Integrity Announces a BIC Exclusive: Two New Nu.Fantasy Dolls

Yuri and Kumi have returned (in name only.) Kumi "Snow White" and Yuri "Rose Red" are now dressed in almost identical frilly dresses adorned with tulle, lace, bows, ribbons and embroidered crosses. Their makeup is simplified. Their hair is also identical in style to eachother. One holds a poison apple and the other a magical hand mirror.

The image above is the property of Integrity Toys.

Pre-ordering began on May 17th. Price for each doll is 21,000 yen which translates to about $235. at today's exchange rates. Kazue at BIC is providing free shipping!

The first Kumi, "Wild Wolf," came with several fabulous pieces of clothing. I paid $300 plus $22. shipping for that giftset from Savadoll in Canada at the end of October 2008. That was an outrageous price two years ago and still is, but unfortunately I've been conditioned to expect rising prices.I never did get a NRFB Yuri but I did manage to get her outfit very cheaply at the 2008 convention and I picked up a nude doll for $187. in November. Her actual retail price was $213. No wonder I didn't buy her at first.

In the last two images above, the girls have been redressed in Soom dresses, lingerie and handbags. Black shoes are Nu.Face, dog is a OOAK felted poodle (one of the Rudettes.) Jewelry is from different sources. Yuri was given a haircut and a few freckles by me.
I think the new dolls are not as interesting as the original Yuri and Kumi. They lack the character, individuality and design finesse of the originals. The dresses and dolls are pretty but not remarkable or unique. The pictures of them are excellent and that's a good thing.

Gettiing back to the new dolls, I searched the interned with the terms "Gothic Lolita" and "Japanese Goth" and came up with many interesting images. I don't know if the designer of the new dolls had any particular style in mind. I don't care when designers copy runway couture for dolls. I like it. They all do it. Here are three I would have loved for dolls:

They are very sophisticated and remind me of what Jason would offer. Well, maybe not the first one. LOL.

Here are several "Japanese Goth" images featuring real girls:
The frilly, lacy dolls and these girls are perfectly suited to each other.

What Are They Thinking? Auction of the Day

Be sure to read the long-winded text to see what your $35,000. will buy for you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/OOAK-SAWYER-LOST-PORTRAIT-REPAINT-DOLL-LUX-GIFST-/250633258812?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5ae8073c

"...breathing fairy glitter must somehow damage one's ability to think clearly and cause bizarre and duplicitous behavior."

I think so, too.

Picture of the Week Award ~ May 16, 2010 ~ Karine at Fleur de Lys

When I look at Karine's photographs, it's almost impossible to pick a favorite. This one jumped off the monitor and grabbed me! The pose is so unusual and well done. The fact that one cannot see part of the doll is intriguing. The doll is a Sybarite named Tock. She was released at the Paris Fashion Doll Festival earlier this year. Be sure to click on the image to see it full sized. See more of Karine's gorgeous Sybarites and other dolls at this link.

Congratulations, Karine, on the picture of the week!

Not Doll Related - although you can save money to spend on dolls later!

My son originally turned me on to this site and whenever I plan to purchase something on line, I check with Ebates first. This is a legitimate site. They send you a check with your rebate.
Email me if you want more information. Better yet, go there by clicking on this link and see for yourself.
It's free to sign up.
Stores like Macys, Sephora, Staples, Barnes & Noble and hundreds more participate in this program. They send out an email every week with the savings rates and specials of the week.
Please check it out.

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=FSCZRwGmaGO6DZjZwg6buw%3D%3D

Misleading Auction Statement of the Week

The seller is describing a Tonner doll and after telling the color of her hair and eyes she adds:
"She has a loose lock of hair, a chip on her left shoulder, stains on her left arm (see photos), and small stains on her feet; over all excellent condition, smoke free home."

Deconstruction Site Eugenia & Magnetism Monogram Dolls

I had time yesterday to redress several dolls and photograph a few of them. For me this is the most pleasant way to spend time with my dolls besides gazing at them. For the backdrop I tried out some mylar coated stock. I'm not quite sure about the best way to use it so the results are accidental. I'll have to do some research.
Here is Eugenia wearing LifeBall's gown. The bust was quite tight but I managed to close it and I like it on her. The headwear belongs to Flame Blue Vanessa and the purse is from an early Fashion Royalty doll. Jewelry is by Facets. She looks gorgeous!
I purchased the Monogram doll called Magnetism as a nude so she really needed some wardrobe time.
The Randall Craig fashion, Kelly Girl, looked great on another collector's doll so that's what mine got to wear. Fur is by Dimitha and shoes are her own from her original outfit.
This particular backdrop is an older tri-fold cardboard Ashton-Drake Gene item meant to represent the Biltmore Hotel Ballroom. I added the gold chairs and columns. The columns are Wilton cake decorating accessories which I spray painted gold.
The jewelry was produced by Sandra Stillwell for the 2004 Gene convention. It is a replica of jewelry worn by Susan Hayward in the film Smash Up. The fur was also made to fit a 16" doll however it works well with this scale and is quite glamorous. It is real fur.

Hope you like the pretty pictures. ;-)

Revision note: Information about the jewelry Magnetism Monogram is wearing was provided by Mike Basala. Thanks, Mike!

Vanessa's First Photoshoot

Flame Blue Vanessa is pretty close to perfection. All I have to do is glue down the curls on her hairdo and she will be. She is actually better in person as the construction and fine quality of the gown can be appreciated only when holding her in hand. This is her first photoshoot. There will be more as I'm not really satisfied with these images.

A Collector Reports on her Experience with Superfrock

I get a lot of mail from my readers who identify with what I post and otherwise. I thought this email would be interesting to post as I don't collect Sybarites. The two purchases I've made from Superfrock were not for dolls and went very smoothly.
The writer has given me permission to publish her name along with the content of her letter. In two instances I have substituted XXX for the name of a company.

Dear Ms Gold!
I am a frequent visitor to your blog and just today I read about what your buying experiences with XXX were like.
This might not be a big comfort, but anyway: I bought this ultra-expensive Tock doll from Superfrock. They had put me on a waiting list and then recently e-mailed me that they had one left and if I wanted it. I did. What I received was a doll with indentures, filing marks and bad creases and scratches on her back and shoulders and front upper bosom part.
And it was no fun arriving at being able to return her and receiving a full refund, i. e. one including my shipping cost back to the UK. I am still waiting for my credit card to be refunded with the amount for the doll, I got my shipping cost back via Paypal. Hopefully this credit card refund delay is only due to it being week-end.
Anyway, I would have never expected such an inferior quality on such a highly priced and allegedly high quality doll.
I was told that "oh, this was out of our hands" and that "the quality check in China was bad" etc. Furthermore, the e-mail address given on Superfrock's home page, i. e. "sales@ superfrock.com" leads straight to China. So it's the customer's fault if they write to the wrong address...I wouldn't want to say Superfraud.
What annoyed me even more, however, was the Lady I talked to on the phone hanging up on me three times and thus making me call again and again. On top of it all, she sighed into the phone annoyedly. The connexion was admittedly bad, but only in one direction. In case you're interested I can send you some photographs of the faults described above.
This whole affair reminds me of what you wrote about getting the last Fashion Doll Agency doll from XXX This kind of behaviour really provokes a customer to think that the sellers are trying to get rid of their last dolls which had come back before (for who knows how many times).
...[Shortened for Clarity]...
Thank you very much for taking your time to read all this and for all your endeavours. And for not sweet-talking to the sellers all the time on your blog. Their success has already gone to their heads far too much.

Best regards
Petra