Ahhhhhhhhhhh......Beautiful Villains, those campy, deliriously mean, and vivacious creatures who sliver into our books and onto our silver screens with such mischief we find ourselves hopelessly mesmerized - who could be better candidates for our latest CDS Happening?
Some of the most popular Halloween costumes are based on what these "hotties" wear for a reason, and that reason is because they are often on people's minds at this time of the year. And why not? No one really relates to the murder and/or mayhem of it all when they don their classic outfits to play their famous roles one more time.
However, our designers weren't to just design costumes because that would never work in designing couture clothing. Instead they were given the task of designing clothes for their favorite villains, clothing that would let your dolls portray these characters....kind of. The clothing they were challenged to create for these divas was to be designed in a modern, couture "I can wear that any day of the week and be villainously beautiful" kind of style.
And, since many of the popular magazines use these bad girls in their October issues also, we thought we'd showcase these entries in their own little, individual magazines. Toward this end these shop owners not only needed to submit pictures and descriptions of their ensembles, they were also encouraged to suggest their magazine title, and some article titles that might appear there, too.
So, first I'll tell you something about their choices, and then you can proceed to see the final product – there will be a link.
 |
| Pauline Lyngard, BW Designs |
Marquise Isbelle de Merteull
With her portrayal of this character not only did Glenn Close give one of her best performances, she also helped the producers of Dangerous Liasions make this adaptation of the famous 17th century French novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a relevant and fascinating piece of cinema. The scheming Madame de Merteull is amorally set on bending everyone to her own will, no matter the method or the cost. She delightfully fascinates us as her ego, vantiy, intrigue, and war between the genders is exposed. Swooning passion, icy stares, and hushed, measured speeches are characteristics that make us scurry for popcorn before it begins lest we have to tear ourselves from the screen even for a minute during this performance.
 |
| Lana Turk, Doll Couture by Lana |
The Snow Queen
One of the most influential of all fairy tale archetypes seems to me to be the Snow Queen. This fearsome character was invented by Hans Christian Andersen in 1844, and came to the widescreen as a delightful animated Soviet film in 1957 that continues to run on YouTube today. She is the absolute embodiment of evil, a kidnapper of children, and freezer of hearts who continues to inspire modern-day authors. Because, even though the Snow Queen story has many characters that represent evil, this main character is the most mesmerizing. There is always something to be said for a hauntingly beautiful villain who conjures up both evil and magic - a beautiful villain such as the Snow Queen.
 |
| Karen Kolkman, Kolkman Kreations |
The Evil Queen
Yes, she's beautiful, jealous and vindictive, and a lethal lady who makes us all perk up when we first glimpse her pondering her beauty in front of her also-evil Magical Mirror in Disney's classic, Snow White. Much like the Evil Stepmother in Cinderella, she uses Snow White as her own personal housekeeper, but that is where the similarities cease. Cindy's Stepmom never comes close to evoking the animosity of this Evil Queen! When her favorite Mirror Man tells her one day Snow White is the new IT girl around the castle, this Evil Queen cries out that she is definitely not gonna accept that! So when her manslave fails to carry out her murderous plot, she resorts to making herself a much-less beautiful witch to finish her plan. Its not to that witchy aspect of this character that our designer was asked to design - thank goodness!
 |
| Gayle Chavez, Oohlalaz |
Catherine Tramell
One of the most campy characters of the bunch is an unlikely psycho-killer, Catherine Tramell, portrayed in the film Basic Instinct by Sharon Stone. Released in 1992, this film had a femme fatale star character who set the model for the many psycho killer scenarios that have been developed to date. Dear Catherine was called "...one of the most evil characters ever created, on Hannibal Lecter's level" in an early review by a French critique. Unlike Hannibal, she is able to use her feminine wiles to manipulate everyone around her for her own amusement. Add to this the fact that she also enjoys killing people, and you immediately know why the American Film Institute put her on their Best Villains list. Thank goodness she'll never end up on a real Most Wanted poster!
 |
| Elizabeth Fenton, Nasha's Doll Boutique |
Fatima Blush
Another of our favorite beautiful villains, Fatima Blush, also relied on her femininity to exact her desired outcome. Even the author of the Bond film, Never Say Never Again, Ian Fleming, wrote "Her appearance in tight-fitting black rubber suiting will make the audiences swoon." And swoon we did when the ravishing Barbara Carrera stepped out of the wings to play this over-the-top evil diva. From her initial appearance to her demise, she plays at dominating Bond. Unfortunately, this is a task she'll never achieve because the dastardly evil Blush inevidibly became the first Bad Bond Girl to be killed by Bond face-to-face.
 |
| Terry Barner, Off The Wall by Terrkat |
Ursula
If you're looking for trouble you've come to the right place; if you're looking for help don't rely on this face! Yes, she has a face only a mother can love, but there's something about it that makes people trust her, and something about it that makes her qualify as a beautiful villain. Ursula is the nemesis of Ariel as she makes her debut in The Little Mermaid, but it's not from her lack of trying to be a diva. Hand in hand with her two trusted eel-accomplices, she works it so she can capture any poor, unfortunate sole who comes to her looking for help. She's a nasty one to deal with, indeed, so you'd be wise not to enter into a deal with her because she has no intention of making good on any deal she might make!
 |
| George Gonzalez, Angelic Dreamz |
Odile
It should have been realized during the first appearance of The Lake of the Swans by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, that there was some evil attached to the ballerina known as Odette/Odile. The ballet, later known as Swan Lake, and adapted from a Russian folk tale, was performed initially in 1877 to less than stellar reviews. Its lead performer, Anna Sobeshchanskaya, was also wrongly accused of theft. Today this is one of the most revered ballets, and it weaves a tale of magic and enchantment. It reveals the evilness of our final beautiful villain, Odile, who has an evil scheme to ensure Odette remains in the swan form cast onto her by Odile's unknowing accomplice, the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. In the end good does prevail but Odette and her beloved Siegfried must realize their forever love in heaven. It's wicked, and evil, and an oh so beautiful story with an equally beautiful villain we love to hate.
And be sure to stop by Couture Doll Shop to view everything that is new over there, or maybe to do a little shopping for your fave diva!
See you again soon!
