First W Club doll for 2018 is unveiled - and it’s twins!

The W Club year officially begun in March for 2018, so everything has been coming out later than usual. That includes the W Club dolls, exclusively made for its members, a total of five for the year. The first one was teased a few days ago to members, then was revealed to be the Nu Face twins, Lilith and Eden. They are designed, like the main Nu Face line, by Jessy Ayala, with a press/newsprint theme. I’m not that crazy about them. The fashions look half done and the doll’s are ok but don’t scream “buy me” to me. They are quite different in style both to the Nu Face main line and the upgrade Rayna, which is weird but not really a problem. Don’t ask dealers, these are W Club exclusives, so if you’re not a member, wait till they start arriving early next year to get them on the secondary market. They are not a giftset but sold individually, so any member can buy either one or both twins. At $135.00 per doll, that’s $270 for both, quite a jump from the $200.00 that last year’s twin set (see what I did there?), which was more elaborate, cost. 

Item # 82104B

Unknown Source

Lilith Blair™ Dressed Doll

The NU. Face™ Collection

2018 W Club Exclusive

Edition Size: TBD

Head Sculpt: Lilith & Eden

Body Type: NF 3.0

Foot Sculpt: Traditional

Skin Tone: Japan

Hair Color: Raven

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12.5" fully articulated doll with fully rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Long button-down shirt with all-over newspaper print graphic;
• Leather mini-skirt with fringe and stud detail;
• Black sheer pantyhose with printed art on one leg;
• Black cat-eye sunglasses;
• Small bag with spike stud detail;
• Twist nail ring in "silver" metal;
• Hand-cuff hoop earrings;
• Certificate of authenticity;
• Doll stand.

Lilith is easily the better of the twins, with her dark hair, pale skin and red lips. If her eye make up was more interesting, I might have caved in. I already have Rock Wedding Lilith and Smoke And Mirrors Lilith, so this one barely compares. 

Item # 82104A

Reliable Source

Eden Blair™ Dressed Doll

The NU. Face™ Collection

2018 W Club Exclusive

Edition Size: TBD

Head Sculpt: Lilith & Eden

Body Type: NF 3.0

Foot Sculpt: Traditional

Skin Tone: Japan

Hair Color: Pale Blond

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied

Quickswitch: No

Included:

• 12.5" fully articulated doll with fully rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
• Black t-shirt with newspaper graphic art;
• Fitted "suede" pants with newspaper print contrast inset panels;
• Black faux-leather baseball hat;
• Tiny "silver" hoop earrings with spike details;
• Intertwined "silver" bracelet;
• High-heel shoes with “studded” detail;
• Black "patent leather" “croc” bag;
• Certificate of authenticity;
• Doll stand.

I have a blonde Eden, Elements Of Surprise, so I’m not in a hurry to get another one. The freckles are too cutesy for my liking and her outfit looks like Barbie turned goth. I love the t-shirt though. 

Pricing : $135.00 USD + S & H per doll (SOLD SEPARATELY).

($20 NRD deposit per doll due now, balance of $115.00 + S & H per doll due approximately January 2019).

Final Edition Size: To be determined, will be based on all pre-orders received.

Shipping Timing: Approximately late-January 2019.

Final fabrics, colors and textures may vary slightly. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only.

 **All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2018 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.

FASHION ROYALTY, POPPY PARKER, NU. FACE, EAST 59TH, THE INDUSTRY and all other character marks followed by ™ or ® are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc. Chesapeake City MD USA 21915. All rights reserved.

The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.

Doll Photography by Jayme Thornton. Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing

Fashion dolls are introduced to unsuspecting Greek public!

Last Monday, a major Greek newspaper published an article about my doll collection. The reporter found my blog on-line, liked it and asked me if I would be interested in doing a small interview for the collection, with photos of my dolls included. They also wanted one photo of me with some of my dolls. I promptly said yes, answered the questions that were sent by e-mail to me, and organised a small photo shoot in a seaside village. I wanted to have a new photo of me included with the interview, and if possible in a summer setting. By Saturday night I had sent all the material needed. The article was published in the Greece section of the paper on the 21st of July. I think it is the first time fashion dolls are mentioned in print in Greece. The only relative article I remember is one about dolls depicting famous persons - that mainly concentrated in dolls like Mattel's Elvis, Sinatra and Marilyn.

