Miss Chrissy here! I wanted to post this time, to tell about all the excitement going on in Whimsieville because a delivery of SHOES has recently come in. I must say! The way the Whimsies behaved about all this has made me so very proud of them indeed.
First, as you know, the Whimsies have had very little in the way of shoes up to this point—a pair of silky pink ballerina slippers, which they wear mostly when dressing up n their fairy princess costume, and my old baby shoes, which are (naturally) very old-fashioned. Of course, the Whimsies don’t mind about things being old-fashioned, because in many ways, they themselves are old-fashioned! But I’ve been wanting for some time to get them more 
in the way of shoes. Several trips to the Thrift Store Boutique have produced plenty of hats and pants and shirts, but I can’t seem to find any shoes! It’s not it’s not that I can’t find any good shoes there, I simply can’t find any shoes at all!
So I turned to E-Bay, and there…ah ha! Lots and lots of shoes to choose from, and some at very reasonable prices. So I started by measuring the old-fashioned baby shoes, and found they are four inches in length, and from there I determined that the size shoe worn by a Whimsie is…ONE. And that makes sense, because the size clothes they wear is NB for Newborn, meaning the Whimsies are just about equal in size to the smallest human being possible. (Well, actually, I’ve discovered there is a smaller size, it’s called “Preemies,” for very, very small babies, but I don’t run into this size too much at the Boutique.)
So anyway, here we are, all armed with information and a vast array of shoes available online! Secretly, while the Whimsies were not looking, I chose several pairs, wanting to surprise them. And boy, were they surprised (and delighted) when the package arrived at here in Whimsieville! The Whimsies will often tell you that they are not babies, and even that they are not children, but they sure did act like a bunch of happy kids tearing into that package and bringing out their new shoes.
And here’s why I’m so proud of them. As Tessie recently revealed, she was planning to ask Santa Claus for a pair of patent leather shoes. So I was certain that when she saw the black patent leather shoes come out of the package, she would gravitate right towards them. Well, she did, but at the same time, Tillie also began to wax eloquent about how much she loves black patent leather shoes, because they remind her so much of one year at Christmas when her person, Jennifer, dressed her up in a red velvet dress and ruffled white socks and black patent leather shoes, and took her to a 
party. The party was being thrown by some friends of her parents, who were university professors, and the people throwing the party were also university professors, and their house was very big, and very nice, and so beautifully decorated for Christmas, and everyone there was wearing their holiday best, and the table was overflowing with beautiful and delicious foods. This is where Tillie first got to taste those fruit-flavored slices she is so partial to, and also something called “marzipan,” which she also enjoys very much.
Not only that, but there were not many children at this party, but because Jennifer had brought Tillie in her beautiful outfit, they were such a hit among all the Grown Ups, and they both got a lot of attention that evening.
So these new patent leather shoes brought back so many good memories for Tillie, and while I saw Tessie hesitate a moment, in the end, she said, “Till, you should definitely wear them first.” And then Trixie added, “Yeah, and even though Miss Chrissy won’t let us show off our Christmas outfits yet because it’s only October, I think maybe you should wear my ‘Christmas Rocks’ shirt with these patent leather shoes, they would look awesome together!”
So that’s what Tillie did, and as you can see here, she does indeed look awesome. What a great combination of red and white and black, heralding the coming of the holiday season! Leave it to Trixie to come up with the crazy idea that fancy black patent leather shoes would look good with a tee shirt that has electric guitars on it and says “Christmas Rocks.” 
Tillie jumped right into the spirit of this weird juxtaposition and added the fancy ruffled socks (just like the ones she wore years ago at that big party) and a merry red velvet Christmas bow in her hair. In every way her outfit says, “It’s not Christmas yet…but I can’t wait till it comes!”
As you see here, Tillie in her pre-party outfit decided to have her photo shoot indoors, because patent leather shoes are not really for wearing outdoors, unless you are running to and from the car on the evening of your big party. But Trixie was so happy to find these pretty flowered sneakers and gladly took them outside for her photo shoot. You see, Trixie has been hearing me and The Man talking about doing a final lawn-mowing on a certain section of Whimsieville, getting it ready for the long Winter ahead, and all weekend she’s been bugging us about being our “assistant.” 
Trixie is always ready to help with any outdoor activities, but in the past, not having a really good pair of shoes has prevented her from doing as much as she would like. Because, as everyone knows, if you are working with dangerous machinery, like a lawnmower, you must be wearing good, safe shoes. Well, these sneakers, tied up tightly with bright white shoelaces, now keep her feet completely safe from any lawn mowing danger. So now, of course we will be happy to have Trixie help us with the lawn!
Oh, and by the way, Trixie was extra delighted when she realized that the flower pattern in her new sneakers almost exactly matches the flower pattern in one of her favorite shirts. It was a no brainer
to combine the sneakers and shirt, so here she is, with her hair held back off her face by a bright pink headband, ready to help tidy up the Lawns of Whimsieville!
This leaves Tessie with the final pair of shoes. Her mild disappointment over not getting to wear the patent leathers was instantly erased when she saw these darling little suede lace-up boots! When she put them on, she instantly declared that they were so very comfortable! And why wouldn’t they be? What could be better than suede? And what could be better than boots?
