Integrity Toys Tropicalia Convention 2012: 16 at 1600 Tea Party

Friday afternoon: The "16 at 1600 Tea Party" was held at the hotel's Cascade American Bistro for fans of Integrity Toys' 16 inch dolls. The Cascade American Bistro was the perfect location for this event with its waterfall, 35 foot mermaid fountain and the cooling trees of the atrium. This breakout event was for collectors to get together with friends, show off their favourite 16 inch dolls and just have fun. Guests were able to chat with the Integrity Design Team and find out more about the 16 inch collections. On each table was the beautiful FR:16 Elsa, "Sheen Siren", as the centrepiece doll. Once again, each guest had the chance to purchase this beauty which was raffled to them.

Item #78006
Sheen Siren
Elsa Dressed Doll
2012 Tropicalia Convention Exclusive Table Centerpiece Doll  

This one does not look like she is following the tropical/holiday theme at all. Instead she looks very urban and sophisticated. And to me she looks like a dead ringer for Veronique. Only larger! I would love to own one of these beauties.

Each table not only had the 16 inch centrepiece doll displayed on it, but everyone found a gift that was designed just for their 16 inch dolls. Guests received a FR:16 shoe pack to add to their big girls' accessories.   How very useful, as shoes for these beauties are not always easy to find! There were three pairs in the pack, each with their own lovely box. They look great and I wish I had them for my Avant Guard dolls.

During the day, guests were able to attend the new "Color Infusion: Style Lab", as mentioned in my previous post, to create their own dolls from a huge assortment of dolls, fashions and accessory packs. Here are some photos of just a few of the different dolls and fashions available for the "guest designers" to choose from. 

**All text (with some modifications and my own comments) 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.**

Integrity Toys Tropicalia Convention 2012: Fashion Paradise

Guests who arrived late to the convention were able to register and enter their fabulous competition dolls during Friday morning. If guests did not have a workshop to attend in the morning, they could always get into the queue for the new "Style Lab". Everyone wanted to see which characters were available in this breakout event. Attendees could also visit the raffle room, museum and the Integrity souvenir shop.

The Friday luncheon is one of collectors' most anticipated events since it always features the ever popular Poppy Parker doll. Poppy Parker was the centrepiece doll, Sea Breeze, sporting a holiday look. Inflatable chairs, that were the perfect size for travel dolls to enjoy by the pool, were also waiting for each attendee.

Item #PP045
Sea Breeze
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
2012 Tropicalia Convention Exclusive Table Centerpiece

Poppy is wearing a really nice outfit here, and she looks really great, although the crease-only eye shadow looks a bit weird at first. She has a more grown up look and I like it.

That was not all of course. Integrity announced a new Poppy friend:  her name is Loni Lawrence. She has the Holly Golightly sculpt and Poppy body. Each guest was given the first Loni doll as a gift at this event.

Item #PP044
Lemon Crush
Loni Lawrence Basic Dressed Doll
2012 Tropicalia Convention Exclusive Table Giveaway

She looks much better than any Holly doll, partly due to the make up, partly due to the lovely hair. Cute little bathing suit (?)

During this event, the designer David Buttry talked to attendees about the new 2013 Poppy Parker collection. The theme for this collection will be the "1964 New York World's Fair" and the dolls will be presented next year. Guests who had already attended the Style Lab were showing their newly created dolls to friends and other attendees. With 14 different dolls (both male and female, all tanned) and lots of colourful outfits to mix and match, everyone came away happy with their new creations. Plus, attendees could take advantage of learning a few tips and tricks for styling and posing their dolls from David Buttry and his team of volunteers.

Guests who attended workshops during the morning came out with new skills and information that they would be able to use with their doll collection! The workshop kits were a huge hit once again this year. The edition size was increased for each workshop doll and so, most guests were able to purchase one. After the Poppy luncheon, there were more workshops to attend and guests could visit the museum, the Integrity sales-room  the raffle room and the competition room. .

In the next post, the Friday evening event.

