The Fashion Royalty convention this year was very successful for everyone involved. Integrity and Jason Wu managed to present a well coordinated glamorous event and the attendees had a blast attending the various events and picking up lots of dolls: this was the convention with the most dolls released ever. The theme was The Royal Life. And here we will start a series of articles presenting some of the convention dolls. First to arrive, the beautiful Going Places Vanessa.


Vanessa Perrin is considered the most sought after face of Fashion Royalty dolls. Each one of her re-incarnations becomes an instant collectible, its value rising much higher than the retail price. The reason? It is not the number of dolls being produced for sure; even the Vanessas on big releases have become collectibles. I guess it is the face mold: she's the best looking Fashion Royalty lady ever made. My personal preference may be Kyori, but every Vanessa doll released is looking great, a thing not easily said about Kyori Sato dolls.


This Vanessa is no exception. Dark haired, with smoky eyes and sensuous coral lips, she is simply stunning. The hairdo, a double French twist, gives her an air of hauteur, befitting the royal theme of the convention. There were again complaints of badly painted eyes, but far less than Pale Fire Vanessa (see previous post here).


Her jewellery set is impressive but not anything unusual. Filigree "gold" chandelier earrings with coral and black "pearls", with matching necklace. A bracelet would have been a nice addition, after all, she is a convention doll.


Her dress is the classic mermaid style gown that Jason Wu has given us countless times until now, especially in event or special dolls. This one looks even a bit like the Lights, Camera, Royal Veronique gown. Here we get it in a blue/black fabric with tulle and lace overlay. I love the draping on this gown, especially around the hips, pity it gets lost as it is black on black. The lace is gorgeous, with a lovely eyelash finish:


Underneath, contrary to expectations, she is wearing only flesh colored panties. No elaborate garters and stockings here. Her shoes are not much better than Pale Fire : black strappy shoes again, nothing to brag home about and certainly not royal looking.


So, while the doll itself is lovely, as all Vanessas usually are, the total package leaves a lot to be desired: un-original dress, less then stellar shoes and underwear, incomplete jewellery set for a royal lady (the crown given with her at the convention only does not justify the title by itself). The advantage is in that she makes a very good substitute for those like me who do not have a dark haired Vanessa and especially the raven A Fashionable Life Vanessa FAO special doll.