Integrity Toys Unveils "East 59th" Collection

I'm going to post most of the description directly from the announcement and add my commentary at the end.

Featuring elaborate vintage-inspired looks created by Integrity Toys designer Chris Stoeckel and a storyline he collaborated on with Alain Tremblay, the EAST 59th collection promises to take us back in time to chic and swanky 1950's New York, where the bold personalities of the talented individuals involved in the modeling, advertising and PR scene clash for a bigger share of the marketing pie! Everyone from newcomers seeking to be discovered and chasing the American Dream to socialites wanting a bigger presence in the high-society pages of top fashion magazines will stop at nothing to be noticed! This is where we come in... and where Victoire Roux will enter later...

The story goes like this:

Picture a woman, a man, a big city and a chance meeting that would launch the career of a lifetime.

As we furtively glanced at each other in the luscious decor of the Hawthorn Room, I immediately knew that a truly exciting path was ahead. My name is Evelyn Weaverton and my life completely changed the day he discovered me. 

That is until she arrived on the scene, the mane of all my troubles, the one everyone in the industry loved to hate, Constance Madssen.

I found fame, drama and love on East 59th, wrapped in the arms of glamour. This Spring, follow our adventures and together we will shine like no one ever has 

Luxurious Leisure

Constance Madssen™ Dressed Doll

Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide

Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US

Head Sculpt: Constance Madssen (New Sculpt!)

Hair Color: Raven

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied

Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0

Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet

Skin Tone: Cream

Classic Glamour

Evelyn Weaverton™ Dressed Doll

Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide

Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US

Head Sculpt: Evelyn Weaverton™  (New Sculpt!)

Hair Color: Flame Red

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied

Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0

Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet

Skin Tone: FR White

Captivating Cocktails

Constance Madssen™ Dressed Doll

Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide

Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US

Head Sculpt: Constance Madssen™  (New Sculpt!)

Hair Color: Luxe Blond

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied

Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0

Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet

Skin Tone: Cream

Glittering Gala

Evelyn Weaverton™ Dressed Doll

Edition Size: 400 Dolls Worldwide

Suggested Retail Price: $135.00 US

Head Sculpt: Evelyn Weaverton™ (New Sculpt!)

Hair Color: Brunette

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied

Body Type: EAST 59th 1.0

Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet

Skin Tone: FR White

 _____________________________

Constance Madsen's sculpt is rather insipid (like so many of the CI dolls.)

When I saw that they had a new body type, I immediately eliminated them from consideration. That was the issue that doomed the Katy Keene line as well. The suits designed for Katy's companion were stunning but the body just did not work for me with it's giant hands and enormous feet. 

Collectors like me want variety but we also like dolls to be able to share clothes and shoes. 

IMO the great majority of collectors currently populating the W Club are not, for the most part, vintage oriented. They like young, edgy fashion so I am surprised that the dolls are sold out on pre-order. 

Chris is a very popular and talented designer. This would make an excellent line of 50's fashions to purchase separately if they were the proper size for Fashion Royalty dolls.  

Why are their shoes plastic? That's a new backward step.

Robert Tonner and Vintage Sindy! What?

Starting at minute mark 17:00 Robert Tonner appears to discuss his company's plans to reproduce vintage Sindy dolls.

I have the 20 minute video set to begin a few seconds before Robert's appearance.

http://youtu.be/DzH6VC7oK1Y?t=16m40s

The 4th annual Sindy convention celebrated her 50th birthday on Saturday, July 27th. in the UK.
The only contact I ever had with Sindy was scouring the internet for 1/6 scale furniture for my Fashion Royalty dolls.

Over the years I've had Sindy beds, dressing tables, wardrobes, a lamp table, breakfronts, dressers, a dining table with chairs, a fabulous writing desk with ottoman and sofas. It was great stuff and you can still find it on eBay.

The earliest Sindy product was made by Pedigree. There's a really cute standing hairdryer on eBay (UK) right now for £19.99. I'm so tempted.

My picture of the Sindy Lounger with added umbrellas.

My picture of the bench that went with the dressing table.

My picture of the writing bureau.

There are wonderful pieces of Sindy dolls, furniture and accessories out there. 

Sindy is the free, swinging girl that every little girl longs to be. Sindy has sports clothes, glamour clothes, everyday clothes — a dog, skates, a gramophone — everything... Every genuine Sindy outfit is a child's dream come true. Each one is designed for today's fashionable young women by today's leading women designers. They are authentic miniature replicas of the latest adult clothes.

If you would like to know more about Sindy, Wikipedia has an excellent page:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindy

 

Two final images are copyrighted Pedigree Toys.

Seen on Prego

Today Jurrie de Vries posted several pictures of  his vintage bubble cut Barbie wearing the Grace Kelly gown from the movie To Catch A Thief.

Photo by Jurrie de Vries

 I like it so much better here than on the Grace Kelly doll.

Mattel's To Catch A Thief Grace Kelly

 The model muse pose is so tiring.  Jurrie's picture has movement. Gorgeous work!