**All text (with some modifications) 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.**

Integrity Tropicalia Convention 2012: Welcome to Paradise

This year, Integrity Toys held the annual convention in Orlando, Florida, 27-30/9/2012. The theme was "Tropicalia" so it kind of matched the location - Florida is as tropical as one can get in the US I think! Guests who arrived early at the hotel could take part in the "Welcome Cocktail By the Pool" party on Wednesday evening. It was a chance to get the party started early and meet up with friends, old and new. Everyone had a great time, anxious for Thursday and the official start of the convention to arrive.

While the Integrity Team was busy working on the finishing touches Thursday morning, more convention attendees began arriving at the hotel. At registration, each guest received a welcome swag bag that contained a welcome envelope, a pair of shoes for their dolls, and a complimentary DOLLS Magazine. As a special surprise, guests received a Fashion Royalty doll box with a gorgeous fashion and accessories as part of the swag. What other surprises does Integrity have in store for the convention attendees?

Following registration, guests started to queue up for the Integrity sales-room  Guests could also take the opportunity to visit the Museum, the raffle room and enter their competition entries. The Thursday night event started with a meet and mingle get together before the ballroom doors opened. As the doors opened for the first official event on Thursday night, guests walked into a ballroom that was absolutely "tropical"! The theme for this event was "Welcome to Paradise" and the "hostess with the mostess" of the event was none other than...Agnes Von Weiss!

Item #91305
Force of Nature
Agnes Von Weiss Dressed Doll
2012 Tropicalia Convention Exclusive Table Centerpiece  

Agnes is tan, as most ladies in the convention are (in tune with the theme of course) and is wearing a flowing turquoise dress with tan and gold accessories. She is lovely (and only the 2nd tan Agnes ever) but she reminds me of a toned down Miami Glow Vanessa. Intriguing shoes though.

Each attendee also was given the beautiful "Wrap-ture" Anja doll as another gift at this event. So whereas Agnes was a centrepiece and was raffled to the attendees (one per table of ten), Anja was a gift to all. 

Item #91306
Wrap-ture
Anja™ Dressed Doll
2012 Tropicalia Convention Exclusive Table Giveaway 

Anja looks more like Veronique here than before.I am not a fan of crinkled hair but I like her lip colour and the shoes and dress look great.

Three of the special limited edition hair colour variations of one of the IFDC dolls were raffled off at Thursday's event.! The dolls have an edition size of only of nine dolls and three dolls per day were raffled on stage. Apart from that, attendees were treated to a very special "Jem and The Holograms" presentation and the next dolls in this collection were unveiled. Not only were attendees given this first sneak peek at the new dolls, but everyone was given a very special set of Jem ear phones (below). Guests also received a pair of doll-sized beach chairs as part of their swag too.

So the convention was off to a special start and I am sure it made attendees excited for the dolls to come in the following days.

**All text 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.**

Opium Ayumi for Fashionism.gr

A very dear friend, Chryssa, asked me to do an exclusive photo shoot and write an accompanying post for the brilliant website she owns with Natalia, fashionism.gr (in Greek). I picked Opium Ayumi as a model (I was dying to photograph her) and here are the results, along with the translated text.

"I collect dolls." Just the phrase gives one the picture of a spinster with glass cases filled with endless porcelain dolls in an old house covered in cob webs, that has not seen the sun since the time of Mommy Dearest. And the terror filled looks when they hear this phrase reminds me of Shelly Duvall being chased by Jack Nicholson in the Shining (not the Greek series made by Foscolos, relax). The truth is that in the closed and sometimes snob world of fashion doll collectors, one can meet people who will easily stand up to Bette Davis and would send Joan Crawford in the corner crying silently with just one look. But most of us are normal (as anyone can be, ok?) people who just so happens that our favorite hobby, occupation, obsession, curse (call it as you like it) is a collection of lovely ladies with stylish clothes.