The article as printed in the actual newspaper.

Here is the translation in English:

"Collectible dolls signed by Versace" (referring to my Barbie Versace doll)-the big headline
Toys for big children - the smaller headline

Rare collection- a collector, from Thessaloniki, gathers history and big screen heroins in miniature. (text box)

"I am an Olivia Newton-John fan and found on-line a doll representing her as Sandy from the movie Grease. Of course I ordered her. When I received her, I knew I could not stop at one!" says to TA NEA (The News-the newspaper's name) Mr. Stratos Bacalis, fashion doll collector.

The 39 year old collector works as a designer and engineer in an architectural firm in Thessaloniki. He studied fashion design and civil engineering. But, as he claims, "I never got my degree as a civil engineer since design won me over completely because it was such a fascinating world". His love for style and fashion found an ideal expression in 2000 when he discovered that Sandy doll on the Internet.

This photograph was used in the contents section of the paper, page 2.

So a special hobby began, that today translates to approximately 100 fashion dolls. It's about dolls that can be from the well known to most of us Barbies, but in collector's editions, to pieces that represent historical persons or famous actors in roles that became legendary such as Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in the film Gone With The Wind. In fact some are creations of well known fashion designers such as Versace. His passion is such that for every piece in his collection, he knows almost everything related to it, from manufacturing details to the history of the person represented.

One of the unused photographs .

Even though every doll is indeed a particular creation, Mr. Bacalis, as any collector indeed, has a special weakness for his geishas. "There is a series of dolls inspired from the film "Memoirs of A Geisha". I have three of these dolls up to now. I find them particularly fascinating. They are all dressed in exquisite kimonos. They are wearing the shoes real geishas wear, down to the small bells hidden in their soles!", he characteristically mentions. his second big favourite is Scarlett O'Hara, for whose guardarobe he has bought two costumes from the film as well. (actually I have many more)

Mattel's Queen Elisabeth the 1st.

Historical persons

As for the one he always wanted to have: "Queen Elisabeth the first from Mattel. It was a limited edition and expensive. I like the Tudor era very much. So when Mattel put the doll on a very attractive offer, I could not resist..." he notes. Of course his wishes do not end there. As he admits, he would love to have quite a lot of dolls. "I wish I had the money to buy them all, even though then I would have to leave the house due to lack of space! I would like to obtain Elisabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, but she is expensive and hard to find as she has been discontinued. Maybe one day..." he characteristically says.

Fashion Royalty Agnes Von Weiss

These dolls are not sold widely in Europe as the shops importing them are few and mostly on-line. So if someone wants to buy one of them, he has to turn mainly to US on-line shops. Of course, as Mr. Bacalis points out " you need a lot of research to find the best place to buy one, as well as perseverance and patience". He adds that "one can find some real bargains and also make a research into relative forums and groups of people with the same hobby". Also of use are the manufacturers web sites for information about new releases.

From US$25 ...to US$17,000!

Prices depend on many factors. Manufacturer, quality, doll and edition size are the most important. "A simple Barbie Collector's edition can start from US$25. While for a unique doll one can give many thousands of dollars. It is always a matter of supply and demand as with every collectible" he mentions.

There are some dolls that have been produced in One Of A Kind editions. Most of them are auctioned for charity purposes so their price can reach astronomical heights. For example, in 2006, a Barbie In Midnight Red was auctioned in London for US$17,000.

And the photographs of the article with their captions:

Olivia Newton-John as Sandy in Grease.

"The "Ghost of Christmas Future" doll from the Dickens' story "A Christmas Tale" is one of the many in my collection that I particularly like" says to "NEA" collector Mr. Stratos Bacalis.

Audrey Hepburn with the black dress in "Breakfast At Tiffany's"

The box in the centre of the article has a top-5 of fashion dolls.

Top-5 of fashion dolls:

1. Fashion Royalty dolls, designed by a real fashion designer, Jason Wu.
2. Barbie collector's editions.
3. Sybarite dolls from the UK.
4. The Tonner Doll company dolls.
5. Mel Odom's Gene Marshall and Madra Lord dolls from Integrity.

I found the article generally good, the reporter made a nice text from the answers I send but she did not mention my blog even once! And the strange thing is she found me from the blog!!! Go figure. That omission not withstanding, everything else was great. And I got the chance to make fashion dolls known to a large section of the public here with a serious article.