Tonner Doll — Fashion Zombies™ from Re-Imagination

Just when you thought it was safe to sleep in your doll room TDC releases Fashion Zombies™! These two creatures are part of Tonner's Re-Imagination line and are truly knockouts.

 My favorite is "Death Becomes Her." I love the promotional photo with it's grey tones and misty mood. The doll has the Magnolia sculpt, brown eyes and cameo skin tone. According to the description on the Tonner site, her hair has been 'heavily styled' for these prototype photos. It kind of looks like what happens when you try to comb out Barbie hair but on this doll it works and it's very sexy.

"This damsel of decay arrives in an ethereal chiffon gown with meticulous shirring over multipatterned mesh tights. Askew chain earrings, matching necklace and criss-cross faux leather high-heeled shoes also included."

The other doll is called "Death By Fashion," a title that sounds vaguely like "Fashion Victim." She has the Lana Lang sculpt, grey eyes and the cameo skin tone. Her eye are verrrry strange and look as if there is no iris or pupil.

"The ghastly undead is swathed in a chartreuse and grey chiffon dress over black multi-patterned mesh tights and lace-up high-heeled shoes. Mesh armbands, gold chain earrings, and intricate chain necklace also included."

Both dolls are on small bust bodies with regular fashion feet.

Suggested retail price is $209.99.

Selling for $178.00 at most Tonner dealers.

_____

More Tonner News:Collectors' United "Glistening"
For information call Cary Green at 706-695-8242 or email diang@collectorsunited.com.

An Angelic Dreamz exclusive Antoinette. LE 200
Her name is "Heavenly." She has cameo skin tone and hazel eyes.
Retail Price $249.99. Angelic Dreamz offers free shipping on this item in the continental US.

Two Daydreamers' Exclusive Character Doll "Scintillating Ashleigh" LE 100
The beautiful and popular Ashleigh sculpt is exclusive to Two Daydreamers. In this version, Ashleigh is on the Antoinette body which makes for a perfect combination of beauty and articulation.

"She is wearing a magnificent evening gown with meticulous shirring, extravagant ruffled collar, and elegant fabric flowers across the back of the skirt. Matching hat with floral and feathered accents create a look right off the Dior runway. Beaded earrings and bracelets, pantyhose, and faux leather strappy high-heeled shoes complete her outfit. Includes display stand."Suggested Retail Price $274.99 Sells for $249.99

All photos in this post are the property of Tonner Doll Co., Inc.

WU Iconic Convention ~ Super Saturday

The centerpiece at the W Club luncheon was called Vanishing Point.

The giftset doll was finally revealed to be a light skinned version of Natalia.
The name of the set is Power Game.

Saturday night's centerpiece doll was Dania Zarr as Optic Clash.

The Convention Doll was a new character called Elise Jolie. This edition is called "Blue Blood."

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

Picture of the Week Award ~ October 4, 2009

Our picture of the week was made by Stephan Drouin aka DollDude on the boards. I asked Stephan to describe the doll, the photograph and to offer us any other relevant information.

This doll is what some call a hybrid. She uses the Best Models Monte Carlo Barbie head on an articulated Day to Night Teresa Barbie body which proved to be a 100% color match. She's wearing pieces from the DC Comics’ Black Canary Barbie. Her face paint is all original and I curled her long, straight, center-parted hair into a sexy flip and gave it the illusion of a side-part at the front. As you can see, I like to put my own spin on every doll I get my hands on, and that usually involves what I call a hair-over. To me, hair is one of the most important things on a fashion doll; a doll can have the most beautiful face and the most stylish outfit, but if her hair is a mess, that can ruin the whole look. As for clothes and accessories, I usually love to mix and match pieces from different doll makers to achieve the look I've envisioned for each "model,” and that can mean mixing expensive items with cheap ones. I used natural light for this picture which is a recent thing for me as I would only use artificial lighting before. I rarely ever use any props in my pics as I like the focus to be on the doll and styling.

Stephan has said it all. Hair and styling make the doll. I agree.
Looking at this beautiful Mattel doll has offered a delightful break from the intense Fashion Royalty days that have just passed.

Congratulations, Doll Dude, on the Picture of the Week Award!

Update: Friday Night at the Iconic Event

The centerpiece was a Monogram doll called Curiosity.

The convention fashion is called "Successful Ascension."

