"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.
...............
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.

Fourth Annual Integrity Toys W Club "Toy Fair" Event

We arrived at the W Hotel in Manhattan shortly before the scheduled opening of the Integrity Toy's traveling store. I was expecting lots of deals and goodies however we were presented with very little in the way of variety or bargains. A few items from the Gene Marshall line were reduced. There were dolls that didn't sell well in the retail market for sale at retail. Phase I of the AvantGuard dolls were available in limited quantities. Eclectic sold out fast. I wanted her fashion so I purchased one and sold the nude doll to another collector. I also picked up the Josephine Baker event doll called "La Joie de Paris." This is a Limited Edition of 350 dolls. At $120. this gal was no bargain but she looked beautiful in her futuristic blue and silver gown with the silver gauntlets and I couldn't resist. I really like the packaging of the Hollywood Royalty dolls with their window boxes and the featured doll's signature on the front of the box.

Josephine Baker photo courtesy of Integrity Toys

We sat and chatted and greeted eachother in the lovely seating area outside of the main event room until it was time to go in to dinner. The space was very large with tables set for the meal on one side of the room and the displays featuring the new lines on the other side.

On each table there were two dolls dressed similarly with the same color hair. One was a Luchia and the other was a Zita. At each place setting there was a placecard and a gift of an AvantGuard wig and a pair of shoes.

The food was very good. We had the steak. The service was excellent. Everyone I asked said they'd love to have a convention right there in Manhattan.

Brief remarks were made by Carol Roth,


Mel Odom,Jason Wu and Percy Newsome. Jason began his greeting by saying, "A few things have happened since we last met." We all laughed.

We browsed the collections during dinner. My comments on the dolls will be in posts to follow.

Prior to dessert, those who had won the opportunity to purchase the centerpiece dolls were notified and asked to go to the salesroom to pay for and pick up their dolls.

From 9:00PM to 10:00 PM a free cocktail party was held in the same room as the displays. The area of the dining room was partially partitioned off so that those who lingered over coffee could hang out. There were many areas outside of the main room to gather, chat and sit comfortably.

Overall, it was a fun mini-convention. The atmosphere was 100% superior to that of the FAO events of the previous two years. And it did not snow!

Some of our tablemates:




Marg of MFD and Luanne:

Bad Mood Alert

The verdict is in. Crusty, thick, dried and flaky hair goop with net marks is out. Both Moods dolls, Body Double and Blonde Ambition Veronique, have dismayed collectors with the amount of dried gel on their hair and residue on their faces. Body Double's curls are literally pasted to the sides of her face with the stuff. It doesn't wash out easily. Apparently when the factory workers 'set' the hair they use a hair net to hold it in place. Unfortunately the marks from the net remain as little lines of goop dry in a criss-cross pattern. The same thing happened on Josephine Baker and the convention doll, Tatyana. Josephine was so bad that there was lint stuck to her hair and everywhere else on her face. In the picture of Tatyana below, there are still some lines of goop remaining after I tried to flick them away with a fine needle.




There is a Thai woman on eBay, (parawatee2008), who creates intricate hairstyles in this mode. She uses something that leaves the hair shiny and beautiful. If she can do it, why can't Integrity?

Moving on to the clothing packs...
The Starry Night Moods Wardrobe which consists of a gown, hat, fur, shoes, gloves and jewelry has one major defect. The stitching on the front of the gown puckered the fabric. It shows up on all pictures of the gown I've seen. I think it was an unfortunate choice of fabric because the styling of the gown is lovely. The back with it's draped neckline and strands of rhinestones is just fabulous. The fur is sumptuous and in classic Wu fashion, the tails are attached with strands of beads. I love it. The hat is very nice and the rest of the fashion is fine. It's interesting how the fabric doesn't pucker on the back of the gown. One wonders if two different people made the gowns.


The French Dressing Deluxe Accessory Pack consists of a coat with a charming faux Persion lamb collar, a straw cloche, black tights, vinyl gloves, jewelry and shoes.
I headed straight for the wonderful wine colored gloves as I thought they were a wonderful looking accessory. Well, I want to know what type of doll these were made for. I could not get them on the doll even after attempting to stretch them. The coat looks great in the promos and terrible on the doll. One side of the collar hangs lower than the other. This was a poor execution of a good idea. I love the hat and after I removed the cheesy attachment and put a pin on it, it looks great.
The black tights are at least 1" too long and do not fit into the black shoes. What a waste.
In the photo below of Fierce Subject Kyori, she is wearing the cloche with the jeweled item from the FAO Tatyana giftset. The rest of her clothes are items from the 2008 convention.

