An Amazing Wig by Anthony in Hawaii

My good dolly friend ParadiseBlue-Jay sent me some pictures of his new wig.
This wig is from Anthony's "Extreme Couture Collection: Shaolin Collection" and is inspired by John Galliano's 2010 Haute Couture.
The doll is Aphrodisiac Avantguard. She is wearing an early Gene Marshall (Ashton-Drake) costume called Bird of Paradise.
Spectacular!

 

Randall Craig Fashion: New Sizing?

Recently I received one of Randall's new fashions, Delightful. It's a very pretty coral sheath with a bolero jacket that has puffed sleeves. The accessories include a black patent clutch bag, black patent belt, black plastic shoes and black bead earrings. Retail price, with shipping, was $62. from Mary T's Dollhouse.
According to the promotional text this item is "Fitted to Monogram dolls but will also fit Silkstones, ModelMuse, Poppy, NuFace, etc."

One of my Monogram dolls, Dreamscape, never had a photoshoot since she was first photographed in her pink gown. She was one of my (many) impulse purchases as I really didn't like her face.
I was not happy with the fit of the bodice on the Monogram. It was too big. The bolero pushed the bodice of the dress together at the front. There is too much  fabric at the sides and underarm seam so the doll can't have her arms at her sides. And...there is a really strange seam on the back of the jacket. It's as if it was made incorrectly and it was seamed to make it smaller.

The arrows point to the seams. What is this about? It's definitely not a design detail. They're like little puffy wings.

I had to take it off her and try it on another doll who was hanging out in the area.

 

It fits beautifully on a regular Fashion Royalty body but the seams under the arms are still too thick for the doll to lower her arms properly.
Both of these dolls have the side-glancing eyes that I mentioned in the previous post. Neither was popular. I had to cover Kyori's eyes as not only are they side glancing, they're flat and shiny.  If they're going to re-do a sculpt, Kyori needs new eyes.

Dasha in HJ Couture

Huck (Huckleberry Jackson) offered this dress during the event to raise money for Japan and I jumped on it. I am so happy I did. It's gorgeous and perfect for Dasha. I love this doll. The body is so attractive in spite of the ragged edges of the vinyl at the joints. (hint, hint) In the first image, Dasha is actually balancing on her own which, if nothing else, proves that the shoes were made properly. Yay.
These shoes are her originals and just happen to look amazing with this outfit. Even her original jewelry which has pink and green is perfection.

Let's talk about side glancing eyes, shall we? There's side glancing and there's suspicious. Dasha's eye screening borders on the latter. Look at this. She looks afraid....gorgeous but afraid.

Even in the profile view you can see her looking at you. This is not normal. I wonder if this is the reason she was not terribly popular. I'm getting a second head of this same doll and having the pupils repainted to look straight ahead.

More on side glancing eyes in the next post. Stay tuned.

Joan Greene Shows Rare Prototype Dolls for Nashville Fashion Week

Click here to see article.


Click here to see Joan's company website, Greene & Lam Studios 

How much profit is acceptable?

It's a topic that comes up over and over again. How much profit is acceptable?

 The newest Poppy Parker gift set, "I Love How You Love Me," has been shipping to collectors throughout the US this week. The retail price of this set was $150. plus shipping. I have seen three different people asking $500. for the set since yesterday. That's pretty shocking  I wonder if anyone is desperate enough to pay that much.

I'm not saying that I don't resell and make a profit on certain new items because I often do, but when I see someone asking for a really huge markup right on the W Club board before most even got their new doll, I cringe because of the "in your face" timing and location of the sale. You see this all the time on eBay and sometimes on the Show & Sell pages but there it's different.

A few years ago when I was buying the FR grails I needed, I paid way over retail especially for Poesie Sans Couleur Vanessa and Cosmetic Takeover Natalia. These dolls had been out for quite a while and were in extremely high demand. I did not resent the sellers for taking their profits at all. Many of the other early dolls I purchased were also high priced. I am happy to have most of these still in my collection - most notably the Veroniques from conventions.

One of the wonderful things about being part of a good doll community is trading. Once you have established a good reputation as a seller/trader, you can find people who have stuff you want and can trade. No money needs to be exchanged and you both get what you want!
My last Vanessa grail, raven AFL, was a result of a trade. I had a convention Agnes and she had the Vanessa. We both got what we wanted due to the successful completion of a trade.

Then on the other hand, maybe it's good that collectors are upping the prices. Doll values had fallen or stayed flat for the last two+ years. Is this a sign of economic recovery?

What I would really love to know is how much this set (or any doll) cost to manufacture.

SouoL by LouoS - Supporting Relief Efforts in Japan

In support of the relief efforts in Japan and other countries hit by the recent natural disaster, 50% of the sale of items from his "May You Blossom Again" series will be donated via Paypal to the Salvation Army.

One example from the collection:

Visit LouoS ArtFire site by clicking on the image above.

Coupons and Bargains

—Thursday, March 31 is the last day to redeem your first $20. reward at Barbie Collector.

—At Noon (EDT) on Thursday, at Tonner Direct, gift sets are 40% off and shipping is free!
The sets that the company is offering didn't originally come packaged as sets but they definitely work together.  The sale ends on april 8th at 11:59PM EDT.


13" Women of Power Gift Set of Three Dolls

 LOTR Elven Gift Set of Two Dolls

 

 Ladies of Oz Gift Set of Three Dolls

Twilight New Moon Gift Set of  Three Dolls

 Clash of the Titans Gift Set of Two Dolls

It would be fun to have those OZ dolls. I think they are so creatively designed. Of course I want them. I want everything I like but I'm not getting them. There is one tiny bit of impulse control left.

