Integrity Toys at IDEX part IV: Poppy Parker as Sabrina

"Isn't It Romantic?" - who has not watched Sabrina, with the incandescent Audrey Hepburn, and did not fall in love with the feisty, romantic heroine that transforms into a chic, independent woman. Not only did the film secure the rising star of Hepburn, it made an indelible mark in fashion and marked the beginning of one of fashion's most enduring relationships: the one between Givenchy and Audrey. It also gave us the definite little black dress, a staple of women's closets ever since, in a myriad of incarnations.

Although Edith Head won the Oscar for Best Costumes for the film, most of Hepburn's outfits (if not all) were created by Hubert de Givenchy and chosen personally by Audrey. Edith Head refused to share a credit with Givenchy, so only she was given credit for the costumes - Parisian designers were not powerful brand names back then and Givenchy was still fresh and young. I am certain though that the Academy's votes were for Hepburn's attire. The film began the life-long association between Givenchy and Hepburn that gave us so many wonderful outfits. There's also a rumour that Givenchy, when Audrey first booked an appointment at his atelier, thought he was seeing Katharine Hepburn, was disappointed to find out otherwise and told her he had very little time for her, so she picked the stuff out of his collection.

Integrity Toys, after their first foray into film territory last year with Breakfast at Tiffany's, now presents us with Poppy Parker™ as Sabrina®. Four dolls (two dressed dolls and two gift sets) are included in this collection and already it seems to be the hit of the year.


 

 

Miss Fairchild Poppy Parker™ as Sabrina® is the dressed doll with the famous Little Black Dress (and white petticoat underneath). She looks lovely in it and the make up is exactly like Audrey's. I love the red insteps of her kitten heel shoes and she even has a daiquiri just like in the film! Brocade clutch bag, gloves and beaded knit cap included. Can you spell perfection?


 

Isn't It Romantic Poppy Parker™ as Sabrina® is the second dressed doll of the series. She is wearing the big white ball gown from the film, with the black embroidery and huge train. I already have this one in the larger scale from Madame Alexander and have always wanted it for my smaller dolls. I wonder if the train will be detachable like in Madame Alexander's outfit. Gorgeous doll with perfect hair and make up.  Drop earrings, black kitten heels and white gloves complete the look.


 

 

 


The tour de force of the collection is the Most Sophisticated Poppy Parker™ as Sabrina® gift set. It includes three distinct looks from the film, plus a myriad of accessories. The main outfit is the elegant Parisian suit she arrives at the train station in. Of course she has a lovely black bag, a white pleated satin turban, a suitcase, a beauty case, black kitten heels, gloves, hoop earrings and her poodle dog (with a diamanté collar!). And if this was not already enough, two more looks as well. First she has the shirt and shorts look from the scene at the boat and then the beatnik outfit with a long coat, black scarf, black cigarette pants and black blouse. Two more pairs of shoes are included for these looks. One of the best gift sets to be released ever.

 

 

The Chauffeur's Daughter Poppy Parker™ as Sabrina® is the second gift set of the collection. In contrast to the previous one, this looks dull and plain. Here are the two outfits Sabrina is wearing before her transformation as well as a beige coat. Simple flat shoes (two pairs) and pearl stud earrings complete the set. The doll also has longer hair (in a pony tail) than the other three dolls of the collection. I am willing to bet this one is the least popular of all.

A stunning collection from Integrity - I love the fact that they use Poppy instead of that dreadful Holly sculpt from last year. With the right make up and hair style she even looks more like Audrey. The outfits are amazing, the accessories incredible. Simply irresistible.

Integrity Toys at IDEX part III: Poppy Parker

It is no secret that Poppy Parker is probably the best selling series of Integrity Toys dolls. And of course they would have some new dolls to show at IDEX. The big news here is Poppy's boyfriend, Chip, who is making his first appearance, after a small sneak preview back in October and Integrity's convention.




Chips is presented as a gift set with his beloved Poppy. The set is called Baby It's You and Chip's full name is Chip Farnsworth III (so he's probably rich) and they're both in evening attire as they are attending a college dance. Chip looks very cute and will make a smashing couple with Poppy. Love his pompadour hair and his tuxedo. He is wearing suspenders!




Poppy Parker looks gorgeous too - even in such a puffy prom dress. Her shoes are to die for and so is her make up. If I see another stud earring I will scream. I like the price - US$150 for a two doll gift set is fine.


