New Barbie Silkstone BFMC Ball Gown Doll

Ball Gown Barbie^® Doll (X8275)
Designer: Robert Best
Label: Gold
Release: August 2013

Angelic Dreamz posted this lovely black Silkstone Barbie doll on their website yesterday for pre-order at $125.

I love her hairstyle. I will have to see her IRL before making a decision on whether or not she will join my other Silkies. 

BFMC celebrates its 2013 collection direct from the atelier.  Make an unforgettable entrance in a unique and glamorous satin gown. A full skirt, sheer black short sleeves, and beautifully tailored , off-shoulder bodice define the brilliant teal gown. A striking black belt with bow accents her waist. Classic underpinnings include black tulle petticoat and hose. Silvery jewelry adds a touch of sophisticated sparkle.

Doll arriving July 24th (at Angelic Dreamz)

According to the blog "Dutch Barbie World," she is already available for purchase in Asia, at stores such as Toy Wizard.

That Was Underwhelming

I am writing this post during the confidential period. Shhhh! Don't tell.

On July 18, the "2013 Christmas in July Unveiling" by the W Club featured dolls I do not collect, namely Jem and the Holograms, Poppy and Chip, Teen Poppy and Victoire Roux.

The Jem and the Holograms line debuted three dolls who were known as The Stingers in the cartoon. If I were a fan of this line, I'd consider ordering these three because I think they are the coolest so far. I like their outfits and faces.

The Barefoot in the Park stars Poppy as Corie Bratter and Chip as her husband, Paul.
For those who like the youthful Chip, this one might be a winner. Poppy looks a bit haggard.
The clothes on the prototypes do not have the appearance of quality construction. Chip needs some serious shoulder pads and a better fitting shirt.

The gift set in which only Poppy appears has three ensembles, each of which comes with a coat and none of which I find attractive or necessary to own. But that's my taste. Poppy is pretty. I like the updo.

And then there are the Fashion Teen Poppy dolls. I do not like this doll's face at all. You can pick her up by her lips.

Out of the four new Big Poppy dolls, the following one is wearing a lovely, sophisticated outfit. It comes with a red hatbox-type handbag which is not shown in this photo. If this outfit were available separately, I would buy it for another doll.

The last doll was a Victoire Roux offered as a lottery.
I like the jacket and the hairstyle but the skirt does not lay properly.

Much of the commentary from collectors involves the word disappointed. These people were hoping to see offerings from the NuFace line or just didn't care for anything.


What was your reaction? Did you order anything?

Precarious "Tamed" Makes an Appearance

I am quite fond of the Precarious sculpt. Tamed sports a glue-on wig that may or may not be switched eventually. That's if I ever get around to playing with the dolls I already have instead of accumulating new ones. I am getting better...I think. Chuckle. Chuckle.

The big glaring spot on her chest is bothering me. I should really do something about that. It's too hot. I'm going to sleep.

If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes

Excuse the inane title of this post. I'm in the confused zone about Integrity Toy's announcement made yesterday.  Here is a brief synopsis of what was issued:

The last major update of the FR body happened in 2006 and after careful consideration, the entire Integrity Toys team felt that another upgrade was long overdue. With this said, we are excited to announce that starting with the 2013 Convention Collection, the regular articulated Fashion Royalty body will effectively start to be retired and will be replaced by a newly refined version of the FR: Squared (FR2) body!

Since we love to mix things up, also starting with the convention collection, the core Fashion Royalty brand and its spin off FR: Squared will be unified as one.

All characters from FR and FR2 will show up in the new FR line and Monogram dolls are going to be discontinued. In 2014 there will be refreshed Nu.Face and later, Homme bodies.

The renovated FR2 body will be compatible with all FR2 clothing manufactured so far and some of the older garments as well, although not all (the Classic Tall Body torso shape and the FR2 torso shape are a little different).*

*At the convention prior to the introduction of the tall FR body, Jason Wu was asked about compatibility of the new body with existing clothing and shoes. He said they would be compatible. I heard him say that myself. It turned out to be untrue. 

