Showing posts with label Funny Face. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Funny Face. Show all posts

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Think Pink - Sunny Harnet ready for the red carpet

One of the most memorable musical numbers in the Funny Face film is "Think Pink". If you remember, a year ago, Integrity Toys release a series of seven dolls inspired from the film and its costumes, as part of their Paramount license. So it was only natural that one outfit at least from the Think Pink sequence would be selected. Well, actually there are two, a pink suit and an evening gown. Here, as a tribute to the Oscar cermony that takes place tonight, we focus on the latter, in a recen photo shoot I did.


The doll is evoking the model Sunny Harnett who appears in the film along more famous models Suzy Parker and Dovima (who has a speaking role). Sunny appears with many outfits in the sequence but most notably the outfit shown here. This look is composed of a pink satin two-piece gown with a transformable pink faux fur peplum that turns into a cape, as shown in the film. Pink opera length gloves (the usual oven mitt variety), bright pink satin shoes and a jewellery set (clear bauble necklace and rhinestone stud earrings) complete the outfit. 


The 12" fully articulated vinyl doll has rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes and sports the FR: Monogram body (with Victoire Roux legs) and the Imogen head sculpt.She does reming me of Sunny Harnett a lot and the gown is a faithful representation of the one shown in the film. She looks ready to pick up an Oscar! The last close-up of her shows her necklace backwards, it was a mistake but I liked the photo so here it goes.







Monday, October 28, 2013

Take The Picture! - Jo Stockton in Funny Face doll by Integrity Toys

The Funny Face collection is one of the best doll ensembles that Integrity Toys (or any doll company for that matter) has ever released. Each and every doll in it stands out, portraying one of the characters of the film with one ore more ensembles to evoke certain film moment. Arguably, the most iconic scene in the film is the one where Audrey Hepburn is being photographed as Jo Stockton by Fred Astaire as Dick Avery (Dick Avedon of course) as she descends the Louvre stairs beneath the statue of the Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace. While she does that, she's shouting to him, "Take the picture!" as she's on the move, stepping down, waving her muslin shawl above her, in an effort to mimic the statue's pose. This is the moment that the "Take The Picture!" doll represents. And it does so perfectly.


I tried to re-create the scene by printing a retouched photograph of it (the retouching involved removing Audrey from it). Then strings, lighting and a feeble wind machine (a small heater actually with the temperature set to zero) came to the rescue. Wish I had a proper fan to blow that shawl properly.


The doll is amazing. As mentioned at the presentation, she uses the Poppy Parker body, but it is the one used for the Breakfast At Tiffany's dolls: this means no ankle joint. The foot is made for kitten heels, which absolutely fits the film and Audrey's outfits. It also offers a better looking result. I know this is not to everyone's liking but for this doll, in my opinion, works best. 


The dress is a faithful recreation of the costume from the film, with the small neat bows on the top and bottom, the slit at the back and the two panels that form trains behind. The shawl is here of course, as are the gloves (elbow length), which are slightly better than the usual mitten-type ones (and get even better with some water sculpting) and kitten heel red fabric shoes. The quality of craftsmanship is very high.


The doll has the original iconic Vanessa Perrin sculpt, used here to perfection. She also reminds me a lot of Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, much like the Let's Kiss And Make Up doll does (with the Vanessa 2.0 sculpt). Not a bad thing at all. She also has an extra pair of hands. Her face paint is gorgeous, in two shades of brown and full red lips. Her hair is neatly gathered into a chignon at the back, with a side part at the front and her long bangs swept to the side over her forehead. 


The most impressive of her accessories is of course her necklace. It is intricately made, with lots of different colour and size stones set in it. It proves that when Integrity wants to, it can make marvels. A pair of earrings with two stones each (white and red) finishes off the set. Below is a photograph of the necklace with the top of the dress pulled down to show it off in its entire length. 


Sunday, September 22, 2013

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!


