Stardust ~ Friday, June 4, 2010

Reporting live (but only partially) from Philadelphia at the end of day 2 of the final Gene convention. Mel did say that if people were to hold a Gene party, he would come if invited so calling this the 'final' Gene event may not be accurate. He also said that contrary to some of the dioramas, Gene is not dead. In the competition room, there are several dioramas (that are just spectacular) that depict a funeral for Gene and the people in mourning. In one diorama, Trent is shown dejected and about to shoot himself. These are pretty amazing and amusing as well. Back to Day 2: My day was supposed to begin with a class taught by Denis Bastien but, as some of you may already know, he was denied entry into the US because some nutty border guard demanded that Mr. Bastien produce a work visa which he did not have. He did not need one as he was putting on a demonstration and as far as I know, he was not being paid for his participation but I don't really know all the facts. On the surface, it appears that the border guard had a stick up his ass and demanded things that were above and beyond reasonable. Denis was threatened with a 5-year entry ban if he attempted to cross the border into the US in the next few days. Unbelievable. I spent part of the morning doing more shopping in the vendors' salesroom. The line for the official store was ridiculous so I never made it in there. At 11:30 the doors of the dining room opened for lunch. The centerpiece was a Madra entitled "Love, Madra." Mel told the story about how Madra came to be called Madra and why a female character was added to the line before a male character. We got the second part of our big giftset and were all given an Ivy doll as well! The "Fashion Sleuth" has provided this image of the original Dior designer fashion: After lunch, I attended two workshops. The first was with Alain Tremblay who demonstrated a unique flocking technique using positive/negative electrical current to cause flocking fibers to stand up straight on a glued surface. The results are so much more attractive than shaking powder flock onto a glued surface. We got a Trent doll who had been previously flocked by Alain. Some of us had him apply beards and mustaches to our dolls. It was a fun group of chattering, joking collectors. I am very pleased with my Trent!

My next class was called Taming Her Do. We had the option to purchase a Madra head which had a beautiful mane of black hair.

The Before View of Madra

My doll came out looking like a cross between Princess Leia and Pippi Longstocking. Luckily for you, I did not take an after picture. When I got home, I had the last laugh and took out the pins and bands and rinsed out the gel. Much better.

Several of my tablemates and I went to the famed Jim's Steaks on South Street in the Waterfront District.

If you ask me, it was kind of a dive and although the food was decent, I didn't see the thrill. The rest of South Street was pretty seedy but we had fun - especially in Condom Kingdom. No description is necessary. We walked to and visited Happily Ever After and stopped in to chat with Ed for a while. We arrived back at the hotel at about 7:30. All I wanted to do was go to bed but not wishing to miss anything, I showered and changed and went down to the cocktail party. Some guests were really into the entire thing with their period fashions and poses but the ballroom was dark, very noisy and not my scene. I stayed in the surrounding area with a bunch of people and had fun. I am falling asleep as I write so I'd better end here.

Stardust ~ Thursday, June 3, 2010

Live from the Loews Philadelphia Hotel is one exhausted blogger. This was a full day. I drove about 1 hour from Hatfield, PA to the heart of this historic city, pulled right into the hotel parking garage and was taken to the lobby with my luggage. It was only 11AM and the rooms were not ready for checking in yet so I went upstairs to register for the convention. That took all of 30 seconds. I was handed a large Integrity shopping bag with a giant sized doll box inside. It was empty, ready to be filled at each meal with one part of a giftset just like they did at the FR convention with Natalia.
Collectors were gathering in an area outside of the hubs waiting for the shop to open. At noon the spending spree began. I took photos of all the stuff I purchased today. It's obscene. The prices in the store were ridiculously cheap; how could I resist? A little room shopping rounded out the day's hunting and gathering.
Then I was off to the Reading Terminal Market. I loved the aisles and aisles of food stalls offering up cakes, breads, chocolates, poultry, meats, fish, cheeses, 100's of different vinegars and condiments, ice cream, prepared meals and snacks. I wish there were a place like that near where I live instead of health food stores and Shoprites. I had the most delicious bagel - a walnut, cherry, cinnamon, sugary thing. It was more pastry than bagel.

At 7:00 PM the gathering outside the dining room began. It was a very happy, chatty crowd. We entered the room at 7:30 PM to be greeted by the centerpiece which was a beautiful Gene in a lovely blue dress which was offered to 5 people for purchase by lottery.

"Blue Avenue" Gene ~ Image Property of Integrity Toys

Dinner began with a delicious artichoke soup. I'd love the recipe. It really was one of the best soups I have ever eaten. The main course was chicken and vegetables prepared in a straightforward fashion. The dessert was a white and dark chocolate mousse layered cake and coffee. The servers were excellent and solicitous.
There was a band playing and a woman singing way too loud throughout the entire meal which made getting to know most of the other people at the table impossible.

Mel was greeted to a rousing round of applause and spoke for about 10 minutes.

And then we were surprised with a gorgeous Zita doll, "Parfait."

Image Property of Integrity Toys

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sleeping.

Gene's Final Curtain Call ~ Part III ~ More Favorite Gene Photographs

Rogue Rose wearing rhinestone bra and panties from a Metrodolls event.

