Fashion Doll Agency Haute Couture Renaissance Collection

OMG!!!
FDA has come a very, very long way since the introduction of their mannequin Petra. I just received an email with a PDF file showing their 10 new entirely handcrafted unique pieces. These doll and their fashions are spectacular. Here are a few.

For more information contact FashionDollAgency

NUMINA SEN by Paul Pham

 SEN ~ Paul Pham

OK...Everyone can start breathing again.

This is the latest addition to Paul Pham's Numina line. I am posting Paul's complete letter here:

Hello everyone,

Most of you probably have already seen the pictures of Sen I've
posted on Prego and my website. Just writing to fill in some
information for those curious and those attending the convention.

Sen (vietnamese for "lotus") is a very limited artist edition
fully painted, sueded, and dressed by myself with a beautiful wig I
commissioned from PattaArt. Makeup consists of shades of smoky plum
framing grey eyes and complimented with luscious coral lips. She wears
a cape of black silk taffeta overlaid in gold chantilly lace and sequins
with a small cascade of hand dyed and gathered silk tulle. Underneath
this is a top of black sequined/beaded lace and a black snakeskin
brocade pant, hand appliqued with gold chantilly lace at the hem. Her
accessories include 2 sterling silver gold plated bracelets, a sterling
silver gold plated circlet with removable beribboned "lotus" flowers and
finally gold riveted platform mules.

This LE10 Sen will be a PRE-ORDER at the festival. I've been
working on this edition since January and unfortunately things always
seem to take longer than anticipated, but I've put much effort and
sumptuous material into Sen---hopefully you can see this in the pictures
and for those attending, you can see in person. She will be worth the
wait, I assure you. And its not much of a long wait, she will ship in
late April to those who have the opportunity to purchase her.

As with the previous years there will be a lottery, anyone
interested will be given a signed and numbered ticket at 11am on Sunday
March 13th. The lottery will be held at noon and the winning numbers
will be laid out on the table.

Sen will be 800Euro or 1100USD, but since it is a pre-order only a
50% deposit will be needed that Sunday via cash or Paypal. Contact and
address information will be taken from the winners and the balance will
be invoiced upon shipping.

Once again thank you so very much for the most heartening interest
in Sen and I hope to see some of you in Paris.

Sincerely, Paul  [http://dollcis.com/wordpress/?page_id=10]

Better Pictures of the New Wu Madame Alexander Dolls

If you have been hunting down images of the Wu designed Alex and Paris dolls, your search is partially over. The Matilda Company has published enlargeable images. Perhaps we can convince Matilda to take Mahogany Alex's sunglasses off.

Alex - Styled by Jason Wu

George of Angelic Dreamz was kind enough to inform me that he has posted large pictures of the dolls as well.  His pictures are excellent and less clicking is involved. I'm sure he'd take off her sunglasses but the dolls haven't shipped yet.

Alex Signature Collection Styled by Jason Wu

New Madame Alexander Alex & Paris Dolls Designed by Jason Wu

The pictures available at this time are of a very poor quality. They are lo res and very small. That being said, here they are anyway.
There are four dressed dolls - two Alex and two Paris. There is a set of accessories and the description is a little vague as to whether or not it comes with a basic doll or on it's own.

Here are the two new Paris dolls:
She looks a little like Cher.

Graphic Content Paris $149.95

Going Platinum Paris $149.95

 

 

 

 

When I saw Going Platinum, I immediately thought of the older Alex as "Gigi":

Here are the two new Alex dolls:

"Virtually Stunning" Alex $149.95

Virtually Stunning reminded me of the older Little Black Dress Alex:

"Mahogany" Alex $149.95

"Luxe Finishings" Accessories $99.95

We've definitely got signature Jason here with the short skirts and fabulous shoes. I wish the faces were clearer.
I always thought MA's Alex was beautiful. It was the proportions of the body that were awful. The head and hands and feet were too large. The quality was always superior and Madame Alexander always includes the best accessories with their fashions. Has the body been redesigned as well? Will older MA fashions still fit. We will find out.

Notice that these $149.95 dolls are complete ensembles and come with handbags, jewelry, hats. They are original Jason Wu's. They are limited editions. All good things.  
 So...
Why are we paying that price for smaller dolls without accessories in higher editions and not even designed by Jason?

Swept By The Moods of Paris: Tatyana Alexandrova

"I left Moscow with one goal in mind: to conquer Paris and break it with my iron will. I was wrong, one does not conquer the City of Lights; Paris conquers the heart at first sight."

Above is the text from the story card that accompanies the Paris J'Adore Tatyana Gift Set. This is only the second Tatyana. The first was the 2008 Wu Convention doll about whom I wrote previously:
terrigoldphoto.blogspot.com/2008/10/tatyana-new-fashion-royalty-character.html

This fabulous set comes with the doll, a long lace gown, a long brocade coat embellished with rhinestones, faux fur and a tiny frog closure, a short brocade dress embellished with beads and a faux fur hem, a head piece, earrings, ring, bracelet, necklace, panties, hosiery, shoes and boots. If you like the sculpt you will like this set. The fabrics are very rich and the clothing is elegant and finely constructed. There are many pieces of great jewelry (I love that) and varied looks can be created from these wardrobe items and the coming Moods W Club collection.

The one defect that has popped up several times this past year is the uneven sole/heel combination of the shoes and boots. The heels are too high and the doll cannot stand with her heel and ball of foot planted on the ground. Apparently they tried to remedy this problem on the shoes by adding an extra piece of sole.

It is not enough. If the doll were to stand in the shoes or boots with the sole and heel touching the ground, she would tilt forward. So...please, Mr. Newsum, tell the factory to get on this and re-engineer the height of the heels. We don't want our dolls falling on their faces, do we?

Jason must love this character to have elevated her so fast - first a convention doll and then an FAO exclusive giftset!

Many collectors were surprised and others dismayed at the length of Tatyana's hair. I think it would serve well used as an extension if one were to cut it off.

The doll modeling the short dress is She Means Business Veronique whose hair was restyled by Parawatee of Thailand. The fur stole is not part of this set.

Still available at FAO Schwarz website for $250. Limited Edition of 300. Item #: 916556.
Right now shipping is free on orders over $120. Last week there was a site wide sale of 20% off which brought the price down to $200. Don't forget that FAO now charges tax in many states than they previously did due to the fact that they have boutiques in Macys stores. As far as giftsets go, this is a decent price for what you get. It's still a lot of money to spend right before the holidays. But if you can swing it and you like Tatyana, I recommend this purchase.

On the CDCMHS (Compulsive Doll Collector Must-Have Scale) this scores a 7—8.