Saran Wrap & Bamboo Leaves Are Great for Project Runway.

Spell avant-garde properly, please! It is a French expression "originally used to describe the foremost part of an army advancing into battle (also called the vanguard) and now applied to any group, particularly of artists, that considers itself innovative and ahead of the majority." (From Wikipedia)

All three "AvantGuard" dolls arrived in Woodstock this week: LiveWire, Eclectic and Lush. I was disappointed. I'm not even going to go into the overcharges on the shipping or question why the four AGs that shipped to me from Integrity, two at a time, one day after the other couldn't have been shipped together....let's let that go.

Eclectic is gorgeous. Her wig and her facial screening are winners. LiveWire's screening is beautiful and her skin color is wonderful. The screening on Lush is over the top. Her lips are straight out of the surgeon's office and her eyeshadow color is disconcerting. I'll admit that I don't care for ultra pale dolls but this combination of pale and neon gets boring after a few hours. What might be great for the runway of a haute couture Paris show is not working on this doll.

LiveWire's and Lush's outfits are on the flimsy side but that is intentional and a result of the fine fabrics used. Lush's minidress is finished and embellished by hand. The packaging was nice and all the externals are good. So what is the problem? The doll is shapeless. She has no waist or hips. She does have breasts, however.

Image from the cover of the long-gone magazine, Avant Garde, issue 5

The worst part is the feeling of a lack of solid construction. They are floppy jointed. Their feet flop around as do their hips and their legs. The head has limited range of movement. They do not have strung joints. One can remove their hands and feet by pulling them straight out to either replace them or to aid in dressing the doll. That's definitely a plus. There is an extra set of hands with articulation and feet with articulated toes.

There is pretty much just one circumstance during which a woman's toes curl and I don't think many will be posing their dolls for that.

Photo by bridgitte

I think Jason was certainly on the right track with these dolls but has forgotten that we like to play with and redress our gals. I tried many Tonner and Gene outfits on her and they are huge from the waist down. What is the point of having a doll with only one outfit? Saran wrap and bamboo leaves are great for Project Runway. I like to open my doll clothes stash and have lots of choices. I refuse to start another wardrobe for another 16" + doll.

Click on the image above to see the source (but come back to read the rest of the post.)

I really wanted to love these dolls! I collect 16" dolls and it would have been wonderful to have a very fashionable, very articulated bunch of gals from Jason mixed in with my others. But it's not to be.

Oh wait...did you want to see pictures of the AvantGuard dolls?




Parting words...you might like them. Lush (the blonde) is particularly easy to get at retail which was $220 each doll.
CDCMHS (Compulsive Doll Collector Must Have Scale) = 4

Swept By The Moods of Paris: Tatyana Alexandrova

"I left Moscow with one goal in mind: to conquer Paris and break it with my iron will. I was wrong, one does not conquer the City of Lights; Paris conquers the heart at first sight."

Above is the text from the story card that accompanies the Paris J'Adore Tatyana Gift Set. This is only the second Tatyana. The first was the 2008 Wu Convention doll about whom I wrote previously:
terrigoldphoto.blogspot.com/2008/10/tatyana-new-fashion-royalty-character.html

This fabulous set comes with the doll, a long lace gown, a long brocade coat embellished with rhinestones, faux fur and a tiny frog closure, a short brocade dress embellished with beads and a faux fur hem, a head piece, earrings, ring, bracelet, necklace, panties, hosiery, shoes and boots. If you like the sculpt you will like this set. The fabrics are very rich and the clothing is elegant and finely constructed. There are many pieces of great jewelry (I love that) and varied looks can be created from these wardrobe items and the coming Moods W Club collection.

The one defect that has popped up several times this past year is the uneven sole/heel combination of the shoes and boots. The heels are too high and the doll cannot stand with her heel and ball of foot planted on the ground. Apparently they tried to remedy this problem on the shoes by adding an extra piece of sole.

It is not enough. If the doll were to stand in the shoes or boots with the sole and heel touching the ground, she would tilt forward. So...please, Mr. Newsum, tell the factory to get on this and re-engineer the height of the heels. We don't want our dolls falling on their faces, do we?

Jason must love this character to have elevated her so fast - first a convention doll and then an FAO exclusive giftset!

Many collectors were surprised and others dismayed at the length of Tatyana's hair. I think it would serve well used as an extension if one were to cut it off.