Friday Luncheon Update From The 2009 Convention

Poppy Parker "The Center of Attention" was the centerpiece at lunch on Friday.
Everyone got a Poppy Parker "Endless Summer" at the end of the meal.

Iconic Convention Report for Thursday Night

The table doll was Agnes dressed in a version of Red Zinger's suit but in shades of gray. This Agnes has dark hair in a long, low pony tail. She has side glancing eyes and a fierce gaze.
As table gifts, attendees received the first part of their surprise giftset - a blue dress with accessories and one of the new playline dolls - ITBE Chic.

Photos above are from Integrity Toys.

Mel Odom was the speaker at dinner. He showed images of a new mini-Gene. There is no official photo yet. She is based on Hello Hollywood, Hello. My photo below is the original 16 inch HHH.

Fashion Royalty 2009 Convention Collection Here, Now!

LiveWire Clone, AvantGuards 1:6 Scale 12" Dressed DollMorning Dew, Giselle Diefendorf
Evening Glow, Dominique Makéda

Diamond Society, Eugenia Perrin Frost

Luxe Life, Vanessa PerrinPoésie Enchantée, Agnes Von WeissThese dolls comprise the six-doll set available to attendees this year. For those who did not pre-order, purchasing them on-site with the whopping 10% Illinois sales tax came to $715.
According to collectors they will also be getting an entire FR giftset - little by little at each meal another piece will be added to fill the empty box they received at registration. Very cool!

Deva Dolls' PHARATEE Sold Out

The race was on at 1:00 AM on the morning of October 1 (New York time). It was 12 Noon Thailand time at Deva Dolls when their new doll Pharatee went on sale.
For the past week one could read the desirous posts of collectors - some going so far as to say they would die if they didn't get one.

I'm not saying I haven't been ready at the starting gate when a doll went up for sale....but not this time. Desire is infectious as is greed. I'm ashamed to say that I have purchased dolls that I didn't even care about because there was an outpouring of desire prior to the doll going on sale and I became sick with NEED. I have purchased dolls that were getting sold out rapidly just so I could get one.
I was actually prepared with electronic reminders and links and all that to get this doll. It would have been for the sport of it all. I don't even like her. Sanity prevailed and I just went to bed without watching the hunt.

There's some moaning and some rejoicing going on over at Prego this morning about disappearing web pages and shopping carts. The Deva Dolls site is very slow and quirky. It's no surprise that the ordering did not proceed smoothly. After all, there must have been many just watching.

But.....one voice of reason stood out and I am copying her post here. This is from Penny in OZ, the creator of "Avery, with an A."

Pharatees - enabled, enobled or just plain missed out - a bit of practical commonsense...

Posted by PennyandAveryA [User Info] on 10/1/2009, 10:16 am
Can I just feed you a little logic and a little bit of consolation. I see that Deva dolls have issued a new doll I haven't heard of until this minute. Obviously because I missed the hype I'm not overly fussed about not getting her. And I am not innocent of being enabled over certain dolls I just had to have.

Think with your heads and not your hearts for a minute. So you wanted the doll. Of course you did. And you are sick with disappointment because you missed out on her. BUT think for a minute. How much did you want Rosemary, or $no Baby. How much did you crave some other doll that is not readily on the market. That FR doll, or - those readily coming onto the market now that the desire is moving onto another doll.

It's a doll and there will be others coming. These days every other day a new doll is on the market. As others move on to newly enabled dolls they will sell you their unwanted dolls and you will, with patience and with the continued ambition end up with the doll you always wanted. And if not, think that it was meant to be.

The other day in London, I woke up in an ambulance with people asking me who I am. I could barely even remember at first and eventually they managed to call my son and he came in a rush to the hospital, where apparently I had another attack. They worked out I am suffering from malnutrition caused by the stress of a broken 36 year old marriage and, as a result I lost my flight which haad been bought on frequent fliers and currently stranded in London while the insurance works things out. I'm okay, and I can tell you, perspective takes place in the back of an ambulance while people thump you and try to shake your memory loss.

I stayed in Guys and St. Thomas Hospital in a room directly looking onto the Thames and Parliament House, Big Ben and the bridge directly next to it. British democracy will never be the same for me and the British Parliament will always remind me to keep my perspective in presence of it's importance.

