Brilliance Monogram Doll Pictures

As I photographed her, I began to like her more although this is one Monogram doll who will have her outfit changed along with the wig. She has great potential. I find her to be beautiful but conservative.


The wig fits very well. It's the same style as the recent Avantguard dolls...center part gathered at the nape of the neck.
There are annoying issues with the outfit. The shoes are way too long which is a shame because I love the style. Is this going to be the problem of the year? The skirt is just the right length and the jacket fits properly. In couture dressmaking, lining up stripes and patterns across a seam or jacket front is a sign of fine workmanship. It would have been nearly impossible to do this on a doll fashion that wasn't completely hand made. In addition, the white machine top-stitching on the black fabric of the jacket is out of scale. Sewing machines can make shorter stitches.
I'm not sure how to put the hat on and I didn't want to mess up the wig so I didn't even try.

"Dribbling Information and Internal Misunderstandings"

Members of the W Club were sent an apology for not having been informed that the FR Monogram Brilliance doll is wigged. I'm quite certain it was not anyone's intention to conceal this information.

The excuses? This is the funny part.

1. "dolls have been mistakenly sent to dealers" (To whom were they supposed to be sent?)
2. "accidentally shipped to dealers early due to an internal misunderstanding" (What is an internal misunderstanding? I thought they ship the dolls as soon as they're ready.)
3. "information...dribbled out due to this shipping error" (Dribbling information is not the same as dribbling lack of information.)

So they made a mistake or a few mistakes. Fessing up is good.

I'm glad the doll is wigged. It will be fun to have a wigged doll in this line.

NEWS FLASH!!! "Brilliance" Monogram Doll is a Wigged Doll!

Was this supposed to be a secret? This fact was never revealed. The doll was shown with her hair and no information about her being wigged.

These are Integrity Toys' images of the doll:

I previously made a comment about the doll's hair looking messy. Who knew?

Picture of the Week Award ~ February 21, 2010

This week's featured photograph is by Rebecca Ruiz. The doll is an Iplehouse Special Edition Yur in Realskin. She is 65cm (25.6") tall and has the Special Edition face-up from Iplehouse. Mirielle Clemenceau is the doll's name.
Rebecca told me that she prefers outdoor lighting but for this picture she used small photo lights that came in a set that included a light tent. She got the idea for the behind-the-scenes pictures from a huge poster seen recently in Paris subway stations.

I asked Rebecca if she had any suggestions for doll photographers. Here is a summary of her reply:
A good camera is a big help. Buying an SLR is worth putting off the purchase of that next doll. I have a Nikon D50 and a few separate lenses. I especially like my f1.8 50mm lens.

Rebecca looks in magazines, at paintings in books and at movies for ideas and enjoys hunting for props and backgrounds. When shooting out-of-doors she has gotten used to the stares and questions of passersby. Most have been curious and positive.

To see more of her beautiful collection and pictures, click here.

Congratulations, Rebecca, on the Picture of the Week Award.

The "Big Black Skirt"

I put together a mixture of fashion pieces to create a satisfying look for the black skirt from the Festive Decadence Agnes giftset. My model is a rerooted 'Girl of the Moment' Veronique.

The blouse and boots are from Night Warrior Vanessa, the cinch belt is from the 2009 Aerodynamic Vanessa basic doll, jewelry and skirt from the Agnes giftset.

"Soon there’ll just be feathers and the quiet of the fall " (Icarus Wind)

I didn't think I'd be able to get a picture of No Exaggeration without using her stand. Difficulty with vertical posing is the quality I dislike the most about the Avantguard dolls. But I did manage to get her to balance using a piece of armature wire. I liked the look of the brick wall which I had originally intended to crop. She is wearing the new Avantguard separate outfit called "Fashion Fuel." The beautiful animal print shoes are a mile high. I put them on her feet before the dressing began to see how they fit. I would not have been able to get them on over the included tights easily and I like easy. I didn't want to risk damaging the fishnet tights or the shoes. Underneath the jacket is a LBD. The leatherette gloves are elbow length and go on easily. The suit is nicer in person than in the promo photos. Unfortunately the wig is awful. Integrity must give up making wigs that are not either stick straight or tightly styled and tied. The quality of the saran (I'm assuming it's saran) is over-worked. The wig arrived style-less and/or distorted from packaging. Trying to style it was unsuccessful. I was very careful with the wig and still the results were horrid. The wig she's wearing is not the one from the set.

Icarus On The Runway
I don't understand why one of the new AGs "On Edge" is also sporting a little black dress. Seriously, I do not get this outfit at all. The shoes are the same as the ones we got in the December 2009 wig and shoe set. And what's with the hot pink feather wings?

Image Property of Integrity Toys

How many little black dresses and gigantic black shoes do these dolls need? She reminds me of one of my 10" Cissettes - feathers - black/pink combo - over-the-top, etc.
I need subtle. Enough with the in-your-face stuff. Jason's recent runway collection was subtle and gorgeous. There was no black and pink and no feathers.

The Lament For Icarus, by Herbert James Draper