Tonner 2011 Toy Fair Release

 Today Tonner released the images and information on their 2011 Toy Fair products. I applaud the Tonner Doll Company for their extensive line-up which introduces new lines and enhances existing ones.
Everything underlined is a link.
Antoinette 
There's no shortage of fabric here. Lots of layers, ruffles, more layers and mermaid hems.

 Sweeping LE150 $249.99;       Bold LE150 $199.99;         Luxurious LE150 $219.99;        Picturesque LE150 $209.99

Freedom for Fashion.
New Japanese sculpts. Female dolls have the 16 inch Antoinette body with Cameo skintone and males have the 17 inch Matt O'Neill body and Cameo Skintone. All dolls have brown eyes and black hair.
There are two basic dolls, two dressed dolls and three separate outfits. I am just showing the dressed dolls here.
Wonderful and inspired new line. I love the dressed dolls - both of them.

Sori Aiko LE500 $189.99

Hogyo Yoshio LE500 $199.99

Theatre de la Mode
I am thrilled to bits that this line is back. One dressed doll whose fashion inspiration is waiting to be discovered opens today.  She has a new "Fashion" head sculpt on the Antoinette body blue eyes, blonde  hair and Cameo skintone.  I am going to have to order her although the price is quite high. Sigh.

 

 

Noir #99   LE300   $249.99

Twilight
Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen's boyfriend...he's the one who tried to 'eat' Bella when she visited their home.
Excellent resemblance. Jackson Rathbone/Jasper Hale Head Sculpt and 17" Matt O'Neill™ Body; Umber Eyes w/ Blended Hair and Cameo Skintone.

Jasper Hale  LE1000  $1149.99

Tyler Wentworth
Two dressed Tylers with the original Tyler head sculpt and one dressed Sydney. All are on the 16" Tyler BW body. Signature Statement is a name and color take off on the Signature Style Tylers of the past who wore white blouses and black pants or skirts. This one is beautiful! Fire Opal is a knockout with that fabulous wig and eye candy gown. Sydney's makeup seems to be a blast from the past with the eyeliner top and bottom and lighter lips - 1970's style.

Signature Statement Tyler Wentworth LE300 $199.99

Fire Opal Tyler Wentworth LE300 $224.99

So Sleek Sydney Chase LE300 $199.99

The other lines that have new additions are American Models, DC Stars, Disney Princess Collection, Harry Potter, It's A Small World and The Vampire Diaries.  This is a link to the index.

Happy Valentine's Day Sale from Maddie's Dolls

Maddie's Dolls & More of Canada is offering this Barbie-Ken set for free with a purchase of $50 Cdn or more. There are other items on sale as well.

...I don't know. I think I'd rather have Ken's balls.

Seriously! When will Mattel pull this item?

Making Tonner Full Body Hangers Function Properly

This article and it's accompanying images was written by Miriam Shepard of Chevy Chase, MD who has granted permission for it's reprint.

Why in the world did Tonner design hangers for his wardrobe trunks that do not function for 90% of the clothing he makes? I love the look of the plexiglass body hangers but the shoulders won't hold the clothing in place so I figured out a way to make clear plastic shoulders for the hangers that make them work and aren't an eyesore. I wish Tonner would take up my idea and make these himself with cute little TW insignias to fit his hangers. Dream on Miriam.

You will need:
Strong scissors
An Exacto knife or cutting blade
Paper to make a pattern.
One clear plastic boxes that UB Tylers come in or similar flexible plastic. Cut it up along the fold lines.

Here are pics of the pattern and of the clear plastic shoulders

From paper cut a rectangle that is 2 inches wide by 3-5/8 inches tall. Fold it in half lengthwise. Trim the corners on two sides as shown in the picture above.

Use your paper pattern as a guide to cut your plastic. I find it is easiest to first cut the plastic box into panels and then cut them into 3- 5/8 inch sections and then fold the sections lengthwise and trim to 1 inch folded.

