Reign of the Redheads
I have a special affinity for redheads. I have always been drawn to the vibrant hair color and often, this hair hue is what I gravitate to when I want a model for a dramatic shot. Red hair and freckles run in my family of origin and while I was not lucky enough to get the red hair ( the freckles…I did get) I was thrilled that my son was born with strawberry blond hair. So…in honor of those redheads, I did this shoot. The exquisite gowns are a recent acquisition from the talented Rimdoll on Etsy.
Models: (from left to right) 2016 Japan Barbie Convention doll, Black and White Tweed Suit Silkstone Barbie and 2016 Paris Fashion Doll Festival Barbie
Gowns: Rimdoll on Etsy
Still not a fan of the articulated bodies on these silkstone Barbies. It is very limited articulation and it irks me that you cant bend the hand at wrist joint to put it fully on the dolls hip.
Love this elegant Black and White Tweed Suit Silkstone’s facial screening though.
Gorgeous blending of hair colors on this Japan convention exclusive
This vibrant red hair color is my absolute favorite…especially when it’s paired with a green eye. Yummy!
And these gowns were so perfect in these fabulous pastel shades. Adore.
-Rebecca
Poppy’s London Adventure!–The Swinging London Poppy Parker Collection
David Buttry gave us a sneak peak and a couple tastes of where he was going with his 2017 Poppy Parker collection at the 2016 Integrity Toys Convention last year. Here were some of the slides he shared.
And here were some of the dolls available at last convention that gave us a taste of what was to ahead in 2017 for Poppy Parker collectors
We knew Poppy was going back London in the 60’s…and David Buttry did not disappoint on that vision. And hold on folks…because per the email from Integrity Toys, this is just the first wave of this Poppy collection. The second wave will come later in the year!!!
Note: The dolls pictured in this post are prototypes. Final fabrics, colors and textures may vary slightly. Background props are not included.
Here are the new and oh so hip offerings for the first wave of the stellar Poppy Parker doll line from Integrity Toys for 2017!!
Sign of the Times
Poppy Parker™ 2 Doll Gift Set
The Swinging London Collection
Edition Size: 825
Estimated Delivery: Mid to Late-Summer 2017
Suggested Retail Price: $180.00 US
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker
Body: Poppy 1.5 (Body disassembles and features newly improved joint stability)
Foot Sculpt: Traditional Poppy feet with articulated ankles
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Color: Brunette (Doll No.1) and Platinum Blonde (Doll No.2)
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
It’s a Poppy giftset!! So per the write-up for this doll, Poppy has left Paris of last year ( blue polka dot outfit) and has gotten a makeover on Carnaby street in London. Her new look is the blond bob and white mini. Wow!! From prim and proper to hip and mod. Very nicely done!! Now I am the first one to say the 60’s are not my favorite fashion era but David Buttry has really put time and effort into the story and detail on these. This doll is worth it for the blond bob makeover doll alone. Add in the adorable brunette and the amazingly detailed accessories…total buy. I’m in.
Glad All Over
Poppy Parker™ Gift Set
The Swinging London Collection
Edition Size: 725
Estimated Delivery: Mid to Late-Summer 2017
Suggested Retail Price: $160.00 US
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker
Body: Poppy 1.5 (Body disassembles and features newly improved joint stability)
Foot Sculpt: Traditional Poppy feet with articulated ankles
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Color: Blonde
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
Another giftset!! ..but not with dolls…this time with clothing. According the write-up on this one, Poppy is debuting her new clothing line of “Poppy Gear”. This set comes with all the clothing and accessories pictured. I ADORE the facial screening on this one. There is quite the treasure trove of shoes in this pack as well. These fashions are straight off of Carnaby street. Love the blue dress with the orange striped tie the best. The color combination is perfect on this doll….and I don’t even like mod clothing…but I enjoy this. Thank you Mr. Buttry for helping me to see the appeal of the 60’s again.
