Showing posts with label True Royalty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label True Royalty. Show all posts

7/01/2019

Summer Project Continued Part V

July 1, 2019

Vanessa "True Royalty" 2006.  Rerooted
Wearing Antonio Realli dress. I don't recall the origin of her hat.

I've always thought True Royalty was one of the least attractive of all the 1.0 Vanessa dolls. There is something weird about her face - it's as if it is pushed in at the upper part of the nose.
But her clothing was beautiful and so different that she was irresistible.
There was a big controversy before her actual release. First of all, one had to buy a Magma Heritage calendar. It was filled with beautiful FR photography. If you bought a calendar, you became eligible to be in a lottery to be able to purchase her. There were a few pissed off collectors. Then she was listed at one price and shortly after, Integrity tried to raise the price. Collectors rebelled and IT backed down. Magma Heritage, who owned the exclusive, stopped being an IT dealer after that.
I had a lot of fun photographing her in her original form. Some of those photos are located in posts on this blog.




Here is her original presentation.  This was a very large padded box and it was fabulous. It was one of three "Atelier" products ever offered by IT. They did not call it a gift set if I remember correctly.





Vanessa "Aerodynamic" 2009.  Repainted by Vin Trapani
Wearing "Illustrious Luxury Wear Costume" Available at Gloss Convention 2014  as an outfit only. I've always thought it was unattractive to show the under-bust joint on a doll wearing a low cut gown. In this photo, I have edited the joint out.





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June 30, 2019

Vanessa "High Tide" 2007
Wearing Elise Jolie "Flawless"




Vanessa "Sheer Sensuality" 2014
Wearing a OOAK by unknown (at this stage) artist.


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4/02/2016

New Dresses from Antonio Realli and Kingdom Doll Brunel

I have two new gowns from Antonio. Both are classic designs using wonderful fabrics and the addition of a bit of bling. I love dressing my dolls this way.

First is "Flawless" Elise in a flowing chiffon confection with metallic silver abstract shapes 'painted' on.  The belt is adorned with rhinestones. Jewelry Integrity Toys "True Royalty."




This model is Monogram "Dreamscape."
This gown has a lacy overlay that is embellished with sequins.  More sparkle is provided by the belt which is a mix of tiny metallic balls and rhinestones.
Jewelry by Joy.




Brunel was in my studio at the same time and wanted to get in on the fun.
She is wearing a Tonner outfit called "Impressionist Chic" and KD shoes. The Tonner fashions for Tyler fit the KD dolls fairly well. I pin the bust and torso to make them smaller. I lament not keeping many of the Tonner gowns I sold now that I see how beautiful my KD's look wearing them. I've been hunting bargains on these older fashions which are few and far between.
The different scale dolls look so strange together.  Elise looks terrified. I should have spent some time posing her better.



Here is Brunel showing off her great legs.


1/09/2015

Today's Daily Dose of Vanessa - True Royalty


My re-rooted True Royalty Vanessa is lounging in a dress originally owned by Isha "Go North." (2011, IFDC)

For those of you who were not around for the drama in 2006 between Integrity Toys, Magma Heritage and the collectors who pre-ordered the doll, here goes.

 For approximately one year prior to her release, collectors knew that in order to get her we had to purchase Madison's (owner, Magma Heritage) calendar for $20. Essentially it was a lottery ticket to purchase this Atelier doll for $199. There were plenty of pissed off people who purchased the calendar, which was pretty nice anyway, and didn't get chosen. Several months before the "due" date of the doll, Integrity made an announcement that they were raising the price of the doll. My recollection is vague but I think it was $35. We had already made a deposit on a $199.99 doll. A few collectors balked and called foul claiming that the deposit was a contract, blah, blah. Integrity backed down but something happened between Madison and the company because after the doll was distributed, Madison was no longer a dealer and kind of disappeared from the Fashion Royalty scene.

The Singapore based store is still going strong and sells mainly Blythe and Pullip. Madison was an amazing photographer.

Here are IT's promotional photos of the Atelier doll, True Royalty.




BTW There have been only three Atelier dolls: Poesie Sans Couleur, True Royalty and A Brighter Side (Kyori.)  The presentation boxes were gorgeous tri-fold, padded exterior creations.
Those were the glory days of Fashion Royalty.




