Sybarite Dionysis

Here is my newest Sybarite, Dionysis. She is wearing one of the three dresses from the Bugged set. I thought the shocking green wig would go well with her eyes but I'm getting tired of the candy colored wigs.

Three BJDs Get Camera Time

In between decorating for the holidays and ordering stuff on-line I managed to get some picture taking done...finally!

First up is Jamieshow Alejandro. I need a really cool wig for him but for now, he's bald and still looks pretty good. He is my only male BJD and probably will always be the only one. His jacket and jeans are Jamieshow items as are the shoes.  I might need another outfit or two...

Next...Domina. This doll is just gorgeous. She is wearing Rosa Gloriosa, a SybMonde exclusive fashion. I have de-wigged all of my Sybarites but Domina is staying original. I think she is just perfect.

Last we have Neurotica. She is wearing Meeow. I forgot the name of the wig but it was a gift from a lovely friend in Portugal.

Meeow is a very strange and wonderful outfit but doesn't fit the new body perfectly. I think that in parts, it will be better than all together as it is now. The sweater has to go.

Superfrock - New Releases

Note: All images and descriptive text are from the Superfrock Ltd. website. Links are provided.

Today Superfrock posted for sale Domina, the final doll of the current collection, "Fashion Police."I think she looks gorgeous. She is very much in the style of the prior Fashion Police dolls as far as her muted makeup goes. She has a Film Noir vibe.

DOMINA

GEN 3:2
Venus clone: 0779, regular skintone
FINALE DOLL OF THE CURRENT COLLECTION "FASHION POLICE"

Pathalogical Curator
Neutral dusted eye lids with black dusted outer corners and lower lids accented with just a touch of matte white in her inner eye; ready to calculate each detail and clue! Stormy grey eyes.
Custom printed mesch top and hose with rivetted to death lace up gloss skirt embracing the latest in fabric technology. Short reverse laser cut shoulder piece in black gloss rip stop fibre. Nude, black and transparent; button & strap platform open back stiletto mules.
Hair of the palest silvery platinum.
Accessories consist: Militant black 'officers' cap, 'military' style waist cincher belt and diamante' magnetic pin. 'Pearl' earings.

Click here for superimage  Price: £394.12

 A new outfit:

 

VENETIAN SYB/744
What? a STRIP SEARCH?
No, just a suit of strips!
HOT PINK slashed to within' a lasers width 2 piece skirt and jacket.
Just in time for some or other hot investigation!
Hallographic silver 'browning' belts with custom FP buckle, metalic 'silver' zigazagah stiletto platform courts!
'silver' extended envelope clutch.
Actual production shown.  Click here for superimage  Price: £160.75

A New Accessory Pack:

DIVERSION SYB/SP-16
NEED A LITTLE DIVERSION?
Ink blue and white glossy fabulous and glamorous shoe and bag set!
Think frantic chevrons in your headlights with just a dash of gold!
open toe strappy ankle boot with towering platform & stiletto heels plus a matching handbag!
This ain't no traffic warden accessory pack.
In stock! Ready to ship.
Click here for superimage Price: £48.78
 

Approximate Prices in US dollars
 £394.12 = $618
 £160.75 = $252
 £48.78   =  $77

January - A Slippery Slope for Collectors

With IDEX and New York Toy Fair just around the corner, new doll lines are set to debut. Dealers and manufacturers are anxious to make room for the new products and the sales abound. Collectors are "winter cleaning" their collections and offering up some great stuff. What's a helpless collector to do?  Here's a rundown (read: admission) of my January activities so far:

FR16 Spring Kissed (nude) It hasn't arrived yet but my motivation was that I would use the body for an older Avantguard and sell this giant Poppy face.
FR2 Dominique Makeda Impossibly Beautiful. It was on sale for $50 less than the original retail. I wanted her body and outfit. Sadly, very few want her head so I will probably be stuck with it. Pictures follow.
Superfrock Testament Fashion - Second time around. I sold my first before I ever had Sybarite dolls.
Superdoll iBean sunglasses
Sybarite Blade pantsuit and miscellaneous accessories.
Superfrock Pet Carrier from Automatic
Ponytail wig from Cheryl Wood.
Two reroots and a custom jacket.
Monster High Cleo de Nile’s Vanity and a lot of Monster High Odds and Ends: Although these are adorable, I think this has cured me from buying any more MH stuff. What a waste!
W Club Memberships: We'll see. I did not order any of the upgrade dolls as I didn't care for them.
Perfectly Purple Poppy: This was a pre-order that was delayed for about 8 months.
Theatre de la Mode ROYALE #82: Another  delayed pre-order.
Tonner Deluxe Fashion Closet: A great bargain.
And then there are the dogs. Sigh. 

