Katy Perry is a doll! Honest!

Integrity Toys and Jason Wu are once again collaborating with Capitol Records rock/pop phenomenon Katy Perry! Remember that Fashion Royalty dolls (Ayumi from Nu Face line) starred with Katy in her ironic video "Ur So Gay" (check it below) earlier this year and now Jason Wu has created a doll in Katy's likeness.



The 12 inch-tall Katy Perry doll uses the standard Fashion Royalty body. It will be sold through Integrity Toys Direct. The doll, which will retail (currently sold out on pre-orders but there is a form for availability information in the official page) for $49.99 (plus shipping/handling/tax) is immediately recognizable as a signature fashion look, featuring Katy's belted gold mini dress with accordion-pleated skirt, inspired by the wildly popular and 5 times MTV VMA nominated "I Kissed A Girl" video clip, below.



Katy Perry has her own blog and also an official site (Warning- LOUD music).

FR Nippon Gothic Dream collection

Integrity Toys have a special outlet in Japan for their Fashion Royalty line called FR Nippon. As the tastes of the Japanese public are much different then their American counterparts, the dolls sold through FR Nippon are quite different both as dolls but also as outfits, from the main FR line.The FR line there is called Misaki. There are three characters, all looking very much like having stepped out of a modern manga or anime. They have bodies that look like the Nu Model line of Fashion Royalty, with different feet (flat) and hands. In total, they look more cartoony and cute than their vampy American colleagues.

The new line released for fall is inspired by Halloween. It is called Gothic Dream and consists of five dressed dolls, two of them special exclusives for Amazon.jp. I do not have full bodied photographs of the exclusives, Red Rabbit & Paranormal Willow, but Fashion Royalty send me photos of the other dressed dolls, so here they are:


First we have The Outsider - a dressed doll with an androgynous look, with an outfit inspired by school uniforms - but probably from a school with Bela Lugosi as a headmaster. Love the coat.


Then it's up to Pure Evil, a doll dressed in an all-white suit that looks partly inspired by Marlene Dietrich - a witch in the cabaret! Probably the best looking doll in the series. Amazing coat and the baton is a great accessory - I hope it is included.


Witchie Witch has a fitting name - the cutest witch this side of the Pacific! If the broomstick is included, it will be a treat. I love the purple dress and the fluffy curly hair!

All pictures are copyrighted by Integrity Toys and FR Nippon. They are not to be used for any commercial purposes such as ebay or to sell any of the dolls. I am not affiliated in any way with Integrity Toys or FR Nippon.

Gene Marshall Convention 2008 - the convention dolls!

The 2008 Gene Marshal Convention, titled "The Girls From Dream City" took place in Orlando, Florida, from the 11th to the 13th of September, drawing a big number of Gene fans as usual. As the official promo release read:

Join us this year as we travel through the decades and explore the fantasies created by Monolithic Studios for our girl stars. The sound stages and studio costume shop of Monolithic are our destinations at this year’s convention. Welcome to the Thirteenth Annual Gene Convention; welcome to Monolithic Studio’s Dream City.

Are you ready for fun? Your convention host Alain Tremblay invites you to join him and his team as we follow Gene Marshall, Madra Lord, Ivy Jordan and other famous Monolithic megastars from set to set as they explore various genres from romantic comedy to fantasy during the most awaited collector event of the year!

Meet Mel Odom and the Integrity team for a high-energy, memory filled weekend September 11-13, 2008 in sunny Orlando, Florida! Limited to 300 guests, this convention is open to all Gene collectors and their guests.

As in every convention, there is a collection of dolls unveiled. This year the quality of the collection was very high, with excellent dolls presented and a variety of styles, outfits and characters shown. So let's see those Girls From Dream City:

First of all, the lovely Blue Horizon Gene, a dream of a doll, with centre parted hair, left with long curls at the back, dressed in blue (of course) and looking like a million bucks. She reminds me of a modernized version of Midnight Romance Gene from the AD years. She looks a lot like Ginger Rogers too!

Then we have my favourite of the collection: the dreamy looking Slender Threads Gene Marshall dressed doll, wearing a lovely suit, accessorized with a leather bag, pearls, headpiece and gloves - a picture of 50's elegance. I do not know if it is the suit, the face paint or the hairdo (probably all of the above) but this looks to me like one of the best Genes ever made.

The next one is Madra, of course: here in a very strange style for her, the Pool Pose Essential Madra dressed doll, with a pink outfit reminiscent of Ester Williams in her glory days. I would have expected to see Gene in such a costume, Madra looks a bit out of her depth in this (pun intended). She is wearing a bathing suit and a skirt over it. Seeing convention pictures, I must say her face looks lovely and cute, nothing like a fierce Madra would look like. Love the shoes.

Gene again. All About The Eyes Gene Marshall doll is a dressed doll with a blue (again) outfit, in halter neck style, with a disc hat and golden gloves, belt and shoes. She looks very fifties. I love her hairstyle, very glamorous and sexy.

Looking like it escaped from the Flash Gordon set, the Imperial She outfit was part of this collection (doll not included). It even has a golden gun to complete the look - Darth Vader beware!