 

Moonlight and Kisses Darla Daley makes her appearance in an elegant long baby blue gown with matching shoes and clutch bag, a bracelet, studs (aaaargh!) and her very own microphone!The blue eye shadow is not to my taste but she looks beautiful. And the new Darla sculpt is not cartoon-y as the old one was. 

"What, only three dolls?" you may ask. Well, not exactly. Check out the following post for the surprise new endeavour that Poppy Parker finds herself into.

Integrity Toys at IDEX part II: FR 16

Up until now, Avantguards were the 16" dolls of Integrity. They were very coveted at the beginning, later becoming increasingly repetitive and finally were neglected even by their makers. Now they have a totally new body, with different articulation, more sculpts (compared with only one on their previous incarnation) and additional skin tones! And they are called FR16 now. They were first unveiled at the Integrity convention back in October and they have a storyline that connects them with their smaller scale counterparts. So how are they this time around?


 

Press Magnate Saskia Tate is the first doll. I think this sculpt is the old Avantguard one. She has a Caucasian skin tone, rooted hair and a brown/caramel make up - sporting eyelashes too. A white blouse and a black leather skirt complete her look. Her accessories include a red clutch, bracelet, stud earrings, black shoes and a black fur scarf. She's nice but not the kind of doll I would expect from the successor line of Avantguards.


 

Fit To Print Anais McNight is the dark skin tone doll of this collection. Saran rooted raven hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, smoky tones in her make up and probably the same sculpt as Spring Kissed Avantguard that was the premium bonus doll for W Club members last year. Probably the most sophisticated one of the bunch. White sleeveless blouse with black cigarette pants, an envelope leather bag, strappy heels (without platforms, finally), fur capelet, bracelet, stud earrings (no budget for big gorgeously detailed earrings at this scale is a shame). They call the outfit edgy in the company email but actually it is what any career woman would wear at the office (minus the capelet). Christopher Cane is edgy, not this.


 

Main Feature Elsa Lin has a new Eurasian sculpt and skin tone. She does not look very Asian to me but she's the most interesting face of the bunch. Probably this is the reason they gave her the worst outfit. Yellow? Come on, it is not even fashionable! It is channelling Adrian and his 30s gowns but fails to capture the magic. No indication of what shoes she will have. Her glued back short hair probably make her ideal for wigs. Love the bag, this is what Monogram Allure should have had too.


 

Perfect Layout Freja Mossimo is the Latina of the bunch. She has the old Avantguard sculpt but with a very different make up than Saskia. Her outfit is very plain for her - the blouse is boring (colour blocking is out out out) and the draping of this skirt looks bad even at the prototype stage. Her accessories are great though - the bag, shoes and bracelets are gorgeous. She will probably look better redressed.

So what is the verdict? No more fashion forward looks from the 16" Integrity dolls - they became just blown up versions of the FR2 line. I do not see the attention to detail that the larger scale needs and also at this price range, the earrings should have been more than simple studs. I love the make up most of them have but it still needs fine tuning. The new body does not fit the old Avantguard fashions easily - it is slightly larger at the hips, so be careful with that.

Integrity Toys at IDEX part I: Monogram dolls

Of course Integrity Toys would not miss IDEX - they had a stand there and previewed quite a few dolls and lines as well - 22 new dolls in total! In this post I will write about the Monogram line. It had the most doll unveiled (five) and got quite a remarkable response from collectors as it seems that couture elegance and glamour has returned to these dolls - this was supposed to be the line's raison d'être, non? Let's see the line up.


 

Echelon is the first Monogram of this collection. She is wearing a plaid suit with a bubble skirt, has a white leather bag, three-tone shoes and a black blouse. The one thing that bugs me here is the skirt - it looks more suitable for a teeny bopper than an elegant model. A pencil or tulip skirt would have been so much better. Her lips are also a bit off.


 

Inspiration was previewed to the W Club back in December and her photo also made an appearance as an advertisement in DOLLS magazine a while ago. Elegant in her tiered embroidered gown with a black belt, matching shoes with a modern no-heel look, a clutch bag, bracelet, hair pin and drop earrings, she is an echo of the elegant late 50s-early 60s couture creations. Her make up is also gorgeous.


 


Exaggeration almost lives up to her name. She has that Christian Lacroix Parisian couture flare and would be perfect if she had a different hair accessory (flower AND feathers? Where's Stephen Jones when you need him?) and hair colour (she'd look great with that silvery grey streaked style Daphne Guinness or Marie Seznec, Lacroix's muse, carry to perfection). The two-tone dress and darker jacket look very French and the accessories (bag, shoes, gloves, pin, earrings) are to die for. Lime! Love that lime!


