"Guilded Trappings" Gift Set

I realize that I haven't shown pictures of the beautiful gift set Sandra Stillwell created for us for the Golden Age of "Doll" Couture event in Nashville this past August. We received parts of the set at each of four meal events. The set was a limited edition of 50, all of which have sold out.
This week I took some time to play with the different pieces and take some photographs of the combinations and of the individual pieces so everyone can see how fantastic this set truly is.

 The Certificate of Authenticity reads as follows:

 Gene read the invitation again. The words were every bit as exciting as the first time she read them:

 Your presence is requested as Special Guest of Guy Amie Charbonneau for a private showing of his Spring couture collection, Gilded Trappings. -Avenue Montaigne, Paris.

Below the engraved letters, in a masculine hand read "I had only you in mind when I created this collection. -G"

Gene had traveled abroad many times before, but the occasion to be guest of honor at her favorite designer's salon was a rare opportunity. Ordinarily, she would travel with a vast and luxurious wardrobe suitable for any engagement. This time Gene would board ship with only one suitcase and the bare essentials, for she knew awaiting her in Paris would be an exquisite wardrobe, custom designed just for her.

 Every single piece shows attention to fine detail. The linings are perfection. The closures are zippers, hook & eye and/or snaps. The fabrics drape beautifully. There are three complete fashions and a multitude of options for mix and match. You can tell that a tremendous amount of thought and planning went in to this set. I just love the look of the last picture of Violet wearing the vest from the suit with the formal skirt, the long faux fur wrap and the hat from the suit.
The long shawl that she is wearing in the next to the last picture has rhinestones on both ends and on both sides! I've never seen that before. 

Below are a few other pictures I haven't shown.

JamieShow Shoes

Sandra also made a tiny version of this book for us.

The china tea set I won at the Crawford House tea.

Above is the specially designed chair manufactured by Bella! for the event. The metallic gold embroidery is GAC (Golden Age of Couture or Guy Amie Charbonneau.) It was part of the centerpieces and an optional purchase. In the background is part of a 'wall' I created using the sketches of George Sarofeen. We were gifted with several full sized sketches as well as a miniature portfolio filled with many sketches. On the table, the miniature pink book is the one I mentioned above and JamieShow shoes are shown at the foot of the chair. The bridal bouquet is perched on the back of the chair.

I am having so much fun with all the goodies. I love stuff.

Look for my article covering this event with several unpublished photographs in the Winter Edition of FDQ in January, 2011.

Lana Turner "Portrait of an Era" Giftset

I was on the fence about this FAO giftset featuring Integrity Toys' Hollywood Royalty Lana Turner until I had it in my hot little hands and started taking pictures. This is the prettiest of all the Lana dolls so far. Her hair flatters her face and is well done. She comes dressed in a tight pink sweater and black A-line skirt. I added the necklace.

At first the suit appears to be a copy of the suit from the Haute Doll exclusive Lana doll in a different color. That suit was somewhat ill fitting. This suit was a surprise. It fits nicely and has distinctive styling like the high waisted skirt. The necklace which is not shown is the same as the previously mentioned set which is a mistake on Integrity's part. Why would a collector want the same necklace twice?
The jewelry isn't really worth mentioning further as it is plain and not memorable. The shoes are too large and are unusable. Those are the only two items that miss the mark. The suit is lined in a similar pink to the sweater. The hat is really more like a headband and goes on easily and stays on! I like the faux fur stole. The entire appearance is very elegant. There is a sleeveless, v-neck mauve shell for the doll to wear under the jacket or she can wear the pink sweater.
The details on the suit are classic Fashion Royalty and that's really good to see.

The third outfit is a hostess fashion which consists of a strapless jumpsuit and a sweeping robe. I couldn't close the robe over the jumpsuit so I just tied it shut. The shoes are cute little silver pumps. The necklace was added by me.

The jewelry should have been more interesting and the ill-fitting shoes are very surprising. The drawbacks are minor but annoying in a set priced at $225. We were given a code to use for free shipping. However, one W Club member found a 20% off offer which was accepted. Those of us living in a state where FAO does business in Macy's, also have to pay tax.

I do recommend this set because of the beauty of the doll and the well-constructed, classic fashions. Of course, each collector will have to weigh the high price against the contents in making the decision to purchase or not.

