Picture of the Week Award ~ April 26, 2009

This week's award goes to Jurrie de Vries of the Netherlands whose photo of Oona in a Metrodolls exclusive fashion called "Critic's Choice" is reminiscent of the models of the 40's and 50's. The hat is from Gene's "Little Black Dress" costume.

Jurrie always posts beautifully posed and artistically lit portraits of the Gene line of dolls. Visit I.C.O.G. and the Studio Commissary to find more of his work.

Homage to Veronique Perrin - Part II of Many

Continuing with the Spring 2003 Premiere Collection we move to the dressed dolls of which there were six. Five were Veroniques, one was Adele. One of the Veroniques was Toast of Paris which had a limited edition of only 100. I did manage to snag the outfit sold separately under the same name but I have never seen the doll!
First we have Lush Life Veronique, a limited edition of 500 and exclusive to Katy's Collectibles and Doll Dreams and Cuddly Things. She retailed for $65.

Lush is wearing an ivory lace up bustier with a creamy ivory long fish-tail skirt that has a large gathered train at the back. Her long gloves match her top and the beaded jewelry and purse match the skirt. The promotional photo above is one of the best, in my opinion, with it's lighted vanity mirror and table. That would have been a great piece to have for the dolls.

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Second is Midnight in Monaco. She was an IFDC doll and sold for $125., which I'm guessing was the entry fee to the convention. There were 500 made in all. When I first saw this doll she reminded me so much of Gene Marshall because of the extreme upward gazing eyes. To me this Veronique has the most unique look of all the early Veros because of her eyes and the shape of the head. It may be the same sculpt but she looks different!

Her gown is a pastel peach with all over embroidery and beads. At the hip are several folds of chiffon which wrap around to the side ending in a train. She carries a small similarly colored clutch purse and wears faux diamond studs. Around her neck is a simple faux diamond drop.

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The third doll is Silver Society a big favorite among collectors to this day. She was an edition of 1000 and sold for $65.

Her silver silk sheath is embroidered and beaded on the bodice and fits like a glove. The accessories are a fabulous silk and tulle headband style hat, long gloves, silk purse on a silver chain, faux fur and silver slip on heels. I believe she had faux diamond studs and perhaps a bracelet. I understand that this doll's jewelry tarnished badly. Mine did not come with jewelry because of this problem. Miss Society was the first of the pony-tailed Fashion Royalty dolls and it's a fabulous long pony tail with big curls at the end which are still perfect on my doll to this day! One feature of Silver Society that drew many comments were her lips. They are light with a darker lipliner outline. I love it.

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The next two installments will cover the 2003 Fall/Winter Mauve Absolue Collection.

Homage to Veronique Perrin - Part I of Many

It was announced last year that Veronique's sculpt would be retired. She was one of the original two characters of the Fashion Royalty doll line along with Adele. This is the first in a series of posts which will show the Veroniques I've photographed. I have not collected all of them but I've had many. Some are in the collections of others now. All the Veros I own are on tall bodies now; however, you will see an assortment of bodies as these photos were taken as I went along my merry way. Any image that does not have my signature belongs to Integrity Toys unless otherwise noted.
Starting with the Spring 2003 Premiere collection we have a Close-Up Blonde and a Close-Up Redhead. Both were editions of 1000 and priced at $29.99. They came dressed in panties and a lace up bustier and a fabulous, rich-looking long robe. The robe had a W embroidered on one lapel. The jewelry was a pair of faux diamond studs and the shoes were slip-on pumps with fabric linings and uppers.
Their hair was long and silky and they were gorgeous even with their straight arms. The finish on those dolls was perfection.

Three New Fashions from Randall Craig's RTW Line

First up is "Style Icon" It's an adorable and updated classic shirtwaist with satin trim at the hemline and a satin bowed belt. Included are a delightful little tulle embellished straw cap, a turquoise clutch bag, pearl drops, black pumps and a petticoat.

