Collecting Fashion Dolls by Terri Gold

6/03/2010

Stardust ~ Thursday, June 3, 2010

Live from the Loews Philadelphia Hotel is one exhausted blogger. This was a full day. I drove about 1 hour from Hatfield, PA to the heart of this historic city, pulled right into the hotel parking garage and was taken to the lobby with my luggage. It was only 11AM and the rooms were not ready for checking in yet so I went upstairs to register for the convention. That took all of 30 seconds. I was handed a large Integrity shopping bag with a giant sized doll box inside. It was empty, ready to be filled at each meal with one part of a giftset just like they did at the FR convention with Natalia.
Collectors were gathering in an area outside of the hubs waiting for the shop to open. At noon the spending spree began. I took photos of all the stuff I purchased today. It's obscene. The prices in the store were ridiculously cheap; how could I resist? A little room shopping rounded out the day's hunting and gathering.
Then I was off to the Reading Terminal Market. I loved the aisles and aisles of food stalls offering up cakes, breads, chocolates, poultry, meats, fish, cheeses, 100's of different vinegars and condiments, ice cream, prepared meals and snacks. I wish there were a place like that near where I live instead of health food stores and Shoprites. I had the most delicious bagel - a walnut, cherry, cinnamon, sugary thing. It was more pastry than bagel.

At 7:00 PM the gathering outside the dining room began. It was a very happy, chatty crowd. We entered the room at 7:30 PM to be greeted by the centerpiece which was a beautiful Gene in a lovely blue dress which was offered to 5 people for purchase by lottery.

"Blue Avenue" Gene ~ Image Property of Integrity Toys

Dinner began with a delicious artichoke soup. I'd love the recipe. It really was one of the best soups I have ever eaten. The main course was chicken and vegetables prepared in a straightforward fashion. The dessert was a white and dark chocolate mousse layered cake and coffee. The servers were excellent and solicitous.
There was a band playing and a woman singing way too loud throughout the entire meal which made getting to know most of the other people at the table impossible.

Mel was greeted to a rousing round of applause and spoke for about 10 minutes.

And then we were surprised with a gorgeous Zita doll, "Parfait."

Image Property of Integrity Toys

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sleeping.

5/31/2010

Gene's Final Curtain Call ~ Part III ~ More Favorite Gene Photographs

Rogue Rose wearing rhinestone bra and panties from a Metrodolls event.

Essentially Gene "Vixen" (Hair restyled by Jim Gaddis)

Essentially Gene "Blush" (Hair restyled by Jim Gaddis) Wearing Tonner

"Heavenly" Gene wearing "A Woman of Means" Fashion

"Distant Venus" wearing Madame Alexander

Wearing Tonner's Swept Away

"Star Entrance" wearing Incognito

"Suited for Fur" Gene wearing "Hello Portland, Hello"

"Blush" wearing "Rondelet" Fashion

Above are a few more of my favorite photos I have taken of Gene in the short period of time I collected her. I have more but not now. :-)

I wanted to finish up this homage to Gene because I still have a bunch of stuff to do before leaving for Pennsylvania on Wednesday. I'm combining my trip with a visit to much loved cousins who live 1 hour from Philadelphia. Staying there overnight on Wednesday will enable me to arrive at the hotel early Thursday having traveled only a short distance.

Thanks to all who commented on the doll boards about my Gene posts. I will see you soon!

5/30/2010

This Is Not the Miss Revlon Doll I Remember!

I am so bummed about the new Miss Revlon doll. I keep hoping that each time I look at her I will find something pretty about her face but it's not working. I wanted to adore this doll because I had a Little Miss Revlon doll as a child. I found these images on the web:

This is what the fashion dolls of the 50's looked like. I thought she was truly something special. She wore high heels, had a developed chest, wore lipstick and jewelry! Her clothes were lovely. - Like Cissy dolls, an immature, baby face on a maturing body was the accepted style.

Beautiful vintage Miss Revlon dolls from the past were pictured in an article written by Robert Tonner for a special edition of Dolls Magazine and distributed to Tonner convention atttendees. Here is one of the pictures from that piece:

This is the new doll.

No matter which way I turned her head, it looked wrong.

There is something very 'off' about the sculpt.

Her head is too large and she has no ankles. The vintage doll has a big head and big jaw but it works on her baby face. It does not work with this face in the least. I was hoping for a vintage reproduction doll that resembled the original in some way. Boy, was I mistaken. I think my doll may be defective due to the strange spots of black paint on her eyelids.

I pre-ordered her from a convention-goer who got to go to the event. She cost me more than $160. Ugh. What a waste of money.

And what's up with the scraggly, crunchy long hair?

This is a WWTT moment. Maybe it was a mistake and too late for the factory to change it. One can hope that the future releases are 100% better. If not, there won't be another one in this house. I'm not even sure what to do with this one.

Bring Tiny Kitty back. That's another story.

An amazing website about Miss Revlon and Little Miss Revlon dolls is here:
http://my.pclink.com/~jjdow/default.htm