#also she has a little jacket with the turquoise dress but i don't have a picture of that

[grizzlyofthesea]

I just want to give a quick shoutout to Haunt Couture Lagoona. I know she has a divisive design, but in my opinion, she doesn't get enough love.

She has so many cool details and aesthetic points that I really appreciate about her. A couple of other things, too.

Makeup aside, her face is pretty elaborate. Her eyes and lips have painted lines/segments that make her look just a little bit more "alive."

The slightly lighter, minty hue to the blue streaks in her hair is unique from other Lagoona dolls and gorgeous.

I have no idea what the spiderweb fascinator thing on her headband is supposed to be, but I like it.

People give her flack for not looking more like her basic/core design, but honestly, she has about as many references to her core design as the other HC ghouls do to theirs.*

I would also argue that the fanciness of the outfit is still in-character for her. She may lean toward casual clothes, but she has worn fancy/formal outfits before. She even says in her diary that she'll wear a little black dress every so often just to show everyone that she can pull off the look. She may be athletic and the de-facto tomboy of the group, but she's no stranger to dressing up.

Back to outfit appreciation. With its blue color and shiny PVC material, her jacket almost looks like it's made of water. It also gives me "cool, laid-back biker" vibes.

The shimmer on the pink parts of her dress adds to their scaly, fishy look. The fabric is also stretchy and smooth like a swimsuit. You know she's leaping into the pool immediately after the fashion show.

The fish inside her purse glows in the dark. I just think that's neat. No worries about it being Neptuna's remains, either; it's canonically a skeleton lionfish. Plus, the purse's handle (not strap) looks like coral. Also neat.

The mermaid dress may be a bit played out at the moment, but come on. Fish pun. Plus, HC Lagoona was one of the first skullectors with this silhouette, so I think she gets a pass.

Her midriff and socks have a fine mesh sort of material, almost like netting. Fishnetting.

The use of more unconventional sea creatures in the design, such as octopuses and living nautiluses (vs. just the shell), is honestly really cool. They give the outfit more of a monstrous, "deep sea" vibe than the typical "rainbow/pastel mermaid" aesthetic that you see with a lot of ocean-themed outfits.

Her shoes. Just...everything about her shoe design. The octopus on the heel, perched like a figurehead on a pirate ship, tentacles wrapped around like sandal straps. The shells and coral embedded at the bottom. The monochrome, glittery plastic (rainbow holo glitter, by the way) giving the shoe a "sandy" look. It's perfect. They're perfect.

You don't have to love her. It's all a matter of personal taste in the end. I just wanted to share my appreciation for this underrated doll.

*Elaboration here:

Frankie has the bits of plaid material on her skirt, the studded belt with a lightning bolt charm, the tulle underskirt, and the skullette earrings, but everything else is pretty different.

Draculaura has the netted black tights/sleeves, the lace sleeve cuffs, the pink vest/white blouse combo, and the pink necklace that has a bat charm like her core 2D artwork (but not on the actual doll). Again, pretty different otherwise.

Clawdeen has the pleated purple skirt, the hoop earrings (in one ear), the studded choker, the dual necklaces, and the purse that looks like her core jacket. Despite the overlap in accessories, though, her silhouette is still completely different from her core outfit, whether her fur coat is on or off.

Inversely, Cleo's HC silhouette is similar to her core outfit's, uses a banded fabric to imitate mummy wraps, and has her phone garter thing. However, her extra design elements are associated more with Nefera (turquoise, fringe, scarab beetles).

Lagoona has her pink scale-pattern fabric, her netting, a cropped jacket, a purse with a fish in it, a beaded bracelet on her left wrist, and a necklace with a sea creature charm. Her outfit in general is more formal than her core design, but the references are there.

I love all these designs, and the divergence from their core outfits isn't bad in any way. It creates variety. I just want to show that Lagoona really isn't that different from the others in terms of how much she diverges.

[andrewlloydwebber]

Bette Midler’s wardrobe in Hello Dolly! (2017), designed by Santo Loquasto.