New Barbie Collector site is Launching July 17th, 2017.

Hoping someone other than the last web designing crew designed this new site or it's going to crash and be dysfunctional - again.

If you cannot read the text, click on the photo to enlarge.

Will you be joining this time around?

Gene Marshall Doll Line History

I have seen Anne Monday's preliminary pages of this book and you are going to want it! 

Gene: Dolls, Outfits & Accessories, 1995-2017

By Anne Monday | Foreword by Mel Odom

In 1995 Gene Marshall burst into the doll collecting world. She stood a glamorous 15 ½ inches tall at a time dominated by the 11 ½ inch Barbie. Created by artist Mel Odom, Gene was presented as a doll for the adult collector, to be redressed and played with by her owners. Gene was so successful that within five years many manufacturers copied her size, launching the era of the 16-inch fashion doll.

Gene is a Hollywood star whose career ran from the 1940s until her retirement in 1961. As such, her wardrobe is replete with outfits from such highly recognized designers as Dior, Charles James, and Valentino as well as costumes from her movie roles, both contemporary and historic, complete with coordinated hats, shoes, gloves, purses, jewelry, and more.

This volume presents a year-by-year photographic chronicle of every Gene release from her debut in 1995 with Ashton-Drake Galleries through JAMIEshow’s latest incarnations in the first half of 2017. In these pages, you will find photos of:

-- Every dressed doll depicting Gene and her friends, from the major editions numbering in the thousands to special limited editions of as little as five dolls.
-- Every outfit and accessory released separately, including closeups of smaller items such as shoes and jewelry.
-- More than 470 pages of full-color photos make this the most comprehensive guide to Gene ever made — an ideal guide for collectors!

This book is on pre-order through September 15. 

ALL PREORDERS will receive a BOOK SIGNED BY MEL ODOM.

• Free Shipping during the Preorder (U.S. only, and for this item only)
• Please order this book by itself, since it has to be shipped later. Purchase other items in a separate transaction
• This book will be printed and shipped in late November or early December (in time for Christmas). The preorder sales will determine the print run.
• Order here: http://shop.dollsmagazine.com/gene-marshall-fashion-dolls-book.html

The cover:

W-Club Members Only "RIGHT TO BUY" Lottery For The 2017 IFDC Dolls

Integrity Toys produced three dolls for the 2017 IFDC convention which was called "Dollton Abbey."
Their interpretation of the theme was quite broad as no one would ever mistake any of these dolls as representing the early 20th century in British fashion. (1900-1920)

Touch of Whimsy

Official Convention Doll

IFDC 2017

Limited Edition Size: 500 (Total edition size, including those sold/given out at IFDC)

Price: $175.00 + shipping and handling.

Head Sculpt: Finley

Body Type: FR 6.0

Skin tone: Cream;  Hair Color: Golden Blond

Never Predictable

Official Companion Doll

IFDC 2017

Limited Edition Size: 500 (Total edition size, including those sold/given out at IFDC) 

Price: $150.00 + Shipping and Handling

Head Sculpt: Adaline King 2.0

Body Type: FR 6.0

Skin tone: Japan;  Hair Color: Auburn Sugar

Feeling Wild

IT Direct Exclusive

IFDC 2017

Limited Edition Size: 500 (Total edition size, including those sold/given out at IFDC) 

Price: $150.00 + Shipping and Handling

Head Sculpt: Giselle D.

Body Type: FR 6.0

Skin tone: Cream;  Hair Color: Burnt Sienna

Check out this page for some catwalk takes on Downton Abbey era fashion.

http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f49/downton-abbey-sparking-trend-early-20th-century-fashion-151407.html

What do you think of these dolls? 

East Meets West Madra and Kingdom Doll Chaucer Exchange Fashions

The first photo shows Madra in her original fashion. I have changed the jewelry. 

The second photo shows Chaucer in Madra's suit. In my eyes, it's a tie as to who wears it better. 

This Asian inspired gown from Rudi Teruel RND Designs is spectacular on Chaucer. Unfortunately my photo does not show that. (Hey, I'm not done learning.)  

On Madra, it is perfect. First of all, the photo is more alive and second, she's got the face and hairstyle to suit the fashion. Madra wins.

Who do you think wears each fashion better?

2017 Fashion Royalty Collection Revealed

Five Fashion Royalty dolls were revealed on Saturday, June 24, via a webinar for the members of the W Club. I tried to watch on my phone from Chicago but had little success in seeing photos. There was a good deal of talking and I was attending a workshop. Just a case of bad timing...
However, every member was emailed a full description with gorgeous photos of the dolls.
Nu Face dolls were also revealed but I'll deal with them in another post.
English translation of doll names is in brackets after each name.

