Tarina Tarantino Barbie

After launching a line of Barbie jewels and baubles, it's only fitting that jewelry designer extraordinaire Tarina Tarantino had a hand in designing a doll herself. In May, Mattel will release the Tarina Tarantino Barbie on its Gold Label -- "gold" being their most elite line.

[Property of barbiecollector.com]

Tarantino's doll rocks fushia locks (just like Tarina!) and is decked out in a satin yellow dress adorned with Swarovski crystals. The doll is also accessorized in miniature versions of her own designs, right from Barbie's handbag, belt, necklaces, earrings, tiara, etc. The retail price is $89.95.

Hello Kitty: For Big Girls

Girls all over the world have been rockin' Hello Kitty gear since the little feline with a [adorable] big head made her debut in 1976. But some of us have grown older and just don't want to say "Bye-Bye Kitty" . . . so what alternatives do we have? Some of the merchandise at Sanrio, like purses and several t-shirts, we just can't seem to get away with them like we did back in elementary school.

But here's a grown up solution: Jewelry!

A few years ago, jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino was invited by Sanrio to partake in a collaboration featuring Hello Kitty on her brightly colored necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets and hair-clips. The "Pink Head" collection, which she designed to have Hello Kitty with her signature fuchsia hair, was made and since then, she has come out with a few series including Pink Head Mod, Pink Head Bride, Pink Head Rose, and various others including my personal fave Russian Nouveau.







And coming soon, a collaboration with Tokidoki is on it's way! I first found out about it when I saw this picture on the Tokidoki blog in early March:

And on a recent trip I took to their website, Tokidoki posted this picture:

I love how Hello Kitty is wearing the heart and crossbones instead of her regular ribbon. And she's right smack-dab in the middle of the Nana and Adios star -- so cute! I'll definitely keep you guys posted about the Hello Kitty vs. Tokidoki collection just as soon as more info about it is released.