I know you are not seeing logic, but remember when everyone wanted Grey? Remember how much those first AG's were hunted down. Remember how much everyone wanted that first Sydney? Remember how much Weekend in Washington outfit was?

We are all quite wanten children, no better than a two year old stretched out on the floor next to the supermarket checkout because we want to buy the chocolate our mothers won't get us. Right now there are people who have lost everything to a tsuname in the Pacific, and people lost and trapped and missing...

I CRIED BECAUSE I HAD NO SHOES UNTIL I SAW A MAN WHO HAD NO FEET.

I know you probably will think that this is holier than thou at this moment of your disappointment but your turn will come. In the meantime share your own thouhts and disappointments under this post and maybe it will make you feel a little better just to have a small beef and move onwards to new horizons, or look at the collection you have and those dolls you love and wanted so much in the past and DID get either on time or belatedly.

I missed out on Rosemary at the time under the same circumstances as you guys from a nasty uploading basket, and I don't really care anymore. My fate was waiting for the acquisition of Summertime Logan from Happily Ever After, a Bishonen HOuse doll large and lovable, and an out of the blue acquisition of his brother - Nori which I have found out was a very rare doll from a person who is lovely and gave me such accidental pleasure. Six months ago I hadn't anticipated either of them and never a sorry day have I had since I had them.

I am sorry and sympathetic you didn't get your desire, but your turn will come. Or your desire will fade as others sell on to gain newer dolls...

logic and commonsense dear fellow Pregoers.

Group hug to you all.

Pennyoz

Tyler Wentworth Archive is Complete!

I was browsing through the recently completed Tyler Wentworth Archive today. This has been worth the wait. There are scores of dolls I've never seen including many OOAKs.

Go. Look.

Barbra Streisand Doll from Mattel

From BC.Com:
She's instantly known by only one name: Barbra. Her inimitable style and personality are captured in this wonderful portrait doll, inspired by her early fame. She wears an iconic outfit, a striking re-creation of one she designed herself and wore at Hollywood's Coconut Grove in 1963.
I love Barbra but I don't collect celebrity dolls and I'd have to see it in person to give an accurate appraisal.
Available November 19, 2009 for $53.99.

A New Doll Discussion Forum - DOLL THERAPY

A new forum has been unveiled by Claudia Fowler, the former Admin of SilkSpa. The new forum is called Doll Therapy. I love the name! Although some of us may need therapy due to the stresses of collecting and spending, it's so appropriate to how the majority of us view our dolls.

I asked Claudia to talk about SilkSpa, her former doll board and about Doll Therapy, the new one.

TG: When did you start SilkSpa?
CF: All this started off a chat room actually, in 2002 with a few other hell raisers. Such a place was missing at the time and what came out of those chats was so fun and interesting at the same time, that people participating in them were asking for transcripts every time… I emailed out so many that we started talking about looking for a more permanent avenue. The actual forum started on 2003.

TG: How long was SilkSpa in operation?CF: Three and a half very fun years and it was great. I have been posting on bulletin boards since before the internet and what I’ve always found so interesting to me is how people from everywhere and all walks of life can become like your extended family, or at least the bar where everyone knows your name. The community came together and we often wondered how big we should let this become before the Fire Department came over to close us down.

TG: How will Doll Therapy be different? What dolls are welcome? What features will we see?

CF: Doll Therapy is a very simple and seamless platform where everything you want from it is right there. It is purposefully very easy to read and navigate and yet, more powerful and full of features than any Doll Forum out there.

From it you can host your own pictures for free, publish multimedia posts and polls, review and rate, buy-sell-trade, leave auction-styled feedback, share how-to manuals and useful links, flaunt your OOAK’s, have your personal blog, friend your personal network, and of course have a chat room available 24/7, and we’re only scratching the surface.

We’ve been ahead of the curve since SilkSpa’s inception. At the time we were the first Doll site to provide a platform where messages weren’t lost at the end of the day. At the time all this new software either hadn’t been written, wasn’t evolved enough or I didn’t know that I could do this or that it could work so seamlessly, so Doll Therapy is truly it.

All Fashion Dolls are welcome. We will talk/chat/rate dolls we don’t collect ourselves as well... I think that what both newcomers and existing members were most impressed about was that we agreed to disagree, we really spoke our minds and didn’t hold back much, yet respected each other. The building blocks of a great community! …and I’d like to think that we’re just what the doctor ordered.

