Showing posts with label Elyse Jolie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elyse Jolie. Show all posts

10/13/2019

2019 Integrity Toys Convention: The Gala Event Offerings

The convention ended with the Saturday night banquet at which the winners of two contests were announced. I wish the emails had photos of what the winners actually designed!



Diorama Design Competition:People's Choice: Lani Billitti
Judge's Choice: Kelly Rinaldi
Doll Design Challenge:People's Choice: Sinuhe Guzman
Judge's Choice: Osvaldo Vasquez (aka "Ovaz")

"The winners of the outstanding OOAK dolls designed by the team just for the raffle room were picked and the host city of next year's convention was unveiled- Dallas, Texas!
Finally, special guest Jason Wu joined the hosts on stage to unveil the convention doll, an absolutely stunning Elyse Jolie doll which he designed himself!"


I was thrilled to learn that Ovaz won the design challenge. He's been through a lot this past year but kept working on his designs and creations. He definitely deserved this award.

I thought it was funny that the text emphasized that Jason designed the Elyse by himself.  It cracks me up. We know that Jason is not involved in the designing of the dolls and hasn't been for a long time. However, occasionally his human designs are recreated (more or less) for dolls.
What I've read is that there was a mixed reaction from the crowd upon seeing that the character chosen for the convention souvenir was Elyse. The cry was "again?" Integrity does this. If it sells, they'll make it over and over until collectors have had it up to here. They're doing it with Poppy. They did it with Vanessa.



The centerpiece was Vanessa. I think she is quite pretty. I do not like the gown.



 The Convention Doll Elyse Jolie is beautiful. I love her raven hair and the embroided nearly sheer gown. She'll be coming to join my tribe of Elyse's, (yes, another one) this week.




Next year's convention will be held in Dallas, Texas.

For those of you who have asked questions on this blog, please be aware that for some reason Blogger isn't working well enough at this time for my responses to post. I'm looking into fixing that.

10/25/2015

W Club Luncheon and Gala Dinner - Cinematic Convention Part #4

On Saturday, the W Club Luncheon offered attendees the information about an upcoming line which will feature a 12" Tulabelle.

The dolls - blonde, blue-eyed and very white.

Stage Presence
VĂ©ronique Perrin® Dressed Doll (W Club Luncheon Centerpiece)
 Sneak Peek Eden™ Dressed Doll (Giveaway Souvenir)
_____________________________________

At the Saturday banquet it was announced that next year's convention will take place in Chicago.

The one character I would have wanted to buy is probably going to be the most difficult doll to obtain so I don't know if I'll try. There are 450 of them so she's not exactly 'rare.' I have lots of trades I can make for one but I'll just go and play with my Kingdom Dolls and forget all about her. Apparently Elyse is the new Vanessa.

Starlet Elyse Jolie™ Dressed Doll (Gala Dinner Centerpiece) 
Making An Entrance
Karolin Stone™ Dressed Doll (Main Souvenir Doll)
A new character being introduced in the Nu. Face collection, Ms. Karolin Stone, an intriguing and secretive model and actress with an eye for drama and a flair for fashion!
 
Opinion:
My overall impression of the offerings are very positive towards the dolls and their fashions.  The least appealing dolls IMO were the Poppy Parkers except for the centerpiece doll and the OOAK.  The Color Infusion male dolls rocked as did the workshop male. It goes to show you that a doll for $45. wearing a $35. outfit can be fabulous.
I'm not an Agnes fan but Vaughn's OOAK and the mini gift set were excellent.
A friend of mine told me yesterday that he spent $3000. so far. That's a lot of dolls.
I'm sure most attendees went home happy and loaded with dolls to keep and to sell.

What was your overall impression of the product?
Favorite? Least favorite? Quality?

 

9/23/2013

A Change of Pace

With several new outfits and one new Monogram doll head, I had reason to photograph some 12" dolls this week.
This is Monogram Exaggeration wearing an HJ Couture top, FR pants, boots and jewelry. She's got a smouldering look on her face.


Elyse and Kyori, both on FR2 bodies, model VJohn dresses beautifully.  


