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Girls love wearing sparkles, so expect dolls' clothes to mirror that trend this season, said Monica Weber, doll clothing designer and owner of Doll Clothes in Newtown.
The store carries handcrafted contemporary-styled clothes for dolls that are 15 to 18 inches tall.
There are scores of fancy dresses in the shop, which also carries a range of fashion sets, such as a tie-dyed poncho and jeans outfit, a bell-bottoms and fringe top set, and camouflage fatigues, among many other styles.
Don't expect to see much in the way of old-fashioned smock dresses, said Weber, who keeps her eye on fashion trends.
"They used to be the thing for girls and dolls, but are not popular anymore," she said. "I try to create my stuff to look like what girls are wearing."
Holiday themes are in style, such as outfits for Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, and Halloween, by far the "biggest," always sell well, said the longtime entrepreneur who until May had a store in Brookfield that closed when her lease ended.
In between that business and the pop-up, Weber's been traveling the craft show circuit, attending about 60 shows a year.
The store is fully stocked with her own creations, but she also takes special orders, ranging from matching doll/girl outfits and Communion dresses.
"I played with dolls all the time when I was a child. To me, the doll was a means to get the clothes. I played with my dolls as I got older, until about 13," Weber said, though she is by no means a collector.
An accountant by profession, the Roxbury resident started making fashions for dolls 15 years ago.
"My customer base follows me, whether it's at the shows or in the store," said Weber, 63, who regularly sends out about 1,000 emails. "I've outfitted dolls that are older than me, 100 years old. I've had customers come in with their grandmother's doll.
She got the idea to open the Newtown pop-up from a magazine article.
"I read about it and thought it was a good idea. I called a few brokers and chose a place in a few hours," she said of the 600-square-foot shop she calls quaint and likens to "something out of Dickens. It is conveniently located off Interstate 84, exit 9, not far from the Bethel border."
The flexibility of a temporary lease will allow her to take advantage of the holiday shopping season, then continue on with her craft show business.
Weber taught herself to sew and the first doll outfit she made was for the daughter of a friend.
"She was adopted and we were trying to make her transition special. The rest is history."
For more information, visit Weber's Clothing for Dolls website here or call 203-913-6320. The store is located at 147 Mt. Pleasant Road, Newtown.
The shop will be open through January.
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