Picture of the Week Award ~ July 12, 2009

This week's award goes to Al Gudka of Atlanta, GA. Pictured is "Flight Pattern" Kyori Sato. If she looked this good in the promotional pictures, she'd probably be sold out by now.

Congratulations, Al, on a beautiful portrait.

Deconstruction Sight Eugenia 2009 W Club Doll #1

Eugenia has a gorgeous sculpt. This doll is beautiful. The makeup is just right. The hair, although rock hard, works for her.

The dress is pretty. I see a very similar shape to the fashion worn by Statuesque, the Colette exclusive doll. The dark stripe down the front of the bodice, from a distance, presents the same color scheme as the white jacket over the black dress. Perhaps this is the RTW version? ;-)
The jewelry is heavy and although I like it, I think it would look better with something else. Note the large metal neckpiece on Jason's runway model in the previous post!

The shoes had to go. I'm not a fan of the heavy shoe, strappy gladiator look with a light feminine dress. Again, the same profile as Statuesque is seen here. It draws the eye to the foot and artistically that makes no sense IMO. I couldn't bear to take a serious photograph of her with these shoes and the black painted hands. It spoke costume, not fashion.

The problem with back of the shoe not allowing the leg to be straight is a serious issue because it has been happening over and over again for a year and is not being addressed. In this case it's a combination of a heel that is too high and incorrectly shaped back of ankle area.

If you love Eugenia, this doll is a must have. Because it was a club doll, it is not available from regular dealers unless they are selling it as an aftermarket item.

Do you see any stylistic similarity?

Image Property of Integrity Toys

FR Monogram Collection - #2 Doll "Statuesque"

The model on the right is wearing Jason Wu and so is the doll on the left. She is the second entry in the new Fashion Royalty Monogram Collection which is intended to showcase select works from Jason's fashion runway.
A limited number of dolls were made available to the public at Colette, a Parisian boutique, and online on their web site. They are sold  out now but members of the W Club may have a chance to obtain one at a future date.
In this picture she looks like Valia but in other pictures I've seen, she has a strong resemblance to the Avantguard doll, Goldmine.

The image below is from the website.

The retail price of this beautiful doll is (was) approximately $250. without VAT, depending upon the exchange rates of the moment. Shipping to the US would have brought the price up to about $300. I had her in the shopping cart and at the last minute I controlled myself. I would like to have her though. I like her much better than Lifeball.

This is what is says on her box:
"Statuesque"
Desc: Exclusive au magasin Colette, Paris
FR: Monogram par Jason Wu New York
# 93010

Parisienne Pretty Barbie Doll

The latest Silkstone addition to my collection is wearing a lovely reproduction of the 1959 vintage Gay Parisienne fashion. With her navy blue & white polka dot taffeta bubble style dress and tulle hat Barbie wears long white gloves, navy ribbon pumps, navy pantyhose, a silver clutch with rhinestone clasp, pearl and rhinestone earrings, a rhinestone brooch and a rhinestone bracelet.

Parisienne Pretty is part of the "Since 1959" collection which commemorates famed vintage Barbie fashions re-invented for a new era. She was designed by Robert Best. The doll is available at select retailers. The prices I've seen range from a low of $99. to a high of $129.99. I recommend this doll as a beautiful addition to any Silkstone Barbie collection but shop around for your best price!

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In 2003, Mattel issued a Gay Parisienne reproduction as part of the collector's request series.

Here is the promotional text that went along with this item:

Sixth in the Collectors' Request™ Series, this Barbie® doll is a vinyl reproduction wearing a re-creation of the original 1959 fashion Gay Parisienne®. Barbie® looks chic in her classic dark blue bubble dress with tiny white polka-dots. Around her shoulders is a fabulous faux fur stole, and sitting atop her head is a sophisticated veiled headband hat. Accessories include a faux pearl necklace, golden velvety clutch, and navy open-toe shoes. Barbie® doll's demure vintage look is captured with lovely side-glancing eyes, red lipstick, painted finger and toenails, and a brunette ponytail with curled bangs.

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The original Barbie Outfit Gay Parisienne #964, issued in 1959 is pictured here (NRFB!!!) in a photograph by copyrighted by Denise Van Patten.

Denise writes: "Gay Parisienne was produced for one year only. This iconic vintage Barbie outfit consists of a bubble dress in blue with white dots and two bows (front and back), brown clutch, rabbit fur stone with white satin lining (if the lining is pink it is not from this set), veiled headband hat in tulle, long white gloves and deep blue open toe pumps,plus a strand of graduated pearls."

Announcements from Integrity Toys

Life Ball dolls and Integrity raise nearly $50,000 for the Life Ball Organisation!
That's a great donation for the cause of HIV/AIDS research and prevention. I was doing the math and the results are worth pondering (or maybe not.) This assumes that all were sold at the retail price.
The 2009 Official Life Ball doll was limited to 250 dolls worldwide and retailed for $270.
250 dolls @ $270. = $67,500.
$67,500 less the net proceeds of $50,000 = $17,500.
$17,500 divided by # of dolls produced = $70.
Does that mean that the cost of producing the dolls was $70 each?
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There is no specific date yet for the arrival of the Poppy Parker line. Hopefully the long wait will have been worth it when they finally do arrive.
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There is now a new European dealership, Laure Belle Couture of Belgium! Laurence is a doll herself and that is great news to those in Europe who have a difficult time getting their needs met by the existing dealers in Europe.

Picture of the Week Award ~ July 3, 2009

This week's award goes to Veronica Haage also known as Eight O'clock Designs - Repaints by Veronica.
On her website, Veronica explains how the name of her business came about.
"With two boys painting doesn't get done during their waking hours. As you can imagine, that would be a big mess. So everything I do is done after their 8 PM bedtime. Hence Eight O'clock Designs."
It was very difficult to choose a favorite from amongst many beautifully photographed dolls. I chose this one for several reasons. The lighting and soft quality of the focus makes it look like a painting. It appears that the doll is looking far away into the light. I love it. This was "In Full Regalia" Eugenia Frost.

Congratulations, Veronica!