Sunny Slickers
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
The Swinging London Collection
Edition Size: 725
Estimated Delivery: Mid to Late-Summer 2017
Suggested Retail Price: $130.00 US
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker
Body: Poppy 1.5 (Body disassembles and features newly improved joint stability)
Foot Sculpt: Traditional Poppy feet with articulated ankles
Skin Tone: FR Black
Hair Color: Brunette Mix
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
How adorable is she?!! I absolutely adore the accessories in this one. Can we all remember ( well all of us in a certain age bracket) the clear plastic umbrellas we toted to school every day?! Love the little collared sleeveless dress. Surprisingly enough though..I did not get this one. The overly bright pink lips, while totally accurate for the swinging 60’s were just too vivid for me. While I didn’t purchase this one, I can still appreciate her adorableness. She is just plain fun!
Downtown
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
The Swinging London Collection
Edition Size: 725
Estimated Delivery: Mid to Late-Summer 2017
Suggested Retail Price: $130.00 US
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker
Body: Poppy 1.5 (Body disassembles and features newly improved joint stability)
Foot Sculpt: Traditional Poppy feet with articulated ankles
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Color: Light Auburn
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
Okay…so this was the first doll in my shopping cart for this collection and I will give you one guess as to why. Do you need a hint? It’s in the accessories picture. Come on..I’m a photographer! Yep, that little camera had me all gooey inside. The watch and pink gloved hands also added to the appeal along with the soft facial screening and pastel tweed of this suit. But the camera…this is all about the camera for me. By the 1960’s the 35mm camera had all but taken over. What is that?…is it an old Halina 35x…could be an Spotmatix. Yes, I am THAT much of a camera geek. Anywhoo…Thank you David for this one. Love her and absolutely ADORE her accessories.
David Buttry and the Integrity Team also added a nice little dessert into this collection. The WClub offered up an event exclusive doll…not a lottery doll but a doll available to all club members. As popular as Poppy Parker is this is an especially nice perk. As a club member, I say “Thank You!!!” for that one. She is actually my favorite of this entire collection too.
Welcome to Misty Hollows
Poppy Parker™ Dressed Doll
The Swinging London Collection
IT DIRECT EVENT EXCLUSIVE – WClub member exclusive
Edition Size: TBA
Estimated Delivery: Late Summer 2017
Suggested Retail Price: $130.00 US
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker
Body: Poppy 1.5 (Body disassembles and features newly improved joint stability)
Foot Sculpt: Traditional Poppy feet with articulated ankles
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Silver Blond
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
Deadline for members to order her is very soon so check your emails or the forum!!
Love the facial screening on this one. Very reminiscent of Out of this World Poppy Parker and I adore that one too. For this design, David explained that she is acting in a spooking TV show called “Misty Hollows” hence the candle stick accessory. Nicely done Mr. Buttry.
As a whole, I found the first wave of this collection, from the initial offerings at last years convention to the new dolls just revealed this Friday, entirely cohesive and spot on for the time period it advertised. There was some diversity as far as skin tones and their was range within the line. What I mean by that is there were some more refined looks along with fun, flirty and hip. For those not entirely excited by the fashions of the 1960’s there were stellar accessories and beautiful facial screenings to admire and act as an enticement to buy. A well thought out and cohesive lineup in my opinion. Mr. Buttry stayed true to his vision as expressed at the 2016 convention while trying to appeal to the very diverse collecting tastes of the Poppy Parker collector community. Not an easy thing to do. It’s a very fine needle to thread but I feel David Buttry has successfully done it with this collection.
To David …I raise my glass…job well done!
For those of you who are reading this and and wanting to get any of these dolls ( except for Misty Hollows..she is only available to club members) , you might want to call an Integrity Toys Dealer sooner rather than later. These Poppy’s are going fast.
–Rebecca
Guest Blogging for Dutch Fashion Doll World!
