Showing posts with label Isha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isha. Show all posts

7/06/2019

Summer Project Part VII - The End

This project wraps up with 3 gorgeous dolls.

July 6, 2019

Adele "Frosted Glamour" 2017
Dressed in her original fashion. 



It was difficult for me to get a really good photo of her outside so here is an indoor one that shows the shadows and highlights the way they should be.




Agnes Von Weiss "Devotion" W Club Exclusive 2018
Wearing original fashion.

I'm not a fan of the Agnes sculpt. I've had many and always wound up selling them and I wasn't sure if I'd keep this doll when she arrived. Well, she is staying! The jewelry and the henna are beautiful. The black dress doesn't do anything for me but it makes a decent backdrop for the rest. 







Isha "Divinity" 2018
Wearing original fashion.






The line of dolls called "Sacred Lotus Collection" by Integrity Toys is inspired and beautiful. I'm still expecting the Elise "Divinely Luminous,"  which is a W Club exclusive.




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That does it for my 12" Integrity Toys collection. I have managed to halve it in the last three years. The process of photographing each doll this season has pointed out to me that I can still eliminate a few here and there but there are still many that I just love. They bring me joy. 

1/08/2019

The Best and The Rest: My Collection 2018

It goes without saying that life has a way with our hobby for which we don't always plan. I started out the year recovering from bilateral knee replacement surgery. Going up and down the staircases in my house was not my favorite activity. Then, somewhere around July, we were going to move. The first thing I packed was my dolls. Needless to say, we did not move so I had to unpack and I'm not quite done. I made the difficult decision to sell off my large Tiny Kitty collection. Tiny Kitty dolls were the ones that brought me to the 16" Tonner dolls and from there...well, you know how it goes. I must admit that this is not the first time I have begun to sell my TKs. This time I'm determined as there is no room and I don't keep dolls in boxes.
It's time to review what I've added to my doll collection during 2018.

The Best

An interesting turn of events was my buying several of Integrity Toy's 12" dolls.  I had cut back almost entirely for quite a while but IT really brought it to Fashion Royalty this past year.

Eugenia Modernist was a 2018 W Club Membership Registration Upgrade Doll. This doll is stunning with her dark skin tone and sleek light blue mini dress with matching round handbag. Her open-toed silver thigh-high boots and silver accessories made her a perfect doll to add to the tribe.




I wasn't going to go for her but every time I looked at her picture, I loved her more and more: 


Elise Jolie "Perfume Blond" W Club 10th Anniversary by Jason Wu Doll.  She was quite pricey as she came with a full-sized bottle of Jason Wu perfume which I don't particularly care for. I tried it at a department store. She also comes with a miniature of the perfume bottle which I love. Her pastel peach, sparkle-embellished gown is one of Jason's creations as well. I was able to sell the real perfume and so brought the total down somewhat.





Isha Kalpana Narayan "Divinity" W Club Doll was irresistible to me because of all her jewelry accessories and the pretty style of her lace and tulle dress. I think the henna designs on her forearms and hands are a beautiful accent.




"Hot To The Touch" Bellamy Blue is an Industry Line doll. I don't collect guy dolls any longer (or so I say) but when I saw this one's fashions, I caved.  I'm still on the fence about keeping him and that's why I don't have a free-standing photo of him.




Victoire Roux's "Divine Evening" fashion was added. It fits my Monogram dolls perfectly and it's not black.



It's close to impossible for me to choose the best of Kingdom Doll 2018. I love all of them.  I can't choose a favorite. The Seren giftset, The Eden Atelier doll and Vanbrugh are all gorgeous.  Seren came with several outfits and many accessories and props. Eden's gown and wig are truly miniature works of art. Vanbrugh is a classic stunner. She looks amazing in every wig and every style I put on her.
Seren


Eden

Vanbrugh


The Kingdom Doll Convention Dolls all had the newly redesigned body. Like most conventions, there is a souvenir doll and often an optional companion doll. In Scotland, our souvenir doll was Rosalind "The Red Queen." She has dimples and is so cute.



There were two companion dolls. Attendees had to decide in advance, without seeing her,  if they wanted the white or the black. We were told that their outfits were the same but their effect would be very different. Normally I'd go with black but I decided to let fate decide for me as I knew both would be fabulous. The black sold out and I am happy to say that I was thrilled with Raphaella, The White Queen. This gal has freckles and a very youthful vibe. That was unexpected.



This gorgeous doll was a surprise gift from Kingdom Doll to the attendees. Her name is Realm.


Another Kingdom Doll I added to my collection prior to the convention last year was Electra. In this photo, my skeleton is playing with her. She is about to lose her patience. Electra was the first doll released with the new body.


Kingdom Dolls are my favorite dolls.

Fashions from other sources deserve special mention in my "Best of" category.  I purchased 7 outfits from Aquatalis, a company in Vietnam you can find on Etsy. Two haven't arrived yet. of the other 5, one stands out. They call it Chandos. It is embroidered all over with flowers and leaves. Nimue models.


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This one hurts to write about because she was not an inexpensive doll and I had very high expectations of this company. The doll is Dominion Doll's new 12" creation, Aura.  Before I buy another, I will make sure the following has been taken care of.
First of all, her earring holes are too small for any of my earrings (and I have hundreds of pairs) to fit. It's a fairly minor issue if I wanted to get out my jeweler's drill and fix it but do I? I'm not about to send her back to Russia for such a minor issue.
The major issue is that her ankles do not support the weight of her upper body. I recall having this issue with the early Numina dolls. The joints are always going their own way when I try posing her standing normally and this is unacceptable. I'm going to have to wire them.

However, she is gorgeous but she does need better engineering. Ease of posing a doll is very, very important to me.

