An Amazing Wig by Anthony in Hawaii

My good dolly friend ParadiseBlue-Jay sent me some pictures of his new wig.
This wig is from Anthony's "Extreme Couture Collection: Shaolin Collection" and is inspired by John Galliano's 2010 Haute Couture.
The doll is Aphrodisiac Avantguard. She is wearing an early Gene Marshall (Ashton-Drake) costume called Bird of Paradise.
Spectacular!

 

Randall Craig Fashion: New Sizing?

Recently I received one of Randall's new fashions, Delightful. It's a very pretty coral sheath with a bolero jacket that has puffed sleeves. The accessories include a black patent clutch bag, black patent belt, black plastic shoes and black bead earrings. Retail price, with shipping, was $62. from Mary T's Dollhouse.
According to the promotional text this item is "Fitted to Monogram dolls but will also fit Silkstones, ModelMuse, Poppy, NuFace, etc."

One of my Monogram dolls, Dreamscape, never had a photoshoot since she was first photographed in her pink gown. She was one of my (many) impulse purchases as I really didn't like her face.
I was not happy with the fit of the bodice on the Monogram. It was too big. The bolero pushed the bodice of the dress together at the front. There is too much  fabric at the sides and underarm seam so the doll can't have her arms at her sides. And...there is a really strange seam on the back of the jacket. It's as if it was made incorrectly and it was seamed to make it smaller.

The arrows point to the seams. What is this about? It's definitely not a design detail. They're like little puffy wings.

I had to take it off her and try it on another doll who was hanging out in the area.

 

It fits beautifully on a regular Fashion Royalty body but the seams under the arms are still too thick for the doll to lower her arms properly.
Both of these dolls have the side-glancing eyes that I mentioned in the previous post. Neither was popular. I had to cover Kyori's eyes as not only are they side glancing, they're flat and shiny.  If they're going to re-do a sculpt, Kyori needs new eyes.

Dasha in HJ Couture

Huck (Huckleberry Jackson) offered this dress during the event to raise money for Japan and I jumped on it. I am so happy I did. It's gorgeous and perfect for Dasha. I love this doll. The body is so attractive in spite of the ragged edges of the vinyl at the joints. (hint, hint) In the first image, Dasha is actually balancing on her own which, if nothing else, proves that the shoes were made properly. Yay.
These shoes are her originals and just happen to look amazing with this outfit. Even her original jewelry which has pink and green is perfection.

Let's talk about side glancing eyes, shall we? There's side glancing and there's suspicious. Dasha's eye screening borders on the latter. Look at this. She looks afraid....gorgeous but afraid.

Even in the profile view you can see her looking at you. This is not normal. I wonder if this is the reason she was not terribly popular. I'm getting a second head of this same doll and having the pupils repainted to look straight ahead.

More on side glancing eyes in the next post. Stay tuned.

Joan Greene Shows Rare Prototype Dolls for Nashville Fashion Week

Click here to see article.


Click here to see Joan's company website, Greene & Lam Studios 

How much profit is acceptable?

It's a topic that comes up over and over again. How much profit is acceptable?

 The newest Poppy Parker gift set, "I Love How You Love Me," has been shipping to collectors throughout the US this week. The retail price of this set was $150. plus shipping. I have seen three different people asking $500. for the set since yesterday. That's pretty shocking  I wonder if anyone is desperate enough to pay that much.

I'm not saying that I don't resell and make a profit on certain new items because I often do, but when I see someone asking for a really huge markup right on the W Club board before most even got their new doll, I cringe because of the "in your face" timing and location of the sale. You see this all the time on eBay and sometimes on the Show & Sell pages but there it's different.

A few years ago when I was buying the FR grails I needed, I paid way over retail especially for Poesie Sans Couleur Vanessa and Cosmetic Takeover Natalia. These dolls had been out for quite a while and were in extremely high demand. I did not resent the sellers for taking their profits at all. Many of the other early dolls I purchased were also high priced. I am happy to have most of these still in my collection - most notably the Veroniques from conventions.

One of the wonderful things about being part of a good doll community is trading. Once you have established a good reputation as a seller/trader, you can find people who have stuff you want and can trade. No money needs to be exchanged and you both get what you want!
My last Vanessa grail, raven AFL, was a result of a trade. I had a convention Agnes and she had the Vanessa. We both got what we wanted due to the successful completion of a trade.

Then on the other hand, maybe it's good that collectors are upping the prices. Doll values had fallen or stayed flat for the last two+ years. Is this a sign of economic recovery?

What I would really love to know is how much this set (or any doll) cost to manufacture.