The Fashion Doll Chronicles

Monday, April 1, 2013

Integrity Toys 2nd On-line Presentation 2013: Poppy Parker At 1965 International Fair

On Easter Weekend, Integrity Toys had their 2nd unveiling on-line event of this year, as they had promised members of the WClub. Carol Roth opened again the presentation, while Alain Tremblay joined in from Montreal, David Buttry from Florida and Vaughn Sawyers from China. In this event, three lines were presented to the collectors - the first one was Poppy Parker at the 1965 World's Fair. Club members already knew that the inspiration behind this year's line was the 1965 Fair in New York and were anxious to see what would the dolls look like. Well, let's see them!

Item #PP048
Irresistible in India
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
Limited Edition of 750 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $89.00 US
Estimated Shipping Date: June 2013

So the five dolls of the Poppy collection are all Poppies (none of her friends) and are each inspired by a country participating at the Fair. David Buttry, the designer of this line, said he was inspired by the national pavilions and the countries participating. To tell you the truth, I expected more of a retro-futuristic style inspiration to go with the overall style of an exhibition that was the inspiration, among others, for Disney to make Epcot Center. Nonetheless, the dolls are gorgeous and were quickly sold out at most dealers.

First up is the Indian Poppy. She wears an elegant embroidered golden yellow satin evening gown. The ensemble is accented with gold and pink beaded earrings, gold cuff, and bangle bracelets. She has dark brown ornate hair and intense eyes: an exotic beauty indeed. Doll stand is included.

This is the best of the bunch for me. She has the Bergdorf screening (for readers not familiar with the Bergdorf Goodman Poppy, check her here, she is very rare) on a Latina skintone. The combination is irresistible, the re-interpretation of an indian gown is gorgeous and I love the earrings. Perfection. Almost. I wish she had some kind of sandals instead of the golden simple kitten heel pumps she sports.

Item #PP049
Spicy in Spain
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
Limited Edition of 750 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $89.00 US
Estimated Shipping Date: June 2013

The second Poppy is from Spain! She is wearing an ebony dress with a layered lace black skirt and chiffon bodice with ruffle detail at the neckline and sleeves. Her dark blonde-brown hair is accented with a black straw hat with black ribbon band, an embroidered clutch with multi-coloured floral design, gold hoop earrings, and a dark stone ring. Doll stand is included.

David said this Poppy has a new screening, which I find really nice. Her outfit is a bit conservative - I'd like it more with pants and bolero jacket, more like Ralph Lauren's S/S 2013 Spanish styles - but then it would not be a 1965 Fair doll! She is very beautiful and the hair colour is also a first for Poppy. She has the Caucasian skin tone.

Her accessories are TDF - embroided purse, lovely hat and a ring! Again simple shoes though, the bane of Poppy.

Item #PP050
Sweet in Switzerland
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
Limited Edition of 750 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $89.00 US
Estimated Shipping Date: June 2013

Third one comes from Switzerland! Poppy now is red-headed with the Japan skin tone She wears a white dotted chiffon blouse, short full blue skirt, white jersey tights, and blue tweed cape. It's accented with a white faux fur hat, hand muff, and a pair of faux fur trimmed skates. Doll stand is included.

Another beauty and this one probably is the most popular with collectors. The combination of red hair, Japan skintone, smoky eyes and pale lips never fails to deliver. Add to that the cute cape, hat, muff and ice skates, and voila! Success!

Item #PP051
Pretty in Polynesia
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
Limited Edition of 750 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $89.00 US
Estimated Shipping Date: June 2013

Next up is the Polynesian Poppy! Her ensemble features a blue and lavender tropical print. She wears a one-piece swimsuit, matching wrap skirt, and royal blue satin jacket. Accenting this versatile outfit are gold and turquoise bracelets, a beaded necklace, and a delicate flower in her gorgeous black hair. The ensemble also features a pair of lavender faux leather sandal heels and matching clutch bag. Doll stand is included.

This is again a beautifull doll with smoky eyes, dark hair and a slightly tan skin tone. Her screening is similar to the Reluctant Debutant Poppy (one of the first ever Poppies, see her here) and I like the versatility of her three-piece outfit. Good to see sandals too. Her necklace is the most intricate made for a Poppy according to David Buttry. I love the bracelets too.

Item #PP052
Joyful in Japan
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
Limited Edition of 750 Dolls
Suggested Retail Price: $89.00 US
Estimated Shipping Date: June 2013

Last, but not least, is the Japanese Poppy - a platinum haired doll in a Japan skin tone body. David said they wanted to present a doll that would be inspired by geisha but not be a replica of them, hence the hair colour and modern accessories.. She wears a delicate pink satin custom multi-coloured floral print kimono accented with a cream, gold, and hot pink brocade obi. A white clutch, pearl earrings, and pink kitten heels with bow details on the toe finish off the look. Doll stand is included.