Finally there is the Luxe Finish Accessory Set. Everything in this set is delightful. I love the purse and the fur. In the photo below of Body Double Veronique, she is wearing a Monique wig, the dress from a previous Fashion Royalty doll and the fur and jewelry from this set.



This were the first W Club exclusives of 2008. Why did they arrive mid-December? Something is wrong down in Baltimore. It's unfortunate because Jason is fabulously talented and when his designs aren't executed properly, it reflects on him.

My recommendations:
Get the dolls and change their hair. These are the last Veroniques with this facial mold. I think that's really sad because Vero is gorgeous. She is one of the two original characters and will be getting a new face. Body Double is the only tan Vero produced to date. The NRFB dolls seem to be going for $125. and nude for $100. Their original price was $84.
Most of these items are being sold on eBay for reasonable prices but hang in there because the price will drop on the clothing items.

Randall Craig Ready To Wear Fashion

The first is called A Little Moonlight. This ensemble was sold out at the major dealers fast. It is a lovely gray with silver dot chiffon halter dress circled at the waist by a silver belt. The accessories are clear beaded cluster earrings, silver handbag and shoes.

None of the shoes from any outfit fit properly. They don't go on all the way although they are not too small. They're just not made properly. This silver handbag is slightly misaligned and doesn't close all the way. It has velcro which is not strong enough to hold it shut.

Overall the outfit is beautiful and it's a keeper.

The model is a True Royalty who has been rerooted. She is wearing her own bracelet and shoes from Jennifer Sue.

The next outfit is called Solitude. LE 100. It is a slim column of satin with a band of sequins and gold braiding at the shoulder/neckline. Just under this neckline the dress is gathered. According to the Randall Craig website, the fabric is cut on the bias in order to create the lovely drape.
The accessories are dangling gold and black earrings, 4 small gold bangles, a gold clutch bag and shoes (that don't fit.)
The Model is She Means Business Veronique whose hair has been restyled by a Thai dressmaker. She is wearing black specator pumps with gold heels from Jennifer Sue and a "diamond" ring from Hilda.

The last is called April in Paris. This outfit consists of a beautifully constructed sleeveless chiffon print top, high waisted skirt with a gold belt. The accessories are a gold handbag, earrings and shoes. There is a papery flower as well. I really love this outfit but the skirt is a bit too tight. It's difficult to get the stand between the doll's legs and the tightness shows up in the crease across the hips. It is a great, classic day outfit and another keeper in spite of the small sizing issue.
The model is the new doll in Fashion Royalty's Hollywood Royalty series, Josephine Baker. She is wearing her own shoes.

I admire Randall Craig and his work. He himself is a master tailor. I have seen fashions he has remodeled into fabulous creations. These fashions are constructed in a very professional fashion. There is no scrimping on the tailoring. The shoes were disappointing but they were run of the mill plastic pumps and my own collection of shoes is more suitable for these fashions.

Counting My Blessings

I don't want to get all mushy here on a public blog but.....with the headlines being what they are and knowing that thousands have lost homes to foreclosure and thousands have lost jobs due to the tragic losses in business and the stock market decline, I am so blessed to have been able to attend an amazing function like the Wu Convention. It's pretty hard to believe that a few hundred of us got together to celebrate our love for these little vinyl objects of art while the world's economic markets are in economic chaos and decline. We are well fed (sort of), well-dressed and funded to the degree that we could spend at least $2,000 for a four day event and a few dolls!

There are several people trashing the convention collection on the doll boards. These are people who did not (could not?) attend. My suggestion to them is to move on to another hobby. Envy in any form is unattractive. End of rant.

My booty from this convention exceeded my every expectation. My Mom used to tell me not to 'brag' or someone would give me the 'evil eye.' LOL. But just in case the evil eye is on it's way to me I am protected by mirrors and if you send me the evil eye it is reflected back at you. Now that you all think I am completely crazed, I will proceed to say that hubby and I were lucky enough to be able to purchase every centerpiece! I had all my dolls shipped home and they are not here yet. Boo hoo. I did take my raffle win home. I won the 2008 Gene Convention doll, Distant Venus. I put all my tickets in her box and got lucky. (Sorry, Nise.)

Distant Venus

Since I don't have my own dolls to photograph yet, I am posting the official Integrity Toy's photos of the centerpiece and convention dolls here.

Fine Jewel Eugenia

Josephine Baker

Truce of the Matter Kyori Sato Giftset (Unknown Photographer)

"Shirred, Not Shaken Vanessa"

Tatyana Alexandrova Convention Doll