Hey all, I am excited to be guest blogging again this weekend for my good friend Rogier of Dutch Fashion Doll World. He is reporting from the Italian Doll Convention this weekend and some really exciting news coming out of that venue right now. Go check it out here!!!
–Rebecca
Timeless Show Eden
I decided to pair up a favorite new outfit and a “holy grail” Eden. I don’t pull this doll out as often as I should.
Model: Style Mantra Eden by Integrity Toys
Dress, socks, shoes. purse and hat: Timeless Show by Lovetones
Set: Cargo Culinary Containers and Miniature Wood Pallet Drink Coasters
-Rebecca
BFMC Blush and Gold Arrives
This morning the Barbie Collector website was updated to release images of this new addition to the Silkstone BFMC 2017 collection. Now..here is where I would say “BFC members were given a sneak peak of this one a month ago” but…I can’t say that as there is no official Barbie Fan Club as of the posting of this blog report. Let’s face the facts folks…the BFC may not be coming back. This makes me sad but I can’t pretend I and many others didn’t see the writing on the wall a long time ago. With all the troubles on their website, crazy no win treasure hunts, questionable business practices ( {cough}, camel coat, {cough}) the demise of the BFC doesn’t surprise me at all. Oh and there is also this little factoid. Mattel stock fell off a cliff a couple weeks ago due to abysmal earnings. Way worse than what was expected…never a good thing for a publically traded stock.
This is just me speculating here but..all of these bits and pieces point to bad news for the Barbie Fan Club and the future of Barbie Collector. How much longer before the current Barbie Collection website is rolled into the new Mattel website? Bye Bye collector forums.
So, with that “Debbie Downer” opener, lets talk about the latest release Mattel DID in fact give collectors today.
Blush & Gold Cocktail Dress Barbie® Doll
Designer: Robert Best
Release Date: 5/08/2017
Retail: $100.00 !!! yes, you saw it correctly
That is one hefty price tag for a shorter dress and basic accessories ( no jewelry folks and a plastic purse). I am also not wowed by the facial screening in these images. I do realize however that she may look a lot better IRL so there is always that hope. But..as they say….a picture tells a thousand words. Do these images sell a $100 dollar doll? Not too sure about that. I think more than anything, my question for Mattel’s Barbie Collector BFMC personnel is “ Does your lack of communication, perks for your customers(BFC), and general disorganized product roll out encourage collectors to want to buy?”
Debbie Downer out….
Riviera Drama Revealed!!
Back in February, one of the WClub membership dolls was revealed in sketch form. Yesterday, her promo shots were revealed and it had many WClub members clapping their hands with joy. You can read about the how this doll came to be here. It’s an interesting way to decide on a club doll. This doll was only available to WClub 2017 members as an optional upgrade with their membership purchase.
Riviera Drama
Agnes Von Weiss™ Dressed Doll
The Fashion Royalty® Collection
2017 W Club Upgrade Doll
Approximate Ship Date: Summer 2017
Edition Size: TBA (Determined by the total amount of orders received)
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Agnes Von Weiss
Hair Color: Raven (Black)
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: FR 6.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled / Traditional
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Cream
And here she is!
I am feeling an Elie Saab vibe here…the picture below is from his 2017 Resort collection. The fact that he used wedge shoes also with this look makes me think this was one of the inspirations for this look.