I have spoken with a collector friend and apparently, her Dominion doll does not have this issue. Hmmm.

I'm going to try her in a lighter-weight fashion such as slacks or simple sheaths. That could make a difference. But still...




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The Rest

I have already written about how disappointed I was with the Outlander Dolls, Jamie and Claire Fraser. Claire was one of the most unattractive dolls that Tonner has ever produced IMO.  I gave that doll a lot of chances and nothing made her look good. She did not look at all like the actress who plays the role of Claire. Not a wee bit. The face and body of this doll are huge. Her clothes and shoes are way too large for Tyler or for any other doll I own. Both had to go.   

 

As far as Jamie, he has an attractive sculpt. The jury is out on whether or not he looks like the TV Jamie. His hair came in a dorky style. I washed and restyled it, sold his outfit and redressed him. Not great but he's staying.

 

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All in all, it was a very good year. I love my collection and enjoy gazing at each doll. My dolls live a great fantasy life with the finest fashions, jewelry, hairdos and accessories. They don't get wrinkles, gain weight or get sick. They always look wonderful and they get to have things like tiny liquor bottles filled with real Scottish whisky!


5/18/2015

Integrity Toys 2015 Spring Collection

On Saturday, May 16th, Alain Tremblay, Carol Roth, David Buttry and Vaughn Sawyer worked the eager, tuned-in masses of the W Club with the introduction of the new dolls. It was noted that these are not all the 2015 dolls. Roth gushed over the fact that this is the 10th Anniversary of the W Club and the 20th Anniversary of Integrity Toys.

First up is the new Katy Keene line that I was so looking forward to. It was a little disappointing to hear that they used the Color Infusion/Jem Body. A larger busted, more curvy body would have been perfect for a doll from this era. As far as re-using existing sculpts, why not make the doll look like Katy Keene? All that work put in to a new line and for what?
I would have bought the entire line; as it was, I pre-ordered only "Blue Serenade" and "Shimmering Dynasty."
I love the suits on Lorelei and Gloria but not the dolls so much. The Jem sculpt leaves me cold.

Lucky Red Lorelei  Jem sculpt
"Winning Number" LE 425 
Gloria Grandbuilt  Tilda Brisby sculpt
"The Odds Are Stacked" LE 500

Katy Keene Sculpt: Jem 'Rapture' and Darby Kenner
"Blue Serenade" LE 500
Evening gown adapted from the comic itself.

Katy Keene
"Shimmering Dynasty" LE 500
Black holographic sequin gown lots of jewelry.
 
Katy Keene
"Everything's Keene" LE 500  Gift Set


Prices of the Katy Keene were $145. per dressed doll and $185. for the gift set.
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Vaughn Sawyer introduced the FR 16 line. 

He said his inspiration was "Strong, independent, powerful women, classic clothing, timeless fashion." I think in most cases he achieved that. For me, the handbags were the highlight of this particular line and the toned-down eye makeup. He explained that it's not airbrushed but they attempted a style to resemble airbrushing.
My favorite outfit was Fall Phenomenon. Exuberance was a crowd favorite.
I didn't order any of the FR16.

"Super Natural" Anais McKnight DD LE400  $175.
 
 "Incognito" Elsa Lin DD LE400  $175.


"Fall Phenomenon" Elsa Lin DD LE400 $175.


"Shades of Grey" Hanne Erickson DD LE 400  $175.


"Exuberance" Hanne Erickson DD   LE 400  $200.

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Poppy Parker  The Model Scene Collection  Later 60's
Inspiration: (David Buttry) Diana Vreeland's Fashion Models
I don't collect Poppy Parker but I think this collection is quite successful and I preordered three from this line! Had I been a collector I would have ordered three more. Spring Song was surprising for it's unusual character role that Poppy plays. It's my least favorite. My overall favorite is The Camera Loves Her. I love the era she portrays and the fashion is adorable. The black Poppy Parker "Midas Touch" is very pretty and her outfit is also adorable. And then I couldn't resist Nigel because of his cool jacket. I have a great group of Hommes in my FR collection and he will definitely add another dimension.


"Go See!" LE750   $120



"Spring Song" LE800  $120
Romantic Edwardian look 




"The Camera Loves Her" LE 800   $120  



"Hippie Dippy" mini giftset LE 700
IT direct exclusive $130.




"The Midas Touch"  LE 600  $120
Poppy Parker DD  AA skintone



"Wedding Belle"  LE900  $120


"Out of this World"  LE 900   $120


"Peace, Love and Soul" LE 500   $120
Darla Daley 


"Hot Shot"  LE 600  $120
Nigel North   New Sculpt


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Vaughn Sawyer
Fashion Royalty designers met with Jason who suggested debs and socialites of the early 60's.

"Style Notes" Isha LE 700 $135.
Sleek and sophisticated.

"Prestige" Natalia  LE 700  $135.
Nice suit but the hat is a jarring accessory. 

 "Decorum" Eugenia LE800  $135.

"Refinement" Vanessa 3.0 LE 800   $145.
Under the coat is a smart black skirt and shirt.


"Fine Print" Elise Jolie LE800  $145.
I love the fashion. I wish the hairstyle were more interesting.

"Fame Fable" Kyori Sato  LE 700   $135.


"Timeless" Adele Makeda (3.0)  LE700  $135.
Disastrous color dress for this doll. The gown is very Disney Princess.


"Perfect Reign" Tatyana Alexandrova (2.0)  LE 700  $135.
Beautiful Tatyana. I've never seen her look better.



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"Royal Treatment" Veronique - cream skin tone  $225.
Special Event Doll Gift Set





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For a great visual comparison of Integrity Toy's female bodies, Michaela Unbenau's Flickr page has pictures.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelaunbehau/8181878391