Usually modern, sometimes of a bygone era, the clothes worn by fashion dolls (unlike most other dolls) are small works of art. Sometimes copies of (exact or simply inspired by) real clothes from major fashion designers, make up the wardrobe of dolls that have model proportions. Even poor Barbie, trying but struggling to be recognized as a fashion doll, had Mattel put out a special body (Model Muse) to be able to sell in this area. I personally started my collection in quite the opposite way. Although I always had an obsession with dolls and since childhood I tried to clothe every doll in my path with my creations from remnants rags and remnants (with an indignant mother chasing me as best she could), it had never occurred to me that there were dolls out there that are chic and elegant, with a style that rivals the best models from the catwalks.

That was until in 2000, when I got a doll of Olivia Newton-John as Sandy in Grease, complete with all the outfits she wears in the film. This started me searching and slowly I discovered several companies who made dolls in the image and likeness of famous actors and singers. Some of them however had other dolls, which faithfully followed the dictates of fashion's whims every season. And so it began: my collection started to grow until it reached a point where I'm afraid to really count them.

It is clearly an expensive hobby. These dolls are anything but sold at the prices that playline Barbies have. Some rare or unique ones can have values ​​reaching astronomical heights. But they are beautiful and charming and every year many come out that you always want to get, but usually you can not - and this is part of the charm of the game. And I have met many interesting people from different countries (and people in Greece, counted on the fingers of one hand) and so a new world opened up before me.

There are so many people working creatively with them, photographing them, making their own clothes (some with a very artistic view and value) or by painting them so as to completely change their personality, often making little masterpieces that you think can really breathe. And I think this is the biggest benefit that one has to discover the fascinating world of fashion dolls.

I hope you enjoyed reading that. Now let's see the actual doll. Opium Ayumi is part of this year's spring release of Fashion Royalty Squared, like Nouveau Regime Tatyana that I presented to you here. She is wearing a long black dress in what looks like jersey, that has a lining skirt underneath (detail below). It comes with a red jacket, a bag, shoes and jewellery set.

The jacket is a bit stiff, the fabric too thick to let the doll be positioned properly. If it had been done in a thinner fabric it would also fit better over the dress, which would add to the style of the doll, which reminds me of Adrian's outfits for Hollywood stars of the 30s and 40s. More about this later on. The dress is a beauty, the intricate cuts on the neckline make it unique and stylish. I wish the ribbon tying at the back was scaled a bit to fit the size but then it would have been a drag for my huge fingers.

Her accessories are to die for. A black and red clutch bag (looking like a Fendi baguette) that matches her outfit perfectly, as well as a gorgeous pair of shoes in black patent "leather" and "lucite" transparent heels. The shoes are some of the best ever made for an Integrity Toys doll.

Her jewellery set is amazing. A pair of drop earrings with red and black stones, and two incredible rings with differently shaped and sized black stones.

Opium Ayumi is an incredibly beautiful doll, impossible to photograph in an unflattering pose. Her style for me is an amalgamation of so many different eras and things: Adrian's Hollywood outfits of the 30s and 40s, old glamour Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer, the first Chinese-American film star Anna May Wong but also the Chinese stars of today like Gong Li, Maggie Cheung and Michelle Yeoh, Yves Saint-Laurent late 70s-early 80s couture, Schiaparelli's designs and of course Jason Wu's Fall/Winter 2012-2013 collection (even to the make up, which of course channels the legendary Tina Chow). Below is a mood board with all these influences and more.

Tonner 2012 Fall Holiday release preview Pt.4: Marilyn Monroe

The first Marilyn Monroe dolls by Tonner were shown at the company's convention Flights Of Fancy back in  May. They were a 16" Marilyn dressed in an outfit from How To Marry A Millionaire (which has been previousle done by Mel Odom and Ashton Drake on Gene) and a 22" version of the actress in her famous pink bow dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Now the doll gets a proper release, so let's check her out.

The first doll is the 16" version of the Diamonds one at $189.99 Dressed Doll LE 1000 She has the Marilyn Monroe head sculpt of Tonner on the 16" Starlet body - this is a new one, with the Tyler bust and the Curvaceous hips, in the Tyler skin tone. This body was first introduced on the convention 16" Marilyn. She has blue painted eyes and blonde rooted saran hair. Her peony dress has a back bow with black trim and she sports matching peony gloves and belt. She has a rhinestone necklace, a black ribbon bracelet with rhinestones, three rhinestone bracelets anda pair of rhinestone earrings. Her accessories include a pair of peony shoes and nude panty-hose.