A Kentourage for Ken by Pat Henry, Editor of Fashion Doll Quarterly

Article reprinted by permission of the author, Pat Henry. I have added the pictures below.

A Kentourage for Ken

 As we continue to celebrate Ken’s birthday as well as his reunion with Barbie in 2011, it is fun to look back at Ken through the years and his many styles of dress. Certainly, his place as Barbie’s consort meant a lot of coordinating looks. “Dreamboat” by itself is just a few pieces of sportswear, but putting Barbie and Ken in the roadster while Babs is in “Open Road” becomes an entire narrative.

Certainly, the matching cheerleader/football player is a classic, as is the costume party pairing of “Pierrot” and “Pierrette”, along with the fantasy driven costumes for the Little Theatre, like “Cinderella” and “The Prince”. But to me, the realistic and well made details of “The Yachtsman” or “Rally Day” reminds me of my own father’s wardrobe. The smell of after shave and soap, along with the classic lines of a striped tee shirt, or a driving cap and a Macintosh raincoat, combine to form a tiny time capsule of early sixties high style, when men (and women) still dressed for work and play with a certain sensibility.

Of course, Ken continued to stay abreast of the fashion times. After disappearing for a while during the sixties, Ken made the first of many comebacks with a brand new look. Now, he was “buff” and fit, ready to hit the beaches of Malibu as a blond, or take up extreme grooming with newly rooted hair and sideburns. His clothes stayed apace with Barbie’s; the prints became louder, the pant legs wider. Ken sported turtlenecks more often than ties, and left best bud Allan behind for Brad, a much hipper dude of color. Ken embraced rock and disco, sports cars and guitars.

At this time, I remember more of my male friends actually being allowed their own Ken dolls. Whether they wore their mothers down, or they just swiped their sister’s dolls, it didn’t seem like such a big deal to play “Barbies” with the neighborhood girls. (That may have been due to our stealing their G.I. Joes, but that’s another story for another time.) These dolls were no longer just Barbie and Ken, they were secret agents, astronauts, and rock stars, reflecting our growing interest in pop culture and the adult world around us.

Depending on your age, you probably have your favorite Ken. Mine was the first “Talking” Ken. I thought he was just dreamy. His dazzling smile and his groovy short-sleeved Nehru jacket was just fabulous! But there are so many other Kens for different times and different generations that must be represented, so I recently flew to Los Angeles and headed to El Segundo for a special photo shoot featuring the entire “Kentourage”.

Not only was it a thrill to work in Mattel’s photo studios, but also everyone had a favorite Ken and a story to go with it. Paul Jordan shot an amazing group photo that will become a centerfold spread in our special issue of FDQ, and the soundstage set looked like something from the MGM lot. Mary Jordan did the styling, placing each Ken perfectly on set, looking as though they were talking and interacting with each other. Lars Auvinen is the secret star of these shoots. He designs the sets, and molds and paints tiny pieces of wood and foam into the astounding miniature world that Ken resides in.

In an era where everyone assumes “it’s Photoshoppped”, it is truly a treat to see a full scale set with tiny phones, working doors and a boom camera hanging over the dolls’ heads as if they are actors ready to go on set. Make sure you get to see this amazing photograph in FDQ and on the Barbie Collector site. It’s part of Ken’s history and something to cherish.
___

Pat Henry is the publisher and editor of Fashion Doll Quarterly. She is a former fashion stylist and Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology in the Photography Department. Pat lives in NYC with her husband Hal and their fox terrier, Bo, and a large assortment of fashion dolls and action figures.

Swirl Ponytail Barbie & My Favorite Black Barbie - Vintage Reproductions

If I collected Barbies, I'd definitely get this set. It looks so cute. I love the record player and records. The pink checked dress is adorable and the doll looks like the real thing. And, I'm guessing she will not have green ear. Priced at $40. at Marsha's Dollhouse, it seems like a pretty decent buy.

Another attractive and well-priced set is called My Favorite Black Barbie. She comes clad in a full length gown, lots of jewelry and accesories and what appears to be a gold trimmed, white tuxedo type suit. I don't like the "Do the Hustle" pose on this doll but she's a cutie with a great afro and is a good candidate for a body transplant. The blog, Black Doll Collecting, has an interesting post and pictures of the original Black Barbie.

In my opinion, the only one who can get away with wearing a white pant suit with one arm in the air is John Travolta.
My Favorite Career dolls, part of the My Favorite Barbie Doll line will see:
a Registered Nurse

a Student Teacher

a Pan American Airways Stewardess

and Miss Astronaut Barbie Dolls.

I like all of them! On BarbieCollector.com these are priced at $39.95. My Favourite Doll has them listed at $49.95. USD and CDN.

There is something wholesome about the vintage dolls (and copies thereof) lacking in the uber-sophisticated Barbies of today. But that's probably what our grandparents might have said 40 years ago about the dolls from their childhood.