Vivacité [vivacity]

Eugenia Perrin-Frost™ Dressed Doll

La Femme

The 2017 Fashion Royalty® Collection

Edition Size: 1025

Estimated Delivery: Fall/Winter 2017

Retail Price: $145.00 US

Body: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

Eugenia channels her inner French girl with this soft and ultra-feminine look that just is just too adorable and sophisticated for words! Dressed in a pair of perfectly fitted capri pants and a sensuous off-the-shoulder blouse (with an extra-long bow detail on the back), Eugenia is ready for an afternoon stroll amongst the stalls of her favorite florists, where she picked up a most delicate bouquet of fresh roses.

Coquette [flirt]

Jordan Duval™ Dressed Doll

La Femme

The 2017 Fashion Royalty® Collection

Edition Size: 725

Estimated Delivery: September 2017

Retail Price: $145.00 US

Body: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

For her "recon" mission on the Riviera, Jordan opted for a re-invented version of the classic hostess outfit with a floor length, detachable turquoise satin skirt over delicately striped satin capri pants, topped by a faux-leather bustier that gives this sunny look an ultra-modern, yet soft and sophisticated edge. Jordan also opted to complete the look with colorful accessories that truly make her perfect cocoa skin tone stand out and shine!

Sophistiquée [sophisticated]

Vanessa Perrin™ Dressed Doll

Head Sculpt: Vanessa Perrin 3.0

La Femme

The 2017 Fashion Royalty® Collection

Edition Size: 825

Estimated Delivery: Fall/Winter 2017

Retail Price: $145.00 US

Body: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

Dressed to accompany Adèle Makéda and her cousin Eugenia on a trip to the French Riviera, Vanessa wears an ultra-modern look, composed of an intricately detailed blouse with long criss-cross ties on the sleeves and a sheer black lace skirt. Since it can get chilly at night, she took along her favorite faux-fur shoulder wrap, which incidentally happens to be one of her favorite fashion pieces!

Séduisante [seductive]

Elyse Jolie™ Close-Up Doll

La Femme

The 2017 Fashion Royalty® Collection

Edition Size: 825

Estimated Delivery: Fall/Winter 2017

Retail Price: $120.00 US

Body: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled and Flat Feet (One Pair of Each Included)

Seen here for the first time in the Light Honey skin tone, this wonderful addition to the Fashion Royalty collection marks the debut of the new interchangeable lower leg feature and includes two sets of lower legs, one with the traditional high-heeled feet and another with flat, removable feet, as well as corresponding shoes to fit each. Elyse also comes with her own faux-leather beach bag, jewelry and glamorous wide-frame sunglasses.

This doll will be sold via a W Club right-to-buy lottery later this year. It is not available through dealers. 

Exquise  [exquisite]

Adèle Makéda® Dressed Doll - Head Sculpt: Adèle Makéda 2.0

La Femme

The 2017 Fashion Royalty® Collection

Edition Size: 725

Estimated Delivery: Fall/Winter 2017

Suggested Retail Price: $145.00 US

Body: FR 6.0

Foot Sculpt: High-heeled

For her trek down to the South of France, Adèle opted for an impeccably tailored, red-hot pant suit that features a sophisticated removable cape that transforms the jacket into a vest and allows her to wear this look in multiple ways. She then added a custom-printed head scarf (to protect her finger wave hairstyle), faux-leather gloves and a fashionable hat to complete her look. This lady definitely knows how to travel in style!

______________________________

To me the obvious winner of this quintet is Adele. Adele 2.0 is the collector favorite of all the sculpts used for her. This fashion is stunning. Everything works beautifully with this doll. I pre-ordered her immediately upon seeing the photos. I hope she looks exactly as pictured above. 

Sadly, Vanessa is the least attractive of all the dolls. Her fashion is a hot mess with the only saving grace being the shoes and handbag. The skirt is nice on it's own but the 'oxford' blue blouse and the faux fur are just mistakes.

Now let's talk about Elise. We are back to spelling her name Elyse. I adore this sculpt and thought she was excellent even with the color change about which I have heard complaints. I wonder what other dolls have 'light honey' skin tone.  I will be entering the lottery and I hope to be able to purchase her. I don't care about the flat feet. It raises the price a bit and I have no flat shoes for my 12" dolls anyway.  The bathing suit will look better on a less articulated doll.  Let's hope that those who run the lottery don't decide to pick only their favorite people.
__________________________________________

UPDATES: Elise is not going to be a lottery. They've discovered there is enough fabric to make as many as people order. Clever.
__________________________________________

As one collector pointed out, Agnes was included in this collection as the event doll. Any collector who wanted one could order one per membership.