My opinion on this Marilyn version: I do not like her. She looks more like Madonna than Marilyn. Her face looks harsh and angled, not curvy and sweetly sensual like the actress looked like. I know open-mouthed sculpts are hard to make but this one fails miserably. Great hair though. And I do not understand why she could not have the curvaceous body that DeeAnna Denton has. It would fit her to a T and would make this outfit really stand out. Now she looks anorexic. Or modern. Like Madonna. Again.

The second doll of this collection is Marilyn Monroe as Pola Debevoise (from How To Marry A Millionaire) $124.99 She is a Basic Doll  LE 500. As before. she has the Marilyn Monroe head sculpt on the 16" Starlet body with the Tyler skin tone. She has blue painted eyes and blonde rooted saran hair. She wears a red bathing suit with elastic straps and a silver inset, with a rhinestone flower decoration. Rhinestone earrings and metallic red faux leather shoes with clear resin soles complete her outfit.

The basic Marilyn has a slightly different hairdo than the Diamonds one. If you have the first one, you can skip this one unless you are a completist. The shoes look great though.

There are four outfits in this release. The first one is called "I am Lorelei Lee" from the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" - $99.99  LE 300 Outfit Only Fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. It consists of a blue dress with a blue matching belt and a blue bolero jacket with matching lace trim. Accessories include a tan faux fur scarf, a pair of blue bead earrings, a rhinestone bracelet and faux leather blue shoes. This one looks great. I love the fact that they are releasing more outfits than dressed dolls, as it makes it easier to purchase them. Wonder if these fit the Franklin Mint Marilyn. It is missing the black clutch bag and her shoes were proper closed pumps, not peep toes, as you can see below.

The photo also gives you the chance to see how the sculpt compares to the real thing. Meh.

The next outfit is also from the same film - "I Just Adore Conversation" $124.99 LE 300 Outfit Only. Fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. This is an orange chiffon dress with sequinned straps and trim, with an orange chiffon scarf finished with metallic fringe. The accessories are a pair of rhinestone earrings, a rhinestone bracelet and gold faux leather shoes. This one looks nice but the sequins look a bit overdone (the real looks like it combines sequins and beads), plus the fringe is practically non existent in the real dress (see below) - instead it has sequins (and beads?) too.

Anyway, it is a good enough version of the dress. The Franklin Mint one was worse (dreadful beads).

Next up is her Niagara outfit, called Hot Night - $89.99 LE 300 Outfit Only. It fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. It consists of a fuchsia dress, accessorized with a white chiffon scarf, silver earrings, a gold bracelet with a heart charm and a pair of black patent leather shoes with black ribbon straps.

This is the famous Kiss song scene. The outfit is very faithful to the actual one (the clutch is not in the film scene). They should have included the miniature record with it. Love the charm bracelet.

The final outfit is from the movie Love Nest (1951) and it's called Roberta Moves In - $99.99 LE 300 Outfit Only. Fits 16" Starlet body and Tyler body. The suit consists of a dark blue and white skirt and jacket with black beads on the jacket. The shoes are made of metallic dark blue faux leather. Accessories include white gloves, a faux pearl bracelet, a crystal beaded bracelet, a pair of flower beaded earrings, a white hat with dark blue trim and black veil.

Compared with the real thing, the doll outfit has lots of discrepancies. The hat does not look like the one worn by Marilyn, which is flopped to the side and looks sturdier. Her shoes are definitely not peep toes.The shape of the collar is completely different (narrower on top and wider near the buttons). The skirt is longer too. And just think how much better it would look with the bag and vanity case included! I also think the veil is very much out of scale for her face. The earrings look great though.

I might try to get the "Lorelei Lee" outfit if I find out they fit the Franklin Mint body. Otherwise I am not going to get anything else from this series, which for me was a small disappointment.

Photos © 2012 Tonner® Doll Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.