 


Admiration is probably the second best doll of this bunch. She oozes elegance and sophistication. White bouclé  suite with red polka dot blouse and red accessories to match. That hat! That bag! The white and red shoes! Her skin tone and the flower in her hat hint a bit at Billie Holiday. Fantastic.





For me the hit of the collection is Allure. She hearkens back to the 50s Hollywood glamour, reminding me of the Gene Marshall doll. Many see Marilyn in her, I see Lisa Fonssagrives, Marella Agnelli and Carmen Dell'Orefice. Aisha in the W Club forum pointed out that the inspiration is from the original Fire & Ice  Revlon campaign: spot on! Her brilliant red opera coat over that white column of a dress is so glamorous and sophisticated. The only thing missing is a clutch bag ( a red or silver beaded "egg" would have been amazing) and gloves. Her make up in silver and red is also great.

Update: Terri Gold found out this Revlon Queen of Diamonds ad with Carmen Dell'Orefice. The dress is an exact copy. Great work Terri!

The dolls are each on a 350 piece edition, so you'd better hurry up if you want one. This time the Monogram collection is one of the best ever, on a par or even better than the début regular collection back in 2010. Well done!

Tonner Dolls at IDEX 2012: more dolls

Nu Mood is not the only line of dolls previewed by Tonner at IDEX 2012. More lines got additional dolls and outfits and I include here the fashion dolls and some facourite picks from the other lines (films and superheroes).Remember this is just a preview, and the balance of the Mainline Release will be revealed in late February/early March (dates TBA). It will include DeeAnna Denton™ on a brand new body, Cami & Jon™, Antoinette™, and the brand new fashion line known as Precarious!

The Freedom for Fashion line is the Asian themed/styled fashion doll line from Tonner. It got two new rreleases, Akemi and Neo Tokyo. Both are dressed dolls, Asian sculpts and very fashion forward. I love Asian dolls but these two are not my cup of tea, mainly for two reasons: Akemi's too funky outfit and boring ponytail (last year's was much better) and the eyes are painted with a very upwards slant that looks weird. particularly on Akemi. Maybe a future release will fix that, unless it's a promo doll only thing. Gorgeous shoes.



Cami is another Tonner fashion doll line that has new entries at IDEX: a doll and one outfit. She looks great, as usual. To my mind, Antoinette is the high fashion doll and Cami is the pret-a-porter one.


Just Right Cami 


Just Right Cami close up


Soho Jaunt outfit

The Antoinette line has another basic doll, the Goth Antoinette released, plus two outfits. Goth looks amazing, one of the best Antoinette dolls released so far.


Goth Antoinette 


Starshine outfit.


Radical Red outfit (if this is a Cami one, please correct me). Not radical enough but looks lovely.

Apart from the fashion dolls, new additions came for one of my favourite Tonner lines, the Gone With The Wind franchise. Two new dolls (although I would much rather have the outfits only, how many Scarlett dolls can one collection have?).


This is the wedding dress from Scarlett's first marriage in the film. It was her mother's, hence it is supposed to look a bit big on her. I think it does look as it should but her hair do is wrong. It should have looked fuller at the bottom and sides, with a more pronounced centre part as shown in the movie still. Also notice the "pannier" look of the skirt in the original, instead of the fuller A line on the doll. 




This is the Heartbroken doll, with the blue velvet rob trimmed with fur and the night gown underneath. The fur was darker in the original, probably black or dark blue/grey as one can see in the photo of the original robe. It is a gorgeous outfit and would love to have it.


In their super hero series, Tonner releases Elektra, one of my favourite Marvel ladies. She looks stunning and I already pre-ordered her.


Another stunning doll is the Corpse Bride, from Tim Burton's film. I recall that there was one Bride doll released alongside the film, in 16" or 17" size that was a perfect copy but too expensive. This one is rather an interpretation of it, still impressive, with a gown to die for. I do not like the Monica Merill sculpt - too doll like for my taste. But the doll looks incredible. She has the curvaceous body.


The fun doll in this release is definitely the Ms. Beetlejuice doll - a female version of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice! She shares the same body and sculpt of Corpse Bride. The outfit is again incredible. 

With so many lovely dolls previewed, I cannot wait for the rest of the mainline Tonner release, later in the year, it promises to be exciting!

All photos courtesy of Tonner Dolls. Please note: Any design element, including but not limited to fabrics, face painting styles, body styles and/or hair colors may be subject to change during production.