Does a "newly revamped, more unified visual image" mean that everything will look even more like everything else?

Like every other company, Integrity Toys is in business to make money. Their refusal to offer replacement bodies is detestable. They are well aware that bodies have yellowed due to some chemical defect in their makeup. It is their fault for not correcting the issue with the factory. Collectors are willing to shell out money for replacement bodies and they are forcing them to either live with the ruined bodies or spend more money buying dolls just to get bodies.
What is their big fear regarding offering bodies for replacement? Tonner has been doing it for years. They're not out of business. It's no big deal.  It doesn't require fancy packaging or marketing.  Refusing to comply with collectors' needs is downright stupid and greedy. Their cheerleaders are touting their innovation and thanking them for each and every doll that appears and yet, they are not trying to make collectors happy. They are just trying to make money which reminds us again why they are in business.

The FR2 body was innovative for a 12" vinyl doll. They certainly charged enough for their innovation. I'm guessing they have found a way to lower the manufacturing costs. The hip joint can definitely be eliminated. Something will change.

I don't care about the elimination of the FR tall body or the Monogram line. I have enough. I've been selling off my extras.

Finally, they have come up with a new logo. I usually applaud Alain's designs but this one is very ordinary. The backwards F inside the box...does it mean the company is backward and forward looking at the same time? I can understand that.

New Logo

I love the crown logo. It made a lot of sense with the brand. It carried meaning. But just like everything else, it's disposable.

Original Fashion Royalty Logo

Retired Brands:
Avantguard, Monogram, FR2, Basic Edition, Hollywood Royalty, Valia, Monsieur Z

What was your reaction to this announcement?

Emilia Couture OOAK Inamorata Collection Petrographie: Grès

The Petrographie collection consist of 3 dressed OOAK dolls: Aimant, Grès and Craie. More photos at the flickr set.

Grès is the second doll in the Petrographie collection and features the African Nnaji sculpt. Her face is hand painted with light hazel green eyes, shimmering gold eye shadow and her parted lips have ombre effect with gold and grey. Her nail polish is a French manicure in gold with grey tips. The long applied lashes have golden tips.

Her 20's inspired outfit consists of a under bust brocade corset dress with ruched silk hem, golden netting choker top with asymmetrical ruching, gold and grey Art Nouveau serpent sculpt heels, and a hand-beaded skull cap with lavender glass beads. All items are hand made by em'lia.

Grès will be part of a charity auction of New York doll club Metrodolls (http://metrodolls.blogspot.com/) event "Style Evolution 1920 to Present" that takes place on October 6th, 2013. The club accepts bids by proxy.

 

 

Super Nails

The latest addition to the Superdoll on-line shop is this set of artificial nails. They come in black, nude and red. The price is  £11.37 or $17.18 US. Glue not included due to international shipping regulations. The nerve!

Today's email from Superfrock says:

...We here in London are besides ourselves with excitement with the next issue of Haute Doll magazine going live and starting to ship in approximately 5 days time!
Why are we so excited about the next HD?
Well…. Firstly they are very supportive of our endeavours and secondly; her name is Velvet™ and she is on the cover of the next issue!
Not to mention the editorial spread that brings us Venus, Inque & Voltaire playing parlour games and lounging in the gorgeously fictitious gardens of MONO.
Yes, we are about to meet these gorgeous friends of Meadow™, who already is in stock and in the hands of collectors across the planet!

Be sure to check out our online store as we add items this week and more next week!
On another note we are thrilled that the countdown is ON for the sYbarites™ first US convention in Los Angeles , CA!
Just 2 weeks to go till “Live from the Sunset Strip”.
 This event is sold out and we are sure it’s going to go all HOLLYWOOD on y’all!
Check out our social medias for updates, sneek peeks and gossip from both sides of the pond! ...

That is going to be an interesting event to watch.