Gifts to the attendees are an essential part of a convention. One of them was the above costume: After Hours. A pink dress with a big collar and a longer skirt, white bag and shoes. The back of the dress is pleated, you can see it in detail below:

Isn't the bag to die for? And such poise! Go girl! Read below for the inspiration of the outfit.

Another great Gene: Twilight Girl. Her style is so chic, her hairdo perfect, her make up impeccable. I love the simple outfit and accessories, she looks like she stepped out of a Hitchcock film. In fact, she is inspired from a Twilight Zone episode with Anne Francis (Twilight Girl - got it?). Anne Francis is dressed like the doll and another actress is wearing the After Hours outfit seen previously (the episode is called After Hours too! Thanks to GeneMarshallFan-Ray for the info).

The Friday luncheon had a gift and a centrepiece: a costume and a dressed doll as a centrepiece. The costume is Cocktail Hour, a 40s inspired outfit (doll not included), with stripe detailing and the typical skirt of the era. Look at the detail of the bag, it is amazing! I love the clashing green against the blue. Very YSL.

Of course Ivy Jordan could not be absent! And here she is, in Tea Dance, another 40s style outfit, with beaded jacket and flower print dress. She reminds me of Joan Crawford here.

Ivy was also presented as a director, for those who got the Upgrade package. She reminds me of both Garbo and Katherine Hepburn. The chair was not included (it is the old Gene director's chair with different lettering which looks suspiciously photoshopped).


The new character that was much anticipated was finally presented at the W Club Luncheon. Her name is Zita Charles and she is:

"...a major star of the late silent era, Zita Louise (as she was then called) was the epitome of the Jazz Age glamour. Known as the "Too Much Girl", Zita forged a reputation as a party girl and was a favourite of the Hollywood gossip columns. Counts and "princes" seemed always to be proposing to her in front of a fountain while the cameras were rolling. Everyone and anyone just wanted to be with Zita Charles!"

With her vampish look, sassy style and elegant vintage inspired gown, Azalea Ice is the very first Zita Charles doll, and the second entry in the Gene Marshall 24K collection. Azalea Ice will be offered exclusively through FAO Schwarz's on-line catalogue division (at www.fao.com) starting approximately October 15, 2008.

Zita Charles has a new sculpt, an "older" face. Her hair is streaked, probably to give her the age edge. She is wearing a mid 50s one - shoulder gown with detailing at the bust matching the gown's pink train. Zita's outfit comes with matching gloves, shoes and jewellery. From the face style, I am thinking we will see her in 20s outfits soon, as her younger self.

The Convention Souvenir Doll was unveiled at the final event, inspired by the 50s sci-fi films. Distant Venus Gene Marshall is wearing a gown inspired by one that the famous Hollywood designer Adrian made for Greta Garbo in the film Inspiration. Only that one was in black.

A close up of Distant Venus and, below, Garbo wearing the Adrian dress that inspired it.

The final event did not have only one doll. There was a lovely centrepiece doll too: Dripping moonlight Gene Marshall dressed doll, a platinum haired Gene that comes dressed with Postcards From Cannes Madra outfit in white (and exactly the same accessories).

Her hair and face paint are impeccable. A great looking Gene again!

Overall, and having seen most of the dolls and outfits in "real" convention pictures too, I can say that the quality and design of Gene dolls is once more one step ahead. And judging from the response of Gene fans in the relative boards (both attendees and not), it seems Integrity and Mel Odom got it right again!

All pictures (except the Garbo photo) are copyrighted by Integrity Toys and are published with their consent. They are not to be used for any for commercial purposes such as ebay or to sell the any of the dolls. I am not affiliated in any way with Integrity Toys.

Agnes Von Weiss wearing Dressmaker Details Couture

Some time ago, back in 2007, Dressmaker Details Couture released a lovely giftset exclusively through Mary T's Dollhouse on-line shop. It was called Twinkle Tweed and was comprised of three different outfits made up of interchangable seperates. I have already photographed two of them on Kyori and Vanessa, so here is the third outfit on High Gloss Agnes Von Weiss.

The outfit is made of two pieces, a halter neck blouse and a tulle skirt. The blouse is black knit with silver thread ("twinkle"), has a cowl neck and looks lovel accesorized with the black thread and pearls long necklace included in the outfit's accessories. It will also look great with the other skirts of the giftset (it comes actually threaded through the decolletage, but you can pick it off easily).The full skirt is made of synthetic black satin with tiers of black tulle sewn on it. The tulle has many silver paillettes sewn on it, making the skirt sparkle. It looks very fifties, especially with the black simple clutch bag and pumps that come in the giftset. The elegant gloves complete the chic image of Agnes. Black and white earrings set off her pale complexion to perfection.


The outfit is not lined, so I would advise you to be carefull with it for staining, although my Agnes did not have any problems with it as long as she had it on. The quality of the work is excellent with lots of attention to details, although it would have been perfect if it was lined and if the skirt fabric did not feel so much plastic as it does.

And of course Agnes could not be long without a Vogue cover, I think she really deserves this!

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.