Go North Makes an Appearance

I rarely apologize for my photography because I delete the trashy ones and fix up the rest if necessary. But I'm apologizing for taking picture of this beautiful Isha doll with a point and shoot camera. She does deserve studio time.

I was pleasantly surprised with this lovely creature. Everything works - her hair is done very well without over-processed ends; her makeup is perfect for the color and style of the fashion. If only she had an FR2 body...sigh. I will probably snip a few of the feathers that are interfering with her face but otherwise I won't change a thing.

Randall Craig's IFDC Fashion Collection

Earlier this evening, Christina Goodison aka Shuga-Shug posted this delightful picture of her Poppy dolls wearing the fashions Randall Craig designed for IFDC 2011. She is selling an additional set of NRFB fashions on eBay.

See more of Shuga-Shug's photographs.

I Am My Hair, Kesenia, Bucky Beaver & Go Home

When Aerodynamic Vanessa was released she was quite unpopular. Her black lips and fiery red hair turned off many who otherwise love Vanessa. I took down her hair and crimped it and I loved her. One year later I decided she needed more forward looking eyes and a different color mouth. I sent her to Vin Trapani and he worked wonders with her. I think she is even more gorgeous than she was before!

Vanessa is dressed in most of Kesenia's fashion. The shoes are Dominiques because this Vanessa is using an FR2 body and Kesenia's shoes won't fit.

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Let's take a look at Kesenia who, in my opinion, is one of the ugliest dolls in the Fashion Royalty world. This sculpt started life as a vampire with fangs hanging out of her mouth. You know how I feel about fanged dolls.  Now, without her fangs, she just looks drugged. This is not an attractive doll. I don't care how pretty they make her hair or her eyes, the mouth is awful.  Why is she in my house, you ask?  She won't be here for much longer as I purchased her for the fashion only. Another collector is going to be the proud recipient of the nude doll.

Her coat is made beautifully with nicely executed details and good tailoring. The pants fit well and look good after ironing, but in the back at the hook, there is a little mess of an ill-fitting closure. It doesn't show thankfully. The blouse is a near disaster. First of all it's way too big in the torso. The bow is sewn on and hangs awkwardly and the hooks show. I took the bow off. Unfortunately there are many raw edges on this tissue weight blouse and it won't last long I'm sure.

She comes with a nice pair of gray sunglasses.  Too bad they don't fit over her mouth.

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Another doll that will be traveling to another collector is IFDC's Go Home. This reinterpreted Oz Dorothy has been given a little dog to hold for her photo shoot.

 

I did undress her and the fashion is very well made. It has snaps instead of hooks & eyes which was a surprise. Is this the first outfit IT has produced using snaps? I do not remember a single other IT fashion with snaps.

Dorothy, what a big head you have.  Wait a minute...that's a different fairytale.

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Anyone remember this commercial?

Too Close For Comfort?

We've seen over and over again how doll designers use runway fashions for inspiration. We've also seen some outright copies. This one is the latter.

Wunderkind Spring 2011 RTW

Go Home, IFDC Convention Souvenir Doll

Wunderkind's Spring 2011 RTW show took place on October 6, 2010 in Paris. That's a 10 month time span to have a doll ready for an early July, 2011 convention. It almost took that long for me to get a replacement head for a doll! Snark, snark.


Have a look at the entire Wunderkind show.  It's wonderful.  I'd like a few more of these fashions for my dolls! Not this one, however.

Shuga Shug's Pictures of Restyled Rayna

Go Home went from pig-tailed to gorgeous in these redressed, restyled images by Christina aka Shuga Shug.

You can see more of Shuga Shug's pictures on her Flickr.

Go Home, Go North, Go West, Go Green - Updated

IT released official photographs of the dolls and the fashion they provided for the IFDC event which just took place in Las Vegas, Nevada this past week. All registered guests received the convention souvenir and the table fashion. The other dolls were optional purchases.

Convention Souvenir, Go Home LE300.  New Rayna sculpt. Misaki torso with Vampire Bride legs.

Companion Doll, Go North. LE300. Isha sculpt. Fashion Royalty body.

Salesroom Doll, Go West. LE300. Original Natalia Fatale sculpt. Fashion Royalty body.

Table Gift - Fashion Only.  Go Green LE300

My take on this collection: a lot of thought went into the design and the dolls definitely fit the theme of the event.
The convention doll herself is very Misaki-ish as far as styling. The outfit is cute and girly and I would definitely dress my Misaki dolls in this. She needs a little dog, though. The makeup competes with the outfit for attention.
Go North as the Good Witch is lovely in every way and I would give her a wand.
Go West as the Evil Witch is perfect. Up close her face is hard and harsh. Her fashion is definitely sexy and complex. Very nice.
The fashion looks like it belongs in a St. Patrick's Day parade. Just hand this girl a beer. Who is that prototype anyway? I can't tell the difference between some the dolls anymore. It's like a game of mix and match.


For those who do not know, these are vinyl dolls, 12" tall with rooted hair and painted faces. They have applied lashes and 12 points of articulation.

JAMIEshow St. Tropez Collection Launched by Angelic Dreamz

The brand new JAMIEshow St. Tropez Collection debuted at IFDC this weekend by George Gonzalez of Angelic Dreamz.  It consists of five female dolls including a new sculpt named Grace. The dolls are dressed in bathing suits and Grace is clad is a very sexy fashion. Also included in this collection are (amazing) rooted wig caps, summery outfits, sunglasses, shoes, bathing trunks for the boys and outrageous lounge furniture.

Future posts will cover much of these items in detail with photos.  Stay tuned!

2010 IFDC Convention Souvenir and Companion Doll

The two dolls presented on Saturday night to attendees are based on characters from Alice in Wonderland. They are being considered part of the Nu.Fantasy collection but will be outside of Japan.