To compliment her new suede boots, Tessie chose a pair of brown and white polka dot pants recently acquired from the Boutique, and paired these pants and boots with a simple white top and jacket. How elegant! Right? And because I was so proud of Tessie for letting Tillie wear the patent leathers, I told her that this very simple and elegant outfit needed one more touch—gold jewelry! So I went to my jewelry box and found a simple gold chain, which she was able to twirl around her neck three times, adding a real touch of class to her outfit.
Tessie also decided to pose outdoors, on the patio furniture. In her simple yet elegant outfit, she tells me she is evoking the image of a society lady who is waiting at a fancy outdoor restaurant to have a weekend brunch with her other society lady friends. The necklace says “society,” but the suede boots say “weekend.” And the smile on Tessie’s pretty face says she is a happy Whimsie, glad to have friends, and glad to have shoes!
So! That is the first wave of new Whimsie shoes. Wait! Does “first wave” mean there might be more? Shhhh….don’t tell the Whimsies, but we’re expecting another package in the mail later this week! Right now, though, we’re off to tend the Lawns of Whimsieville!
The last few days the weather has been just a little cooler and crisper than usual, with bright blue cloudless skies, giving us hope that Autumn is truly on its way. The official start of Autumn is yet a few days away, but that hasn’t stopped us Whimsies from thinking about all the wonderful outfits we’ll be able to put together for the new season! And what says Autumn more than long sleeves, long pants, and socks? That’s our theme for our latest Fashion Show, as we now begin to look forward to cooler weather.
Let’s start this time with Tessie, since she has put together a cute little outfit in mostly neutral colors. You may notice her pants as something she’s worn before, last February, when she had a
So, Tessie has incorporated a kitty kat into her outfit, and I’ll do the same…not in my outfit, but in my pose. Because here I am, visiting Mr. Squee in his condo! My long sleeved shirt is one you have also seen before, pink, with a spotted brown elephant on the front! You know, when you start putting pictures on shirts, you can certainly come up with some pretty wild ideas, don’t you think? Who ever saw a spotted brown elephant? Well, you’ll see one now as you look at me, posing here with both Fred the Dinosaur, and Mr. Squee. (Fred and his other dinosaur friends live in the penthouse apartment of Mr. Squee’s condo, of course, so it was a quick trip for him to jump down and cuddle with me in my lap.) 
Now we come to Trixie, and is so often the case, Trixie is doing something a bit outrageous. Yes, she’s adhering to our theme of long sleeves, long pants and socks, but hers are all in black! Well, not the socks, because right now we don’t happen to have any black socks. But Trixie can put “black socks” on her list to Santa, because with her “Christmas Rocks” tee shirt, she is looking straight past Autumn and all the way to the biggest holiday of the year!
You see, there are a couple of electric guitars under the words “Christmas Rocks,” so the message on Trixie’s shirt can be taken two ways. First, Christmas “rocks,” meaning it’s cool and groovy, but also, Christmas rocks in a musical way! Since we all know that in addition to Christmas and candy, Trixie also loves music, I’m sure that before this year is over, she will reach into Miss Chrissy’s extensive CD collection to find some Christmas Rock & roll music to share with you all! (Remember, I recently helped Miss Chrissy sort and alphabetize her CD’s, so I know there is some fine Christmas music up on those shelves!)
Even though it’s not officially Autumn yet, it’s September, the month when Autumn begins, and Autumn is our favorite season. Not just for us Whimsies, but Miss Chrissy and The Man are in complete agreement as well. We think Mr. Squee probably feels the same way, but we can’t seem to get a straight answer out of him lately. He’s been in a contrary mood because try as he might, he can’t seem to figure out how to make his autofeeder drop kibble simply by knocking his head against the plastic container. It’s a perplexing problem that makes him occasionally ornery.
But enough about Mr. Squee! I’m here to begin our celebration of Autumn! Autumn is a time of many celebrations, containing not only Halloween and Thanksgiving, but also many birthdays here in Whimsieville. At Halloween we’ll disguise ourselves in costumes, but for Thanksgiving and birthdays we might very well have a party! And you know what that means: friends and fun, games and music, and let’s not forget…fashion! 
First of all, hair like that….wow! I’m calling her Carrot Top, and honestly, I don’t know when that name has ever been more appropriate. We might see a Whimsie now and then whose hair is so red it’s orange, but…c’mon now! And there’s so much of that truly orange hair. So much that she needs to use numerous hair ornaments to keep it under control. Each ponytail is restrained by a fluff of orange and white, and there’s an additional fluff on the top of her head. There’s so much going on here! Carrot Top is saying, “Yes, I’m casual…but I’m also a little bit crazy! And I’m ready to party!”
Now here’s another girl who’s ready to party. So much so, that her outfit is not even a dress, it’s described as “playsuit.” The multicolored stripes in this playsuit, offset by a blue bodice eloquently portray the idea of fun, fun, fun! Suzy Stripes looks like she hopes this party will include a spirited game of Twister, and she’s ready to get down on the dots and twist herself in knots! Her shoes are simple, with a single leather strap, so easy to kick off at a moment’s notice. 
