Tonner Doll Fall/Holiday 2013 release - part 1: Cami & Jon

If the Fall preview collection from Tonner Doll Company was not very enticing regarding fashion dolls, the Fall/Holiday release is full of them. Not all the lines get new releases, and the ones that do get them have some unexpected additions. As some of the dolls were not ready even in prototype stage, the company shows a rough sketch in place of a photo - you have to be very trusting to pre-order a doll like that. In this first post of the Tonner presentation we will check out the Cami & Jon line.

Spring Frost
$209.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13CJDD03
Dressed doll LE 300

The only dressed doll is of course with the Cami head sculpt, on the 16" Antoinette™ body in the Tyler skin tone. She has painted brown eyes and a platinum blonde removable saran wig. She is wearing a green/silver brocade dress with fringe trim under a green lurex twill coat with fringe sleeve cuffs and a rhinestone decoration. Her outfit comes with nude pantyhose, a multi-colour intricate beaded, rhinestone and flower hand made necklace, rhinestone earrings and matching green faux leather shoes. She comes with a stand.

I love the outfit on this one, it has a definite late 60's vibe, the colour is great and the dress looks a lot like one my mother was wearing in the very early 70's (she had one in copper and one in blue brocade). If this had a bag (one of the major Tonner cons in their fashion doll releases) it would have been a perfect outfit.

Resort Stripe Basic Cami (Blonde or Mink) / Jon  / Liu Liu
$119.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13CJBD06
Basic doll LE 500

Four basic dolls, two of them with Cami head sculpt, one with the Jon sculpt and one with a new Asian 1 (sic) sculpt. All have the 16" Antoinette™ body. The two Cami and the Liu Liu dolls have the bisque skin tone while Jon has the honey skin tone. The Cami dolls have painted blue eyes, Jon has light blue eyes while Liu Liu has brown eyes. As for hair colour, one Cami comes with a pale blonde removable saran wig while all the other three dolls sport mink (i.e darkest brown) wigs. They all wear versions of the same stripe stretch knit dress: the Camis in pink and white, Jon in blue and white and Liu Liu in green and white. All have white cotton knit panties, white sunglasses and white elastic platform shoes.

The dolls come without a stand, which one can buy separately from Tonner. Honestly, this sucks big time. How can a company sell dolls without their stand and at $120? And on top of that, everyone who has had some experience with the available Tonner stand, knows it sucks big time. I'd never buy it separately, it's not even worth the plastic it's made of. Let's hope they remedy this.

Of course you cannot see the mink haired Cami, she was not ready as a prototype and there's a rough sketch instead of a photo on the site. It is not even a good one. There was a dressed Cami doll included with the Fall preview so I will show here here, as I did not think it fit into my Tiny Kitty post about that release.

Soft Elegance Cami
$199.99
Availability: In Stock - Now Shipping
T13CJDD02
Dressed doll 
LE 300

She has the Cami head sculpt on a 16" Antoinette™ body with the bisque skin tone. She has painted green eyes and summer blonde rooted saran hair. Her outfit is a cream chiffon dress with lace bodice overlay and ribbon belt. It has a cotton net underskirt with lace trim and a white petticoat. She comes with gold tights with attached panties and gold faux leather shoes. She has a stand.

Chelsea Chill - Outfit
T13CJOF05
LE 300
$99.99
Shipping TBA Pre-Order Now

The first outfit for Cami & Jon on the Fall/Holiday release, it also fits Antoinette™ dolls. It consists of a black stretch knit bodysuit, under a black and white stretch knit skirt, a fuchsia coat with black buttons and black faux leather shoes. In the photo the doll is the Resort Stripe Basic Cami (does not come with the outfit).

Summer Lace - Outfit
T13CJOF07
LE 300
$99.99
Buy Now - Ships 10/25

This is an off-white embroidered chiffon lace dress with a matching off-white taffeta hat with sequinned trim and feathers. It comes with a pair of faux pearl beaded earrings and matching faux leather shoes. Easily the best of the bunch except for the hat, which is a mess. Again, a clutch would have made this so much better.

