Mini Gene Dolls Set to Debut

It was announced to the public that three new Hollywood Royalty dolls based on the fictitious Gene Marshall designed by Mel Odom, would be coming soon.
I have created three montages to show the new dolls and the original 16" Gene doll upon which it is based. The original dolls were manufactured by Ashton-Drake and are some of the earliest of all the Genes.

"Blue Caprice" is based on Blue Goddess [inset]

"Red Desire" based on Red Venus [inset]

"Midnight Lace" based on Pin Up [inset]

The first two will be available from dealers, the last, Midnight Lace, will be a W Club exclusive available to lottery winners. Each is a limited edition of only 250. The estimated delivery date is Mid-Late November, 2009. And the price is a whopping $150.

I like the idea of these dolls. I was never a movie star-doll lover and Lana Turner, although nice, never really grabbed me. Josephine Baker wasn't a Hollywood star and I didn't care for the quality of the dolls. Since I am already fond of the Gene line, past and present, these are "just right" (says Goldilocks.)

I've had people ask me today who Gene Marshall was. I suppose for non-Gene collectors it can be confusing to find out that she wasn't anyone but the product of the creative mind of her creator.

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There's a touch of sibling rivalry going on between dedicated Gene collectors and Fashion Royalty collectors. Some are saying that Integrity should have made these into 16" dolls. It's never enough! I think the Gene line this year was amazing!

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With that said, two new dolls in the Return to Hollywood (Gene) line-up have been announced and they are absolutely gorgeous.

Pearls and Pink Ivy "Vee J." Jordan® Dressed Doll

Heat Wave Violet Waters® Dressed Doll

Both dolls are limited to just 200 each and are estimated to arrive in October, 2009. Price $119.00

Lana Turner "Portrait of an Era" Giftset

I was on the fence about this FAO giftset featuring Integrity Toys' Hollywood Royalty Lana Turner until I had it in my hot little hands and started taking pictures. This is the prettiest of all the Lana dolls so far. Her hair flatters her face and is well done. She comes dressed in a tight pink sweater and black A-line skirt. I added the necklace.

At first the suit appears to be a copy of the suit from the Haute Doll exclusive Lana doll in a different color. That suit was somewhat ill fitting. This suit was a surprise. It fits nicely and has distinctive styling like the high waisted skirt. The necklace which is not shown is the same as the previously mentioned set which is a mistake on Integrity's part. Why would a collector want the same necklace twice?
The jewelry isn't really worth mentioning further as it is plain and not memorable. The shoes are too large and are unusable. Those are the only two items that miss the mark. The suit is lined in a similar pink to the sweater. The hat is really more like a headband and goes on easily and stays on! I like the faux fur stole. The entire appearance is very elegant. There is a sleeveless, v-neck mauve shell for the doll to wear under the jacket or she can wear the pink sweater.
The details on the suit are classic Fashion Royalty and that's really good to see.

The third outfit is a hostess fashion which consists of a strapless jumpsuit and a sweeping robe. I couldn't close the robe over the jumpsuit so I just tied it shut. The shoes are cute little silver pumps. The necklace was added by me.

The jewelry should have been more interesting and the ill-fitting shoes are very surprising. The drawbacks are minor but annoying in a set priced at $225. We were given a code to use for free shipping. However, one W Club member found a 20% off offer which was accepted. Those of us living in a state where FAO does business in Macy's, also have to pay tax.

I do recommend this set because of the beauty of the doll and the well-constructed, classic fashions. Of course, each collector will have to weigh the high price against the contents in making the decision to purchase or not.

"The Jazz Age" Josephine Baker Gift Set by Jason Wu

The Thrill is Gone

On March 17, the new Josephine Baker gift set went on sale at FAO Schwarz. Ordering was a breeze and my doll arrived two days later via UPS. The outer box went through the required box kicker-compressor at the UPS warehouse but the inner box containing the gift set was in perfect condition.

I love the window boxes of this line of dolls. This one was so well protected it had a separate sheet of vinyl outside and inside adhering to the window! Impressive.

Deboxing went well. There were no problems caused by packaging. The fashions were in great condition except for a few creases in the tuxedo which I improved with the careful use of my trusty Rowenta. I was not able to completely remove the creases in the lapels of the jacket.

Josephine comes dressed in her robe with nothing underneath. That was a little odd. Several people received dolls whose bare chest greeted them through the box window. I don't suppose FAO will be displaying one of those.

Using my wigged Via Venetto to model the gown and The Muse to model the tuxedo, I was able to have a photo session with all the fashions at one time. The gown and wrap are made well and fit well and that's it. Nothing outstanding or new there.

Dressing The Muse was an event in itself. The shirt goes on easily and has a crotch elastic to hold it down.

