Integrity 2011 online event: Nu Face

Nu Face, the younger, edgier Fashion Royalty line, got two separate collections this time. The Nu Fantasy (reminded me so much of Tonner Re-Imagination), like they did with Amelie some time ago, and the regular line. Amelie is also present in her own seperate collection. So let's see what we have in store:


Quiet Storm Annik™ Dressed Doll
The New Close-Ups Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $110.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Late June 2011




London Mist Imogen™ Dressed Doll
The New Close-Ups Collection
Limited Edition of 400 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $110.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Late June 2011





In The Trenches Luxury Wear™ Fashion
The New Close-Ups Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Fashions Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $75.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Late June 2011



True Blues Luxury Wear™ Fashion
The New Close-Ups Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Fashions Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $75.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Late June 2011



So from the normal Nu Face line, I love Imogen but I passed over for another short haired doll from the FR dolls (in a future post). I like the fashions a lot, they could be from Burberry Prorsum line, but they miss the edge that should be part of Nu Face.


This line, like the Re-Imagination of Tonner, is about re-interpretation of a classic tale. Here we have Snow White. One doll is the Evil Queen, the other is Snow White (with her apple). Pretty but un-inspired. - the Queen's hairdo is a major failure. From previous efforts Integrity has made (see the Red Queen) I expected something superb.


Malicious Nu.Fantasy Dressed Doll (TJ/Jasper facemold)
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $125.00 US
Estimated Delivery: June/July 2011



Pure Nu.Fantasy Dressed Doll (Erin facemold)
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $125.00 US
Estimated Delivery: June/July 2011



And here is Amelie from Misaki in her own collection - it uses the Misaki torso and The Brides Of Dracula legs.


Cosmic Love Amelie™ Dressed Doll
The Color Infusion Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $125.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Early/Mid July 2011



Rebel Spirit Amelie™ Dressed Doll
The Color Infusion CollectionLimited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail: $125.00 US
Estimated Delivery: Early/Mid July 2011



This is definitely not my cup of cake, the red dress though is great, I especially love the neckline! More comments on my relevant podcast.

**All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2011**

Integrity 2011 online event: Dynamite Girls

Integrity Toys presented a huge variety of dolls in their online event yesterday. The sheer amount of dolls, the many new faces (either new molds or re-use of old ones) is staggering, especially during an economical downturn such as this. I hope they know what they are doing and not spreading themselves too thin. 
First in my presentation are the Dynamite Girls, which now also have boys in the collection! The line was separated into two dinstict collections, the basic looking Checkmates and the more dressed up (and more expensive) Plastic Inevitable collection.



So below you can see the whole line up of the checkmates collection - the three Dynamite girls and one of the boys! As the story goes, the Dynamite Girls are hitting the beaches on the upper east coast this summer for a much needed vacation from the hustle and bustle of the fashion world in New York. Alongside Jett, Sooki and Aria is a new guy in town, Kyu, a Korean Pop singer. 


Heat Wave Aria™ Doll
The Dynamite Girls® Check Mates Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $44.99 US
Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late July 2011


Beach Bunny Sooki™ Doll
The Dynamite Girls® Check Mates Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $44.99 US
Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late July 2011



Summer Daze Kyu™ Fashion Figure 
The Dynamite Girls® Check Mates Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide 
Suggested Retail Price: $44.99 US
Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late July 2011


Aqua Bella Jett™ Doll
The Dynamite Girls® Check Mates Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $44.99 US
Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late July 2011


This was the Checkmates. From what I can see the new Korean boy is a re-incarnation of Takeo, looking very much like his In the Mix version so the only doll I would have ordered from here is out (limited budget). I do not know if he is the same sculpt but they look so much alike that I will wait for another version to get one.


The Plastic Inevitable looks like a more gorwn up version of Dynamite Girls, very much looking like Nu Face dolls, apart from their face paint which is still too much childish for my taste - their outfits though are trendier, edging to hipster, only natural since the collection is inspired by New York's bustling art and counter-culture scene of the late 1960s and early 1980s. Two new guys join the Dynamite Girls in this collection. Auden is an in-demand hair and makeup artist and Remi is becoming a top fashion photographer in the industry. 


Most Beautiful Boy Auden™ Dressed Fashion Figure
The Dynamite Girls® Plastic Inevitable Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $59.99 US Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late May 2011




Radiant Child Remi™ Dressed Fashion Figure
The Dynamite Girls® Plastic Inevitable Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $59.99 US Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late May 2011




Rock Candy Rufus Blue™ Dressed Doll
The Dynamite Girls® Plastic Inevitable Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $59.99 US
Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late May 2011




Heart of Glass Aria™ Dressed Doll
The Dynamite Girls® Plastic Inevitable Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $59.99 US Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late May 2011




Downtown Darling Jett™ Dressed Doll
The Dynamite Girls® Plastic Inevitable Collection
Limited Edition of 300 Dolls Worldwide
Suggested Retail Price: $59.99 US
Estimated Delivery: Mid/Late May 2011



From this line I love Auden (who would not?) and will try to get him. Other than that there is not much interest to me as their dressing is not my style, I always prefer more grown up styles and fashion, plus the cartoon-y faces are too far from my aesthetic in dolls. The military jacket and lace top on Aria though look great. I promised to some W-Cub members who missed listening to me in this year's webinar that I will be making podcasts for the new lines, so they will be going up at the blog soon, with more comments for the dolls.
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**All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2011**