The souvenir doll, "The Red Queen", uses the previously issued Fashion Royalty Tatyana face mold.  Her gown is red tafffeta with black tulle and beaded embellishment on the bodice. She is called "Checkmate." LE 300.

The companion doll called "Curiouser and Curiouser" is a take off on the Alice character. She uses the Gavin Dynamite Girl sculpt.

For those of us who are used to expecting Fashion Royalty dolls, the landscape has changed. The upcoming "Dark Romance" convention is not called the Jason Wu Event/Convention; it's the Integrity Toys Convention with Jason Wu. It's interesting to watch as the company changes.

"Best Drama" IFDC Convention Doll, Lifeball, Vanessa

Stunning, sleek, sophisticated, that is in a nutshell my description of "Best Drama", the 2009 convention souvenir from this year's IFDC. She is part of the newly introduced Monogram collection which purports to showcase the runway designs of Jason Wu. We're still looking for this dress. Perhaps it will show up in a future runway show.
The packaging is dramatic with a striking and dynamic color splash on the front of the box. Tying the doll to the box were gray ribbons with Jason Wu woven into them. I am wondering about the brass (?) closure folded over the top of the box. It's beautiful, substantial and excessive. I thought at first it could be used as part of the stand but that's not true. It's truly useless.

I put my Lifeball and Best Drama together and decided to switch a few things around.

First of all, I removed the crinoline from under Lifeball's gown to allow the fabric to drape gracefully. I took off her hat and gave it to Best Drama and replaced LB's jewelry with that of Agnes OV. Lifeball got a black ring.The rose themed jewelry on BD was tacky-looking so I switched it up with LB's earrings and added a rhinestone cluster at her waist, rhinestone bracelet and ring. Black looks so good with diamonds.
Here are two more views of Best Drama.

The biggest surprise of all was the intricate and delicate embroidered embellishment on the hosiery. The designers provided shoes with strappy ribbons that interfere with this beautiful detail work. I changed the shoes to plain black pumps.

The quality of this product is excellent. Value for the dollar is questionable but I'd rather have the finest of dolls for $225. than a defective doll for $125.

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The biggest mistake Integrity could make would be to start knocking these dolls out one after the other. Why? Well, in 2006 there were only 11 Vanessas, each was highly sought after and very collectible. Then the company started to produce more Vanessas: In Bloom (Club Doll), Pale Fire, Going Places, (2007 Convention Souvenir), High Tide, Color Therapy, Metal Maven, Shirred Not Shaken (2008 Centerpiece Doll).
They were all beautiful but part of an overload of Vanessas. Club members asked for it and they got it. One must be careful what one asks for.
Two years later there are now about 19 Vanessas and the latest ones are hard to give away. There hasn't been a amazing knock-out Vanessa since Miami Glow.
There will be one more Vanessa as part of the convention collection this year. She is called "Luxe Life" and is a "re-edition." I wouldn't mind having Lush Life's gown again but I hope this Vanessa is drop dead gorgeous. This image is the property of Integrity Toys and shows Lush Life Veronique.

IFDC Convention Souvenir and Companion Dolls

Last night at the closing banquet in Las Vegas, attendees of the IFDC were given their souvenir dolls. Often the most anticipated highlight of any convention, many who don't attend hang around waiting to see pictures. We were not disappointed as the collector, Shuga, was very fast and sent images via phone. After that more images began to appear and in the middle of the night (DST) the W Club sent it's members official images of the dolls.

Both the souvenir doll and the companion doll are from the new FR Monogram Collection and are each limited to 300 dolls. For those who don't know, a companion doll is an optional purchase at a convention. The souvenir doll is included in the price one pays to attend the convention. I heard that attendees were offered the option to purchase additional dolls. I don't have that verified at this time. Apparently there was a price for Best Drama, the souvenir doll, which would lead me to believe that this is true. Her price was $225. Black Party was $175. a huge jump from the $90. companion dolls of the past.

Here are the pictures from Integrity Toys. First is "Best Drama," the souvenir doll.

Next is "Black Party," the companion doll.

I like Best Drama's hair. I think it's adorable. The dress is a combination of the "I Want Candy" style and the layered chiffon of "She Comes in Colors," both of which I liked very much. I think I would eliminate the patterned tights and add a be-jeweled belt.

The earrings - roses - are straight out of Valia's jewel box. I found them to be inappropriate for earrings as the base of the setting stands away from the ear and looks odd.
It's a very cute suit and looks great in the photos but bare chested tops don't work for my dolls. They need a touch of modesty...just a touch. It's easy to sew a strip of stretch lace into a bandeau and slip it over the doll's chest. One can find inexpensive packets of lacy hem binding in sewing shops.
{I have been informed that there is a sheer fabric over her chest.}
The hands appear to be the same as Lifeball's which are not terribly graceful but they are removable. Problem is, where are we to get all these replacement hands? I wonder if the shoes have squishy plastic heels. It looks like eyelashes may be a thing of the past.

What do you think?

All the images in this post are the property of Integrity Toys.

Back to Black Natalia's Outfit

The outfit from the IFDC convention doll, Natalia Back to Black, arrived the other day. I was so excited to get it but not very excited about the results. The fabric does not have a drape so the bottom has to be arranged and it's difficult to get it to appear natural. I actually thought it was a sequined fabric - not. The complicated belt took me more than 30 minutes using fine jewelry tools to get it on properly. I added the earrings and the black ring. The cuff bracelet falls off. Bracelets for FR dolls are so useless. There is a strange hook on the right shoulder onto which a flap of fabric attaches. There is something really odd about that appendage. However, the shoes are very nice.