Merveilleuse Agnes Von Weiss $150.

Jamieshow Convention "East Meets West"

I attended a fun, three day event in Chicago at the Jamieshow/Gene Convention this past weekend.

Although I don't actually collect JS or Gene any longer, I wanted to spend time with friends and go back to Chicago which I loved the first time I was there. 

I'll describe the worst part of the trip first.

You may agree that flying and airports are not fun anymore. The plane rides were smooth and thankfully uneventful. In spite of the size of the seat, it's enough room for me as I always get an aisle seat and pay for the extra inch or two of leg room up front when I buy my ticket. And I am small.

Philadelphia airport is not too bad. They seem to have done a lot of modernizing. But American Airlines does this thing called priority boarding. Either you have a first class ticket or you pay to board first. No to both. So I was in group 6 out of 9 in spite of the fact that my seat was in row 8. Everybody's in such a hurry to get on the plane to stuff up the overhead bins with items they're not supposed to put there. I saw child-sized carry-ons taking up the room of an adult sized carry-on. Those items are supposed to be placed under the seats. Luckily no one was dragged off the plane broken and bleeding.  

Chicago's O'Hare is a real nightmare. It reminds me of what the traffic pattern in India looks like. You can't see more than a few feet ahead of you when you're as short as I am. The human mass of which I was part, was directed to walk an alternative route to baggage claim. (I racked up a load of steps that day on my Fitbit.)  Some jerk left a vehicle unattended outside the terminal and officials shut down an entire area, diverting all traffic elsewhere. I had no idea how to get to the shuttle. While waiting for someone to tell me how to get there, the emergency was lifted and the shuttles were once again allowed to enter the area. Goody.

Returning to Philadelphia was a bucket of fun, too. For some reason the x-ray machine detected something in my left hip area. I have no implants, neither did I have coins or a metal belt on my person. So along comes a lady with her blue plastic feel-your-junk gloves. However, she was very professional and nice and I was not uncomfortable. 

To make up for that,  O'Hare is a gigantic food court. The choices are dizzying. I had the most tasty deep dish cheesy pizza ever. Score 1 point for Mr. Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare.

I spent Thursday walking and shopping. My favorite shop in Chicago is the Museum of Contemporary Art Store. You MUST go there. I can spend 2 hours browsing, touching and deciding what to buy. Their products range from the sublime to the ridiculous and everywhere in between.  I have provided a link to their store but the shop has more than they have listed and is much more fun.

A cocktail party was held on Friday evening accompanied by a band with a collection preview afterward. 

On Saturday there was a buffet breakfast followed by two workshops - shoe making by Juli Riedel and wig cap styling by Joseph Novak. After a short break, Pat Henry gave a talk accompanied by a slide show on the basics of photography. She included tips on taking better iPhone photos along with suggestions for photo editing apps.

The salesroom opened at 2:00 PM. It was very busy with lines snaking through an adjoining room for several hours. The companion dolls such as Trent created quite a stir as did Madra. 

Saturday evening was the main dinner at which Mel Odom gave a talk. He is always entertaining. We were gifted with a set of flat feet for Jamieshow gals and some other little goodies.

Sunday morning was the farewell breakfast buffet. 

Here are my mostly unedited (iPhone) photos from the event. I will let them speak for themselves. You can click to enlarge.

The Dolls:

 Six New Basic Dolls. Everyone loved the Anna Wintour type. 

I want the wig cap Lee is wearing for my Alejandro.

 Ten New Fashions

Correction: There were 12 new outfits. Kay Stemnock sent the additional photo above, right.

 Gene

 Trent- San  (I added the San.)

Ling Lang

The gorgeous convention souvenir doll Luna Li.

 Madra

Also offered in the shop were loads of wig caps, posing hands, doll stands and a very few dolls from last year's convention. 

Attendees:

Workshop kibbitzers. This was the most fun of the weekend.

Out of the Hotel

Great architecture old and new and gazillions of shops.  I have to admit that I'm spoiled living in Pennsylvania. We have no sales tax on clothing and I live less than 30 minutes from the largest mall in the eastern US. As my real estate agent says, "Shopping is a sport here."

 Above: Outside the Lego and American Girl stores.

Old Firehouse

 The new American Girl hotel accessory, front and back.

Great view from my window looking north on Michigan Ave to the Lake.

The best part of the event for me was sharing with friends old and new. I enjoy conventions of this size as one can really talk to everyone. The dolls were so beautiful that I just had to buy one and that was Madra. She is waiting (patiently) for a photo shoot in my studio.