So…how do I feel about this reveal? I love the facial screening! Green eyes on a pale skinned raven Agnes…yummm! Also kind of happy they went with the nude lip. It feels very on trend for right now. This also makes her infinitely more re-dressable. I am thrilled that the jumpsuit isn’t black. I think jewel tones definitely fit with the “Riviera” theme. I adore the jewelry! What concerns me is the fabric shown. I don’t know if it flows like the original design does. It looks kind of stiff to me but then…that could just be the image and how the model is posed. Also…what is with this purse? Did they want to go for Christmas colors? I don’t think I would have chosen red. I may be in a minority here but I like the wedge shoes. It’s more casual and we don’t have shoes like this so if I want to dress this outfit up, I can certainly find a pair of black strappy sandals in my IT box. Also, I am hoping the hair isn’t too “crunchy” as in…stiff. It looks like it might be though. It does help with those annoying flyaways that I end up editing out in PS later anyway 
-Rebecca
Mademoiselle Papillon Rouge
Giselle has been restyled as Miss Red Butterfly for today’s blog post. I have been inspired by some beautiful images coming from Dior’s Spring Couture collection and the new captain at it’s helm Maria Grazia Chiuri (formerly of Valentino). She had unicorn’s lining the walk into the collection venue! Ok, Ok, they were not real unicorns but still….very whimsical. She had a park like setting and I supposed that has helped influence the backdrop for this shoot as well.
Model: Integrity Toys AKA Gigi Giselle
Dress: Rimdoll
Hat: Integrity Toys “Love The One” Kyori Sato ( I embellished with flower and butterfly)
Gloved hands: Integrity Toys “Royal Treatment” Véronique giftset
Earrings: Integrity Toys “Admiration” Monogram
Purse: Bogue’s Vogues
-Rebecca
A Spring Fling
Reluctant to tear down the set from the previous shoot, I decided to give Miss Tullabelle a chance to model. I just had to show off this amazing head of delicious golden curls. I also received this exquisite Matisse creation by Brenda Visaya and had to use it. It’s funny because I took the photos of Tullabelle posing up against the white arbor I had created. When I looked at the images in post processing…she just seemed too refined. I wasn’t completely happy with them which was a complete shock for me because that is the look I normally go for when editing photos. I woke up the next morning and did a few more shots showing a more flirtatious Tullabelle and in the end…these are the shots I am most happy with. Go figure 
Model: Integrity Toys “You Better Werk” Tullabelle
Dress and gloves: Brenda Visaya – Matisse on Etsy
Hat: Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World
Shoes: Integrity Toys “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” Eden
-Rebecca
A Bridal Still Life
I am continually inspired by miniature couture. In particular, I adore any and all images that come out of Le Petit Théâtre from Dior.
I love how they use real size items with miniatures. I had a free day in the studio…almost unheard of these days…so I thought I would try my hand at something like this. I decided to use my most recent bridal shoot as inspiration. For those of you following my instagram story…you got to see a little taste of the shoot. But…as most things go in the studio, you saw the prelim shots and not the final part of what I actually used in the processed images.
I have to give a shout out to my dear friend Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World who did some additional art direction on this shoot. Your vision is always valued and appreciated my friend.
And…a chance to bring out the pearls! 
It’s always a treat to use my Laduree boxes.
But let’s face it…this entire shoot was all about this fabulous dress from Rimdoll on Etsy. 
For those of you interested in the set up for this shoot, it was all done in natural light with one reflector. Be prepared people when using natural light to be waiting half the day for optimal lighting. Since I always love to see behind the scenes from others, I will share a behind the scenes shot here of the set up. Yes…I have a flash in the picture below but I didn’t end up using it.
-Rebecca
A Spring Bride
I have been inspired by some of the free flowing fashions I have seen in the past week from Coachella so I decided to dress my new Giselle in a fashion I received this past week from Rimdoll. I have also been wanting too use these adorable paper roses hued in yellow and pink. I needed the right outfit to showcase them and this glorious gown from Rimdoll was just the thing. It is all that and a bag of chips people! Spring floral romantic with a little bit of edginess in there too.
Mode: NuFace Aka Gigi Giselle
Gown: Rimdoll on Etsy
floral crown and bouquet: Made by me of flowers found on Ebay
Earrings: Mattel
Garden Bench: Found it at Michael’s about 3 years ago.
I absolutely LOVE the facial screening on this Giselle. Very soft and romantic.
-Rebecca