Meet Krypto.

 This is a Tonner product and was made to accompany his Superman figure from several years ago. Sadly he is stained from the red cape but I may have him painted eventually. Why did I buy this? I loved the original Superman comics and Krypto was such a great dog. January fever got me so Krypto moved in.
If that weren't enough...

Obitsu makes these jointed dogs and in a January mindset, $25. each seemed like a good idea. I bought a white one as well but I can't find it and it's not even out of it's box. Sigh, again.

No she's not a dog. Miami Glow Vanessa was the recipient of Dominique's body and fashion. I like the gown now. There were some problems with the product, however. The beautiful silk (?) gown was stitched to the box and even with ultra careful removal, thread holes remain. I even steamed the fabric to no avail. Sad. It's really a beautifully designed and carefully constructed garment. The body itself is the first FR2 body I have received that was wobbly. There is a huge space at the thigh joint which allows the legs to swing loosely. Going backward? My temporary fix is to put tape around the joint (not inside) to hold it. The seams on this body are not finished nicely. She's got stripes on her arms and neck and probably on her legs, too, where the seams are joined.  I don't know if I will seek a replacement body.

 __________________________________

I was ill all week and I thought I'd feel better if I deboxed something. I am a deboxer but occasionally I will get a Mattel product and put it somewhere without opening it. Too bad I was able to find this one - the Grace Kelly Trousseau. This has to be one of the least attractive of all modern Mattel sculpts. Not only is it unattractive, they forgot the matte finish. 

The second outfit is a very nice navy sheath. Unfortunately the coat is not made properly. The empire seam which should be under the bust, hits almost at the largest part of the but. It was cut too short for a silkstone body. There is a big white hat but it never made it into the pictures. It's probably hiding with the white Obitsu dog somewhere.

Needless to say, deboxing this set did not make me feel better. 

Did you all have a good January (so far?)

Shop 'til your mouse breaks!

I was so tempted to put Strider, Ranger of the North into my shopping cart today. This is one seriously hot doll and he is on sale for $50. with free shipping! But then I remembered that all these $50. (cheap) dolls add up to a goodly amount and I am trying to stop doing that. 

However, you can build your Lord of the Rings collection for a small investment.  Arwen, Strider and Galadriel are $50. each.   

LESS 20% which comes to an incredible $40 per doll. OMG.

Several other dolls are also reduced but these three are the best deals of all IMO.

When you're finished at Tonner's sale, head on over to Angelic Dreamz where you can find many Gene Marshall dolls (Integrity and Ashton Drake) at way less than retail! "Shop til your mouse breaks, " says George.

Angelic Dreamz' price is only $49.99 compared to $100.79 at Tonner Direct on the 13" Wonder Woman doll.

****

Shop around girls and boys and shop wisely. Everyone wants your money!

Remember, there will always be another doll and another sale. Skip 5 sale dolls and you will probably be able to buy one of your grail dolls with what you would have spent on little stuff.

****

Time to confess...I did succumb to an outfit at Superfrock today. I bought the crazy "Burning Cookies" ensemble.  Luckily I arrived too late to purchase some of their other sale items as they had already sold out. 

And last night I ordered a Madame Alexander Cissette Christmas Trunk Set. It was a great price with free shipping and no tax.  Trunk, dressed doll and two complete additional outfits. Yay! 

Oh yes, did I mention that I snagged Geometry last week? Hehe. As a result of my own sales and not buying every sale doll that came along, I was able to purchase my second Sybarite. She should be here any day now.

Preorder Basic Devon

Paul Pham announced that he will accept pre-orders for the new Basic Devon beginning Friday, October 28.
No price point or time was included in the announcement.  http://dollcis.com/

The timing of this release and that of Masque from Superfrock  is unfortunate for anyone traveling to the Halloween convention in Burlington, Vermont.  But there are always mobile apps and Paypal functions quite well from a smartphone.

Seen on Prego - Superfrock Salon Exclusive 2011

Collector Shasha posted images of some of her favorite Superfrock Salon Exclusive 2011 items. Impressive.

Link to the original post.    You will need to be a member to log in to Prego. Why not sign up today? Free.

Reinterpreted Runway Fashion from Superfrock

Thanks to George Gonzalez for pointing out this reinterpretation of a McQueen by Superfrock.

Alexander McQueen: Paris Fashion Week RTW 2009

Black Bird Society Fashion

 Birds do it, bees do it 

even Superfrock does it.

Reinterpreted Runway Fashions (Yet Again)

Christian Dior Haute Couture S/S 2007

Jamieshow by Angelic Dreamz

Christian Dior Haute Couture S/S 2007

Superfrock

I do not have an attribute for the last photo which was taken by someone at an IFDC event.
I've just been informed that the photo was taken by Atelier Soda.