Perhaps if the 13" dolls had an attractive sculpt...well, I've said it already. They are mannish-looking.

Update: Renegade Dasha will come to Woodstock

A wonderful doll collector friend has allowed me to take over her lottery win for Dasha! I am thrilled.

But my darn GPS can't find the location of this tree.


In the meanwhile, Red Rabbit Misaki would like to say hello. Beware. She will eat your crops.

W Club Lottery Results

I was not lucky in this one. Apparently my luck has run out permanently as I haven't gotten a bite in more than a year! The spousal unit's account wins once in a while. So far joining the W Club this year has been a waste of money. I didn't order any of the upgrade dolls and I didn't get the opportunity to purchase a darn thing. 

Bah Humbug.

Photographical Elise

I love this doll's face.
 

 

 
She is so photographical...there's a song that uses that word:

My funny Valentine, sweet comic Valentine,
You make me smile with my heart,
Your looks are laughable, un-photographical,
Yet you're my favourite work of art.

Is your figure less than Greek ?
Is your mouth a little weak?
When you open it to speak, are you smart?
But don't change a hair for me,
Not if you care for me.
Stay little valentine, stay!
Each day is Valentine's Day .

Ashleigh and Antoinette

Two Tonner outfits had been waiting to be deboxed for quite a while.
Vivacious Antoinette is wearing "Play on Words."  I have to admit that I was surprised that I even ordered this outfit because it comes with a corduroy jacket that is so totally boring and does nothing for the outfit as a whole.

Tonner Photo

The promo calls it "safari inspired." It does have real buttonholes but that is all I can say in it's defense. One of the buttons popped right off when I first opened up the garment. The skirt and t-shirt are very cute.

I substituted a Gene Marshall jacket in the second picture to give the outfit some sparkle.
Anyway, I'm getting tired of the Antoinette body and of the line of clothing being produced for Antoinette/Cami. Everything is looking the same...ruffles and frills on the casual wear and over designed, multi-layered dressy designs. Enough is enough. I'm not buying anymore. Antoinette can wear Gene Marshall clothes and for $90., which is what most of these outfits retail for, you can get some gorgeous Ashton-Drake and Integrity produced Gene clothes.

Below, Scintillating Ashleigh is wearing "A Capricious Beat."

Tonner Photo

When I saw this promotional image I knew I had to have the outfit. It's very cute. Somehow it doesn't look as cute on Ashleigh. These are little girl clothes. I think they're more suitable for Ellowyne than for Antoinette and Ashleigh. Cami is another story. Perhaps she will get all of these outfits. They were designed after she came along after all.

I didn't like the way her legs looked in any of the photos I shot - and I shot many.

I will wrap up this post with a picture that amuses me because it looks like Ellowyne is a giant next to the chair which is scaled for this size doll. Perhaps she fell down the rabbit hole.

Boo Who?

Filling Down Time

This is a quiet time in Dolldom. Initial pre-orders have arrived and the wait for the rest has begun. It's a good time to both squander the hours hunting down bargains or actually playing with one's collection. Many, like myself, have taken a second look at their pre-order lists and have realized that some of that time had better be spent selling. My collection is always in flux with dolls and accessories getting voted off the island and other arriving for their sojourn.
I am the shipping buddy for an active collector in Portugal for whom I slave over deboxing her goodies prior to shipping. My poor dolls have to try on the clothes.
I rarely play with Poesie Sans Couleur. This is just the most beautiful Vanessa ever. After all this time I can't get over how stunning she still looks to me. She had been wearing a black fashion for a very long time and I was worried about staining. Luckily, she was stain free and just happen to be around when "Winning Ensemble" was deboxed.

 

I never ordered it because the black coat, hat and shoes did not do anything for me or for the colors of the dress.

Integrity Toys' Photo

I didn't bother unpackaging the accessories or the coat and I gave Vanessa silver shoes. I love the look now and I want the dress. Oy. What a difference the lightness of the silver shoes makes. The black shoes drag the eye down to the feet in the promo image. The dress looks more feminine and the colors are more important without all that black.

Today's photoshoot included this Silkstone Barbie doll called Parisienne Pretty. This is a shot of her shortly after she arrived in 2009.

She's got a great outfit but an extremely hard-looking face and the gigantic forehead doesn't help at all.
I tried to like her. At one point I was going to sell her because I can't keep dolls that annoy me.

Yesterday she met up with another item that has been challenging, the red gown from the Kyori "Deceptively Yours" giftset. I had removed the bow a while back but still had not found a doll that could wear the dress. This one can.

I added a red patent belt, red rhinestone bracelet and some mixed bead earrings and I like the look. It did not fit off the rack; I had to sew it tighter. I  took a couple of basting stitches back and forth across the back to tighten up the bodice.

I feel sad that I sold off so many of my early Silkstone dolls when I decided that I wasn't going to collect them any longer. Oh well. Hopefully they are having good lives in their new homes. ;-)

Tomorrow I will show the results of the other dolls who were part of today's big photoshoot so stay tuned!

W Club Members Reminder - Lottery for Renegade Dasha Ends Soon

W Club members are vying via lottery for the last FR2 doll of this season's line. She is Dasha Renegade.
Renegade was shown at the FR Convention. She is the same price as the other FR2 dolls, $175. There are 300 of them and there will probably be 3000 entries.

Integrity Toys Photo

I would definitely like to add her to my collection but the competition for this one is fierce. If you win a chance in the lottery and don't want her, please come to me. Let's make a deal.  ;-)

The deadline for entries is March 28 10:00 AM CST (Chicago time.)