10/25/2011

Halloween Themed Dolls

Halloween is a favorite celebration among doll collectors. We are lovers of fantasy and dressing up where it concerns our dolls and that's what Halloween is all about. Let's not forget the candy aspect! Back in the dark ages when I was a child Halloween was about pumpkin carving and trick or treating. It now rivals Christmas where it concerns retail stores' merchandise. You can light the exterior of your home with themed electronic goods. Frankenstein et al can stalk your property which might be transformed into a cemetary. A visitor to your door might be greeted by howls and all sorts of horrible sounds which they activated just by being there.
The most gruesome animated scene I came upon was half a human body being eaten by rats. Then there are the dead babies on swings you can hang on your porch. Fun?

For those of us who do not wish to go that far...we can surround ourselves with theme dolls and there are many out there. Prices vary widely for Madame Alexander dolls. As always, I recommend shopping and comparing thoroughly before plunking down your cash! Check the tax and shipping as well because that can make a big difference.

Madame Alexander makes my favorite 10" Cissettes in a variety of costumes. There are prior year dolls which you can hunt down. These are currently available. 

The Wicked Witch of the West
Halloween Dorothy and Toto
Pumpkin Spice

Witchcraft

Wicked Witch of East
Although not intended to be Halloween doll, these 21" Cissys are scary-looking enough to hold their own in a themed display.
A Beautiful Nightmare

A Dark Dream
For the Barbie crowd:
Bewitched
Halloween Party
Halloween Haunt
There are so many more that I can't begin to picture them here. Do a search on Google for "Dolls for Halloween" and see what comes up. 

10/21/2011

You should have bought her...

With all the hullabaloo going on about the tattoos on the new Tokidoki doll, she is sold out pretty much everywhere. What a riot! The funniest part of it is, if you look on eBay at the completed listings, you will find that one sold today for $274.99. Another twenty-one dolls sold for $200. or more since yesterday and scores of others sold for more than $100. The retail price of Tokidoki was $50. I got mine for $30.  Who knew?  I do not plan to sell mine but if I had purchased more than one you'd better believe she'd be on eBay right now.


10/20/2011

10/19/2011

Tonner: Two Decades of Fashion & Design

Robert Tonner celebrates twenty years in the business this year. FDQ has published this limited edition book featuring highlights from the past two decades. From his first porcelain models to Freedom For Fashion, this is a wonderful guide to the highlights of one of the most creative and successful artists in the doll industry. Color, 148 pages LE 1000 


Click here to order this gorgeous book for only $32.99 FDQ ships internationally.

Pantone Barbie

The beyond literal interpretation left me almost speechless (almost being the operative word.) Pantone Barbie is not an unattractive doll and I even like the style of the dress but I keep staring at her the same way I'd stare at a car accident. I want to look away but I can't.

If you aren't familiar with Pantone, it is the name of a company whose color matching system is used by print professionals, all types of designers and other artists. The Pantone website is fascinating.


Doll is available at dealers for pre-order,  December delivery. $49.95

10/17/2011

Having a Barbie Moment

Angelica wearing Silkstone Ekaterina's outfit and Tarina Tarantino wearing a Poppy Parker outfit.


Victoire Roux, Parisian Fashion Model

Integrity Toys is populating their new IT Direct branch with four stand alone dolls that use previously seen sculpts and a new line called Les Silhouettes Collection. I couldn't help but think of Michel Couture Hayworth's  Flavia, Grand Duchesse de Beauharnaise. when first reading Integrity's  titles and the description.

Here is the description from IT:

Faubourg Saint-Honoré
Victoire Roux Dressed Doll
Les Silhouettes Collection


When Christophe Marquis first invited Victoire to visit his shop and review his first collection, sales were a little slow. The war had taken its toll on everyone in Europe, except Victoire Roux that is. No matter what, she had always made it a point to stand proud, never let herself go and always look her best to help boost everyone's morale. In other words, she resisted the invader with glamour and flair! Of course, the minute she walked in, she spotted a few outfits she liked, switched a few things over, added her own twist and voila, every sophisticated Parisian socialite was suddenly whispering about Monsieur Marquis' little shop on Avenue Montaigne. Fashion history had just received its first victorious shock treatment, Victoire Roux style! Costumes are designed to fit most 12-inch fashion dolls. Includes outfit, shoes and accessories.


Avenue Montaigne
Doll Costume
Les Silhouettes Collection


My photo shows Victoire without her cropped yellow jacket. I added the cigarette holder. The Avenue Montaigne fashion is on the mannequin. It comes with a hat and a longer pair of the potholder gloves seen on the table. 


Victoire uses a former Dynamite Girls sculpt and the Vampire body. Luckily she does not have fangs or at least she's got them retracted. She has removable hands but does not come with extra hands. The face-up is very attractive and she has applied lashes. The period hairstyle was done expertly and will last forever as it is rock hard. I like it that way.

Available only at the convention these items were priced at $125 for the dressed doll and $75. for the separate fashion plus tax of 9%.

