2010 Integrity Toys - Jason Wu Convention The Convention Collection Dolls

The following dolls were available for purchase - one to a customer - in the store during the convention. Everyone received a coupon which entitled him or her to buy one of each doll. At some point after dinner Saturday night, the rule changed, unannounced except to those inside the store. We could buy as many dolls as we wanted - no tickets necessary. PA tax was added to each purchase made in the store.

Fashion Royalty Dolls
"Out of the Blue" Kyori $90.
Mine has already had the bump taken down from her forehead and the glue washed out of her hair. I boiled it straight. Today she will get a trim and be redressed in her fashion. She was a bit too fussy for me to leave this way. After dunking her head in boiled water, I squeezed the sides to make her face less flat. When it looked the way I wanted it to look, I held it under very cold running water until it was cool. Then I let go. Pictures of the redone doll later.

Integrity Photo

"Night Vision" $90.
If I collected the Homme dolls, I'd have definitely bought him. I love the long coat and the rest of his fashion is cool. This is a good-looking doll.

"Fine Romance" Eugenia $150
I decided not to keep Eugenia. It's a lovely doll but there's no WOW factor. I have Eugenias that are much more gorgeous.  She reminded me of Pale Fire Vanessa with that hairstyle.

Integrity Photo

 "Scarlet Woman" Adele $90.
This doll has "Talking Drama" Adele's face almost exactly. IMO the dress did not fit well at the shoulders and neckline. She just wasn't for me...and there's that forehead bump again.

Integrity Photo

FR2
"Always Polished" Dasha $150.
I loved this doll and her fashion the minute I saw her. Several people commented that she looked like a tranny. I didn't think so at all. She's got attitude! Dasha is definitely eastern European and she's staying.
I love the gown with it's fabulous draping and tiny buttons. This is Jason all the way.

Integrity Photo

  Poppy Parker
"Ask Any Girl" Gift Set $130.
The center front Poppy is the doll included in the gift set. All three outfits come with her. She is wearing an adorable sweater whose buttons made me want to scream. When I finally got them hooked I put a piece of tape over them to keep them closed. I love the shorts!!!
The doll on the left is the workshop Poppy and she is wearing the softest off-white lace gown. I'm wondering if the factory put the sash on upside-down. David, if you're reading this...please tell.
On the right is Reluctant Debutante Poppy wearing a very "Mary Tyler Moore - That Girl" suit and bowler hat. It comes with two tone spectator type shoes. The straps are very difficult to button and one broke. I may remove the straps on those shoes altogether. There is a loden green sleeveless shell under the jacket. The hat which appears to be a type of pressed felt product is not a good quality as it's surface is shreddy-looking. There are also leatherette short gloves with a pearl button at the cuff. Forget putting them on but it's a nice touch. A little matching clutch, earrings and a pendant are also included.

I think it's a very good value for the price.
  
Nu-Face
"Wild at Heart" Twin Doll Gift Set $175.
This is a wildly popular gift set with two very trendy-looking dolls. Vaughn told us that in order to create the bi-color hairstyles, they had to do the pony tails as attached hairpieces which are not to be removed if the owners want to have this hairstyle. 

Integrity Photo

Did you get any of these dolls? Which ones? What do you like about them?

Convention Dance Party - Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-9RoF68I4w&hd=1


Part II will be uploaded late tonight for viewing tomorrow.

The Centerpiece Dolls; Jason's Talk - 2010 Fashion Royalty Integrity Convention

The first centerpiece was at dinner on Thursday night. She is called Smoke Screen Dania Zarr. I thought it was Agnes as her hairstyle and makeup are very much like that of Firefly Agnes.

Smoke Screen Dania Zarr 2010

Integrity Photo (Exposure Adjusted by Author)

 This doll is styled in a way that's been used often on FR dolls this past year - multi-level, multi shaped and multi-styled pieces in mixed fabrics. It's not my favorite style. I don't see any grace there. I see mix and match and cute but not classy.

The Friday afternoon luncheon saw a lovely Poppy Parker "Shadow of a Smile" as the centerpiece.

Poppy Parker "Shadow of a Smile" 2010

Integrity Photo (Exposure Adjusted by Author)

I have been told that this gown is a black (dark blue?) version of the beautiful off-white "The Look of Love" fashion currently available at dealers. [Correction: The gown is deep purple and black.] Her adorable red hair and irresistible face made this a delightful centerpiece.

Integrity Photo

Friday evening we were treated to the sight of a gorgeous doll called "Provocatrice" Anja trapped inside a cage! She is extremely sought after by collectors. I wonder why. Could it be that she looks like a version of Veronique? Hmmm....why fix it if it ain't broke?
We love Veronique and she is going to be relegated to the base of the pyramid of Fashion Royalty. More on that hint from Jason later.
Is this red fabric with black lace the same as was used on the Agnes Giftset? I don't have Agnes here anymore so I can't compare.

From Agnes Giftset 2010

Successful Ascension 2009

"Provocatrice" Anja

Integrity Photo (Exposure Adjusted by Author)

Saturday afternoon's W Club Luncheon saw Elyse Jolie "Dark Swan" as the FR2 centerpiece. The last time Elyse was seen was as the convention souvenir doll in 2009. She was such a gorgeous doll, so well dressed that I haven't touched a hair on her head or a thread of her fashion.

Elyse Jolie "Blue Blood" 2009 Convention Souvenir Doll

That one had the regular Fashion Royalty body. The new one has been moved to the FR2 line.  She's wearing a little dress with a skirt which stands out due to a stiff crinoline. Her cropped jacket is double breasted. She comes with lace ankle socks, a brown rectangular handbag and very nice shoes which look better sans socks. All I can say is OY VEY.  Did anyone actually look at this doll's ridiculous hairstyle before letting it out of the gate? She sports a long, fat braid with frizzy ends. The top of her hair is center parted with one side out of the braid that's been cut shorter and curled. Did you get that?  This character went from sublime to ridiculous. There is no grace or class.  How does the train case styled, poopy-brown handbag fit in here? The FR2 have Barbie length eyelashes and underarm gripper stands.

