It took me a very long time to name my poor Dollfie Dream girl! I’ve been agonizing over her name for weeks now. Nothing seemed right, and I kept flip-flopping. Did I want a floral name? A Victorian name? A Japanese name? I had a whole list of suggestions, but just couldn’t make up my mind. I like to wait to name my dolls until I’ve settled on a name that I’m satisfied with, but I also don’t like leaving them unnamed.

Finally, I decided on Lily. ♥

I wanted a name that is floral (check), Victorian (check), short (check), and simple (check). Lilies aren’t one of my favourite flowers, so it didn’t immediately come to mind. For a while I was thinking about calling her “Mary.” Thinking about the name “Mary” turned my thoughts towards “Mary Lennox” of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I’m particularly fond of the musical version of The Secret Garden, which expands on the plot and some of the other characters, and in the musical the late Mrs. Craven (Mary’s aunt and Colin’s mother) is named Lily. She’s a beautiful and tragic figure, loved deeply and deeply loving, with a life ended too soon only when it seemed she would be happiest. Despite that, her ghost remains present during the musical, always watching over the ones she loves. With that in mind, I decided on “Lily” for my Ms. Mariko~

I also took the plunge and swapped out Lily’s bust!

Ms. Mariko’s default bust is a “Large Shapely Bust.” It is very large indeed, and the “shapely” phrase describes the fact that the breasts are sculpted as if in an invisible push-up bra. I know it’s a very popular bust for Dollfie Dream girls, but it really isn’t to my taste. It was easy to overlook when she was fully-clothed, but every time I changed her outfit I thought to myself that I would prefer she be less endowed.

There are no alternate body parts available for the Dollfie Dream Sister body, particularly not in whiteskin, so I purchased a DDII-B-03S Small Bust from Volks USA. I wasn’t sure it would fit on the DDS skeleton, but I was willing to give it a try. I finally worked up the courage to act, so last night I removed her head, slid her default bust off the skeleton, and replaced the new bust. The DDII small bust is not exactly the same proportions as the DDS bust. The DDS bust is slightly shorter, slight wider at the abdomen opening, slightly narrower in the shoulders, and the curve of the neck is much more gentle. It was a nerve-wracking tight squeeze to fit the narrower abdomen opening of the DDII bust over the DDS skeleton, but I didn’t need a hairdryer–just patience and steadiness. The DDII bust piece sits slightly higher than the DDS bust piece by a few millimeters, which causes very slight gaps at the top of the arms after the arms are re-installed. It’s not very noticeable, however, particularly if the doll’s shoulders are covered; I am definitely not bothered by it in the slightest.

Lily, with her new bust, in the darling tartan dress set I had my eye on from the very start with the promotional images~
I’m much more satisfied with Lily now that she doesn’t have such an extreme chest, even though some of her dresses now seem quite loose in the top. I’m excited that she’ll now be able to wear Lucy‘s default outfit with no trouble~