______

Well girls and boys, doesn't this sound great? I joined.

Check it out at this link and if you join - say Terri sent you! No, I don't get anything ;-)

DOLL THERAPY

A Plea from Rudy Teruel of R and D Dolls

Rudy posted a call for help on his blog concerning the devastating aftermath of the Typhooon Ondoy in Manila and surrounding areas. Please click this link and read what he has to say.

Please Help!

http://www.rnddolls.com/

Picture of the Week Award ~ 9/27/09

This week's spotlight goes to Mark Harris for this photograph of his Mdvanii clone dolls made by doll artist Darrell Wallace. Their clothing and jewelry was made by the photographer.
The composition, natural lighting, posing and styling all come together to create a photograph with depth and movement.
See more of Mark's creative photography here.

Congratulations, Mark, on the Picture of the Week Award!

Fashion Police

FAIL

Treasured Antoinette wearing Sensual

I just wanted to post this picture of my Treasured Antoinette dressed in the outfit from Sensual. It's a winner and I love it!

Tonner Doll - Antoinette "Pure"

I love the list of names they've come up for Antoinette and her fashions. Look at these: Evocative, Exceptional, Extravagant, Determined, Confidential, Striking, Idyllic, Hypnotic, Symphonic, Obsessed, Dramatic, Sensual, Emphatic, Enlightened, Optimistic, Serene,
Influential, Frivolous, Sinuous, Brilliant, Posh and Prim. It's a list of pleasant feeling words to help you develop your emotional literacy! So now, if you are having difficulty describing your feelings you can turn to your Antoinette collection for help. Yay! "Believe in the power of play."

I don't think I've ever felt pure. Pure anger, yes. Pure lust, yes. But just pure, no.
Here's a part definition from Merriam-Webster's OnLine Dictionary:
3 a (1) : free from what vitiates, weakens, or pollutes (2) : containing nothing that does not properly belong b : free from moral fault or guilt c : marked by chastity : continent d (1) : of pure blood and unmixed ancestry (2) : homozygous in and breeding true for one or more characters e : ritually clean...

______

The best part of Pure besides her wonderful Antoinette body and pretty face are the boots. But these are not worth $166.

The handbag is stiff and looks awkward on her arm. The shawl is just an edged piece of fabric without a lining or anything. She came with no jewelry.

What was I thinking when I ordered her? I wanted a raven-haired Antoinette.
It's depressing.

Integrity Toys' "Attention" Avantguard Doll

Chelsea's Collector Cottage exclusive Avantguard doll "Attention!" arrived yesterday. She looks exactly like the promotional pictures. The dress is cute.

Her facial screening is immaculate and I love the colors.

The shoes are cute.

The feather hat sheds on everything. (She reminds me of the Statue of Liberty in this picture.)

The wig is not made properly and the stockings had defects in them from where she was tied to the box.

I don't feel the WOW factor with this doll. Something is missing. I think this dress should have been an individually available fashion, not something for a $250. exclusive doll. It's not enough. The earrings are such a waste of time I didn't even bother. Every pair of earrings one inserts into an Avantguard head has to be snipped shorter and after I struggled to get the wig on (sort of) I wasn't about to knock it off to put two little studs into her ears.

___________________________

Every now and then I'll be playing with a doll or photographing one and I begin to wonder why I am collecting dolls. It happened today. It wasn't just about one doll, it was the cumulative effect of poor engineering and/or design of certain aspects of three of my new dolls. Why do I continue to spend hundreds of dollars on dolls whose stands don't support? In two cases, the stand didn't even fit between the doll's legs because the dress was slim-fitting. You can't tell me that this fact is not known by the designers. What do they do, shrug it off? While it's true that I don't use stands when I am photographing my dolls, I do use them to display my dolls.
Tonner's saddle stand and Integrity's Avantguard stand add a good amount of thickness to that area of the doll supported by the stand, namely the crotch and the butt. It used to be that one could hide the ugly plastic of a stand when the doll was wearing a gown or a skirt. Now that many of the styles have become short and tight that doesn't work anymore.

Robert Tonner may have been on the right track with the stand that inserted into the crotch area - at least for some dolls.