All photos and information © 2013 Tonner® Doll Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Funny Face: "Let's Kiss And Make Up" Jo Stockton by Integrity Toys

Earlier this year, Integrity Toys presented a collection of seven dolls from the Funny Face film, as part of their Paramount Films license. Six of those dolls were available to all but the seventh, Jo Stockton "Let's Kiss And Make Up", was a WClub exclusive through lottery only. I was lucky enough to get her as a second chance draw winner. She arrived months ago here, but I only managed to finish her photo shoot in the past few days.

The doll has the Poppy Parker body and the Vanessa 2.0 sculpt (the one with the closed mouth) and is a limited edition of 400 dolls. She comes with three outfits from the film: the most well known of course is the ensemble from the train station photo-shoot, the "Anna Karenina" scene. I knew I had to recreate the atmosphere of that scene, so I printed out a large photo from that. (I erased Audrey Hepburn from it before printing) and used it as a backdrop for the doll.

This ensemble alone has so many parts! It consists of a long "fur" coat, a manteau and a sleeveless dress under it, pantyhose, shoes, gloves a straw travel bag, a rose bouquet, a hat and a dog! All look great and are well made and finished, except the dog that looks like it went through the washing machine and tumble dryer before arriving at the station!

The doll herself is very beautiful, probably the most beautiful of all four Jo Stockton dolls. She may not be Audrey but she certainly has the style down pat. As in her promo pics, she looks very much like Michelle Dockery, the actress playing Lady Mary in Downton Abbey. 

The second outfit is the yellow print dress from the flower-shop scene, again part of a photo shoot. This is featured briefly in the film but is probably the most colourful scene. I could not stage a whole flower shop at home so I opted for a simple background to offset the print more.

Again a very well made dress, with a great scale of the print. Hat, gloves, pantyhose and shoes complete the look. The gloves can be easily worn if you place her hand in boiling water for a few seconds to soften it.

The dress even has a petticoat under it, which is a nice touch and adds to the sense of quality. It also helps the skirt stand that much better.

The third outfit of the set is a suit that appears in the fashion show scene of the film. It is a very elegant look, with a hat, umbrella (not functional), pantyhose, shoes and gloves finishing the look. 

The straw hat had to be styled a bit to acquire its proper shape but it was not very difficult to achieve. Again it is not the flat small hat shown in the film but it is not always easy to transfer things into doll scale. The boxy jacket does not photograph well on a doll from the back (with the side pleats) but it is very well crafted.

This is one of the best gift sets Integrity has ever released and is well worth getting, if you are able to find it complete. A beautiful doll and three complete gorgeous outfits in one! Not to mention that the original designs are all Givenchy!

Hervé Léger by Max Azria Barbie be released in October

After much gossip on various sites (both doll related and not) she's finally got some official confirmation: yes, the Hervé Léger Barbie doll will be near us in less than a month. She is to be released on the 15th of October! *Update: she's availabe for pre-order NOW*

Hervé Léger by Max Azria is the latest design house to dress Barbie. They are collaborating with Mattel on a limited-edition doll which will be released on the 15th of October at Hervé Léger stores, select Neiman Marcus locations and on barbiecollector.com.

Designed by Linda Kyaw from Mattel with the Hervé Léger creatives supervision, the doll is wearing a classic red bandage dress, a black corset belt from the fall 2012 collection, black gladiator boots and a gold clutch But of course the $150 doll comes with an outfit change of a black-and-white jacquard dress, open-toe booties and a studded clutch.

Barbie’s runway-inspired looks were supposedly made in the same factory that produces the real collection, and her dresses and accessories will also be available in life-size versions. “As you can imagine, the biggest challenge was the scaling down of the knit,” said chief creative officer Lubov Azria.

Doll Details:
Body Type: ModelMuse™
Arm: Right Bent, Straight Left
Skin Tone: LA Tan
Facial Sculpt: C.L. sculpt
Fashion Sewn On?: No
Eyelashes: No
Included with doll: Stand, Shoes (2 sets), Purses (2), Harness
There is a limit of 5 dolls per order.

Elle US magazine have an interview with the new Barbie - lots of Ken dish as they write! LOL!