Votre Beaute cover tribute

In December, the Greek edition of Votre Beaute magazine celebrated it's 20th birthday with a great anniversary issue, showcasing various moments of the magazine's history in Greece. The cover was a blast: featuring one of the most iconic Greek models ever, the inimitable Mara Desypri (nowdays a photohrapher, frequently contributing to Vogue Hellas) wearing a dress by Vassilis Zoulias, who started his carrer as a stylist when Mara was a model and now is a fashion designer turning out gorgeous collections full of coveted frocks and accessories. I loved it so much, I decided to make a version of it for my blog. Of course there is no doll looking like Mara: her strong features would not make a very commercial doll. I picked Red Zinger Daria from the Future Perfect 2009 collection. Her make up was very close to Mara's and she looks gorgeous too.


The hair of Mara was styled by the extremely talented and fellow doll collector and lover Thanos Samaras. I could not even begin to try and imitate the same hair on Daria, so I just made a new updo, keeping it stylish and chic. The black dress is the top and skirt of Dressing the Part Agnes, shoes are from an older Fashion Royalty outfit and the gloves are from Bewitching Hour Luchia. Unfortunately the doll's articulation does not help to style the exact pose but I did the best I could save breaking her shoulder joints. And here is the original cover (Photo by Thanassis Krikis, fashion editor is Michalis Georgiou and makeup is by Stellar):


And yes, you do remember correctly, this was the same set up for my Holidays card for 2010!

Not Your Usual Wedding: Poppy Parker gets married

When a dear friend, who has an incredible agency for brides to be who need to be different than all the rest, asked me to make a photo shoot for her relative blog, with my dolls, I jumped at the opportunity. Having never done anything remotely bridal with the dolls, it presented me with the opportunity to do something unusual. 





The brief was precise "Our inspiration is the film Barefoot in The Park". Going through my doll faces to cast the model, I decided thar Integrity's Poppy Parker was the perfect match for Jane Fonda in that era. The problem was that I did not have a dress that would serve as a wedding gown. Then Uriah came into the rescue, unbeknownst to him, when he sent me the dress from the "Ask Any Girl" gift set. Poppy now could prepare for the big day.




As I picked Reluctant Debutante Poppy for the shoot, her gloves, coat, earrings and stockings were of course ideal for the outfit. The shoes were kindly provided by "She's Arrived" Poppy's outfit, while her hair ornament (I decided against a veil as in this scale it would probably look awkward and stiff) is a brooch from Silkstone Barbies. No bride is complete without a bouquet of course: Franklin Mint's Princess Diana series has an excellent one with Princes Of Wales roses (from the blue bouclé suit) that matched perfectly. I hope you like it. And thanks again to Margarita, I love you girl.


Writing this post, today, it dawned on me that I forgot to photograph Poppy barefoot. So here she is - sorry Margarita, I should have done this with the rest of the shoot.


And a black & white grainy one, just for the fun of it.


Tonner Dolls Pre-Toyfair collection! Part two - Retro gals: Deanna & Holywood

Retro lines are usually treated with panache by Tonner and this one is no exception The Deanna Denton line features a unique full figured body which is more realistic for the period. For this collection they have only one dressed doll. I like the outfit but the doll leaves me cold. She could have looked that much better. Their previous efforts were so much more interesting. I hope this changes again for the next one. It is called Bye Bye Baby. Yes of course it is the Marilyn song:



So she could have looked like that. Sigh.



Let us stay in Holywood then and check out the Holywood Glamour collection. Tonner have condensed here all the old Holywood star dolls they make plus a series of glamorous outfits.



 Joan Crawford is a gorgeous doll, the likeness of the sculpt is breathtaking and the outfit so glamourous it dazzles. An excellent doll but quite expensive at US$189.99. The doll is named appropriately Devil In White and is wearing a sleek satin gown and luxurious faux fur trimmed capelet, adorned with a lavish rhinestone brooch. Rhinestone bracelet, pantyhose, and faux-leather shoes also included. Joan Crawford™ Head Sculpt and 16" Tyler BW Body; Blue Eyes w/ Raven Hair and Bloom Skin tone. I think she could have used a pair of long gloves.




Ava Gardner is again a great sculpt and this release is probably the one that looks more like the famous film star. I like the outfit as well, although the jewellery is too simple for a star of this calibre. A pair of short gloves would have looked perfect as well as a clutch bag. The doll is called Hearts Ablaze and she wears a red dress of sumptuous lace and frothy tulle. Her waist is cinched in with a satin belt and sparkling rhinestone buckle. Rhinestone earrings, bracelet, pantyhose, and faux-leather pumps also included. Ava Gardner™ Head Sculpt and 16" Tyler BW Body; Green Eyes w/ Brunette Hair and Bloom Skin tone.

There is a Bette Davies doll as well, called Stardust but no picture is available yet. She comes clothed in a shimmering gown with matching braided trim, gleaming beaded bracelet, pantyhose, and T-strap high-heeled shoes. Bette Davis™ Head Sculpt and 16" Tyler BW Body; Blue Eyes w/ Platinum Hair and Bloom Skin tone.