Finally, trim the "shoulders".

After folding and trimming the plastic, use the Xacto knife to cut through the fold so that the body hanger will slip through and the plastic shoulders slide down in place on the "shoulders of the hanger.

This is a dress falling off the Tonner hanger. Boo!

Finally, the dress is hanging on the new shoulders which look good with the plexiglass hanger.

Mattel Barbie at NY Toyfair 2011 by Michael Williams

Here is a link to Michael William's fabulous photos from 2011 NY Toyfair's Mattel Displays.

Photo By Michael Williams/mawphoto.com

Click here for more.

New Ellowyne and Evangeline Items at Wilde Imagination & Free Shipping

Some very pretty new items went up on the Wilde Imagination sites today. For Ellowyne there are two new dressed dolls, one new basic and three new outfits. The new dolls have inset eyes. The dolls look more alive to me with inset eyes. Both dolls are LE 1,000

Tears of Endearment $149.00        Wit's End    $155.00

 Wit's End must be channeling Daniel Boone era. Perhaps she's a dancehall girl from old western movies.

The new outfits below, seem to be toned down compared to prior releases. All are LE 1,000.

Stolen Moments $74.00        Fur Real $74.00        Ties That Bind $79.00

 For Evangeline there are 10 new outfit items that have been added since I looked last week. They are blouses, skirts, jackets a cape and a bustier ranging in price from $58. to $72. One can buy the "Attic Collection Three" for the tidy sum of $520. It includes all ten items. There are definitely four must haves in that group - maybe 5....

 

The items are gorgeous!
There is a period of free shipping until the end of February in the continental US with a purchase of at least $75. Add the promo code SPRING11 to your order form.
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I'm not thrilled with the articulation/engineering of Evangeline. I like to play with my dolls and pose them and photograph them. These girls are awkward and difficult to pose. Their joints are kicky. Their heads do not move properly. They can't sit up. I may not buy any more dolls in the line until they improve the poseability. It's definitely not out of the range of the company's abilities. I have less expensive dolls with better articulation. I know that people were influenced by my first reviews and bought dolls. The market definitely has room to grow. The quality of the product needs to grow to meet the demands of a discerning collector. I'm sad to say that Evangeline has the least posing ability of any other fully articulated doll in my collection.

Impressions of the Jason Wu Fall RTW 2011 Collection

Jason Wu - Image from his Facebook Page

I made some notes while I was watched Jason's Fall RTW 2011 collection twice. Link to the show here. It takes a long time to load so be patient! If that doesn't work, go to Facebook and the Jason Wu page.

Slide show at WWD

All about beautiful shape of the female body and surface embellishment. Spare. Toned down. No wasted energy. Body hugging slacks. Drapey slacks. Blouses with lacey faux turtlenecks. Skinny ribbon ties around neck.
Lots of skirts and blouses; slacks and blouses.

Brown, ivory and black A few jewel tones here and there. Beautiful embellishments: embroidered, dangly crystals. Embellished shoulders and arms.
Sexy, shapely, minimally made up models with hair tied back.
The very few gowns were shiny, sparkly, flowing and gorgeous.
Overall the designs looked fabulously wearable, sophisticated and classy but nothing daring here.
Most women would love to have these in their wardrobe, me included.
Happily gone are the gladiator and heavy, clunky shoes. Classic pumps.
Could have been gone: feathered garments and some of the lace head and face covers.

Even More Reinterpreted Runway Fashions

Posted by Aruam on Dolly Daily

Left: IT's Jordan "Fire Within"                 Right: Louis Vuitton Fall, 2009

I love it in black, collarless, strong shoulders, longer sleeves. It works. Jordan's outfit missed the mark.

Left: IT's Lillith "The Great Pretender"      Right: Louis Vuitton Fall, 2009

BC.Com 2011 $10. off code.

