Designer Ties One On or An Ungapotchked Outfit

"Exquisite"~ A New Monogram Doll ~ An MFD LE300 Exclusive ~ $175.00

In the new design tradition (don't ask)  of Tricks of the Trade Eugenia, Regal Solstice Anja, Out of the Blue Kyori and Fire Within Jordan, Integrity Toys has released a new Monogram doll called Exquisite. Sigh. 
 On Wednesday, April 20, a lottery was announced to generate excitement and sales of this doll.

Integrity Promotional Photo

 MFD  has had gorgeous exclusives from the very start of the Fashion Royalty line:

Soir De Paris LE 200 $35.00

Paradise Veronique LE 750 $35.00

Girl of the Moment Veronique LE 1000 $72.00

Overachiever Eugenia LE 450 $139.99

Marg Matsui, the owner of My Favourite Doll aka MFD has hosted several Wu conventions and is an established and important dealer.

To my knowledge, with an exclusive, the dealer arranges for the creation of and pays for the item up front. I wonder how much of the design process is shared. I think perhaps only the concept is discussed.


For the sake of Marg Matsui, I hope the dolls sell out quickly. From the comments on the W Club board, the chances of that happening quickly appear slim. But only a very small percentage of the membership actually posts so one doesn't really know what most of the W Club thinks. The rest of the dolls will be available to the collecting public after the lottery winners take theirs.

I didn't want to post large pictures of the following because one can get lost in the details. In every case below the doll fashion is either overly designed or overwhelms the doll itself. In the last case, the draping is exceedingly poor.  Dolls aren't human and can't move on a runway. The clothes have to look good on the doll with zero motion. A real model can prance and walk down a runway in such a way as to make an outrageous fashion look amazing. Dolls can't.

Several years ago I was going crazy because every Tonner Tyler Boutique item coming out had bows and ribbons. Good grief. Now they're ruffle crazy.

Is it the economy or are the dolls just unpopular?

It seems that I've been asking this question on and off for almost two years regarding the prices consumers are willing to pay for certain dolls. This week it's a buyers' market when it comes to Integrity's Gene Marshall line and several Fashion Royalty/NuFace dolls.
I have never, in my years of collecting Fashion Royalty dolls, seen an established dealer selling FR dolls at a discounted price. I'm not talking about the play line dolls from IT. I'm talking about Jason Wu's Fashion Royalty and NuFace Premium Dressed Dolls.
Starting tomorrow, Cherished Friends will be selling off a varied selection of IT 16" and 12" dolls. I've seen them and the prices are excellent. Mary T already has a sale on Gene dolls running. I'm guessing other dealers will follow suit. Marlbe has some FR dolls on sale.
As far as the playline ITBE dolls, MFD is dumping them for $15. each. Makes you wonder how much they cost to make in the first place.
They have also reduced the prices of dolls and fashions from the Gene Marshall line.
MFD's prices on these dolls is very good. You will have to go to the specific sites to see for yourself.

Some dealers are still hoping to get retail on these dolls. But you don't have to pay retail. Shop around. There are many other dealers other than the ones I mentioned above and more dolls on sale other than those pictured.

In my opinion, now is also the time to buy older Fashion Royalty dolls...especially Veronique. I just scored an original close-up blonde Vero fully dressed with shoes still in their package, mint box and shipper for $50 including shipping. That was a very good price. This is my third original Vero. They come and go but I will be keeping this one. I want to try putting eyelashes on her. I have several tall bodies and she will be getting one. Her straight arm body is in excellent condition! They're not all falling apart as some say they are. I think it depends on on the climate and environment where it is stored. The quality of the garment is so fine it makes me pine for the olden days. This doll was $29.99 when it was released in 2001-02 in an edition of 1000 along with a redhead version and an Adele.

Here is the most informative link and I go to this reference site all the time for my archival info on Integrity Toys and Fashion Royalty products. Collect the earlier dolls! Their faces are gorgeous and timeless. These early 2001-2003 dolls would make a great foundation in any Fashion Royalty collection either nude or in original clothing:
Véronique Perrin Silver Society
Véronique Perrin Lush Life
Adèle Makeda Close-Up
Véronique Perrin Close-Up Redhead or Blonde
Véronique Perrin Midnight in Monaco
Adèle Makeda Purple Factor
Véronique Perrin Mauve Absolue
Véronique Perrin Paradise
Véronique Perrin Chic Escape

I have re-bodied all of my dolls who were originally on straight arm or 1st generation articulated bodies. I was not worried about affecting the value as I debox everything anyway. For resale purposes, 99% of the people want the latest body type.