Last, we have a  Mini-Avantguard doll who is wearing a NuFace fashion. I spend so little time with the IT doll world these days that I can't remember their exact names or the names of the fashions. But I'm very happy with the beautiful dolls I have kept and hope talented designers keep making affordable outfits for them.

11/11/2010

Dasha and Elyse

Had some time to do a photo shoot with the FR2 dolls from the convention. Elyse is now wearing the outfit from Extravagance Monogram. It works on her. The shoes fit perfectly. 



I love Dasha's gown. I don't know if I'll be redressing her too soon.



 The chairs are from Angelic Dreamz. They are Horseman products.

11/07/2010

Photoshoot: Kyori, Smoldering, Elyse

Finally had time for a real photoshoot and here are the results.
First up is Elyse. I took out the braid and conditioned the frizzy mess. I did pour boiled water over her hair to loosen up the curls. I decided to just leave her hair wild and there was little choice and she looks fabulous this way.



Next is Smoldering.  I wish they had paid more attention to her hair instead of just chopping it.  The gown is gorgeous. I love it. And look at those shoes!



Kyori "Out of the Blue" needed a restyle as well. I took down her hair, shampooed and conditioned it and boiled it straight. I deleted the bangs by pouring the hot water in the direction I wanted those shorter hairs to go. She is very heavily rooted at the crown and I did thin her hair a bit.
Her outfit was made by Louos and suits her perfectly.
Last is the doll from the Poppy Giftset "Ask Any Girl" wearing the sweater and shorts from the set. A creature from the Tonner Doll Co. has been following her and showing up in pictures of her lately. Hmmmmm....

11/05/2010

FR2

So what is FR2?

If only I could stop calling it FR two and start calling it FR Squared. The problem is that the numeral 2 is in the numeric form and not the squared form and I hated algebra anyway.
Fashion Royalty times itself. Hmmm...twice as good? Twice as expensive? Twice as hard to get?

I have played with Dasha the FR2 doll from the convention collection and I am very impressed with her body. First of all it's a very pretty body. She's got a lovely chest and graceful limbs. The range of movement is excellent. I don't like her hands. They're a little rubbery and the fingers are spread out.  That's useful for putting rings on her fingers but the other hands held things better.
My overall impression is that this body rocks! Congratulations to Integrity Toys for introducing a terrific body for 12 inch dolls. Now let's see the same on the Avantguards.



 Dasha's feet are a bit longer which makes many shoes from prior outfits unwearable. What I would do is carve a bit off the back of her heel. If done carefully and sanded smooth, it won't show. Or we could petition IT to tweak the mold and bring the feet back to the prior size. That won't work. On the other hand...all the shoes I have that were too big will now fit. Still, many of our older shoes will fit. The fit of the clothes remains to be seen.

I'm sensing that FR2 is the demarcation between the end of Fashion Royalty as we know it and a reorganization of their lines. And in a way it's an invitation to those of us whose collections are out of hand to back away from continuing to accumulate more and more and just concentrate on the finest dolls (and less of them.) In the last two years since the disappearance of Veronique, we have seen a big change in the FR line besides the introduction of the Monogram dolls. Many of the fashions have been less than what we had come to expect. Jason's absence was palpable in the Fashion Royalty line except in the dolls from the 2009 convention and some exclusives. But the FR2 line seems to be his work. Except for the styling of the centerpiece "Dark Swan" Elyse Jolie FR2 doll, they're all classy and beautifully designed.

These dolls come with an adjustable height stand that supports dolls under their arms. These stands are OK if the fashion is not heavy or doesn't  have a large skirt because the vertical support bar is up against the body and pushes the fashion forward from the rear. I'm glad I have dozens of left over stands from earlier dolls. 

What do you think of the longer eyelashes, larger feet, flat, spread-fingered hands and the new line in general?

They are not available for purchase yet and we were not told the date upon which they would be released.  I don't know how much they will be but I'm quite sure they won't be cheap.










11/03/2010

The Centerpiece Dolls; Jason's Talk - 2010 Fashion Royalty Integrity Convention

The first centerpiece was at dinner on Thursday night. She is called Smoke Screen Dania Zarr. I thought it was Agnes as her hairstyle and makeup are very much like that of Firefly Agnes.