Sunday, July 14, 2013

My instagram dolls

I have an Instagram account and only post doll portraits from my collection, plus the first photos I shoot when unpacking my newly arrived dolls. Since many blog readers do not have an account there, I thought I would post some of them here for you to see. Playing with filters and effects there is not as complex as Photoshop but it is fun and I love people's reactions to them as many who see them are not collectors. Hope you like them.


Ghost Of Christmas Future by Tonner Doll


Irresistible In India Poppy Parker by Integrity Toys


DAE Dolls Glamour Gal Vivien wearing Portrait by DAE


Reluctant Débutante Poppy Parker by Integrity Toys


Holiday Grand Brenda Starr by Effanbee Dolls and Tonner Doll (no filter used)


Pas De Deux Gene Marshall by Mel Odom and Ashton Drake


Versace Barbie by Mattel


Ready For Wardrobe Joan Crawford by Tonner Doll


Star Of The Red Carpet Daphne Dimples by Effanbee Dolls and Tonner Doll


Take The Picture Jo Stockton by Integrity Toys (here still in her box)


Think Pink by Integrity Toys


Manhattan Grand Sydney Chase by Tonner Doll


Grace Kelly by Franklin Mint


Poppy Parker "The Happening" by integrity Toys

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Dovima again: just because

Just wanted to post this pic for a while now, but had no success in shooting a good enough photo until today. Dovima presents the Funny Face collection!


If you haven't seen them, there are more photos of her here.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Funny Face: A Woman Who Thinks (Marion / Dovima)


It was about time I started photographing and posting the Funny Face dolls, who have been arriving home one after another in all their elegance and finesse. I must say that the dolls are exactly or even better than the prototypes and it is a unique treat opening their beautiful packaging.


I had written, in the post about their presentation, that "A Woman Who Thinks" is the best doll of the bunch. Her arrival confirmed my opinion. She uses the Anja sculpt to great effect. If you have seen the film, you know this is Marion, the model posing as "A Woman Who Thinks", the new target group and inspiration for Quality magazine. Marion is played by Dovima, a real model, and one of the best models ever. She parodies herself, and it is a great treat to see her in a film, as most of the images we have from her heyday are photographs. 


The doll comes with two outfits and their respective accessories. She is already dressed with the black narrow dress with the irregular cut out neckline, which is a good approximation of the real one. I love the grainy fabric and it is stretchy enough to pose in. Unfortunately, using the Victoire/BoD body means that there is no waist joint, so the posing is a bit limited. I think that for this doll, the FR body would have been a bit better. The dress fastens in the back with hooks, which are a bit difficult to fasten as they are black on black.


I was surprised to find out that she can stand on her own. The nice leather black pumps help with that. Black stretchy gloves and a pair of "diamond" stud earrings complete the look. She is wearing pantyhose, as all women did in that era.


Her short hairdo should have been a bit less fluffy - the real model had her hair much closer to her scalp. The make up is great, the blues on her lids match her eyes and the red lipstick and nails are divine and era-appropriate.



The second outfit from the film is the one called She-bop. It is a yellow gown with a matching hat that has a green ribbon and an orange crown. It is impossible to find a photo of it on-line so I had to make a capture from the film. In it I noticed that the actual dress could have a green fabric panel at the back to match the ones from the hat. The doll dress does not.


The dress has a lot of fabric. There is a satin yellow fabric under the layers of billowing yellow chiffon over it. The draping on her bust is nicely made and the two satin straps complete the look. The dress also has a slim satin belt that fastens in the back with a pearl and a loop. The dress closes with a zipper and a hook on top (which I was unable to fasten). The shoes are yellow leather pumps, same as the black ones.


This look has a "diamond" bracelet to finish it off. Again I had a hard time keeping this on her wrist, the fastening is a bit loose and it kept falling off. Dear Integrity, not all of us collectors have tiny fingers to deal with this stuff!


The hat looks like a flower from the back.



I was really happy they included this dress with the doll, even though it barely registers in the film. The set is incredibly well made and looks very faithful to the real costumes. I love the doll and will definitely photograph her in more vintage looking stuff as soon as I can.