The vest fits oddly. On both of those items the hooks show and look bad. I taped the wrists and fingers of the doll prior to putting on the jacket. It is a tight, skimpy fit and the dolls arm movements are somewhat inhibited. The pants and shoes fit great and the hat just sits on her head. Strangely enough there are socks included. I didn't even bother. The bow tie has to be pulled over the doll's head. That was a mistake. The elastic is tight enough to ruin the hairstyle and/or eyelashes while being put on. I chose earrings from my stash to complete the look.

There are two pairs of shoes, earrings and a choker and no other accessories besides the black socks and panty hose. I would have liked a dancing stick for the tuxedo.

And now for the bad news.

This is Josephine right out of the box and no, she does not have a hair net on. She doesn't come with a hair net at all. Apparently it has become part of her hair. There are dried clumps of something, residue on her face and short strands of hair sticking out all over the place. In general this is disgusting. This was not supposed to happen any more.

After my first experience with banana dance Josephine (pictured below), I hesitated to purchase the others because I was so turned off.

As you can see from the photos, there is an indent on both sides of her mouth extending back to the jawline. In addition, so much hair glue was used that it is visible on the skin of the forehead and around the curls. It is on the eyelashes. What appears as dust on her eyelashes and in the eye area in general is actually production debris which apparently got stuck to the glue used on the hair.

I was asked by Mark Tewfik, the "Patient Care" rep at IT to return the doll because it had multiple problems and they wanted to show it to the factory.

The problems have not been solved. I wonder if they've been addressed. My 2008 convention Tatyana had the embedded hairnet syndrome. Paris J'Adore Tatyana had her side curls glued to her cheeks with a visible residue and the similarly styled hair on the Mood Veroniques was horrible.

We have had many Fashion Royalty dolls over the past few years who had forehead curls and fancy updos. This problem did not exist. Going backwards in time and to name just a few:
Agnes Von Weiss - The Royal Weiss; Vanessa Perrin - True Royalty; Véronique Perrin - Gliteratti; Vanessa Perrin- Intoxicating Mix; Véronique Perrin - Foreign Affair; Véronique Perrin - Rare Creature; Adèle Makeda - Lustrous Silhouette.
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My recommendation:
If you like Josephine Baker and you manage to get a doll without the hair problems, then the gift set is a decent buy. The price is much better than any gift set sold in the last few years. I was able to get 20% off as a result of the Barbie celebration. Right now there is free shipping being offered.
Here is the blurb from the FAO site:
"For the second installment in their Hollywood Royalty line, Integrity Toys is proud to present Jason Wu's vision of true renaissance woman, human rights pioneer and stage artist extraordinaire, Josephine Baker. Ready to delight her adoring fans, Josephine Baker comes to you with everything she needs to make a lasting impression. This FAO Schwarz exclusive doll gift set includes a robe, gala gown, tuxedo, shoes and accessories. Limited edition of 300 sets."
Retail price $160.
http://www.fao.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14993

Follow Up:
I have been told that I will get a free replacement head. It will be ordered from the factory in China and will take time to get here.

Just Brilliant Fashion from Jason Wu is Brilliant

The "Just Brilliant Fashion" is a Limited Edition of 450 and was designed by Jason Wu for his Lana Turner/Hollywood Royalty line. The retail price was $75. My model is "A Fashionable Life Vanessa" (Platinum) who has been given a tall body.
The gown's construction is flawless; the look, timeless; the fit, perfect. I couldn't ask for more. The cute black patent shoes have one off-center rhinestone.
We love jewelry for our divas and this fashion comes with dangling rhinestone earrings, a double strand bracelet of rhinestones, a giant ring with a silvery grey stone and a big pin which I have attached at the waistline.
I was pleased to see that the packaging was conservatively made so that the bottom few inches of the gown needed to be folded. I used a light steam iron through a press cloth on the skirt to get the crease out and had no problem. Please don't ever use an iron directly on any doll clothes and start out with a cooler iron that you think you need. Be careful near metallic embroidery. Steaming often does the trick on items that can't be ironed like tulle. I have heard that some people iron tulle successfully; I'm not one of those.
The faux fur stole is soft and has a thickness which is in perfect scale. My preference is to show off the gown without the stole covering any of it.
There is a little problem with several pair of shoes lately in that the heels are too tall. This makes the doll tip forward. Either platforms need to be put under the front of the shoe or the heels need to be made shorter. A collector can remedy this by cutting out a small piece of thin foam or vinyl (or two) and gluing them under the shoe front. If the color of the vinyl/foam is white and the shoe is black, use a permanent marker to color the edges. Make sure that the foam does not extend past the edge of the shoe.

4-16-08 Lana

Lana Turner as seen through the eyes of Jason Wu. At first I didn't like her. She came with her hair very tightly rolled in an awkward style. Once I relaxed it, she took on a very glamorous air.