Gene as "Candied Lavender" W Club Doll

The lovely brunette Gene doll, Candied Lavender, arrived this week and she is delightful! Her hair is slick and hard. It doesn't look at all like the promotional — to the dismay of some. Personally, I like hard hair on my Gene dolls.

Her eyeshadow is lavender above the blue/gray of her eyes. All in all, her facial screening is gorgeous.

The dress is a fine example of miniature tailoring with it's lower peplum which ends at the side seams and the upper reverse gathering of fabric over the bust area. The shoes are the same fabric as that of the dress. Her hat is a wonderful little beaded creation with an odd loop of tulle which I have pinned down to create a bow. The jewelry is a very fragile-looking creation of dark-colored rhinestones surrounded by clear beads. I'm not sure of the color of the rhinestones; they might be navy blue or black. The earrings were not engineered properly - the studs are too large for the scale of the doll and stick out too far. An additional piece of jewelry is a large rhinestone pin which I have placed at the center front of the dress.

The long faux leather gloves are useless. I did try to put them on and decided it wasn't worth it. I would have liked a small beaded clutch bag instead. However, the weakest part of the outfit is the cheap-looking stole. It is the worst looking piece of faux fur ever.

Overall the doll is a real keeper.
Her price was $125. plus shipping.

Barbie Dream Sale!

The Barbie Dream Sale started 9/23/09 AM at 12:01 Central Time and will end on 9/29/09 at 11:59 PM Central Time. On the first day, everything in the online shop except club dolls is 25% off - including items that are already on sale. On Thursday and afterward the sales amounts and items change. Good buys are to be had!

Go to Barbiecollector.com to shop.

Picture of the Week Award ~ September 20, 2009

This striking photograph caught my eye several weeks ago. I like the composition, the use of white with one accent color and, of course, the dolls are gorgeous. I asked Gerri Strawinski (aka Gerri in PA) to tell me and my readers something about it. Following is what Gerri wrote:

I love this photo because it consists of 3 very popular dolls: Antoinette, Sabbatha Sybarite, and Daphne, repainted by Vanessa of Star Studio all dressed in white with white/platinum hair and my favorite ruby red lips.  It was a Theme Photo for Prego in which the subject was '3'.  Prego members chose 3 of anything they wanted.  My pick was to show all white because it was summer and the emphasis was on cool and light.
Regarding the lighting and background:  [I] used a white panel background atop a white snack table.  [Photo was taken] in natural light and [I] used a side accent light with a 27 Watt Compact Fluorescent Photo Lamp (5500 K, Daylight) 92 + Color.... with just the ideal afternoon sun coming in and the side light, it happened to come together and provide a nice shadow effect behind the dolls as well. 

Gerri is a very active member of Prego and feels that the best part of doll collecting is the community of collectors that she's met on-line and at events. 

Gerri has two blogs. One deals with all fashion dolls and is called MY PASSION IS DOLLS.
The other is about the Sybarite Dolls. The title is INFIDEL.

Thanks, Gerri, and congratulations on the Picture of the Week Award!

 

Fashion Fuel - A W Club Exclusive AvantGuard Fashion

On 9/14/09 members of the W Club received an announcement of an exclusive Avantguard fashion that is going to be available only to members. It is called Fashion Fuel and the edition size will be according to the number of orders placed.
It comes with a wig, jacket, belt, slip dress, shoes, gloves, fishnet stockings and stud earrings and is priced at $110.
My first impression:
—I like the shoes.
—The mini dress is probably cute but you can be sure that the stand will not fit between the doll's legs in that outfit.
—I'm not a fan of belted jackets but if the jacket were all black, the look might have been less jarring.
—There is too much going on with the jacket: peplum detail, gathered pocket flaps, lace-covered, draped second lapel all squished up with a belt! Perhaps I've been watching too much Project Runway. I don't see this as taking a design risk; I see it as trying to put everything into one piece.
—The wig might be "Old Hollywood" glamorous if it were combed properly.
—The last time an outfit contained faux leather gloves they looked like black potholders. Look at the thumbs and the length of the hands in the picture. The gloves do not fit properly. At least one can be thankful that the doll's hands have not been dipped into black paint.
—The Avantguards, like the Sybarites, do not have attractive joints and the fishnet stockings don't do anything to improve the appearance of the vinyl beneath.

That being said, I'm going to get it anyway.

Fashion Police - FAIL