8/17/2011

My Favorite Fashion Royalty Sculpt, Vanessa

I'm talking about the real Vanessa, not Waldo. This is Aerodynamic Vanessa.


She was repainted by Vin Trapani and given an FR2 body.


 I did not like True Royalty Vanessa at first. She had a pushed in face and looked emotionally damaged. She may have been the palest Fashion Royalty doll to have ever been released at that time and would have made a great vampire.

 

I worked with heat on her head to reshape it. When I still didn't like her, I had her rerooted. No gold ring yet.  The other day, after plucking the chicken feathers out of Go North's gorgeous gown, I put it on True Royalty, combed her hair partially over her face and loved it. Yay!

 

  


3/12/2011

Homage to Vanessa

Here is a picture of every Vanessa in my collection.  A few have been re-rooted. One is a duplicate who has been repainted and re-rooted.  There are a few I have never redressed.
—Do you have a favorite Vanessa?
—Which is your favorite picture?

Pictures have been posted in a small size but you can click on each to enlarge.

True Royalty
AFL Platinum
Temptation
Shock Bon Bon
Runway Ready
Poesie Sans Couleur
Intoxicating Mix
AFL Raven
Pale Fire
Aerodynamic
High Tide
Color Therapy
Cruise Control
Flame Blue
Going Places
High Tide
In Bloom
Luxe Life
Metal Maven
Miami Glow
Night Warrior
Obsidian Society
Shirred Not Shaken
I never realized there were so many redhead Vanessas! The last two pictures are not the same doll although the appearance is remarkably similar.

7/23/2009

Queen V Veronique: Japanese DollyBird Magazine Exclusive Giftset

When we were first shown promotional images of Queen V, I didn't think she was worth the price. At that time she would have cost approximately $400 as shipping was from Japan. The images of her were artsy - colorized and indistinct. Her edition size is 400.

Recently, I saw some real pictures of her with rerooted hair. She looked beautiful. I took the plunge and purchased the giftset. It was not an easy decision because the total was $350 with shipping included.
Opening her box was a delight.
She is gorgeous and different from any other Fashion Royalty doll in that her skin tone is translucent. Her facial screening is subdued and perfectly applied. The fabric of the gown feels like silk and I'm assuming that it is. The "jewels" on her bodice are sewn on, not glued. She's got a load of bling which a queen ought to have! Her crown is very lightweight metal and care needs to be taken with that.
The crowning glory are the shoes. There are two pairs and each is really a jewel in itself. The pair on the right is trimmed with metallic gold and has gold heels.
It didn't take me long to undo the ribbons and threads holding her prisoner in the box.
I think if I had seen photographs of her looking like this, I might not have been able to resist buying her right off the bat.
When it comes down to it, a good, clear photograph can be very artistic as well as a cloudy, suggestive one. A queen represents power and wealth and her portrait says so!

One thing about the doll could have been improved - her hair. It's an intricate and wonderful hair style for this doll but it's messy. There are numerous frizzies and broken pieces. I trimmed off quite a few but could not neaten up the curls more than this.
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The additional outfit is a silky bustier, panties, a lacy garter belt and lace top stockings.
I am very happy with this doll and her fashions. She's a keeper. She's more beautiful than True Royalty!
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Let's do a comparison. True Royalty Vanessa, the second Atelier Giftset, was released at the end of 2006 but shipped at the beginning of 2007. The edition size was 500. The price was $180. plus a calendar which was a required purchase in order to be entered into the lottery. Shipping was $53. from Singapore. That brought the total to approximately $253.
The doll came with a huge, intricate gown, lots of jewelry, a fantastic head piece, lingerie and another strange little fashion. But she came with only one pair of shoes! Her hair was very well done and I don't think her hair style was an easy one. She is still fetching above retail for NRFB condition.
I think in terms of value for the money, True Royalty is a little higher because of the additional outfit. Unfortunately, I never had much use for the jacket and bloomer shorts. But they were fabulously constructed as was everything in that set.

Yes, prices have risen and I'm sure it costs the manufacturers more to make their dolls as well. As long as the quality stays high, collectors are pleased. They may gripe about the prices but griping about bad hair and missing accessories is worse. This has been a bad hair year for Integrity. I really hope the factory workers get better training for the future dolls.