The W Club - Tell them I sent you!

The purpose of this post is to inform any doll collector who is not yet a member of the W Club what the club has done in the past three years since it's inception. I highly recommend membership for all of the reasons you will read below.

If you do decide to join I would appreciate it if you would use my name as the referral person! Please make sure to join prior to December 22, 2008 in order that I may get credit for the referral. And if you do use my name, please let me know. You won't be disappointed!

This year I am also joining the Gene W Club as I realized that I was missing out on all the goodies that went along with that club, too.

Membership has it's rewards!
• Exclusive access to first-to-know information; sneak peeks at
upcoming dolls, fashions & more!
• Exclusive access to members-only forums!
• VIP customer service from the W Club Liaisons!
• Guaranteed ability to purchase exclusive Club-only doll(s)!
• Special coupons for discounts on purchasing Club dolls!
• Club-only opportunities to purchase dolls, fashions & more!
• Exclusive VIP invite to Toy Fair event in New York City on 2/21/2009!
• Priority Convention Registration!
• Access to private Q&A sessions with Jason Wu and Mel Odom!
• 3 levels of Club membership to meet collectors’ needs!

Registration information is at the end of this post.

I have been a member of Integrity Toy's Fashion Royalty W Club since it started three years ago. My fondest memory of the first year was attending the first FAO event on February 14th, 2006. It was Valentines' Day and I manipulated my husband into driving down to Manhattan with me by telling him I would accept it as a Valentines' gift. I'm so generous. LOL
The event was for W Club members and their guests. Those of us who arrived at the store a little early stood on line outside in the cold of the New York winter waiting to be let in. Don't believe for one minute that we stood quietly. There were squeals of recognition every minute and hugs and chatter. Once inside we were checked in and rode the escalator upstairs past huge stuffed dinosaurs where we saw the new line of Fashion Royalty dolls for that year. It was very exciting and very crowded as we pressed together to get a good look at the dolls. We met and mingled and were served drinks and hors d'oeuvre. We got to buy the last doll in the Voyages Line, Isha "Final Cut" Cannes Collection Giftset.

That year we had a Yahoo W Club board which was pretty active and lots of fun. There were two dolls available only to W Club members: Stylish Escape Veronique and Dressing the Part Agnes.

Also offered to W Club members were two tri-fold backdrops called Evening at the Theater and Coffee and Cocktails in Krakow.

In 2007, I signed up for two memberships! On February 13 the second FAO doll unveiling event was held at which we were able to buy the beautiful Wicked Valentine Agnes doll.

The weather was typical February in New York, freezing, snowing, sleeting and overall horrible. Many collectors who drove spent hours on the road trying to get home. But we did all arrive home safely.
The W Club dolls that year were:

In Bloom Vanessa:


Costume Drama Giselle Diefendorf:

and Grand Arrival Colette:
We were given a choice of buying one or both of these dolls. There was also an exclusive fashion called Purple Reign offered to club members.

Throughout the year contests were held and prizes awarded. We got sneak peeks at dolls before the public and were offered lotteries before the public for limited edition dolls and remaining convention dolls. We were able to register for the convention earlier than the public as well.

At the last FAO Toy Fair event held on February 22, 2008, we were treated to the premier viewing of the new Hollywood Royalty line and the first doll, Ethereal Return Lana Turner was available for purchase.

Of course, we viewed the new dolls for 2008 as well. It was a fabulous event, attended by many in the metropolitan area, the country and there were even several collectors from Europe! In typical February New York fashion, we had a snowstorm. But that didn't stop several hundred collectors from converging on FAO Schwarz at 6:00 PM.

At each event the we have mingled with the founder of Integrity Toys, Percy Newsum and his family, Jason Wu and some of his staff and Mel Odom of Gene Marshall fame.

Early in the year the W Club switched to a forum-format chat board which made organizing themes, topics, threads and information possible. We share our collections and expertise. We ask and answer questions and are given information by the liaisons. We can buy, sell and barter dolls and doll related items of any kind.

We were able to purchase an Upgrade Option club doll this year. She was a Eugenia doll called "Going Public."

The last 2008 club offering which is about to arrive is called the Moods Collection. We were offered two different Veroniques with the original face mold. They will be the last Veros with this face mold. We could create our own giftsets by choosing from the following items:

Blond Ambition
Body Double Veronique Perrin Starry Night Wardrobe FashionFrench Dressing Deluxe Accessory Pack
Luxe Finish Accessory Set

The final 2008 club doll is called Bewitching Hour Luchia who is due to arrive sometime in 2009.

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Registration information from Integrity Toys W Club for new members:

Here are the prices of each 2009 membership- for more information see the brochure or begin the registration process, as there are details included there as well.

http://www.integritytoys.com/2009club.pdf

You may register now through 5:00 PM Central Standard Time (Chicago Time) on January 8, 2009.

Make sure you register well in advance of the deadline. Every year, things come up at the last minute, so register as soon as possible

A-Base (Gene) Gold Membership: $40

B-Upgraded Gold Membership: $140 (plus shipping), which includes the base Gold membership and the Zita Charles doll.

Of the $140, $65 will be billed at registration and $75 plus shipping will be billed in April, with the doll scheduled for May delivery.

C-Base (FR/1:6 Scale) Diamond Membership: $50

D-Upgraded Diamond Membership: $130 (plus shipping), which includes the base Diamond membership and the Vanessa Perrin Cruise Control doll.

Of the $130, $70 will be billed at registration and $60 plus shipping will be billed in April, with the doll scheduled for May delivery.

