Integrity promised lots of exciting new things for the W Club members this holiday season and the first one has just been announced: That Holiday Feeling Poppy Parker doll! Poppy Parker's creator David Buttry and all who attended the GLOSS convention in Orlando were privy to an exclusive sneak peek of the next doll in the Poppy Parker 5th Anniversary collection. So, just in time for the holidays, a Christmas Poppy is offered via "right-to-buy" lottery to W Club members only.

Poppy Parker is a fully articulated 12-inch vinyl fashion doll with fully rooted hair and delicately hand-applied eyelashes. Poppy is dressed for the holidays in a long ball gown, her shoulders covered by a rich fur trimmed red velvet cape. Accessories and a doll stand are also included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up.

She looks like a princess from a fairytale combined with a real princess of the 50s - think a very young princess Elizabeth or Margaret from England or Grace Kelly if she was a brunette. It's a Poppy with a look right back into the 50s which will definitely satisfy the fans that were not that into her early 70s disco look from the convention. Her 800 edition means that people taking part in the lottery have a better chance of securing the right to purchase this beautiful doll. I love the screening as well.

I hope the "fur" trim looks better in real life as in close up it looks a bit tattered. Maybe it would have been better if it had the texture of shaved mink (not real one of course) and more velvety instead of feathery. I love the white-on-white embroidery on the bodice.

Her accessories are a pair of gloves, kitten heal shoes with a bow (again!), a clutch bag, a mistletoe brooch (cute), a fur muff, a pearl necklace, matching bracelet and pearl stud earrings. These look a bit meagre for such a look - a triple strand necklace and matching triple strand bracelet with clasp would have looked so much better, not to mention at least a pair of pearl drop earrings instead of simple studs. No woman in the 50s would be content with these earrings for such a glamorous holiday look for a ball. And finally, the shoes have been done to death. No new design inspiration?

Her bow does not sit well on her hair but its the prototype photos, I hope it looks better in real life. She is a very glamorous looking lady.

** Please note that the photos are of a prototype doll and subject to changes and modifications. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2014 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.**

One of my two favourite hat designers in the world (the other one being Philip Treacy) is the indomitable Stephen Jones. His extravagant and outré objets d'art (it seems unfair to call them simply hats) are always sure to catch the eye and be the centre of attention when the wearer appears in an event. His new project is a collaboration with Mattel: he designed five Barbie dolls for them, with his unique vision and flamboyant style making them coveted collector's items.

The talented designer says that "Barbie is the most fabulous private client. She came into the salon for her Christmas morning hat and left with five glamorous outfits! Barbie and I have the same design vision; we love tradition, but have an eye for the future." The dolls will cost £250 each (ouch) and will be available from Selfridges London's Toy Shop on November 15, where Barbie opened a space earlier this year. "We're enamoured with the idea of truly one-of-a-kind gifts this Christmas," said Selfridges' head of accessories, children's wear and toys, Erin Moscow. "More than ever before we're aware of the demand for pieces which offer something really special. These pieces don't necessarily come with a million-pound price tag - they're not about ostentatiousness - their beauty lies in their rarity. All of the storytelling and fantasy of Stephen's work, realised with fun and witticism that's synonymous with Barbie, has gone into these beautiful dolls." 

Of course the designer also commented on each doll. Above is Holly Barbie, his favourite: "This is my personal favourite, using the contrast of soft velvet and spiky holly leaves. Barbie also has her very own pet Robin to give her a Christmas peck."

On Santa Baby Barbie (pictured above): "Every Barbie needs a fabulous Christmas outfit, so I used the idea of a Santa hat to make a fantasy cocktail dress, dedicated to Mrs Santa."

And how about Snow Globe Barbie? "There is nothing more magical and glamorous than floating snowflakes encased in a snow globe."

Yes, there is a Christmas Tree Barbie too: "I ensured the drama and volume of a full pine tree by illuminating the multicolour baubles within her Christmas tree headpiece."

Luckily the last one is not named Rudolph, the red nosed Barbie doll but Toffee Ice Barbie: "Rudolph, Prancer and Vixen are some of Santa’s reindeers, so I wanted to make Barbie an outfit in which she can dance and prance on the ice rink."



If you think it is the first time Stephen Jones has done something with the iconic doll, think again. He has presented a collection of hats on Barbie mannequins in the past and this August he made the headband shown above, for a short clip titled "Punk: Not Clueless" starring himself. The headband is sold for a hefty £1000 + VAT on the Showstudio website. I bet you can make one for much less.

Each Christmas season, the Printemps department store in Paris sets up a magnificent display on its windows. In an atypical contest between the major Parisian department stores, locals are lucky to experience the best that artist collaborating with these stores have to offer, often setting up elaborate displays that attract crowds every day to them. This year, they did something special for us doll collectors: the windows are full of dolls dressed in Dior historical outfits (72 dolls and replicas of 12 iconic outfits), even down to the miniature accessories (oh those Di bags!) that are actually moving like marionettes. Let's read the article about this display from the Dior magazine:

Jean-Claude Dehix, the most famous of puppet masters, has been creating window displays for Paris department stores for over thirty years. He tells DiorMag about his work, and what it was like to collaborate with the house of Dior.

"In a setting of silk and tulle, sequins and ribbons, they're getting ready, making themselves up, impatient to go waltzing or ice-skating in a decor drawn straight from a fairytale. These distinctly Dior dolls are the stars of the Printemps department store's windows. 

Under the Eiffel Tower's steel arches, they twirl and glide, beyond elegant in Bar jacket and full, flaring skirt. On the ice rink, they slice through the air, gracious skaters graced with the most Parisian of silhouettes. A little further on, under a band stand, they waltz and dance to the strains of a gramophone, bedecked in vaporous ball gowns. Look closely, for isn't that also them clutching to a huge bunch of balloons floating over the Opéra Garnier, Printemps and the Eiffel Tower, and again at the fairground, dancing between the carrousel and the big wheel? Yes, it's definitely them, no one else - the dolls!"

"In the Printemps windows, brought to life by the puppeteer Jean-Claude Dehix and dressed by Dior, they play the starring roles in a story of magic and enchantment, elegance and couture. For the holidays, the Paris department store places Dior center-stage with its codes and its many stories, from Avenue Montaigne and the gardens, to the banquet and the opera and the grand voyage. Over nine windows, Printemps tells a fairytale in the heart of the French capital. It's a story of joy and of celebration: the very tale of the house of Dior itself."