Smoke Screen Dania Zarr 2010


Integrity Photo (Exposure Adjusted by Author)
 This doll is styled in a way that's been used often on FR dolls this past year - multi-level, multi shaped and multi-styled pieces in mixed fabrics. It's not my favorite style. I don't see any grace there. I see mix and match and cute but not classy.

The Friday afternoon luncheon saw a lovely Poppy Parker "Shadow of a Smile" as the centerpiece.

Poppy Parker "Shadow of a Smile" 2010

Integrity Photo (Exposure Adjusted by Author)
I have been told that this gown is a black (dark blue?) version of the beautiful off-white "The Look of Love" fashion currently available at dealers. [Correction: The gown is deep purple and black.] Her adorable red hair and irresistible face made this a delightful centerpiece.
Integrity Photo

Friday evening we were treated to the sight of a gorgeous doll called "Provocatrice" Anja trapped inside a cage! She is extremely sought after by collectors. I wonder why. Could it be that she looks like a version of Veronique? Hmmm....why fix it if it ain't broke?
We love Veronique and she is going to be relegated to the base of the pyramid of Fashion Royalty. More on that hint from Jason later.
Is this red fabric with black lace the same as was used on the Agnes Giftset? I don't have Agnes here anymore so I can't compare.

From Agnes Giftset 2010

Successful Ascension 2009
"Provocatrice" Anja

Integrity Photo (Exposure Adjusted by Author)

Saturday afternoon's W Club Luncheon saw Elyse Jolie "Dark Swan" as the FR2 centerpiece. The last time Elyse was seen was as the convention souvenir doll in 2009. She was such a gorgeous doll, so well dressed that I haven't touched a hair on her head or a thread of her fashion.
Elyse Jolie "Blue Blood" 2009 Convention Souvenir Doll
That one had the regular Fashion Royalty body. The new one has been moved to the FR2 line.  She's wearing a little dress with a skirt which stands out due to a stiff crinoline. Her cropped jacket is double breasted. She comes with lace ankle socks, a brown rectangular handbag and very nice shoes which look better sans socks. All I can say is OY VEY.  Did anyone actually look at this doll's ridiculous hairstyle before letting it out of the gate? She sports a long, fat braid with frizzy ends. The top of her hair is center parted with one side out of the braid that's been cut shorter and curled. Did you get that?  This character went from sublime to ridiculous. There is no grace or class.  How does the train case styled, poopy-brown handbag fit in here? The FR2 have Barbie length eyelashes and underarm gripper stands.
Dark Swan Elise FR2
Dark Swan Elise FR2

The Saturday night table centerpiece is my pick for the best doll of the lot. She is called "Smoldering" and is a dark-skinned Monogram doll. Her gown is absolutely magnificent and quite obviously designed by someone who knows how to drape fabric. It is two-tone and feels like brushed satin. Just gorgeous!!! This doll is classy and graceful and I'm so happy to have her in my collection.
I wish they would have done something with her hair besides chopping it into a short, style-less do. She definitely needs to be wigged.
Someone had started a thread on the W Club board questioning the absence of a dark-skinned doll from the Monogram line. And now we have one. I wonder if there will ever be a new Monogram sculpt. 


Jason's talk on Saturday night was enigmatic, as usual. What I got from what he did say was that there was going to be a restructuring of the Fashion Royalty line. The prices would go down. Veronique will appear in that restructured line. He said they would be "growing the brand," a big marketing expression. Whatever.
He stated that there would be a return to fine-tuned details, great accessories, shoes that look like real shoes, etc. He said this last year related to the Monogram line. Why is it coming back? Where did it go? What exactly do we have now?

Alain pranced around the ballroom with a microphone to get to those who wanted to ask Jason questions.

Drawings were held for those whose winning tickets were pulled. Actually, the drawings were held behind closed doors; the winners were announced. This year the tickets had to have names on them. You couldn't just rely on the anonymous numbers which are printed on the tickets. To avoid the appearance of impropriety in the future, all drawings should be in public in front of those who spent money on chances.  This is a pretty serious issue and should be addressed.
This is not to say that the staff has favorites or resentments. Ahem.  It just looks bad.


More will be revealed.