Tatyana Alexandrova ~ Exceptional

When I saw this doll's outfit, I wanted it. I did not like any previous Tatyana release so I thought I'd be selling her head. Well, she is staying. The only thing I want to change is the dark lines which were painted between the outer edges of her lips. It just doesn't belong there and does not help the doll or make sense at all.

I Photoshopped the lips and I am quite pleased with the difference.

Here she meets the Rudettes:

The handbag she is carrying below is a Purse of the Month item from a while back. When I saw the handbag that came with in her box, I thought that the gal from whom I purchased the doll had enclosed a gift for me. I did not think the purse came with Tatyana because it did not make sense color wise. But then I looked at the promotional photo and from the side, it's the same bag. It's no wonder the promo doesn't show the face of the bag.


I absolutely love the dress and the fabric. The design is embroidered onto the fabric. The shoes are great and the hat is cool. She comes with a wonderful ring and earrings with a pumpkin color stones. The factory actually came very close to good bangs on this doll.

10/16/2011

Seen on the Pink Parlor: Convention Dolls

Today Johanna aka Stinker's Stuff posted gorgeous photos of three of her convention dolls. I had to share some of them here with you. Johanna made all the dresses.






Have you visited Johanna's website? Grab a cup of coffee and get looking!

10/15/2011

Review: Air Apparent and FR2 Vanessa

Air Apparent uses the new Veronique sculpt (aka Fauxnique.)


The gown is gorgeous and very well constructed. You really have to see it in person to see the details. The bodice is embroidered and incorporates tiny pearls. The skirt swings out in the back from a sharply pleated front with a slightly ruffled peplum type extension.  It's wonderful. The shoes are embarrassing compared to the dress. They are squishy plastic with a crappy piece of folded ribbon in a crappy faux buckle. This was a mistake - possibly intentional judging from the other shoes on the other FR convention dolls. One of mine broke already and I didn't even care. This fashion needs killer shoes because you're going to be able to see them all the time. When I think of the scores of gorgeous shoes my gowned dolls are wearing under long dresses....I think I'm going to steal something for this doll.
Personally, I'm not a fan of this sculpt and I would rather it were the original Veronique. I'm planning to replace her head.
____
Evermore Vanessa FR2 was a surprise to all of us.  The real Vanessa sculpt was used for this "Official FR 10th Anniversary Celebration Doll.  At first I was sure it was the Fauxnessa sculpt painted to look like Vanessa. There really isn't that much difference between them.  She has collectors asking if we will continue to see the real Vanessa used on FR2 dolls in the future. The answer has not been revealed.



 I was too lazy to use an appropriate backdrop for this raven-haired doll and the other black-clad doll. I do not recommend using black in back of black in most cases.
I love the FR2 body and she's got killer shoes which, of course, can't be seen under the gown. The necklace is nice. She's got a cool ring. The earrings are ridiculous. Can you imagine a person wearing something like that?
I'm on the fence about the dress. The pattern-maker did not fit the bust properly and there's something off with the gown. The cups are empty because they do not 'hug' her body.  The overall picture is of a beautiful doll that is missing a WOW factor. It could be the hair. Imagine if she had hair styled like that of Fine Jewel Eugenia or styled in some other, more feminine, softer style.

I hope the ginormous eyebrows go away soon. They are getting so huge and close together the dolls are liable to have a unibrow soon.






This is Night Warrior Vanessa whom some say Evermore resembles.





10/14/2011

Review: Point of Departure Eugenia Giftset, Erin and Ayumi

The Point of Departure Eugenia Giftset has a few fine attributes. First of all it was included in the price of attending the convention. Segments were given to attendees at each meal function to fill the empty box given at registration. The last piece was the doll herself.


This is a beautifully screened Eugenia wearing a well-fitting 2 piece bathing suit in apricot. Matching plastic shoes, cute cats-eye sunglasses and a big straw hat complete her ensemble. I decided to pass this segment on to another collector as I already have several gorgeous Eugenias and I am being "good."
Another segment of the set is this yellow pants outfit. It consists of yellow capri pants with working pockets and tiny buttons at the hem. The sleeveless, cropped top has lovely white embroidery. I am keeping this.

Sadly, the shoes were not made properly and need to be rubber banded to stay on. This is the case with two other pair of the convention's plastic heels, including the blue ones seen in the last part of the giftset.


The white bodysuit fits like a dream; the skirt is a nightmare. First of all I think it would fit my Sybarite's big behind. It is poorly designed and doesn't work with the jacket which is also poorly fitting. There are too many things wrong with these blue pieces. They just could have given us a slim fitted skirt and it would have made a delightful suit but no...it had to have a little bow and balloon hips. Most women do not look good in stuff like this and neither do dolls. If Miami Glow Vanessa can't make it look good, no doll can.

__________________

Erin Salston and Ayumi Nakamura are now part of the Color Infusion line. (Formerly NuFace, formerly Model Behavior.) Erin was the centerpiece doll. Sunset Rave Ayumi was the table gift.