Oh well. Everything changes. Time to look ahead to good things and take care of precious old things. Time to weed out the mediocre and to make decisions not to buy unexceptional stuff. It's not easy because so much looks so good.

Shop-on!

Review of Monogram Dolls "Enigmatic" and "Dreamscape"

Of the four Monogram dolls that were offered this season, Enigmatic was the first I picked. I was so happy to be getting her. She arrived recently along with Dreamscape, a doll that I had doubts about. I got two surprises.
Both dolls are non-rooted and both were $150. each.
Both were packaged in the fancy, glossy red boxes with the Jackson Pollack-type design on the front and a brass clippy thing. Can we get a discount if we don't want an big brass clippy-thing?

But I digress.

This is the first Monogram doll to have closed mouth screening although the sculpt is the same as all the other versions. The screening is very nice and she is lovely. Her skin color is quite pale...Queen V pale. Her wig is the default wig style - parted with a low pony tail in red. It fits very well.

I eagerly removed Enigmatic from her box only to find that I could not straighten her legs side by side due to the tightness of the skirt part of the dress. I moved them this way and that and no luck. No wonder she's shown in a walking stance in the promo pictures. I'm betting that every single dress on every single doll is tight. There is no way a stand is getting in between her thighs. The hat is a felt bendable headband type and since I love hats on my dolls, it stays.

The jacket fabric does not have any life. Fur is shiny; this fabric is dull. I'm sorry to say that this looks more like a plushy polar fleece than faux fur. Disappointing.

The shoes are beautiful. They are lined with a leopard print which matches the leopard panties she's wearing. I love that. The shoes are rather roomy which is good if the doll is wearing stockings. They slip on but could fall off without stockings. Her jewelry consists of a clustery beaded necklace and dark yellow rhinestone studs. I didn't bother to take the gloves out of their package. I don't like paper flowers attached to dresses. Ashton-Drake did that very often with Gene outfits and for me it ruins the outfit. Come on...there are plenty of tiny fabric rosettes out there. Who needs a stiff paper rose sewn to the back of a dress?

I wanted to love this doll. I don't spend $150 on a doll plus shipping just to write a critical review and I am very disappointed. Where is the quality control? Didn't anyone try to stand the doll up using the provided stand?


On the other hand, Dreamscape is lovely. Her screening is softer-looking and the gown, which I thought was odd at first, is well-made, properly fitted and very interesting. The points can be worn as points and can also be pushed in to form curved indents. The rosette on her shoulder is fabric and beautifully made. The ruching of the gown bodice is perfection.

Her shoes are black with teensy satin straps and they fit very well. Jewelry consists of pewter colored metal earrings with stones and a cuff bracelet.

Her own brunette wig fits well but will need some styling. The wig I have her wearing is a KIO wig from My Favourite Doll in Toronto, Canada. It, too, needed a great deal of styling and tweaking. The fibers are somewhat stiffer and thicker than saran hair fibers but the wig has possibilities. The part of the image showing the wig was Photoshopped to remove lots of fly-aways that I couldn't tame.

I love the hat which is netted and just what the outfit needs to complete the look. Hat pins in a proper scale would have shown attention to detail and a little evening bag would have been wonderful.

Dreamscape is a winner in every way. Is she worth $150.? If she brings me pleasure and everything fits and looks beautiful, then the answer is yes.

Integrity Toys' Dynamite Girls New Additions

It was announced yesterday that three new additions to Integrity Toys' Dynamite Girls line were about to be issued.
First, the R&D Exclusive Susie is making a reapparance with updated facial features and an adorable "layered" outfit.

Second, a Canadian exclusive called "Feelin' Fierce Dani" will be available from Maddie's Dolls & More, My Favourite Doll and Vogue Collectibles, Inc.

The third doll, Jett, wearing a hot silver jacket and looking all spy-like behind big sunglasses is also expected to be released at the end of June. She will be available from all Dynamite Girl dealers.

The dolls will retail for approximately $40 US. except Susie whose price is $45.
No information has been released regarding the edition size of the dolls but Maddie's sent out an email that she will have plenty. I ordered one. Any doll that has a little poodle-like dog is worth a shot. Don't you think?

Marg Matsui of MFD ~ My Favorite Barbie Collector

On the occasion of Barbie's 50th Anniversary, Marg Matsui of My Favourite Doll in Mississauga, Ontario, was interviewed by Canadian media outlets and here are the filmed results.

http://www.topvsbottom.com/barbie/mfd4.wmv