This is the new FR16 doll from Integrity Toys. She will be available for pre-order from your favorite dealer. Information on pricing is not available until January, 2013.
Her name is Pomp & Circumstance Tulabelle. What her name has to do with the actual doll is a mystery to me. Tulabelle? Okay. Whatever. The definition of Pomp and Circumstance is "formal ceremony." It is also the name of a famous march, part of which is often played at graduation ceremonies. The designers must have had a private thing going on with this doll to have named her thus.
With that little pinched nose and puckered lips, she must be a cousin of Poppy Parker. P&S T looks very young - almost child-like, as in a 10-year-old with make-up and mommy's clothes. Mommy's clothes are very cute.
On another FR16 note, it was revealed that having blended facial screening has become too expensive for Integrity Toys to use on it's dolls. David Butt posted information in a thread in which a few people expressed their preference for a softer, more blended look. He stated that "Airbrushing (the blended look you speak of) has become cost and labor prohibitive, so we no longer can do this on our dolls."
The W Club is really changing. There is a big variety of dolls being offered now as opposed to when it started. It was all Fashion Royalty at that time. Pretty much every doll offered was a keeper and extremely special. Now there are lines offered that many do not collect at all. It certainly makes sense for IT to cater to all of it's collectors. But some of us are still waiting for the truly special ones to show up.
Believe it or not, not everyone collects Poppy Parker. GASP. We don't want all of our dolls to look like her.
Funny you should say that about Poppy. I was a devoted Barbie collector until about 2005 when I was introduced to Momoko and a whole new world of Asian dolls opened up for me. I had two Integrity dolls that a doll friend had given me, but the dolls just didn't appeal to me. And, believe me, I saw a lot of them over the years as many of my doll pals are big Integrity fans! Then, in 2011, Poppy came along and I got one (quite by accident)and I was smitten. Which just illustrates what you said. We doll collectors are a diverse group and Fashion Royalty has to follow the trends. But, something always gets lost when that happens ...
ReplyDeleteI am sad to hear about the non-blended make-up as it is my preference, but I hope they continue this with the more costly FR2 dolls, as isn't better details and quality what I am paying so much for?? I am a big Poppy collector myself, but I also collect other FR dolls, and I DON'T want them to look like Poppy (or start morphing into 'they all look alike' as what seems to be the current trend now with the dolls...and please don't take the diversity of ethnicities out of Integrity toys)...Tulabelle looks like an extension of the Teen 16 inch Poppy dolls from last year..I don't think it will be effecting the FR16 dolls...will be interesting to see what they come up with for this year...I am being a bit more cautious as with so many dolls now being produced, my bank account can't take it! :)
ReplyDeleteI prefer the airbrushed look myself, as some of the recent facial paint can be overly angular, resulting in what looks like colorblocking masquerading as eye shadow.
ReplyDeleteAs for Poppy, I usually find myself repulsed by her. I found it extremely insulting Integrity gave Fauxnessa similar Poppy lips in a blatant attempt to cater to an emerging market and not the Vanessa and FR diehards that built the line, which thankfully Van 3 resolved.
Though I do think Dress Code Vanessa is extremely beautiful once you fix the hair and toss the outfit. But she’s not Vanessa.
-Gatsby
I consider Poppy a glorified Barbie doll. I didn't like her when she was first revealed, and I like her even less now. With all the focus on Poopy, somebody took their hands off the wheel on the FR vehicle.
ReplyDeleteNot having blended makeup is a downgrade. I'm not paying FR2 prices for downgraded dolls. The fashions certainly are not special enough by themselves to warrant the price.
ITs constant pandering to Poppy Parker has made me look at other doll companies, and I'm finding there are much better dolls with much better makeup, and fashion forward designs.
It is sad, but as one chapter closes, another better one opens
I think comparing Poppy to Barbie might actually be a fair assessment. I think she definitely brought in some of the Barbie lovers that are not interested in the mature look of some of the other lines. Some people want dolls with sweet faces. I only have one Poppy, Sunshine Games, but I collect and love Darla.
DeleteIntegrity has to follow the money and Poppy remains one of their best selling characters.
With all the money they save on cheap labor in China, they should be able to continue the airbrushing. I mean, what--they have to pay their workers $3 instead of $2 an hour? Give me a break!
ReplyDeleteWenchie
xoxo
Thank you, Teri for explaning this to me, a fairly new collector. I could see the changes but was not sure what was happening. I was quite disappointed in the W Club selections this year, my first as a member.I had hoped to buy more but several just did not appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteI primarily collect Sybarites now, but I loved my FR collection until their faces changed & lost all their distinctive personalities. I still love to play with them and may be tempted into buying one here or there if they looked like the characters I once loved.
ReplyDeleteAll the FR dolls look the same to me. I am totally sick of 'dolly pretty' and boring.
Poppy fits that description 'pretty' well.
How much does airbrushing cost? At an average doll cost of $125.00 to $150.00 lately, this doesn't cover the important details? Sad.
ReplyDeleteI think airbrushing adds to a doll's finely detailed look. Pie wedges of eye paint under their brow bones doesn't look attractive to me. Oh well. :/
Hi Terri,
ReplyDeleteWhile I wanted a "Big Poppy" (Ok, maybe two.....) I was disappointed with the first four 16 inch Poppys since they didn't look very much like the regular Poppys.
I think there is room for more than one 16 inch doll line so having Poppy and the FR 16s is not an issue for me.
That being said.......the FR 16s just don't live up to the hype.
I love my Goldmine, and her sisters Eclectic, Livewire, Aphrodisiac and Androgyny. They were classy and every dime they cost was clearly evident in the overall design.
Poor quality control seemed to set in quickly and after the first couple the wigs didn't fit, the clothes didn't seem to fit and the accessories seemed to self distruct in transit.
"Spring Kissed" was 6 months late in arriving and looked like nothing more than a failed Poppy prototype...not what I was paying top dollar for.
Now the "club" has a new FR16 that you quite rightly pointed out looks like a cheapened Goldmine....which she is.
How long are people going to stick with second rate products and poor quality control from this company.
I'm a big supporter of small businesses that take risks and try new things, something that I believe IT was doing several years ago.
I'm sorry to say that I don't see that level of design or quality for the FR 16 line today.
As always love the blog
Will C.
Maybe the "Pomp" has to do with her pompadour. I think she's pretty cute. I looove the leopard coat. I'm glad to see more big gals out there. I'm still not sure if I'll ever break down and start collecting them but at least there are options.
ReplyDeleteIntegrity is starting to turn into Mattel. Less quality for your money. Plastic shoes with the dolls, no more AvantGuards and far too MANY dolls being released!
ReplyDeleteThe Convention dolls this year is where the changes in quality really showed.
The new FR16 are just plain boring and certainly not worth the prices.
I am very unhappy with these changes. When there were less dolls, they were much better quality and the screening and outfits were worth the prices, not anymore.
They really need to start listening to their customers instead of coming up with concepts like this new Tulabelle.
Not happy.
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