The Fashion File - Vitta Vera

The Fashion File - Vitta Vera

How did you discover BJDs (SDs, Delf, Ai whatever types you collect)?

Many years ago I was looking through a Japanese magazine when I saw a spread on some absolutely beautiful dolls - I'd never seen the like! I still remember one was sleeping, in all white, and breathtaking. Since they were customized "one-offs" I didn't find out that they were actually available for purchase until years later when I finally got wind of Volks and their Super Dollfies. I was enchanted and every once in a while I'd remember and want to find out more about them, but no one I knew had heard of them and I never saw any in person or much in print until it occurred to me one day to type "Super Dollfie" in an ebay search and my eyes went O_O. I was amazed at the variety for sale, and at the volume of clothing and wigs - and it was there that I saw auctions for Cerberus Project/Luts Delfs. I've had a love affair with Luts ever since. From there I discovered Customhouse, Angelregion and all the other doll making companies in on this wonderful art, and after deliberating/waiting for many months I got my first girl, Shyada (Delf Dark Elf Soo), in January. She was joined recently by Vasnya (Dark Elf Soo Vampire head), who currently shares her body.

What got you started in making clothing for them?

One of the first and largest appeals of these dolls, to me, was their customizability. I am an artist in a lot of different fields, and foremost like creating whole entities - worlds, beings, stories, music scores, what have you, in a lot of detail. So of course I'd have to design a lot of my Shyada's clothing for her (I actually haven't really gotten around to that yet)! The trouble was, though I could sew, I couldn't sew well enough to meet the standards my mind set for me, so I asked Sylvia Vera, a professional seamstress and now my awesome business partner, to help me out and teach me some things.

When did you first start selling your clothing?

These dolls are an expensive hobby and I didn't have disposable income at first (still don't, really). Plus, it's great to share things one likes with others who will appreciate them. So selling some of my stuff was always one of my goals. The first time Sylvia helped me make a top for Shyada, it worked out so well that I asked her to join up with me, and I'm so grateful that she did. We got some patterns together and made our first full outfit to sell around Easter of this year (Primavera) and it was received very well! Some people also started to ask us for commissions based on the outfits we put out, then commissions with unique designs, and it was history from there.

What inspired your business name?

Vitta Vera actually doesn't mean anything in an existing language - it's a phrase (Stall of Soul Makers) in a project language I've worked on - but it does come quite close to the Italian "true life". Although none of us are Italian, Master Sylvia's family and I decided on it because it had a nice sound and was distinct, has great aesthetic abbreviations (Vive!), and included one of our names. :) The double-t that keeps it from being Italian is a factor in some design elements I have in mind for later and makes for a nice pronunciation, I think.

Did you encounter any obstacles before selling/marketing your clothes?

There are a lot of designs that we haven't yet done because they're elaborate and we haven't had the time to take them on or to figure out how to streamline them so that they don't end up costing people hundreds of dollars. Lots of outfits we've offered have had things I wanted to add/extend, but that we felt would drive up the cost to the customer too much. Plus, we don't have as much time to work on this as when we started; I also work full time. Sometimes it makes for late site updates. But it comes with the territory…

What is your favorite fabric/material to work with?

Straight, light cotton is the easiest material to work with so far - easy to cut, iron, trim, pleat, measure, run straight through the machines, etc. It's great when a design or commission calls for it. I think flowing fabrics like chiffons are the prettiest, and my favorite fabric colors are mixes of black textures (black lace and fishnet on black silk with black satin flowers, for instance) and pretty somber color gradients (I've got some lovely ones we'll be doing stuff with soon!)

What is your least favorite fabric/material to work with?

So far, satin has been the biggest culprit, I guess. Certain satins are really slippery and disintegrate a little when cut. When we were making our second vampire dress commission in a new black satin, it was slipping all over the place when we tried to make the bodice; it might as well have been banana peels. It was also hard to fit exactly, and since then we've changed the design of the dress a little to accommodate such things. We haven't gotten around to working much with leather, fur, rubber or other alt-fabrics yet, though - I imagine those will be "fun."

What has been the most rewarding part of making clothes?

Just having an outfit finished and documented, a working product of an image created in my mind, gives me such a good feeling. It's also wonderful to have customers show us their dolls wearing our outfits and enjoying them. But during the process, simply learning new tricks and becoming surer of the way things work, and knowing how well it will help in future designs, is awesome. Makes me feel like I'm growing.