The fit of the dress is perfection. It's made very well. I love the hat with it's sequins and tulle. The black pumps and the pearl drops are not as stylish so I didn't use them. The clutch had issues. I removed the velcro closure because it created too much bulk and the purse didn't close well. Last season's purses had the same issues.

Heat Seeker Natalia above is wearing jewelry by Joy. The shoes are from Integrity Toys.

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Next is Curacao. This is a stunning satin turquoise sheath with gathered pleats on one side. It's made extremely well and has a loose fit. The scarf is the perfect touch for the fashion. The black espadrille wedges are OK but I choose not to use them. We have the pearl drops again. The straw hat shown is not how the hat actually appears. It's very tall in the crown and sticks up so high that it looks like a Mexican sombrero. In his photo, Craig has pushed the hat in at the top to deal with this issue.

Aerodynamic Vanessa is seen here carrying a replica Louis Vuitton handbag and matching shoes from La Boutique POM. She has on IT sunglasses.

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My third outfit is Chica Chica. Again the construction is flawless. The pretty and feminine white blouse has a very loose fit which causes a problem. The high waist of the pants is slim-fitting as it should be and there is too much fabric from the blouse to make it easy to put on and have the pants fit properly. It keeps the pants from being pulled up as high as they could be. The wedges appear again as do the ubiquitous pearl earrings. The straw hat has the same issues at described above. I don't like that the photos don't show the hats as they really are.

My version is wearing Integrity sunglasses and earrings. Her handbag is a replica Hermes Birken from La Boutique POM.

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All fashions shown are $58. at most dealers with free shipping included. Each is limited to 100 pieces.
You can find more pictures of Randall's excellent doll clothing lines, past and present, at his website:
http://www.randallcraigrtw.com/fashions.html
The photos that have the rtw logo in the background are property of Randall Craig.

Picture of the Week Award ~ April 20, 2009

The spotlight this week goes to Michelle in Michigan (her board name). This photograph features the 2008 Gene convention doll, Distant Venus, whose hair has been restyled. She is wearing Zita Charles' fashion, Azalea Ice.

Michelle is the talented photographer, stylist and Gene collector behind the amazing website A Star is Born. Be prepared to spend a great deal of time going over every single page of gorgeous photographs of the characters in the Gene Marshall line.

First Photoshoot with Aphrodisiac AvantGuard

The second wave of AvantGuard dolls is beginning to arrive. First to show up on my deck was Aphrodisiac. The packaging of the AGs is pristine in their black and white boxes, inner boxes and inner, inner boxes. Yes, there are several layers.

This gal has the same gorgeous sculpt as Goldmine. The wig appears to be exactly the same as well except this one has been combed out to explosive proportions.
Aphro's well tailored and constructed shadow striped jacket came with one side (accidentally) folded back which needs to be addressed with a steam iron.

The boots came in a cellophane bag. I don't know who decided to make the ties so short. It was definitely an exercise in patience and dexterity to get them on, get the laces tied and keep the tongue inside the boot at the same time.
The semi sheer and metallic silver sleeveless blouse is very pretty with it's jabot. I would have liked a mini skirt instead of the same black shorts which appear to be leftovers from Eclectic's ensemble. I don't know why IT uses the same clothing items and wigs for successive dolls. It doesn't make sense for the collector to have duplicates.

What could possibly be inside the heads of the AG dolls which keeps normal length earring posts from being inserted? I have added a wire cutter to my doll work table! One must cut at least 1/2 of the post off in order for them to go all the way in. It's not a big deal but if you don't know, you might spend a good deal of time trying to insert an earring and wind up with an enlarged earring hole, a broken earring or both. Aphrodisiac is not a doll for the tame of heart. Her facial screening is right off the runway. She is very beautiful and fabulous for a while, but for long-term dolly fun, she needs to be toned down.

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I have one nude Aphrodisiac for sale for $200 plus shipping. You get the extra hands and extra feet, stand, paperwork and box in shipper.