W Club Mini Androgyny - Aphrodisiac Giftset

A nice sized box arrived the other day. It looked exactly like an Avantguard doll box. Opening it and peering inside at the two dolls was a really satisfying feeling. You know how it is when your expectations of a doll are met. It just makes you feel happy.

It is amazing that these two, who sport the Monogram sculpt, looked just like their bigger sisters. Actually, this mini Androgyny is prettier than the larger version. The outfits are almost exactly the same as well. I had heard that there was an issue with Andro being stained but mine did not have a mark on her. The pant suit is very, very tight and the fabric looked a little shaggy. The wigs, which are not shown, fit very well.  Each wig came packaged in its own teeny hatbox. The stands have the AG symbol on them - again exactly the same as the maxi AGs.

The new packaging sports little green rectangles here and there which are the moisture protectors being used now instead of the silica packets. Although there are a few packets amongst the accessories.

I decided that I didn't need to duplicate the outfits in miniature so I have redressed these dolls.
Androgyny is wearing a Kio wig, the outfit from Incandescent Monogram and carrying a Purse of the Month pink leather bag. Her diamond pin is from a Gene Marshall fashion. I have removed the hooks from the jacket as I like it better open and the hooks didn't look good.

I thought Aphrodisiac's exaggerated makeup would work with the outfit from Mina, Bride of Dracula. She is wearing a wig made for Puki Puki dolls. The pin on her lapel is from Facets. It attaches by means of a small magnetic disc.

I love these two dolls redressed. Because they are wigged gals, there are so many play possibilities. The giftset earns a 9 out of 10.  It's a winner.

First 2010 W Club Exclusive Doll Announced

Members of the W Club received the announcement and photos of the first W Club Exclusive doll on July 29. My first reaction was to the photography. I thought, "This is how I would photograph a doll I wanted to sell."
They are absolutely beautiful shots which showed the doll clearly and in several poses. I was truly impressed.

The doll is called "Lady in Waiting" and it uses the Dania Zarr sculpt on a Nu.Face body. According to the marketing email, "Dania has been working out and now is able to wear this tight fitted number over her smaller bust." Perhaps Dania has become bulimic as well? Time will tell.  Real life models get skinnier and skinnier and IT's dolls shrink down in size, too.

I'm not a big fan of the Dania sculpt but I love her dress and jewelry. She does look classic and beautiful and that's what most collectors have been wanting. I have sent in a query about the hem of the dress to find out if it's wired for shaping purposes. If it isn't, and it needs it, that would be a simple project.


The doll is available only to W Club members for $110. and must be ordered no later than August 13, 2010.

"...the dolls and the show turn back the hands of time, but they can’t handle a real-life hourglass figure!"

In a piece written by Stephanie Finnegan in Dolls Magazine, the author tells us that many men who identify with the era of anti-feminism and steno pools are collecting these dolls and adore the show. But...the real life Jayne Mansfield hips, thighs and chest of several of the actresses are not appreciated. These "men" want the good old days of women in shirtwaists pushing a carpet cleaner around the living room in the Levittown ranch home. However they are fixated on the current trend of skinny girls being the idealized figure for a woman.

Don Draper et al. remind me of my father, his brother and their 5th Avenue office. The hairstyles, the skinny ties, the suits, the drinking and the smoking are over-the-top accurate. It's painful to watch.  I do, however, appreciate how well the show is done and the look of it is amazing. I guess that's why it is able to tap into the memories for me.

"“Mad Men” takes place back in the days when “men were men,” and a combo of chauvinism and arrogance were the necessary ingredients for a young executive’s rise at the workplace. (Women on the show, by and large, are left to languish in the stenographer pool, hoping that a well-turned leg and a nice neckline will land them a hubby and a happy home in the suburbs.)"

 Here is the link to the rest of the article.  It's a great read as she ties the dolls in with social issues of the past and current. I recommend it.

"I was sick of the ziplock bags in plastic bins."

 Meg in Oregon (aka Stray Cat), along with her husband, has found the ultimate solution to doll organization. They've taken an extra closet in their home and outfitted it with scale appropriate hanging racks and organizers.

I don't have that many outfits and you can be sure my closets aren't anywhere near as organized!

She said, "I was sick of the ziplock bags in plastic bins. Never could find anything and it didn't encourage play. it just made it a big hassle. This makes it so easy to look and pick your dolly and the outfit."

 Meg described her set-up: "Here's how I keep all my Gene and friends and outfits. As you can see they are outgrowning the closet...I have added a rolling circular rack (found at a thrift store) for some additional outfits. Last pic is the shelf I just bought to display some dolls. 15 years of collecting and I just now have some on display. Go figure?! I made this closet out of stuff I had around the house....thus the odd different materials used for the shelves. But it works for me! The document bags used for garment bags are available at office supply stores. The are called "document bags" and come in a lot of sizes."

Meg replied to another collector, "It makes me happy to keep it organized."  It would make me happy, too!

Pretty amazing, isn't it?

If you would like to send Meg a message, you can post it on the Studio Commissary Board. 

If You Love Ball-Jointed Dolls Take a Look ->

Fellow blogger and collector, Cliff Chan, has posted tons of pictures from an event he attended in Hong Kong called Dollism Plus. It's fabulous! Click Here: Dollism Plus

Picture of the Week ~ Lisa Irinyi aka Alex's Doll

I will write very little in this post as I want to not only feature Lisa's photograph but also her own responses to the questions I asked her earlier.
This is the new Mini Avantguard doll, Aphrodisiac:

"I had an absolutely giddy time shooting Aphro. She seems so runway/clownish – but in a cool way. So, as soon as I took her out of the box, I teased up her wig to ridiculous proportions (kinda reminds me of the villain in the movie Zoolander, Mugatu – Will Ferrell’s character). And then the rest of the outfit just came together. It’s fun, silly and cheeky. Then I remembered the carnival cage – perfect. I swear I could hear a souped –up version of calliope music running through my head during the shoot. You know, kinda scary, kinda exciting and a bit strange, but intriguing. The bright red and brilliant sunshine really made the images pop. The angle of the evening light was almost straight on, eliminating shadows and showing every tiny detail. I love that. It’s like magic."

"Sometimes I feel like the “Weird Al” of doll photos. I see a doll and start thinking about the clothes, the scene and before you know it, some strange image is produced with influences from over-the-top couture fashion or with heavy fairytale or pop culture influences. Obviously I want to take beautiful photos, but I also like to add a wildness, a quirky flair or a humorous strangeness – kind of a reimagining. I like cuteness, to be silly and the unexpected." 

"I started my blog as a New Year’s resolution to have more fun playing with my dolls and become a better photographer. I post a new photo every day (hence the name – Every Day A Dollie) and the constant picture taking has definitely helped me learn more about photography. I try a lot of different things. Weird angles (wide and tight), different lighting situations (sun, overcast, shade, flash), I experiment with exposure, flash strength and white balance – I’ve had some neat results and some that go straight to 'delete'." 

"My advice to all the photographers out there – Have fun. Take lots of photos. Try some in early morning or late day when thee sun is at a low angle – there’s magic in that lighting. Let your personality shine through your photos. And don’t be afraid to experiment."

Lisa's Flickr Photostream

Lisa's Blog