care in selecting her travel wardrobe to suit her mood and the locations on her itinerary.  She also enjoys collecting costumes that reflect the national, ethnic, or cultural history of those places.  Costume your Marley – or friend Alice, Dorothy, or Lyra, --for a destination of your choosing, for her mode of travel, or in a manner that captures the traditions of the chosen destination.  Your entry will be evaluated on the quality of its execution, and how effectively it communicates your story.

 

#2 -  When I Grow Up. . . . .”:  Every child fantasizes about what he or she will do when grown-up and those fantasies can change by the day or week, as influenced by family, friends, school, movies and television.  Costume any Tonner/Effanbee child doll for his or her future, whether it be “butcher, baker, candlestick maker”, “doctor, lawyer, Indian chief” – or something else.  Quixotic or real, your entry will be judged on your creativity and workmanship in helping your wannabe realize his or her ambition.

 

#3 – In the Land of Nod:   Your favorite Tonner/Effanbee child doll is off to the Land of Nod, whether to dream of monsters and untold horrors, young love and lazy summer days, ambition and adventure, or some surreal mixture not to be unraveled in daylight.  Costume your doll for his or her visit in the land of nod.  Your entry will be judged on imagination and execution of the theme.

 

Fashion Doll Categories:

 

#4 - Shall We Dance?:  Ballet, tap, jazz, modern, folk, disco, street, tribal, drawing room (minuet) and ballroom (waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, rumba, salsa, or the cha-cha-cha), the dance is love, drama, sport, war, poetry, and movement.  Pick your genre and costume your choice of a Tonner/Effanbee 16-inch fashion doll – or fashion doll pair -- for the dance.  You may use the ballet foot, the fashion doll foot, or a flat foot so long as the choice is in character to the dance.  You may tell a story, capture the spirit of your chosen dance, or explore the fashion of dance.  Your entry will be judged on creativity, workmanship, and imagination. 

 

#5 - Venus de Milo:  Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, called Venus by the Romans and immortalized in the famous sculpture “Venus de Milo.”  Now, you are the artist, seeking to create with your favorite Tonner/Effanbee female fashion doll, your own Venus de Milo vision for our time using fabric, your skills as a designer, and embellishments appropriate for your vision.  Your entry will be judged on its overall beauty, skill of execution, and your creativity in capturing the theme.

 

#6 - Blue-Butterfly Day:  Ellowyne and Pru each have their own tastes in fashion.  Blue-Butterfly Day is poem by renowned poet Robert Frost.  Draw your inspiration from the poem or an element of the poem to costume either Ellowyne or Prudence and call the result “Blue-Butterfly Day.”  Your entry will be judged on imagination, skill, and creativity of the resulting fashion.

 

It is blue-butterfly day here in spring,
And with these sky-flakes down in flurry on flurry
There is more unmixed color on the wing
Than flowers will show for days unless they hurry.

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire

They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.

 

#7 – A 1950’s Cocktail Party:  The 1950s represent an iconic period in fashion history as women cast off the hardship of the World War II years, preceded as it was by the Great Depression.  Feminine glamour was celebrated even as the fashion reflection of glamour transitioned throughout the decade.   Your Tonner/Effanbee female fashion doll has been invited to a cocktail party that will pay homage to the Fashion 1950s. Costume your girl for the occasion, freshening what would otherwise be pure vintage.

 

#8 - On the Champs Élysées:   Your favorite Tonner/Effanbee male or female fashion doll is on the Champs Élysées in Paris in May 2008.  As described by a View on Cities, “This impressive promenade stretches from the Place de la Concorde to the Place Charles de Gaulle, the site of the Arc de Triomphe. At its western end the Champs-Elysées is bordered by cinemas, theaters, cafés and luxury shops. Near the Place de la Concorde, the street is bordered by the Jardins des Champs-Elysées, beautifully arranged gardens with fountains and some grand buildings including the Grand and Petit Palais at the southern side and the Elysée at its northern side.”  Whether your favorite doll is shopping, touring, working, dining, or relaxing in one of the many gardens, he or she needs to be appropriately attired for life on the grand boulevard.  Please dress him or her for a day on the Champs Élysées. Note: This is a day-wear category.  Your entry will be judged on creativity, originality and execution in interpreting the theme.

 

# 9 - Fire and Ice Ball:  Your favorite Tonner/Effanbee female fashion doll has been invited to attend the celebrated “Fire and Ice Ball,” a charity gala where the glitz of Hollywood mixes with the staid glamour of old money, and the personality and individuality of theatre and fashion. Admittance can only be gained through private invitation and by arrival in colors, fabric, and fashion appropriate for the ‘Fire and Ice” theme.  Your entry will be judged on your interpretation of the theme in your fashion doll’s gown and its execution.

 

General Category:

 

#10  - Crafts/Embroidery: Are you skilled in crafts, including quilting, embroidery, and any other homespun art or artistic product? Please submit your craft themed to HIGH FASHION in this competition category. Item must have been made by the entrant and will be judged on creativity, design, and quality of workmanship. Please note that typically, this category is not for dolls or doll outfits; which are better suited toward the design categories; judges may choose to move doll and doll outfits from this category to any of the other competition categories that may be more appropriate.  If a doll or doll outfit is entered into this category, the entrant should be prepared to explain the nature of the craft used and its appropriateness to the category; for example, knitted clothing, hand-embroidered fabrics used, etc.