Dark Swan Elise FR2

Dark Swan Elise FR2

The Saturday night table centerpiece is my pick for the best doll of the lot. She is called "Smoldering" and is a dark-skinned Monogram doll. Her gown is absolutely magnificent and quite obviously designed by someone who knows how to drape fabric. It is two-tone and feels like brushed satin. Just gorgeous!!! This doll is classy and graceful and I'm so happy to have her in my collection.
I wish they would have done something with her hair besides chopping it into a short, style-less do. She definitely needs to be wigged.
Someone had started a thread on the W Club board questioning the absence of a dark-skinned doll from the Monogram line. And now we have one. I wonder if there will ever be a new Monogram sculpt. 

Jason's talk on Saturday night was enigmatic, as usual. What I got from what he did say was that there was going to be a restructuring of the Fashion Royalty line. The prices would go down. Veronique will appear in that restructured line. He said they would be "growing the brand," a big marketing expression. Whatever.
He stated that there would be a return to fine-tuned details, great accessories, shoes that look like real shoes, etc. He said this last year related to the Monogram line. Why is it coming back? Where did it go? What exactly do we have now?

Alain pranced around the ballroom with a microphone to get to those who wanted to ask Jason questions.

Drawings were held for those whose winning tickets were pulled. Actually, the drawings were held behind closed doors; the winners were announced. This year the tickets had to have names on them. You couldn't just rely on the anonymous numbers which are printed on the tickets. To avoid the appearance of impropriety in the future, all drawings should be in public in front of those who spent money on chances.  This is a pretty serious issue and should be addressed.
This is not to say that the staff has favorites or resentments. Ahem.  It just looks bad.


More will be revealed.

BarbieCollector.Com "The Big Reveal"

Forget about trying to browse through the newly designed site during your break. The site is crawling and is taking forever to load. I had it up once but it froze. Everyone and his mother is trying to see what the big deal is. It's no big deal at all but there is an extra 25% off on everything until midnight tonight. That's not too shabby. Here's the link and good luck.
http://www.barbiecollector.com/

The Meal Events, the Swag and Halloween at the Convention

The food was so much better than previous years at this Hyatt that I suspect someone else is running the kitchen. The servers were solicitous and well-trained. What a turn-around! I don't remember exactly what we had at each meal but the portions were more than sufficient, the ingredients were identifiable and some of them were actually vegetables! This hotel serves great coffee. We were able to talk to eachother during the meals because there wasn't loud music playing. There was plenty of room between the tables. All in all, the dining was a pleasant experience.  I liked the way the centerpieces were displayed with a Halloween theme. The cage, the big hand, the spider web with the skeleton were all very clever and fun to look at.
The find the key "What's behind door Number X" was played at each meal and some of the prizes were really great. From what I heard, people were seen opening cabinets and drawers, looking under furniture and behind panels throughout the lobby and halls of the hotel in search of these keys. It would have been fun to have hidden cameras to see this activity!
On Friday night, Sherrilyn Kenyan, in full costume, took the stage and gave a brief, humorous talk. Then she went into the lobby to sign books and chat with collectors. An impressively bound and boxed edition of one of her books was given to each attendee along with a black plastic chair with a related symbol. I am not familiar with her books but I did chat with her and she's very pleasant.
The costumes worn by guests were amazing. I couldn't believe the lengths some went to to impress. And they certainly did. I did not recognize many people because their costumes were so good. That was really fun. There was also a woman on stilts making balloon sculptures. Very Carnaval.
Bob brought Rudy down and I took him onto the dance floor. The poor thing was scared to death by the music and lights almost immediately. He started to shake. He will not be on Dancing with the Stars any time soon.

We received an generous amount of dolls and gifts at the table. This is definitely the only convention that gives away so much good stuff. The doll gifts were a complete Agnes giftset, a Poppy Parker in an adorable black A-line dress, Kesenia-a new character, and of course, the convention doll, Giselle.

Integrity Photo

"Hourglass" Kesenia is a Fashion Royalty doll with one of the Brides of Dracula faces sans fangs. I would like her better with a different mouth.

Integrity Photo

"Tears Go By" Poppy Parker is very cute. She has the popular eye screening and long flippy hair. Her outfit is perfect for her.

Integrity Photo

The Dark Romance Agnes Giftset was presented one piece at a time. We knew when we got the big empty box in our registration bag that we would be getting a set. That is so much fun. This Agnes looks like the FAO Agnes from the early W Club event. She was very popular and I think this one will be popular as well.

The convention souvenir doll, Dark Romance Giselle was a complete surprise to everyone. We knew from what Jason said that it would not be Veronique and that was sad (although Anja is a good substitute.) Is Giselle considered a Fashion Royalty doll?
I love Giselle's gown. The beaded bodice is stunning and the shredded fabric ball gown skirt is very pretty. Although Giselle is not one of my favored characters, I know that many people love her. I like her smoky eye screening and the color of her lips as well.

Other items received as gifts were the suit from the Deceptively Yours Kyori giftset (without the accessories, ) a black plastic Dark Hunters chair and a beautifully boxed Sherrilyn Kenyon book, Azone sandals and a jewelry set with shoes.

Integrity Photo

If I left anything out, please email me!

My next post will cover the centerpieces and the convention collection.

2010 Convention Pictures Part I

http://www.goldphoto.com/2010Pictures1WEB/index.htm