The doll modeling the short dress is She Means Business Veronique whose hair was restyled by Parawatee of Thailand. The fur stole is not part of this set.

Still available at FAO Schwarz website for $250. Limited Edition of 300. Item #: 916556.
Right now shipping is free on orders over $120. Last week there was a site wide sale of 20% off which brought the price down to $200. Don't forget that FAO now charges tax in many states than they previously did due to the fact that they have boutiques in Macys stores. As far as giftsets go, this is a decent price for what you get. It's still a lot of money to spend right before the holidays. But if you can swing it and you like Tatyana, I recommend this purchase.

On the CDCMHS (Compulsive Doll Collector Must-Have Scale) this scores a 7—8.

Avant Guard Lush Lottery

The W Club holds regular lotteries to determine which collectors can purchase a particular doll or giftset.
Today the first drawing was held. I received a congratulations email at about 4 PM. I was very happy as I really didn't expect to be chosen. About 1/2 hour later, I received a second congratulatory email. I entered with both of my memberships and got lucky. I still don't know whether to laugh or cry.
One example of the experience of doll collecting is overabundance. I have it.

Gene Marshall Line - Wave 4 - 2008 Images Released

The new Gene Marshall Wave 4 dolls have been released by Integrity Toys and they look like winners. Each is limited to only 300. Descriptions are from the manufacturer.

Gilt-y Girl Gene Doll

"Guilty as charged, as long the crime in question is Gene stealing your heart in this lovely, three-piece, day ensemble. A tailored white, button front jacket with abbreviated waist and padded shoulders, sits atop a black and white gingham blouse lavishly embroidered in metallic gold and fitted to a T. A pencil-thin black skirt with flared hemline is the noir side of this early 40s look with it's sophisticated silhouette and dark connections to the gold embroidered, black and white gingham turban and black 'leather', platform pumps. The loot is 'diamond' earrings and enough 'gold' jewelry to thrill even a gun moll with multiple broaches and 'gold' cuff bracelets worth surrendering for. Gene's stylish coif is medium brunette and her makeup a look that says 'innocent'. What is it they say, 'white gloves, black heart' or maybe it's 'white gloves, heart of gold'? Either way, you'll have no trouble picking Gene out of the fashion lineup with Gilt-y Girl."

Retail Price is $125.00. Available January, 2009


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Olympia Gene Doll

"A 1930s style evening gown composed of two complimentary shades of green satin; 'Olympia' is a masterpiece of dramatic cut and draping. A two-toned halter neckline is knotted at the throat and whittled through the torso into a slender waist. A fitted draping of the two greens at the hips echoes the neckline's details and accentuates the rhythms created by this reverent homage to the female form. Beneath this, a slender column is expanded into a lavish mermaid skirt featuring a voluminous train and 'yards' of draped satin. A tiered, crescent shaped wrap of satin and deep green-dyed 'fox' is the cover story for this fashion plate with matching closed-toed sandals and green satin, elbow-length gloves to complete the polished look. The gilding on this Oz lily consists of clear 'diamond' earrings, hair-clips and bracelet with a striking silver cuff. Gene's maquillage is a soft one and her hair a coppery red."

Retail Price $125.

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The last three dolls are basic dolls. They are all priced at $99 and are available this month (December).

Special Scene Gene (Turquoise) Essentially Gene Marshall Doll

"Vibrantly flame haired Gene leads the fashion pack sporting curly bangs, white headband and a swinging ponytail above her sky blue, scoop-neck sweater. This form-fitting, knit sweater sports 3/4 length sleeves and is belted in white to match her perfect white cotton short-shorts. Accessories for Gene are all about white from her pearl earrings and necklace down to her stylish wedgies."

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Special Scene Madra (Coral) Essentially Madra Lord Doll

"Raven-haired Madra for once is the vision of propriety in her cream-colored cotton A-line skirt, worn together with a gorgeous coral sweater. As with Gene, the accessories are all about one tone with creamy pearls at the ears and neck and a cream-colored headband matching her belt and wedgies."

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Special Scene Violet (Magenta) Essentially Violet Waters Doll

"Violet completes our trio in a classic black Capri pant and form-fitting mauve sweater. Accessories this time are all basic black from the pearl jewelry and headband down to the belt and matching black wedgies. Violet's hair is worn in a fetching, dark-blond pageboy."

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.