Now let’s switch gears a bit and get back to some more preposterously pretty party dresses, as you’ll see worn here be another braided beauty. Lollipop is working the flowers like there’s no tomorrow! A delicate trim of lace at the bottom of her full hemline says, “Yes, I’m a lady, and if you don’t’ believe me, check out the little pink ribbons on my braids!” So! Our Trixie is not the only one! Pink ribbons and braids seems to be a recurring fashion theme among high-spirited Whimsies. 
The first impression is that our new Whimsie friend is a “Brownie,” which is a very young Girl Scout. She even appears to have merit badges sewn in to her very plain dress. And what is that on her very lacy neckerchief? Could that be yet another badge? At once, you have to look at this Whimsie and wonder, “What an unusual Whimsie! What in the world is she all about?” At a party, when she walks in, all heads will turn, and instantly be topped with a floating question mark. As this friendly Whimsie approaches, even though you have never met her before, you can’t help but ask…”What is the meaning of all these symbols on your dress?” And so, there is a topic of conversation, an “ice-breaker,” as they call it.
Last time we were here to talk about fashion, I was wearing this comfy, cute little striped hat in pink and white stripes, with a band of neon green around the edge. I’m loving this little hat so much, I don’t want to take it off! In fact, I’ve been so inspired by this hat, I suggested to Tillie and Tessie that we might want to put our noggins together and see if we could use my new hat as a jumping off point for a themed fashion show! Well, of course, we all saw it right away—the theme is stripes! We all love stripes, and we certainly have enough striped items in our extensive wardrobe, so this is what we have put together for your viewing pleasure. (Miss Chrissy helped us a little in putting together our new looks….but Mr. Squee did not help at all. He just lay there on the bed and watched us like we must be crazy to keep changing our fur, when he has perfectly good fur that works for him in all seasons and always looks great.)
First, as you can see, Tessie changed out of her last Summer outfit, and has gone in a totally different direction. Gone is the buzzy little ladybug, and now our Tess is decked out in sharp, classic black and gray stripes. Looking at Tessie in this outfit makes me realize that sometimes the very best outfits are those that are most simple. Because what have we here? Two colors. One pattern. But a look that says, “Look at me! I love fashion!”
And what about Tillie? Well, you’ll notice that in addition to purple and white stripes, Till has chosen to do something most unusual with her hair. She has so much beautiful hair, she really could do so many fun things with it, with ribbons and bows and clips and elastic bands. Here, Till has gathered all her hair on top of her hair in an appropriately colored purple hairband, and fluffed the resulting ponytail out in all kinds of crazy directions. This is a look that says, “Hey, look at me! Even when I look like I couldn’t do a thing with my hair, so I just stuck it on top of my head in a simple ponytail, I still look great!” 
And now, last but not least…me! Here I am in my signature color, pink, working the pink stripes with my pink-striped hat and some plain pink pants. Don’t I look bright and sunny? And you know what? Wearing pink even makes me feel bright and sunny! Funny how that happens…One day soon I’m sure I’ll have to take off my new favorite hat, but while it’s looking so great with my brilliant pink ensemble, why not keep it on just a little bit longer?
When Miss Chrissy made her last visit to the Thrift Shop Boutique, the only thing she could find for us was these adorable Summer hats. When she returned from her outing, she told us she thinks the reason it’s becoming more difficult to find us new fashions these days is because we already have just about everything a Whimsie could require or desire in a wardrobe! And yes, it’s true, we do have quite an extensive wardrobe! But if there’s one thing us Whimsies believe with all our hearts, it’s that you can never have too many hats. 
I’ll let Tessie go first, since she has the biggest hat of us all. You’ll notice this beauty of a bucket hat is denim on the outside, and gingham check on the inside. How classic! On both sides! A while back we did a Study in Denim, and this hat would have been perfect for that occasion. We didn’thave it then, but we do have it now, and Tessie has chosen to pair this pretty hat with a summery dress you may have seen before, a little white dress with tiny red polka dots. But the dots are only a backdrop for the main feature, which is a jaunty little ladybug coming out of a flower on the far right. How whimsical is that? 
Now, as for me, you’ll notice my skirt is also short, but that’s okay, because this little skirt boasts its own built-in bloomers! So Summer breezes may blow away, I don’t care! You may remember seeing this skirt once before as well, but here I have chosen it because it so perfectly matches the colors in my darling little stretch cap. What a brilliant combination of pink and green, so bright and festive, and totally Summer! 
new hat, you’ll notice that one side is a delicate cotton eyelet pattern, but the other is completely terrycloth! What an interesting combination! Eyelet is so feminine, and terrycloth is all about the beach. Not being a big fan of the water, I’m perfectly fine with there being no beaches within hundreds of miles of Whimsieville, but for Tillie’s sake, I almost wish there was. Of course we don’t have any bathing suits in our wardrobe, so that is why Tillie chose the simple shirt and shorts for her terrycloth hat. As she explained to me, that was the closest she felt she could come to a beach-type outfit to compliment her terrycloth hat.