What is the most difficult part of making clothes for your dolls?

Sometimes a pattern just won't work for something we're making and we have to start over and tweak - there'll be much stitch removing. Plus once in a while, working together, there will be language problems. Master Sylvia is much better at English than I am at Spanish, but many aspects of sewing have to be very precise…occasionally we can't concur on how something is supposed to go because it's hard to translate properly. :) And rarely, a customer will ask for something in a certain fabric or with a certain decoration that is just IMPOSSIBLE to find locally. Also, I spent 6 months looking for a decent tiny eyelet setter before I finally recently found one. (Expect more eyelet work!)

Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

I've played with hundreds of character designs for more than a decade, so some of those pop up routinely as inspiration. There's also a lot coming from international fashion scenes and subcultures (EGL, punk, fantasy, etc. and mixes between different ones). One thing I like to do with the outfits is sell a kind of tiny story ghost along with them - not a rigidly enforced history but a hint as to what the outfit might be at one time, in one place. This is why our outfits usually have a quote or small declaration of some kind in their descriptions. It lends a bit of power of idea to them, which make them a little more special to me. Sometimes I'll see a cut of something or a fabric I like, and then the story ghost comes and inspires a whole outfit. ^-^

What has been your favorite outfit/piece so far and why is it your favorite?

I suppose my favorite limited outfit we've put out would be "Each Day an Angel" (seen on right) - it's not the technical best, or something I would wear myself (though I love the design), but I really enjoy the abstract I came up with to support it - plain-clothes slightly urbanized angel. And it has such potential for more - I am definitely at one point going to make a super version of that outfit, adding a lot more pieces to it - perhaps making it a full mini wardrobe. It's like a story in itself. And I LOVE the idea of plain-clothes or stylized versions of mythological characters or abstractions - I plan to take on a bunch more. My favorite commission is probably the design for the vampire dresses (seen above - first picture), although they're hard to make and have taken 4 iterations just to completely tweak the pattern. They end up pretty elegant (a favorite quality of mine), and also have potential to be amazing confections (but we've kept them simplified for now so the price won't be astronomical).

Where do you usually sell your clothing?

We started selling exclusively in the Den of Angels marketplace, but we now list all new outfits on our website, vitta-vera.net, and occasionally we sell things on ebay, too. Of course, anyone is welcome to email me to request a commission (or a faceup, for that matter). All details are on our site.

Are there any tips or advice for novice "seamstresses" you'd like to share?

Don't be afraid of anything! This is something I keep having to remind myself of, but it's not the end of the world if stuff doesn't go right. You can always buy more thread, so don't obsess about wasting it (to change threads quickly, tie the ends together and pull through the machine/serger instead of re-threading, unless yours can't handle it). Doing something over is tedious, but it won't kill you. ^-^ Try for perfection, but don't get so discouraged/paranoid that you stop altogether. If it's a structured outfit, plan it out first. And if you want something to fit right, take lots of accurate measurements!

Who is your favorite model?

My favorite is Shyada (DES with mature CP girl body); not only is she my darling pet project, but she's got a wonderful body for clothes; she's a dressmaker's and photographer's dream! And she is really very versatile ^-^

Who is your "dream doll"?

My dream doll is basically an amalgamation of all the CP Soo heads - that is, if Shyada's face could spontaneously change molds to regular, sleeping, AES, VDES and the like, she'd be absolutely perfect. :P I like the Luts female body best of the companies I've seen so far - solid but slender, with well placed joints and beautiful hands and feet. The mature body's bosom is a little large ^^;; but it usually ends up working great under clothing. I'd like to have a Volks sunlight F-04/newF-02 (I think) girl, and various boys and minis, maybe, but Shyada will always be my first dream.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself, your dolls or your clothing?

I just can't believe we've only been doing this for about 6 months, or that I've had Shyada less than a year - it feels like I've been doing this forever. The really cool thing is, we've barely even begun to explore the designs I have in mind for these dolls. A lot of what we've done has been uniquely conceived but rather simple/traditional in design, because that's what Master Sylvia works best with; but as I become more able to take over some of the really technical sewing, you guys can look forward to more and more interesting stuff in the future, both elaborate fantasy designs and urban casual or elegant couture. There's just so much we have to start on, so little time ^^ but it will get out eventually! And don't be shy to ask us to do something you haven't seen, because chances are we can and it doesn't hurt to try. And a big thank you to Melissa/Lyssa, Dollicieux and the bjd community for letting me share ^-^