If she had a fan, hair ornaments and proper geisha flip flops, I would have ordered her instantly as I love the kimono. She has also a never-done-before facial screening, which is lovely.

Generally a very strong Poppy collection, which left the collectors really pleased and the dolls nearly sold out! I picked the Indian Poppy for my collection and will wait her impatiently!

Please note that the photos are of prototype dolls and subject to changes and modifications. For adult collectors 14 years and up. All images and information contained herein are copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2013 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.

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.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Tonner Doll Mainline release 2013: DeeAnna Denton

This is one of my favourite Tonner Doll lines. I managed to get one doll from this last year and she is gorgeous. It seems that it is also getting better. This year there are two dressed dolls, two basics and two outfits.

Luncheon Date
Price: $209.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13DDDD02
LE 500

The first dressed doll is of course DeeAnna Denton™ with her 16" curvaceous body in the Tyler skin tone. She has green painted eyes with applied eyelashes and golden blonde rooted saran hair, She is wearing a black hat with faux fur trim and a red bow, a white jacket with black beaded buttons, black faux fur cuffs, and black and white faux fur collar. It is cinched with a black patent leather belt over a black pencil skirt. Nude pantyhose, red bead earrings, a red beaded necklace, red gloves and red patent leather shoes complete the look. She comes with a stand.

Period perfect, this is a gorgeous doll, even though her earrings are a bit simple regarding the rest of the outfit. She should have had a bag too, as would be appropriate for the era.

Afternoon Cocktails
Price: $209.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13DDDD01
LE 500

The second dressed doll is Peggy Harcourt™ on a 16" curvaceous body in the Tyler skin tone. She has purple painted eyes with applied eyelashes and pale blonde rooted saran hair. Her outfit consists of an iridescent purple skirt, matching purple and fuchsia top with gold studs, one pink and one purple glove, rhinestone bracelets, a rhinestone necklace, rhinestone earrings, nude pantyhose, purple faux suede shoes, an iridescent purple and fuchsia hat and a purple faux fur shawl. She comes with a stand.

Peggy is my favourite sculpt from this line and she looks gorgeous yet again. The outfit is a bit outré but is period perfect, although we still miss a handbag to go. The turban looks a bit smashed, I hope the production ones look better. I love the draping on the top. As they do not describe it as a jacket, it probably opens on the back and not on the front.

All Vintage DeeAnna
Price: $134.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13DDBD01
LE 500

One basic doll is DeeAnna Denton™. She has brown painted eyes with applied eyelashes and a pale blonde removable saran wig. She has the Tyler skin tone (and always the curvaceous body). She sports a light purple teddy with ruffle trim and garters over nude pantyhose and purple molded plastic shoes. She comes with a stand.

This one looks better than the dressed DeeAnna! The teddy and garters are a nice touch. We have seen the molded plastic shoes before on basic Tyler dolls. And in the same colour.

All Vintage Peggy
Price: $134.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13DDBD02
LE 500

Of course the second basic doll is Peggy Harcourt™ with the 16" curvaceous body in a Tyler skin tone. She has green painted eyes with applied eyelashes and a mink removable saran wig. She has a teal teddy with ruffle trim and garters over nude pantyhose and teal molded plastic shoes. She comes with a stand.

Look at those gorgeous green eyes! She has almost the same colouring as my own Peggy, Short N'Sassy but with green eyes (even better) and lighter brows. If I did not have SNS, I would get her in an instant. They should have made the outfit in teal, it would look so much better.

A Day at the Races - Outfit
Price: $99.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13DDOF01
LE 200

The first outfit is a floral print dress with white ribbon trim at the waist. It has a white crinoline petticoat. Accessories include a white hat with faux flowers, white gloves, faux pearl earrings, a faux pearl necklace and black faux leather shoes.

While the dressed dolls are wearing winter ensembles, the solo outfits are decidedly summery. Light and airy, again this is period perfect apart from a missing bag.

High Tea at The Plaza - Outfit
Price: $99.99
Availability: Reserve yours now!
T13DDOF02
LE 200

The last outfit is a peach dress with white embroidered organza overlay and an attached belt. Accessories include a white hat with peach tulle and faux flower decoration, matching faux leather shoes, a faux pearl necklace, faux pearl earrings and white gloves.

She is without a bag again. A dreamy confection this one, it could also use nude pantyhose. No lady of that era would be caught dead without it.

Photos courtesy of Tonner Dolls.