E-Super Deal! Base Platinum Membership: $80 (includes one membership to each of the Gold and Diamond Clubs)

F-Mega Deal! Upgraded Platinum Membership: $260 (plus shipping), of which $121 will be billed at registration and $139 plus shipping will be billed in April, with the dolls scheduled for May delivery.

Again, you can begin the registration process (if you do not want to view the brochure) here:

http://www.integritytoys.com/wclub.html

We have a brochure about the 2009 W Club that can be found in our forum or at this link:

http://www.integritytoys.com/2009club.pdf

Contact the Liaisons if you have any problems. wclub@integritytoys.com

So there you have it. The instructions can be quite confusing so if you need clarification or help, I recommend contacting the liaisons or you can contact me right here by asking a question.

Graphic Language Adele

Graphic Language Adele is one of the most popular and beautiful Fashion Royalty Adeles. She was issued in 2004 dressed in an argyle pattern sweater, black tights, black pumps with gold heels. Her jewelry was rhinestone studs and a pink plastic cuff bangle with a W monogram embedded with 3 rhinestones. She came with an adorable pink round travel case. GL Adele was the first Adele with the new Adele sculpt. She was on a straight arm body. One thousand of these dolls were issued at a retail price of $59.99.

In the photo above, Adele has been given a tall articulated body and is wearing "Sugar Plum" a Dressmaker Details creation. Believe it or not, I have removed two layers of this gown and it's still pouffy and huge. Unfortunately, the gown is being held closed with a safety pin because they were all made too tight for the large busted FR body. I bought this gown when it first came out and I just couldn't get over how much it looked like a crocheted or tulle toilet-paper-cover-doll that my students' parents would make for me at Christmas when I was a teacher. I returned the gown at that time. This time I got it at a very reduced price on eBay with the intention of cutting it down. It looks nice on Adele when she is seated like this.
Jewelry is by Bev Shahab.

Will The Real Natalia Fatale Please Stand Up?

Not that I think about it often...but I don't know for sure why Jason Wu decided to change Natalia's facial sculpt. Why didn't he just create a new character? They don't look at all like each other.

Was something wrong with this face? This doll's face and screening are perfection.


She's pretty in the plastic sense of the word but the "new, improved" Natalia looks like a snob. Her plastic surgeon went a little too far with the nose job. I wonder if she can even get air in through those nostrils. Her nose, chin, cheeks and eyebrows all looked pinched.


Maybe I need to be more forward-looking ... in the direction of Natalia's features.

Robert Tonner, You Take My Breath Away

My model for this spectacular fashion from the Tonner Doll Company is Ooh La La Gene. She was a Wu Gene Club exclusive last year (2007). Since this gown was not created for the Gene body, I had to take up the halter a bit. (My secret : I use Scotch magic tape; it doesn't leave a residue.)

The fashion entitled Take My Breath Away is from Tonner's new Dick Tracy line. Tonner's site describes the outfit as a "figure-hugging black sequined halter style evening dress with gathered chiffon skirt and dazzling gold and black beaded applique´ across the bust." The look is pulled "together with full length opera gloves, pantyhose, black and gold faux leather strappy heels, and stunning black and gold jewelry."
It's not exactly the skirt that is gathered. The part of the gown that is gathered begins at the knee.
The quality of the fabric is superb. I found no defects. The shoes fit. I'm impressed.


Be warned about the bracelet as it is weapon-like. The sharp bezels containing the beads are not in touch with the beads and are useful for creating snags and pulls. I held my breath putting it on over the glove. Perhaps that's why they named the outfit Take My Breath Away. Hmmmm.


Retail price is $99. You can get it for less. I recommend this fashion in spite of it's high price. Tonner's sequined fashions hold a good deal of their original value. If you ever consider reselling, don't put the bracelet on.

The Wolf and The Hood .... In The Hood?

I just love these two dolls to bits! Kumi has an extraordinarily delicate sculpt. I did trim her bangs a tiny bit.
Yuri is adorable. I cut her hair to make it even all around but it still needs some work. I did freckle her face and when I finally get it right I shall post photos. This was before the freckling.
For the setting I gathered some assorted pine branches, cut some wild red berry branches and other growing things and tried to create a forest scene. Unfortunately, when the lighting I use hit the background, it looked like the inside of an aquarium. I dimmed the flash output and I was not satisfied with the results at all. These three were the best of the lot...and I took a lot of pictures...all too dark. Every now and then I just don't get it right.
Film was much more forgiving. No pixels.

Sister (not so) Dreary "Mistletoe Mishap"

Mistletoe Mishap from the Tonner Doll Company arrived the other day and I am happy to report that she is just as beautiful as her promotional photos.

Her gown of crinkled taffeta with it's draped chiffon at the sides which end in a large bow with train is a delicious deep blood red and it fits her like a dream.

This version of Sister Dreary has high-heel fashion feet instead of flat feet with articulated ankles. Her facial screening is more sophisticated with darker lips and shadow above and under the eyes. Her hair is styled in a glamorous knotted bun atop her head with plenty of long, free hanging hair at the sides and back.

When viewed next to each other, this Sister Dreary and previous versions do not look like the same sculpt.

Sister Dreary Mistletoe Mishap is a limited edition of only 200 and is priced at $174.00 retail. She sold out rather quickly at those dealers who discount her for $139.99 but is still available elsewhere.

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I am sad to say that after seeing Mistletoe Mishap, the original Sister Dreary has decided to leave home because it's not dreary enough here. It's odd that she would take my pink train case.