A Reintroduction (FAQs!)

Hi! It's me! (And I also live over there in the sidebar now. Hope you can handle two of me for a little while.)

Welcome back to the blog :) It's your easily-distracted, but nonetheless dedicated, host, Zaira, back again with another wordy post. I've come to the realization recently that we (my friends and I) have had this blog for a pretty long time. I think we started back in 2015, almost five years ago. Since then, things here on Cedar Island, and, consequentially, on the blog, have changed a lot. I thought that with the new year coming, it was about time that the whole site got a refresh and I wrote a little post for you all letting you know what's going on! There are some of you lovely readers that have been here since the beginning, but others of you are rather new, and I hope to get you all up to date and on the same page.

Here we go! I'll be answering some FAQs, Q and A style. 

Who runs this blog? Who writes the posts?

A very clear and simple question that has a bit of a complicated answer! Technically, all things taken into consideration, this is my (Zaira's) blog. I started it back in 2015, as I said above, as part of a school project. However, I don't write all the posts here. My friends and I all share the storytelling responsibilities!

So, who are the people who write here?

If you want to learn more about all of us, we have a bio page in the tabs up above where you can read some brief information. But, to make things simple, here's a list of all of the blog's current (as of 12/21/19) contributors, in no particular order.

Zaira Yumiko (that's me!)

Eve Mitchell

Kirsten Larson

Nikki Sherman

Cecile Rey-Noelle

Violet Montello

Piper Merriman

Marlee Ellis

Madelyn Montello

Maja Larson

Lila Ellis

Claudia Kishi

Georgia McKenzie

Gwendolyn Carlisle

Ramona Parkington

Clementine Arnold

Jayne Thomas

Rosanna Fisher

Elijah Wright

Wow, that's a lot. How did you all meet?

We all, except Elijah, who's homeschooled, are students at Cedar High School (on Cedar Island, where we live).

Are any of you related?

Yes! Eve and Georgia are half-sisters. Violet and Madelyn are fraternal twins. Lila and Marlee are sisters. Nikki and Piper are cousins, and so are Maja and Kirsten.

Why is it that some people write posts more than others?

Simply put, some of us just like to write more! It's almost absolutely unlikely that a post you see here is just created by the author, though. For instance, in even my earliest fashion posts, Eve (my best friend and right-hand gal pal) was the one taking the photos, and Marlee has been the one to edit our posts since the beginning.

Why did you start Worldwide Dolls, and why is it called that?

As I said above, back when we started, this was a blog that I wrote all about fashion. I wanted to share fashion from all over the world, so that was the name that I came up with. I've often thought of changing it to something more fitting for the current state of things, but the name's been around for so long now that it seems silly to change it.

We write this blog like a journal- to capture memories that we share as friends here :)

How old are all of you?

Good question. We're dolls, so we don't really age like other people do. We're all high school age. We have approximate values (for instance, Nikki is younger than her cousin Piper, Lila is younger than her sister Marlee, and Eve is older than her sister Georgia).

I see references sometimes here to a "story" that you all are a part of. Can I read that somewhere?

I hope you'll be able to someday! Our manager has written a book (a novel) that features Rosanna, Elijah, Piper, and Madelyn as primary characters. It's still in its second-draft-ish stage, but we both hope that someday you'll be able to read about us in print!

Why are some posts on the blog out of order, contain information that's different than later ones, or reference other posts that don't seem to exist?

Oops. Yeah. That would be my fault. Our stories are still developing, so some details in our posts from a few years back might not be cohesive. That's one of my biggest goals for Worldwide Dolls in 2020 though--to make this blog more streamlined. And as for the references to posts that don't exist: we've had to archive some older posts that contained misinformation. Literally, the whole year of 2018 doesn't exist here anymore. That was a weird time for all of us. Let's just pretend that it didn't happen. ;)

How can I contact you? Where else can I find you all?

We have an Instagram (@worldwidedolls) as well as a YouTube (Worldwide Dolls). Both are run by our manager! You can also always say "hi" by commenting on any of our posts!

Any more questions? Leave them below, and I'll reply!

Thanks for visiting us again, and I'll see you back again soon!

Your friend,

Zaira Joy

A Christmas Card from Us to You

Piper and Madelyn

Hi! It's me, Zaira (well, that's not me in the photo, but this is me writing- yeah, you get it.) :)

Merry Christmas from us here at Worldwide Dolls to you!

I've decided to go back to this blog's humble beginnings as a fashion journal...with some of my own commentary on holiday looks all over the island (or at least the ones willing to appear in my living room on this chilly December day!)

Madelyn

I love Madelyn's sense of style. Piper is forever joking that dating Madelyn has given her a whole new wardrobe, and she's probably not wrong. This girl is the queen of thrifting. I'll have to see if I can get her to write some sort of "thrifting tips" blog post one of these days. Anyway, we think, with some through Wikipedia-ing, that this dress is probably from the forties, which is super cool! It's this dark, evergreen-colored velvet with tiny pearly buttons and lace trim. I love vintage Christmas dresses, and this one is no exception!

Piper

Speaking of Piper, here she is! And in true Piper style, there are no dresses to be found here, but I would argue that what she is wearing is perhaps even better- these retro-looking velvet-y overalls that she found with Madelyn. Like I said, Maddie has the best thrifting luck. I mean, really? Matching outfits? I could never. These are missing one of the button clasps, but Piper just pinned the strap to the inside, and I think it looks just fine, and maybe even adds a spunky touch- what do you think?

Ramona and Gwendolyn

Ramona and Gwen are quenching my thirst for ruffles and lace, though, with these two Victorian-looking dresses. I love the bows and ribbon detailing on these. I feel like the holiday season is where it's really acceptable to go all out with decorations, although if you ask me, it should be allowed any time of the year! I need to start finding ways to incorporate more fancy clothes into my school wardrobe. Things like this are too fun to be saved for "special occasions", anyway.

Gwendolyn

Gwen looks so nice in this pink and white dress. Even though the colors aren't inherently "Christmassy", I think that this dress is perfect for the season. It reminds me of something that Clara would wear in the Nutracker- very delicate and pastel.

Ramone

And Ramona has picked this red satin dress, with a lacey collar. The dark color looks so pretty with her hair.

Rosanna and Elijah

Rosie and Elijah were just hanging around and I talked them into letting me snap a few photos. So, these aren't their holiday outfits, but they are pretty great, in true Rosie and Eli style.

Elijah

Elijah always wears this tan jacket- do any of you have a favorite piece of clothing that you like to wear? I love the stripes he's wearing under it.

Rosanna

And Rosie has this little grey wool jumper. I really need to get myself something like this. I love how you can change the look so easily just by putting a different shirt underneath.

Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you again soon!

Your friend,

-Zaira Joy