Mad Men: The doll versions Mattel would not approve

Michael Williams is a very talented guy - if you read the blog, you will have seen his incredible photography and styling in the post about Jonathan Adler, one of the most popular posts ever in my blog. He is a fan of Mad Men as I am and had done an incredible photoshoot re-creating characters and sets along with many other talented people for Haute Doll magazine in 2010. But after last weeks incredible 11th episode of the 5th season of Mad Men, he was inspired to present all female stars of the series as they have evolved now.

Michael's layouts are ironic and stylish, presenting very cleverly the series' characters in doll form. Let's start with Joan Harris - the femme fatale of the series, who makes a major move - for her career, her life, her reputation. He restyled Dusk to Dawn Silkstone Barbie and she wears a OOAK little black dress from Marirose with a black fur coat from Coquette Cissy. The stroller is the Sindy baby carriage from the UK, repainted black.

Next up is the Other Woman (the title of the crucial episode in the series), Peggy Olson. Peggy is the BFMC Continental Holiday Silkstone Barbie in a Randall Craig cardigan sweater, Something Cool Isha Fashion Royalty convention bodysuit, Tiny Kitty "Perfect Knit" wool skirt, thermos from a Beverly Hillbillies Lunchbox keychain re-covered in custom plaid print; Jason Wu Event III FR Dark Medley Missima Luxury Accessory pack handbag, RE-MENT popcorn, Barbie Generation Girl Lara artist easel, custom-printed story boards.

Meghan Draper is the third star of the series: the doll is Kate Spade Barbie on a Dynamite Girl body wearing vintage Barbie Lemon Kick minidress that was photoshopped (not dyed) black; accessories include a RE-MENT sherbet and Isha script.

The Ex Mrs. Draper is Betty Francis. She is the Mattel Betty Draper Silkstone wearing Ken Rally Day coat, Barbie & Kelly Children's Doctor scale, Alfred Hitchcock The Birds purse, BFMC New York Yorkie scarf, Fashion Royalty skirt, RE-MENT whip cream and sundaes.

And finally little Miss Draper, Sally. Michael used the 1969 Dramatic New Living Skipper doll wearing Skipper Dreamtime #1909 pajamas with Skipper Me 'N My Doll miniature Barbie. What a gal.

Michael once again had done an incredible job - his photography and styling are impeccable and make me drool and want these dolls.  And, as Joan below proves, humour is always a major element of his work.

As a final note, here are some photos of his previous Mad Men photo session, for Haute Doll Magazine. The doll posing as Joan is the same used in the photos above.

Photos ©Michael Williams/MyLifeInPlastic.com (for the Mad Men ladies) and © Michael Williams/mawphoto.com for Haute Doll Magazine for the last three photos.

Tonner: Two Decades of Fashion and Design: a book by Pat Henry

Most fashion doll collectors are familiar with her name: Pat Henry is the publisher of Fashion Doll Quarterly, an adult collector publication filled with great articles and exquisite photography about fashion dolls. She is also the author of In Focus: Digital Photography for the Doll Collector. She began collecting fashion dolls in 1990, but truly started at age three, when given her first BarbieTM doll. Fashion dolls have influenced her education and vocation as she embarked on a successful career as an editor and stylist, working for Saks Fifth Avenue, Elle and Vogue magazines, along with well-known retailers like Bloomingdales, Bullocks, Neiman Marcus and Macy's. She teaches part-time as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Photography Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  So who better to write a book about one of the greatest doll creators in the world than her? 

On the cover: One-of-a-kind 21-inch porcelain model (1991) from the Tonner archives. Photo, by Pat Henry. 

The book is of course about Robert Tonner and his fashion doll empire: Tonner: Two Decades Of Fashion And Design. The commemorative book features twenty years of fashion, design, sculpting and a peek at the inside of the Tonner Doll Company. This limited edition book celebrates Robert Tonner's history as fashion designer, sculptor, and CEO of one of the most successful collectible doll companies today, with never-before seen photography, sketches and prototypes.Pat Henry gets unlimited access to the design rooms and offices of Tonner Doll Company, as well as the events and conventions that bring Tonner fans together year after year.

Feeling the constraints of living in a small town in Indiana, Robert Tonner came to New York to fulfil his dream of life in the big city and a career in fashion. After working with big names like Bill Blass and running his own label for Tudor Square and Breckenridge, Tonner came to the conclusion that true freedom in fashion could be found in a smaller scale. Now celebrating twenty years in business with the Tonner Doll Company, this book looks back at the highlights and milestones of his career, business, and successful ascension to one of the most influential doll designers of all time.

In Pat's own words: "Robert and everyone at Tonner Doll Company were incredibly generous and made the whole experience great fun. After a while, I felt like a part of the company, and everyone became quite used to me, carrying dolls around, riffling through boxes of shoes and files full of old contact sheets. As a long-time Tonner collector, it's quite a thrill to be allowed to roam through the halls of the company and watch while people are creating new lines and handling the day-to-day business of the company. I have been visiting the offices since the début of Tyler Wentworth (two office buildings ago for Tonner). I got lost my first visit, but I got to take a shot of a Tyler sample before she shipped. After that, I was hooked, and have continued to add to my collection every year, expanding into Antoinette, character figures like "The Doctor", and "Firefly's" Mal and friends, super heroes and Wilde Imagination's Ellowyne Wilde and Evangeline Ghastly".