"The Jazz Age" Josephine Baker Gift Set by Jason Wu

The Thrill is Gone

On March 17, the new Josephine Baker gift set went on sale at FAO Schwarz. Ordering was a breeze and my doll arrived two days later via UPS. The outer box went through the required box kicker-compressor at the UPS warehouse but the inner box containing the gift set was in perfect condition.

I love the window boxes of this line of dolls. This one was so well protected it had a separate sheet of vinyl outside and inside adhering to the window! Impressive.

Deboxing went well. There were no problems caused by packaging. The fashions were in great condition except for a few creases in the tuxedo which I improved with the careful use of my trusty Rowenta. I was not able to completely remove the creases in the lapels of the jacket.

Josephine comes dressed in her robe with nothing underneath. That was a little odd. Several people received dolls whose bare chest greeted them through the box window. I don't suppose FAO will be displaying one of those.

Using my wigged Via Venetto to model the gown and The Muse to model the tuxedo, I was able to have a photo session with all the fashions at one time. The gown and wrap are made well and fit well and that's it. Nothing outstanding or new there.

Dressing The Muse was an event in itself. The shirt goes on easily and has a crotch elastic to hold it down.

The vest fits oddly. On both of those items the hooks show and look bad. I taped the wrists and fingers of the doll prior to putting on the jacket. It is a tight, skimpy fit and the dolls arm movements are somewhat inhibited. The pants and shoes fit great and the hat just sits on her head. Strangely enough there are socks included. I didn't even bother. The bow tie has to be pulled over the doll's head. That was a mistake. The elastic is tight enough to ruin the hairstyle and/or eyelashes while being put on. I chose earrings from my stash to complete the look.

There are two pairs of shoes, earrings and a choker and no other accessories besides the black socks and panty hose. I would have liked a dancing stick for the tuxedo.

And now for the bad news.

This is Josephine right out of the box and no, she does not have a hair net on. She doesn't come with a hair net at all. Apparently it has become part of her hair. There are dried clumps of something, residue on her face and short strands of hair sticking out all over the place. In general this is disgusting. This was not supposed to happen any more.

After my first experience with banana dance Josephine (pictured below), I hesitated to purchase the others because I was so turned off.

As you can see from the photos, there is an indent on both sides of her mouth extending back to the jawline. In addition, so much hair glue was used that it is visible on the skin of the forehead and around the curls. It is on the eyelashes. What appears as dust on her eyelashes and in the eye area in general is actually production debris which apparently got stuck to the glue used on the hair.

I was asked by Mark Tewfik, the "Patient Care" rep at IT to return the doll because it had multiple problems and they wanted to show it to the factory.

The problems have not been solved. I wonder if they've been addressed. My 2008 convention Tatyana had the embedded hairnet syndrome. Paris J'Adore Tatyana had her side curls glued to her cheeks with a visible residue and the similarly styled hair on the Mood Veroniques was horrible.

We have had many Fashion Royalty dolls over the past few years who had forehead curls and fancy updos. This problem did not exist. Going backwards in time and to name just a few:
Agnes Von Weiss - The Royal Weiss; Vanessa Perrin - True Royalty; Véronique Perrin - Gliteratti; Vanessa Perrin- Intoxicating Mix; Véronique Perrin - Foreign Affair; Véronique Perrin - Rare Creature; Adèle Makeda - Lustrous Silhouette.
...............
My recommendation:
If you like Josephine Baker and you manage to get a doll without the hair problems, then the gift set is a decent buy. The price is much better than any gift set sold in the last few years. I was able to get 20% off as a result of the Barbie celebration. Right now there is free shipping being offered.
Here is the blurb from the FAO site:
"For the second installment in their Hollywood Royalty line, Integrity Toys is proud to present Jason Wu's vision of true renaissance woman, human rights pioneer and stage artist extraordinaire, Josephine Baker. Ready to delight her adoring fans, Josephine Baker comes to you with everything she needs to make a lasting impression. This FAO Schwarz exclusive doll gift set includes a robe, gala gown, tuxedo, shoes and accessories. Limited edition of 300 sets."
Retail price $160.
http://www.fao.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=14993

Follow Up:
I have been told that I will get a free replacement head. It will be ordered from the factory in China and will take time to get here.