Submitted by Petra Becker, Germany.

The Fabulous Superfrock's Sybarites - A Video

Watch this interesting video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUZ2MAuY_9c

Superdoll Sale

You know you're in trouble when a collector in Germany emails you about a sale in Great Britain. But I'm so glad she did! I got my Bride Innoquii - still not inexpensive at 120 GBP plus postage plus the little extra Paypal tags on. It came to $230.64 which is a lot nicer than the nearly $350. it would have cost at full price. I'm so excited. Now my pirate will have a sister.

Superdoll



Why is everything going on sale right before the convention? This is a bad time for a convention. I hope next year's is earlier in October.

A Collector Reports on her Experience with Superfrock

I get a lot of mail from my readers who identify with what I post and otherwise. I thought this email would be interesting to post as I don't collect Sybarites. The two purchases I've made from Superfrock were not for dolls and went very smoothly.
The writer has given me permission to publish her name along with the content of her letter. In two instances I have substituted XXX for the name of a company.

Dear Ms Gold!
I am a frequent visitor to your blog and just today I read about what your buying experiences with XXX were like.
This might not be a big comfort, but anyway: I bought this ultra-expensive Tock doll from Superfrock. They had put me on a waiting list and then recently e-mailed me that they had one left and if I wanted it. I did. What I received was a doll with indentures, filing marks and bad creases and scratches on her back and shoulders and front upper bosom part.
And it was no fun arriving at being able to return her and receiving a full refund, i. e. one including my shipping cost back to the UK. I am still waiting for my credit card to be refunded with the amount for the doll, I got my shipping cost back via Paypal. Hopefully this credit card refund delay is only due to it being week-end.
Anyway, I would have never expected such an inferior quality on such a highly priced and allegedly high quality doll.
I was told that "oh, this was out of our hands" and that "the quality check in China was bad" etc. Furthermore, the e-mail address given on Superfrock's home page, i. e. "sales@ superfrock.com" leads straight to China. So it's the customer's fault if they write to the wrong address...I wouldn't want to say Superfraud.
What annoyed me even more, however, was the Lady I talked to on the phone hanging up on me three times and thus making me call again and again. On top of it all, she sighed into the phone annoyedly. The connexion was admittedly bad, but only in one direction. In case you're interested I can send you some photographs of the faults described above.
This whole affair reminds me of what you wrote about getting the last Fashion Doll Agency doll from XXX This kind of behaviour really provokes a customer to think that the sellers are trying to get rid of their last dolls which had come back before (for who knows how many times).
...[Shortened for Clarity]...
Thank you very much for taking your time to read all this and for all your endeavours. And for not sweet-talking to the sellers all the time on your blog. Their success has already gone to their heads far too much.

Best regards
Petra

Valia Pivoine Haute Doll Exclusive Finally Ships

After a wait of more than 6 months from the expected delivery date, the third Valia has shipped. Valia Pivoine graced the December 2008 cover of Haute Doll magazine as their exclusive retailing for a price of $375 to non-subscribers and $350 for subscribers. Upon the announcement of the delay, another discount was granted in the amount of $50 (to allay the anger).

Touted as having a new, lighter weight, cutting edge resin body with 15 points of articulation and a meticulously crafted outfit, the original promo text said the fashion would come with jewelry; the current text says coordinating accessories.

I have scanned the boards for posts of those who have purchased Pivoine and have found very few. It's quite possible that those who purchased her are not de-boxers. Three or four on the W Club board posted their dissatisfaction with the stringing, weight and feel of the doll. George of Angelic Dreamz posted some photographs of her. I have not seen her redressed and I look forward to that.
There's not enough information to do a valid review but I have had a little fun with her picture and that of the Innoquii™ doll by Superfrock. I see a resemblance between the dolls and have combined their features and created my own exclusive!
First is the actual cover of HD with their exclusive Innoquii.

Here's my spoof. I call my exclusive doll Valia Innoquous. Do you like her?

Basique Blak, a Gift Set from Superfrock

Yes, I've gone and done it. I've crossed over the pond to the dark side with one big toe and a few other little piggies by purchasing a Superfrock Ltd. fashion collection called Basique Blak. Picture me calculating with my currency converter the average price of each of the many pieces in this set and then throwing all caution to the wind by clicking BUY NOW.

