Mel Odom & Jason Wu: Calendar Shot Gene

This is one of the 2007 collection of Genes. She is catalogued as dressed doll but with the bathing suit she really is a basic, the brunette one (the other two basics being Rouge, a raven haired lady in red undies, and Swim-Suited To A T, a blond in a bathing suit). Calendar Shot Gene has a characteristic that separates her not only from the rest of the dolls in 2007's line but also from all other Genes before her: she has a tan! Her skin tone, instead of the creamy porcelain white of all Genes, is now caramel coloured! Take a look:

It makes her look like Hedy Lamarr, or any of the Hollywood stars with fake tans pretending to be exotic women in far away places. She also looks a bit like the young Joan Collins in the 50s in Hollywood. Calendar Shot Gene (the name derives from her storyline, supposedly posing for a pin up pic in a calendar for the armed forces), comes dressed in a bubbly gingham bathing suit. This costume is inspired by Claire McCardell's designs. It has a bubble shape when worn without the patent leather corset belt.

Her accessories are more than enough for a basic doll: a lovely monogrammed beach towel, a pair of pearl stud earrings, a pearl bracelet, patent leather wedge mules (to match the patent leather belt), which have fabric insteps, and a black knit snood for her hair, tied with a black satin ribbon. When she arrived, I thought she would look lovely with the Gene director's chair and the Hot Day In Hollywood accessory set. And of course she does:

Here are some close up shots of her shoes and belt:

She has broken new ground in the Gene world and it is only a matter of time to see what Mel Odom and Jason Wu make of her in this new skin colour - many possibilities emerge. She is a limited edition of 800 pieces. Mine was a prize from a Gene Club competition and is one of the samples, according to her certificate of authenticity. She's lovely.

First doll presented - Gene by Mel Odom

One of the dolls that make a big part of my collection is Gene, by Mel Odom. Gene was the doll that "made" fashion doll collecting an obsession. She is 15" 1/2 tall and her full name is Gene Marshall (real name Katie Marshall). She was first presented in 1995. Ashton Drake manufactured the doll up until 2005. 2006 saw Integrity and Jason Wu taking the rights to manufacture Gene, marking a new chapter in her life. An enduringly alluring doll, she is made to fit a movie star living from the 40s up to late 50s, with outfits to match, either film costumes or her "real life" outfits for various moments of her life.

This Gene you can see here is the 2006 Blush Gene, one of the basic dolls from the relaunch of Mel Odom's Gene, manufactured by Integrity and Jason Wu. She is articulated at the neck, waist, chest, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees, making her highly pose-able. Gene Blush (the Jason Wu basic raven haired model) is wearing Cognac Evening and using the Gene Director's chair (both made by AD).

A b/w look, after all, she's a movie star:

And this is how she came to me, the basic 2006 Blush Gene, in her glorious lingerie:

Of course this is but one of my Gene dolls, more will come in later posts.