And what does Pat have to say about the man himself?  "Robert is somewhat shy, but once you get to know him, he is quite brilliant and very funny. I don't think that people realize that it takes such a tremendous amount of skill and talent to not only create a successful doll, but grow a company that produces quality product year after year. It's wonderful to see a talented artist create a OOAK for eBay a few times a year, but imagine basically having to do it a dozen times every day. It takes an enormous amount of skill, imagination and insight that few people are lucky to have. Personally, I believe that his success comes from his training in the fashion industry, and that is something he and I share, so that is where I wanted to start the book.

So how did she decide to write this book? "It's not often that a company celebrates two decades of success in the toy business, doll-or otherwise. Robert took a hobby that he used to escape from the stress of the fashion industry and turned this passion into thriving dynamic business that is known the world over. Their continued growth and expansion into character figures and licensed merchandise is a casebook study of what to do right in today's competitive market. It's eye opening to see the big picture of how production costs, overseas time lags and communication issues all contribute to the final product. The fact that the dolls all seem to appear so magically and easily is a testament to Tonner and everyone who works at the company."

The book includes chapters on all of Tonner's beloved dolls, including The American Models, Betsy McCall, Tyler Wentworth, the Theater of Fashion dolls, Antoinette, Ellowyne Wilde, Evangeline Ghastly and more. You can order the book from the FDQ website.

Photos and information kindly provided by FDQ magazine whom I thank very much.

Wear This Today - or how to dress up like Poppy Parker

If you read this blog regularly, you should remember that quite a while back I did a photo session with Poppy Parker as a Bride for the bridal-wear website of a dear and talented friend, Margarita. Well, apart from that one, she also runs (with her also talented boyfriend Stelios) another site called wearthistoday, which helps answer the eternal dilemma: what to wear each day of the week (for women AND men alike). I had an idea that we could run a post there, showing how to dress like a doll in real life. I started searching for a doll to use. That meant finding one that would be relatively easy to match her outfit with real-life clothes and accessories. I finally settled on Sweet Confection Poppy Parker: she looks gorgeous, photographs well and her outfit consists of separates that are easier to research than a particular dress or gown. It also fits with the aesthetics of wearthistoday. Then the real work started - doing the photo shoot first and finding the clothes that would make up her outfit and accessories translated for a real person - who should also be able to buy them on-line. After that came through, I picked lots of photos and, along with the results of my search, forwarded them to Margarita and Stelios, who made the final selection of clothing and accessories and the gorgeous layouts for the website. My guest editor appearance appeared on Friday 11th of May. Here are the layouts:

This is a photo of Sweet Confection Poppy Parker as it appeared in wearthistoday

This is the clothing and accessories we picked for wearthistoday - go to the website to buy them on-line

 This is a composition of various Poppy photographs with details of the accessories. You'll notice the coat is not in the previous layout (due to the season demands) but I found a similar one from Burberry's and one from Kippys.

They even made a layout for me as a small presentation of who I am and what I like. Thank you so much Margarita and Stelios for this wonderful opportunity to work together - loved every minute of it! And all of you reading this, check out wearthistoday - it might help you find lots of great clothing and accessories options!

Below is a selection of various photographs from the shoot. I must say this Poppy is one of the best out there. The detail and workmanship on the outfit and accessories is great, her suntanned skinned, bubblegum make up and bouncy hair look perfect and she is to die for. It was the last W Club doll for 2011.

So stylish in that coat and scarf!

Fashion inspiration - what is Poppy Parker wearing?

When I saw She's Not There Poppy Parker, I knew I had seen the dress before - not necessarily on Twiggy but it was engraved somewhere in my memories.

Looking around at old Vogue issues, I discoverd why. The original dressed was designed by John Bates a.k.a. Jean Varon for his Avengers collection. Take a look at Diana Riggs sporting it along with the coat in an Avengers episode:

I also found Jean Shrimpton wearing the coat over the dress in a British Vogue 1965 issue, photographed by Bailey (small photo, bottom right).

Some more photos of the dress.

(Vogue scan courtesy of Youthquakes - Avengers photos courtesy of Vintage Chic)

Integrity Toys 2012 release: On-line event exclusive doll

Of course every event has an exclusive doll: Integrity gives W Club members the chance to order a doll made exclusively for them, with a very small window of ordering her, usually 24-48 hours after the event ends. The official 2012 W Club Online Event Exclusive was presented by Alain Trembley, who said this was one of the best dolls ever offered and one of his very favourites: the "Truly, Madly, Deeply" Baroness Agnes Von Weiss mini gift set. She is after all an event character and a crowd pleaser so it makes sense.

Item #91302 Truly Madly Deeply Baroness Agnes Von Weiss™ Mini Gift Set 2012 Online Unveiling Event Exclusive Limited Edition: TBA Estimated Arrival: Early Summer 2012 Suggested Retail: $150.00 US

Agnes, in her latest incarnation, looks like a cross between her Festive Decadence and Optic Verve editions, with a touch of Royal Von Weiss thrown in for good measure. She comes dressed in a chartreuse two-piece evening gown. The skirt has a long train and peplum attached, looking very much like Gene Marshall's Ransom in Red outfit (of course that one was red, I have it and is one of my favourites). The whole look is very 40's and early 50's. She could be Lauren Bacall or Susan Hayward.

The second outfit is a coral suit, with an embroidered side-slit skirt. The jacket is short, with 3/4 sleeves trimmed in fur. She has a matching bag. The suit can be worn with the chartreuse top from the other outfit as well.

The accessories are the same for both outfits: a coral bag, matching peep-toe pumps, a chartreuse bracelet and coral earrings. The jewellery are styled much like Dania's or Jordan's from the FR collection. But Agnes also has a matching coral ring. She's a gorgeous doll and of course I ordered her from the club.

**Please note that the photos are of prototype dolls and subject to changes and modifications. **All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2012 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.**