Erin as Psychedelic Splash is dressed in a totally sequin covered mini dress over fishnet tights. She is wearing very nice black suede-like boots which have blue ribbons and tiny zippers. She's got a bunch of bracelets and dangly earrings. The overall look is excellent. Construction is also very good except the problem is that she cannot put her arms down due to the bulk created by sequins and seams under her arms. Hello out there...is anyone listening? This happens often. Change your construction techniques. Would you wear clothes with so much underarm bulk that you could not put your arms down?


Ayumi is absolutely gorgeous as far as color goes. She really fits the description Color Infusion. Her facial screening, her skin tone, her hair color and the color of her garments work beautifully.  She's got wonderful underwear that matches her shoes. A nice touch. Her shoes need to be held on with rubber bands.
I adore her outfit - a minidress with a sequin-covered skirt, a barely there satiny top and a gold fabric belt.  It fits and looks great.


 Both dolls have "Barbie" hair. It comes in a big flattened frizzy-ended mass inside the hairnet. Their hair needs conditioning and possibly trimming and reperming.

Dolls Celebrate Halloween - Seen on Prego

Posted by Johanna in MD

Wonderful in every way!

Tokidoki Available at BC.Com Now

She's live on the site. Shipping is only $1. Your last $20. coupon is active. Go get her!


Gold Label®
Release Date: 10/13/2011
Product Code: T7939
No more than 7400 units produced worldwide. 
 

10/12/2011

More Talc

This doll is such a pleasure to photograph.




Thirty-Nine Dolls!

A collector on one of the boards put this list of dolls together. Several weren't available to everyone as there were limits on centerpieces and workshop dolls.  One (#18) is the helper doll, a strawberry blonde version of the Eugenia giftset.

:  1) Mission Control Imogen
:  2) High Toned Rayna
:  3) Vivid Impact Agnes
:  4) Simply Simpatico Poppy/Darla
:  5) Brightness Calls Isha
:  6) Style Counsel Veronique or Adele
:  7) FR2 Most Wanted Elise
:  8) Business Class Anja
:  9) In The Air Poppy
: 10) Sunset Rave Color Infusion Ayumi 
: 11) Jet Set Eugenia Giftset
: 12) Air Apparent Veronique Souvenir doll
: 13) Bare Essentials Night (raven) Dania
: 14) Bare Essentials Day (blonde) Natalia
: 15) Backstage Ambition
: 16) City Girl
: 17) Faubourg Saint-Honore' Victoire Roux
: 18) Jet Set Eugenia Helper Doll Giftset
 :19) No Reservations Kyori: Centerpiece
: 20) Ready, Steady, Go Poppy Parker: Centerpiece
: 21) Psychedelic Splash Color Infusion Erin: Centerpiece
: 22) Exceptional Tatyana FR2: Centerpiece (W Club Luncheon)
: 23) Beyond the Still Monogram: Centerpiece
: 24) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Gavin brunette: side part ponytail
: 25) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Gavin/Jett redhead: side part
: 26) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Dani, raven
: 27) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Sooki, brunette
: 28) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Eltin, Blonde long: hair
: 29) Jet Set Dynamite Girl TJ, AA with full wavy hair
: 30) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Aria, blonde with bangs
: 31) Jet Set Dynamite Girl Sooki, platinum blonde long hair
: 32) Workshop Imogen
: 33) Workshop Poppy Parker
: 34) Workshop Auden (dark hair)
: 35) Workshop Korinne blonde
: 36) Workshop Korinne raven
: 37) Workshop Korinne redhead
: 38) Workshop Korinne brunette
: 39) Evermore Vanessa FR2 (W Club Luncheon)




Red=Optional Convention Collection
Green=Table Gifts from IT
Purple=Centerpieces
Mauve=New Releases, New Line
Orange=Workshop Dolls
Turquoise=Dynamite Girls
Black=A Great Surprise
Mustard=Helper Doll

Tonner's Latest Release


A small selection of new dolls and fashions has been released today. These images are by Ernest Padro Campos as opposed to Tonner's usual photographer, Storm Photo. The last image of the Rose of Versailles looks like Storm's style.
Here goes:

Chilled $179.99 Dressed Doll; Antoinette Head Sculpt

Delightful $179.99 Dressed Doll; Antoinette Head Sculpt


2011 Cami Basic - Platinum $89.99  Basic Doll;  Cami Head Sculpt; Blue Inset Eyes

 Bridgehampton - Outfit Only $79.99 Fits Such Dolls as Cami & Jon™ and Antoinette™
 

White Christmas Collection 
Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes $199.99
16" Tyler Bending Wrist Body; Authorized Rosemary Clooney Portrait Sculpt

Judy Haynes $199.99 Judy Haynes Head Sculpt; 16" Tyler Bending Wrist Body
 

The Rose of Versailles - Outfit Only LE 100 $139.99 Fits 16" Tyler Bending Wrist Body

More news from TDC:
They are going to return to the older way of introducing their fashion doll lines (winter and summer) as a result of collector feedback. In addition Tonner Direct and Tonner Doll websites are being combined and redesigned. In November, we will be seeing the site which is now being beta tested.