© Hervé Léger, 2013 For the adult collector. Production doll may vary from the photo shown above. Mattel reserves the right to modify the fashion/fabrics, sculpt, hair color/style, and accessories. Doll cannot stand alone as shown.

IDEX is no more

An e-mail a while ago announced that IDEX, the great doll show, eagerly awaited by doll collectors all over the world each year, is no more. Here is what Susan Fitzgerlad, IDEX Vice President says in it:

The collectible doll and teddy bear trade show IDEX Premiere has been canceled for 2014 and will discontinue all show operations moving forward. While we have enjoyed working with the doll and teddy bear industry over the last decade, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the show and all of its related events and workshops. IDEX, a trade show dedicated to the celebration of dolls, teddy bears, toys and collectible playthings, ran without interruption for twenty-two years. Held in cities all over the country, most recently in Orlando, Florida, IDEX was for many years the premiere place to see what trends and developments were to come in the industry, meet and mingle with fellow collectors, and learn crafting skills at a myriad of workshops. While we are sad to see IDEX come to an end, we have a wealth of great memories and personal friendships that will stay with us for a lifetime. In closing, we would like to thank all of the artists, exhibitors, manufacturers, buyers and collectors who made IDEX a vibrant and exciting environment for more than two decades. We wish you all the best.

Sincerely,
Susan Fitzgerald
Vice President, IDEX

This is sad news for the doll industry. I am guessing that the reasons are financial but who knows?

Integrity Toys releases a mini Dynamite Girls collection for Halloween

Integrity Toys released a mini DG collection with a Halloween theme and yes, there's a new Spooky Sooki doll in it. The collection comprises of three dolls, one (Spooky Sooki) available only from IT Direct until supplies last and the other two (a girl and a boy) available through Integrity dealers. Let's see the dolls:

Item #66090
Spooky Sooki: The Return
Dynamite Girl™ Dressed Doll
2013 IT Direct Exclusive
Limited Edition of 1000 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $65.00
Available for Pre-order Directly from IT Direct
Approximate Ship Date: Late September 2013

Doll Tech Specs:
Body Type: DG (12 inch)
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Raven
Eyelashes: Yes, Rooted
Package Dimensions: 6" X 15" X 2.5"

A classic Dynamite Girl character returns to haunt the night again. Spooky Sooki: The Return is an IT Direct exclusive and cannot be purchased anywhere else but in the Integrity Toys shopping cart (while supplies last)! She is wearing a white shirt-dress in Gothic inspired style, over a black patterned hose and black boots, with a matching bag shaped like a small coffin. For adult collectors ages 14 and up. Doll stand included.

Item #66091
Handsome Devil
Damon™ Fashion Figure
The Dynamite Girls™ Collection
Limited Edition of 800 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $65.00
Approximate Ship Date: Late September 2013
Available from All Integrity Toys Authorized Dealers

Doll Tech Specs:
Body Type: FR: Homme (12.5 inches)
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Latino
Hair Color: Raven with Fire Red Streaks
Eyelashes: No
Package Dimensions: 6" X 15" X 2.5"

Hmm the name is new but the sculpt is one that DG boys have used before. He is dressed in red/black, from the jacket and pants to the striped shirt to his red-streaked raven hair. Gorgeous high boots.  Please note that the horns are removable. If he had a new sculpt I would have considered ordering him. For adult collectors ages 14 and up. Doll stand included. 

Item #66092
Dead In Her Tracks
Dani™ Dressed Doll
The Dynamite Girls™ Collection
Limited Edition of 800 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $65.00
Approximate Ship Date: Late September 2013
Available from All Integrity Toys Authorized Dealers

Doll Tech Specs:
Body Type: DG (12 inch)
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone Japan
Hair Color: Snow White with Ice Blue Streaks
Eyelashes: Yes, Rooted
Package Dimensions 6" X 15" X 2.5"

Dani wears a white dress with a pattern that looks like tyre tracks! It also looks like it has an underskirt. This doll comes with a chain necklace that is not shown in the photos below. She also has a corsage and gloves. For adult collectors ages 14 and up. Doll stand included.

**Please note that the photos are of a prototype doll and accessories. The final product is subject to changes and modifications. All info and photos contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2013 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.**