I joined up for this year earlier today. It was not without frustration. When they switched their website to the current disaster, I changed my password because I could not log in with the old one. Even though I was recognized as a BC.Com 2010 member apparently that password would not allow their system to register me today. Ugh. After clearing my cache numerous times and dumping all my cookies as per the customer service person, I still couldn't get in. So I hunted down my old password and guess what? It worked. I was signed up and I was able to buy the club dolll #1. 

There is a $10. off code that worked: A29029. I used it towards the doll not the membership.

Did you join? 

More Reinterpreted Runway Fashions

These were posted on the W Club board at various times. Unfortunately there are no captions for the runway fashions. If you know the designer, please either email me or post it in a comment. I will then add to the caption under each set of images.
Enjoy!

Left: IT's Costume Drama Giselle     Right: Carolina Herrera Gown

Left: Marie Luisa Gown - Christian Dior/John Galliano Spring 1998        Right: "True Royalty"

Left: "Lap of Luxury" Convention Fashion             Right: Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2007

Left: "Discreet"             Center: Christian Dior/John Galliano Spring 2010           Right: "Smoldering"

Others have been posted but I am choosing to limit what I post here to those reinterpreted fashions that are obviously wholly inspired by a runway fashion, not the ones that have one or two similar details.
There will be more.

JAMIEshow introduces their Male BJD Resin Fashion dolls

Available exclusively at Angelic Dreamz are two new and very hot male resin BJD dolls.

Alejandro $295.00

Alejandro was spotted at a South Beach hot spot when Jamie was on a photo shoot.  His swarthy Latin looks swept her off her feet, so she signed him to her agency right away.  A native of Cuba, Alejandro spends his hot summer nights at the cool and hip night clubs of South Beach, drinking mojitos and mingling with the fabulous and famous. Alejandro comes as a basic doll 16" Tall wearing black briefs. His is a new skin tone.  He can stand on his own and does not include a stand.  

Lee $295.00

 Angelica was on a photo shoot in San Francisco when she was at a shopping spree, from the corner of her eye she spotted Lee.  A native of San Francisco Lee was working in the High Tech industry before Angelica recruited him for the Fashion World.  Lee is a natural with his rugged Asian American good lucks, he has all the ladies swooning. Lee comes as a basic 16" Tall doll wearing black briefs. His is a new skin tone. Lee can stand on his own and does not include a stand.

Check out the Angelic Dreamz website for more BJDs. It's a wonderful site for an amazing array of dolls, accessories, furniture and so much more including the JIE dolls seen below. 

2011 JIE-Doll Collection of KIDZ resin BJDs with interchangeable eyes

"Up and Out" Fashion Ensemble a Cherished Friends Exclusive

Cherished Friends has a new exclusive Cami & Jon fashion by Tonner which will fit any doll with an Antoinette body. It's called "Up and Out."
It's very cute. I like the idea of a dressy jacket over a multi-layered casual jeans outfit.  The doll modeling the fashion is also a Cherished Friends exclusive. She is Rose Basic Raven. She has the Bloom skin-tone and green eyes.
Check the Cherished Friends website for more exclusive dolls, the Tonner line, the Integrity Toys line and so much more.

"Up and Out" Fashion LE150 $99.99

"Rose Basic Raven" $84.99

More Fashion Reinterpreted for Dolls

Corvas on Dolly Daily posted these runway inspired doll fashion finds:

Integrity "Escapade" for Monogram Dolls inspired by Christian Dior Resort 2010

Integrity "Fashion Fuel" for Avantguard Dolls inspired by Christian Dior Couture Fall 2009

Integrity "SheerBliss" for FR2 Dolls inspired by Bottega Venetta Fall 2010 RTW

Once is Never Enough: Runway Fashion Reinterpreted for Dolls

Recently posted at Dolly Daily by Dollster are these runway fashions reinterpreted for dolls. What do you think?

2010 Dior Fall/Winter RTW

2010 "Smoke Screen" Dania Convention Centerpiece

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2010 Dior Fall/Winter RTW

"Lady in Waiting" Dania

Berenis over at Dolly Daily posted these reinterpreted finds of the inspiration for Madame Alexander's 2011 dolls.

Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Fall 2010

"Green With Envy" Alex

Alexis Mabille Haute Couture Fall 2010

"Black Swan" Alex

Valentino Haute Couture Fall 2011

Neo-Cissy "Poise

Valentino Haute Couture Fall 2010

Neo-Cissy "Strut"

Images in this post are individually the property of Madame Alexander (Alex, Neo Cissy) and Integrity Toys (Dania). No attribute is available for the runway images.

2011 Barbie Fan Club: Will you be joining?

This is not a membership card!

The BFC club renewals go on sale 2/9/2011 at 9AM PST. That's Noon next Wednesday here in New York. There are 7,500 slots open and according to Mattel, last year's club sold out.  For one week 2010 members will have priority to renew. Then on February 16, 2011 membership is open to any registered member of BarbieCollector.com.
To those who wonder, this is what you get:

• The opportunity to purchase BFMC® Ekaterina™ Barbie® doll (one per member, while supplies last*) and three other Club-exclusive dolls (limited quantities, while supplies last**)
• Up to $80 in BarbieCollector.com Online Shop rewards – $20 per calendar quarter***
• A snap-closure photo key ring, embossed with the new Barbie Fan Club logo
• Designer Chats, sneak peeks and surprises, downloadable goodies, Fun Facts, doll community "celebrity" features, and so much more!

 I'm wondering if we will be able to use our first $20. coupon towards Ekaterina. I have a feeling that the answer is no.

I will be getting this Twilight doll because of her outfit. There's really nothing else in the line-up that appeals to me besides the redhead Ekaterina and the ridiculously expensive Silkstone Darya. And that's OK.

The Twilight Saga Eclipse Jane $24.95. Available now.

What does a fashion doll have to do with entrepreneurship? Carol Roth Explains

Excellent, brief video in which Carol explains her choice of using a doll on the cover of a business book.
She makes a lot of sense!

Carol Roth - What does a fashion doll have to do with entrepreneurship?

Bored and Waiting For Summer

Most of you are aware of the horrible weather and series of snow events we've had in the northeast. I found Eugenia dressed for the beach and she said that she's staying this way until it warms up. These divas are really something, aren't they?

2010 Convention Eugenia (workshop)

This Eugenia is the gorgeous model from the workshop at this past October's IT convention. She is wearing a fashion from La Boutique and carrying the January 2011 handbag Purse of the Month. The handbag came with an adorable matching wallet. I ordered the shoes separately.

JAMIEshow IDEX 2011 Exclusive: Sasha HOMAGE

Congratulations to Angelic Dreamz on their nomination for a DOTY Award for Sasha.

Sasha is a tribute to Alexander McQueen. She has an interchangeable head cap - one with rooted hair and one for wigs. She wears a silver lame, Swarovski crystal encrusted dress with matching tights and armadillo McQueen trademark boots. Her face paint is powder blue with matching lips, nails and pedicure. LE30.
This is a 16 inch fine resin BJD with a full articulated strung body and the first BJD to come with rooted hair. One head cap is rooted so you can comb and style her hair. You can easily change headcaps in order to use wigs. Stand included.

 Price $395.

I think she's pretty amazing and the price for this type of doll is excellent. I want one. Sigh.

Digital Backgrounds: Retro Series from Savage

The DVD I recently ordered contains 48 digital backgrounds at 300dpi and can be used in Photoshop. I haven't checked the tutorial with which it comes but I'm sure it can be used on most available platforms and with most professional software.

I was just fooling around with a picture of Tiny Kitty and this is the frightening result.

Don't worry, you won't be seeing too much of this from me. This disc has tremendous potential.

In my hands it has tremendous potential for pain.

Excellent Doll Animation Movie

You must watch this animated movie from Narin Doll. It's probably the best one I've seen to-date.
No specific artist is given credit.

love is....