Collecting Fashion Dolls by Terri Gold

9/11/2015

Surprise Announcement! New Tulabelle Collection

They weren't going to say the reason Tullabelle got a new sculpt was because she had ridiculous duck lips.

Before

After

So they said she needed to age a bit as it would give them more fashion options and choices.

The face lift was not as much of a surprise as was the entire announcement. I'm somewhat out of the loop and rarely read the W Club stuff. However, I did notice that there was a teaser post recently. It was posted the day after an entire thread concerning Veronique's polka dot gown was deleted by the W Club police. Good diversion. Did it work?

If not, perhaps this will work:

Starting with this totally radical collection, Tulabelle is ready to face the world like never before with a new, more mature look, created especially for you!

That's really nice of them. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The new sculpt is a huge improvement and the entire collection is interesting, varied and contains unusual accessories.

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There are four different dressed dolls each sporting a $150. price tag.

Idol Thoughts

Love the shoes!
This version would have been cool as a basic doll for a lower price...no jacket, no ill-fitting pants...
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Fashion Saga

Very interesting fabric treatment on jacket and skirt. Again, I love the shoes! She's got a Katy Keene hairstyle.

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Sweet Tartan

When I first saw this outfit I wanted it. It's very cute. The veil and the silver envelope clutch, meh. But the boots, the sweater and the navy top are definitely keepers. I'd have to see the tights in person before deciding.
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Mod*ern Love

This outfit leaves me cold except for the shoes (again) and the wonderful purse. I love them!
The rest is Barbie-Poppy Parker super-sized.
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Wicked & Divine

Fun! Her hair is delightful. It's the same hair style that a Jamieshow doll sported a few years ago. I like seeing these unusual non-hair-bump styles especially when they're done properly. It remains to be seen as to whether the workers will be able to reproduce this look correctly.
A problem I see is the ill-fitting shorts. This same bad fit is seen above on the Idol Thoughts doll. Someone has to redraft the pattern for a proper fit.

Didn't Tulabelle have her own body previously or was she on the teen Poppy body all along?

Reminder:
*Please note that the dolls unveiled today are prototypes and the final production dolls, colors and fabrics may vary slightly. Note that these are all 16-inch tall fashion dolls and are not in 1/6 scale.

9/07/2015

Visit to the Tonner Store

When I lived in Woodstock, NY, it was a 15 minute drive to the Tonner store. Now, it takes about 3 hours and doesn't happen very often. This past Saturday was the first time I've seen the store since it moved to Wall St. in Kingston.
It's always fun to spend time chatting with Dr. Noreen. We could talk for hours and cure all the world's ills.
For those that don't know my story with Noreen, here it is. It was 14 or 15 years ago when I went to my first Tonner trunk sale. It was held out-of-doors at the old building on Lucas Avenue. I was really just beginning my collecting as I had accumulated a few Tiny Kitty dolls prior to then. I saw 16" Tylers, Emmes and a few others for the first time that day and met Noreen. She predicted what was to come as far as my collecting would go. Who knew? It's a very fond memory.

These are iPhone pictures. Please remember that you can click to enlarge them.
Enjoy!