Essentially Gene "Vixen" (Hair restyled by Jim Gaddis)

Essentially Gene "Blush" (Hair restyled by Jim Gaddis) Wearing Tonner

"Heavenly" Gene wearing "A Woman of Means" Fashion

"Distant Venus" wearing Madame Alexander

Wearing Tonner's Swept Away

"Star Entrance" wearing Incognito

"Suited for Fur" Gene wearing "Hello Portland, Hello"

"Blush" wearing "Rondelet" Fashion

Above are a few more of my favorite photos I have taken of Gene in the short period of time I collected her. I have more but not now. :-)

I wanted to finish up this homage to Gene because I still have a bunch of stuff to do before leaving for Pennsylvania on Wednesday. I'm combining my trip with a visit to much loved cousins who live 1 hour from Philadelphia. Staying there overnight on Wednesday will enable me to arrive at the hotel early Thursday having traveled only a short distance.

Thanks to all who commented on the doll boards about my Gene posts. I will see you soon!

This Is Not the Miss Revlon Doll I Remember!

I am so bummed about the new Miss Revlon doll. I keep hoping that each time I look at her I will find something pretty about her face but it's not working. I wanted to adore this doll because I had a Little Miss Revlon doll as a child. I found these images on the web:This is what the fashion dolls of the 50's looked like. I thought she was truly something special. She wore high heels, had a developed chest, wore lipstick and jewelry! Her clothes were lovely. - Like Cissy dolls, an immature, baby face on a maturing body was the accepted style.

Beautiful vintage Miss Revlon dolls from the past were pictured in an article written by Robert Tonner for a special edition of Dolls Magazine and distributed to Tonner convention atttendees. Here is one of the pictures from that piece:This is the new doll. No matter which way I turned her head, it looked wrong.
There is something very 'off' about the sculpt. Her head is too large and she has no ankles. The vintage doll has a big head and big jaw but it works on her baby face. It does not work with this face in the least. I was hoping for a vintage reproduction doll that resembled the original in some way. Boy, was I mistaken. I think my doll may be defective due to the strange spots of black paint on her eyelids.

I pre-ordered her from a convention-goer who got to go to the event. She cost me more than $160. Ugh. What a waste of money.

And what's up with the scraggly, crunchy long hair?This is a WWTT moment. Maybe it was a mistake and too late for the factory to change it. One can hope that the future releases are 100% better. If not, there won't be another one in this house. I'm not even sure what to do with this one.

Bring Tiny Kitty back. That's another story.

An amazing website about Miss Revlon and Little Miss Revlon dolls is here:
http://my.pclink.com/~jjdow/default.htm

Gene's Final Curtain Call ~ Part II ~ Favorite Gene Photographs

Lucky Stripe

Lone Star Soiree

Heavenly

Heavenly wears a Tonner Fashion

Daughter of the Nile Gene

Candied Lavender Gene

Calendar Shot Gene wearing Stolen Moments Fashion

Calendar Shot Gene

Bridge Club Fashion on Heavenly Gene

Blue Horizon Gene

Bon Voyage

Apres Ski

To be continued.

Gene's Final Curtain Call ~ Part I

Last night I dressed two of my Gene dolls in fashions recently acquired. They are waiting to be photographed and I visualized them looking over their shoulders as they retreated from the front of a stage on the last night of their performance.

In a few days I will have begun to attend my first and last Gene Marshall convention. There, amongst the 400 or so attendees, I may be in the minority because I have not been a "real" Gene collector. I was aware of Gene, of course, during her Ashton-Drake years but never veered away from my Tonner collections until getting involved with Integrity Toys' Fashion Royalty dolls. Prior to that, I had purchased a basic Gene and a dressed Gene and that was it.

Simply Gene

Perfect Match Gene with Tiny Kitty

During my early Tonner collecting days, the Gene fashions I purchased disappointed me because they usually did not fit Tyler. Obviously I knew very little about that line. I did buy the wonderful furniture and accessories like the gazebo, the the patio set, the dresser, the swan bed, the clothing rack with wooden hangers and several room dividers. Fabulous items every one of them.

Tyler Wearing "A Shorts Story" Gene Outfit

In February 2007 Integrity Toys held an event at FAO Schwarz in NYC. That was the first time I met Mel Odom. Gene had been picked up by IT and the line was on display at the store. I had not begun my second round with the 16" dolls yet. That Gene was "Suited To A T. " The doll reminded me so much of my mother when she was young. At the time, Mom was in the final stages of Alzheimer's Disease. That was February. I couldn't get the doll out of my mind and decided to ask my husband to get her for me as a holiday gift that December, which he did. My mother died that month. I photographed that doll endlessly and began buying Gene fashions which led to buying Gene dolls which led to more and more. I bought Ashton-Drake Gene and IT Gene dolls and fashions and had a ball. I discovered another huge group of collectors who were so very different from the Fashion Royalty crowd.

She's been a wonderful doll—hair still perfect; eyelashes attached and she's still (sort of) smiling. STaT has been on the pages of FDQ!
That's my Gene story. Why do I say that I'm not a "real" Gene collector? I say that because I am not emotionally attached to the doll as so many are. Gene has been the force that has brought thousands of collectors together and has cemented their friendships. Gene has been a business for some of the very talented as well. Most of the hard core Gene collectors are film buffs and I am not. So I dabbled and I played and I am about to rub shoulders with the cognoscenti. I'm excited.

In my next installment on this topic, I will post my favorite Gene photographs.