Following is the market description of the set:

BASIQUE BLAK at it's basic FABULOUSNESS!
Set consists full length 'petticoat' evening gown in sequin with braided 'leather' straps,
black tafetta bolero jacket with braided 'leather' belt, black silk satin evening skirt and the ever so cute, wide neck pelvic length silk satin blouse. Lurex fishnet hose as well as a pair of sheer black, a pair of black silk sandals and the ultimate black mesch [sic] and patent over knee boots.
Final pieces being a hot and sexy red satin and lace underwear set!

No, I do not own a Sybarite doll nor do I intend to own one, but I counted on the fashions fitting my AvantGuard dolls and I was correct. I have not tried the hose, lingerie or boots yet.

I added the rhinestone pin to the top in the first pictured ensemble. The fabrics are silk and feel wonderful. The shoes, which I must photograph, fit beautifully. I am pleased. The red wig is from one of my Cissette Shadow dolls.

The cost with shipping from Great Britain was $377.18. Think about this...if one were to purchase one newly released premium Tonner fashion doll the cost would be between $150-$175 and more. Considering that nude Tonner dolls resale value is usually half or less after four months, the value is in the clothing. This set was not that expensive when I compare it to the prices I have paid for less. The fashions are timeless and beautifully constructed.

This item sold out very, very fast. People have money and are willing to spend it for quality dolls and related items. If Integrity Toys would wake up and stop trying to be all things to all people, pehaps they could concentrate on quality. Of course there would be rending of garments, vociferous demonstrations of hatred, beating of breasts and uncontrolled wailing if they released a $300 fashion pack. But if there were only 200 of them and the fashions were amazing with a commitment to quality and attention to detail, they'd sell out before hitting the ground.

Is it really the economy?

 All the images from this post have been temporarily removed - in truth, they have disappeared and left nothing but black boxes.

So I was trolling the doll sellers web sites yesterday and checking to see what, if anything from this season's Integrity 12" doll lines, is sold out. That would be NOTHING. I have never seen this before. There have been a couple of the basic Fashion Royalty dolls in the past few years that weren't very popular and more than a few separate outfits but to have dressed dolls still available at every single retailer? Never. I'm not talking about the play line dolls here.

On the other hand, the 16" AvantGuards are completely sold out everywhere. Several of the Gene dressed dolls are also sold out, although if one looks hard enough, there are still some of each around. Last season's Gene dolls went on sale weeks ago at Marlbe and Mary T has been listing her leftovers on eBay for even less than Marlbe!

I find myself looking at the upcoming Fashion Royalty dolls to see if I missed something! I am not excited about anything I have ordered except for the AvantGuards. I did order two of the basic FR dolls, the Daria in red and Reluctant Debutante Poppy.

If it's not the economy, could it be the doll choices themselves? The Fashion Royalty, Nu.Face and Poppy Parker lines seem uninspired. They are just average in fashion and styling. The Nu.Face fashions are downright sloppy-looking. (I've been corrected. It's trendy, not sloppy. LOL)

There is a lot of black, white and red. Hmmm.

........................

And, what about Valia?

Do my eyes deceive me or is she wearing black, white and red, too?

..............................

If this isn't enough for you, why not get this creature? She is called the Traveler Innoquii. The weirder you spell the name of a doll, the more haute...? Trendy? If you like dolls that have tattoos consisting of a compass, passport stamps and an "erogenous flight path" and one huge black eye, then this gal is for you. Run right over to the Haute Doll site as this is an exclusive from Superfrock. There are only 300 of them at $380. each for subscribers or $400. for non-subscribers. Lucky for you, she is still in stock.

........................

Not to be outdone, Robert Tonner also has used black and white this season. Happily it's not his theme. The following are from the Joan Crawford line:

Above is a dresssed doll called Classic Portrait. LE 500 Retail Price $179.99 No, I'm not kidding.

This is a dressed doll called Hollywood Starlet. LE 1000 Her retail price is $189.99. Both Crawford dolls are available for less at the major doll dealers such as Cherished Friends who has them in stock for $153. and $152. respectively.

Finally, in this strange blog post which has become all about black, white and red doll fashions, we have another new Tonner fashion. This one is from the Bette Davis line and is called "Spotted By The Press." This is just an outfit which is LE 300 and retails for $89.99. It's cute but it's way to close in styling to the Joan Crawford outfit, "Publicity Shoot." It is not yet available but if you want to be the first on your block to have one, you can pre-order it at Cherished Friends for $76.00.

Today's lesson: never pay retail. That was yesterday's lesson, too; I just wanted to see if you were paying attention.

My Discobum Has Arrived!

Although designed for Sybarite dolls, I will be using this with my 12" gals. It makes a perfect couch.
I love it and will be photographing it ALOT.

You can find it at this location http://www.superdollonline.co.uk/acatalog/OUTFITS___Accessories.html

This image is the property of Superfrock.