A Few New Pictures

Tulabelle: Trend Spotted
An impulse buy-$99 was a great price. I like her fashion a lot, her face not so much. She's definitely a candidate for a repaint but I'm not keeping the doll - just the outfit. The glasses are Horsman. She's got a hairnet on as she's going to a new home. I like my dolls a little more mature-looking but she does have a pretty cute vibe.

J'Adore Gene Marshall wearing "All About the Eyes."
I tried but I could not get those gold gloves on. If this were a vinyl doll I would have pushed and pulled until they went on...not with a resin doll.
For this gal, none of the available wig caps please me as much as a few of my Sybarite wigs.  I have seen several restyled JamieShow wigs looking really great but I'm not talented in that department.
I love this look on her.

Deja Vu "My Afternoon Stroll" wearing Sybarite jeans and sweater, Ficon sneakers and a random wig. I can't warm up to this doll. I need dolls to feel right from the start. She doesn't suit my style although she is very versatile and can wear so many fashion items I have already.

Precarious Precious Metal wearing Antoinette's "Optimistic" fashion and Fashion Royalty earrings. This doll's beauty was a surprise to me. Her original outfit was overwhelming and once I took it off, she came alive.

Time for Pretty Dolls

I like pretty dolls. They appeal to my desire to see myself as forever young and beautiful.
Currently, my only Ellowyne, "Gilded Gloom", gets the feminine treatment in "Ruffled Up."

Avantguard "On Edge" is a fairly recent purchase. I sold off all of my Avantguards as I was disgusted with their bodies. I did love the Goldmine sculpt, however, and when I saw this doll for a very fair price I hit the buy-it-now button.
The body is crappy, wiggly, too thin and unstable. Am I making myself clear? Could be one of the reasons they were discontinued. The other reasons, well that's for another post.
Anyway, along comes Tulabelle with her giant head and her 'pick me up by my lips' mouth.
Body switching ensues and voilà! We have a beautiful doll. In the pictures, the fashion is from Yeti to Wear. The shoes are JamieShow. The wig is by Patta.

Yes, she is standing on her own, thanks to the solid joints of this body and the well-made JamieShow shoes.

A girl can't have enough furs, lace and jewelry.

Tulabelle: Yeti To Wear

I picked up Yeti today and took pictures. Here is my review.

My first impression was a good one. The outfit is well made and comes with great jewelry. In my opinion, this doll is a good value compared to similar dolls being produced today.

In this photo, I put her fur vest on over her hair because it didn't look good on top of the fur. She is standing on her own.

The boots are a very dark plum. They are really nice and balance the doll well. There's a full zipper up the back.

There are four pieces of jewelry. The one I haven't included consists of dark-colored beads and I didn't think is was necessary. I love the earrings, pendant and ring.  The clutch bag is lovely. Unfortunately, the doll can't clutch it. I didn't want to put any sticky dots on the purse so she's holding it under her arm.

So we have a great fashion and a doll with a nice body.

The factory coated her hair with a waxy or greasy substance. It can be washed out. What can't be fixed are the weird bangs. They don't lay on her forehead like real bangs. I think she'd be better with a wig.

The real issue I have is with the cartoonish screening of her face. There is no shading - no gradation of tone at all.

I'm wondering if I can use her body with another head - perhaps an AG head or an Antoinette head.

Integrity Toys' New Dolls

On Saturday, January 26. 2013 members of the W Club were invited to a webinar during which new dolls were described and shown.

Not all of IT's doll lines were included in this reveal. The most popular appears to be the new Funny Face collection designed by Chris Stoeckel. These dolls and fashions are based on the 1957 movie by the same name that stars Audrey Hepburn and  Fred Astaire. In a brilliant move, the designers decided to give each doll in the new line a different sculpt. And, instead of having a bunch of single dressed Poppy Parker-faced dolls, several of the dolls are mini-giftsets and full giftsets. The focus is on the fashion and although none of the designs is original, Stoeckl has interpreted them very nicely.

Here are several of the images with which we were presented.

Jo Stockton "Take the Picture"

Maggie Prescott's Assistant "Think Pink"

Dovima as Marion "A Woman Who Thinks"

Jo Stockton "On How To Be Lovely"

Jo Stockton "Bonjour Paris"

Maggie Prescott "The Quality Woman"

There is a lottery for another gift set. This one is called "Let's Kiss and Make Up." It looks like a fabulous gift set consisting of three complete outfits and lots of accessories. Also included is a little dog. It's not a poodle but we'll over look that fact.

I need this giftset and will be very disappointed if I am not amongst the lottery entrants who is picked. VERY disappointed.

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Another reveal was this year's Dynamite Girls designed by David Buttry. Entitled "London Calling,"  the collection consists of 7 dolls each priced at $65.  I didn't care for any of the four girls; their outfits are pedestrian. But, the two male dolls are fabulous.The layering, attention to detail and edgy styling is clear in the guys and missing from the girls.

Kyu

Cruz

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Integrity's 16" doll line has morphed into Tulabelle. The backstory sounds like a fantasy from Cosmo magazine. Here's the promo text from Integrity Toys:

Every once in a while, you meet a character that is so special and unique that you can't forget her. That's Tulabelle! She's a young influential fashion blogger and the go-to expert for the latest in trends for young fashionistas around the world. Tulabelle comes from a long line of fashion insiders and has inherited her family's extensive archive of clothing from the beginning of the 20th century to today. The highlight of the collection consists of some amazing pieces from her famous model grandmother, Poppy Parker! Whether she's hanging out with friends at her favorite thrift store or sitting front row at the hottest runway show, Tulabelle is always at the forefront of style.

There are 6 dressed dolls in the collection, one of which is a "basic" priced at $115. The others are priced at $150. 

I have previously written that I prefer sophisticated looking doll sculpts more than the teen look. I think it's sad that the giant Poppy dolls and these gals have replaced the Avantguard line. They could have kept the sculpts and used the improved body. As a collector who spans both the 16" and 12" groups, I know many who loved the AG sculpts and would buy them again. But I believe IT caters to it's post-Barbie collectors who tend to prefer more youthful looks. 

That being said, I did like one of the Tulabelles very much...enough to pre-order her! 

Calling this doll "Yeti to Wear" — dorky — but I like the fashion. Hopefully the bangs come out flat enough to stay on her forehead. I'm curious about the body as I've not seen it yet. I don't think her fashion will fit any of my 16" dolls but we'll see.

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The other new dolls revealed are three Holograms from the Jem and the Holograms line.

Since I am not one of the former television watchers of this cartoon, I have no connection there. To me they look trashy. IMO, there is no fashion, just costume, all for $119. each. Lest I forget, you get a detailed plastic guitar.

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Pomp & Circumstance Tulabelle

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 face on the left is that of Goldmine, an early edition Avantguard doll. The one on the right is the recently offered W Club doll, Saskia Tate. You can see the difference in screening styles. Many prefer the earlier airbrushed look including yours truly. These may be the same sculpt but the results are profoundly different. I don't collect their 16" dolls anymore.

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.