Portrait of a Lady
My husband, daughter and I recently traveled to NYC. We were there to see my daughter perform at Carnegie Hall. It was one of those epic moments for a parent and she had a solo (which she nailed!) in one of the pieces they played so it was a piece of cake with major frosting kind of afternoon. While in NYC, my husband and I were encouraged by a friend ( Thank you Hilda!) to visit the Frick Museum. What a joy that was! While there, we saw this amazing portrait and the moment I saw it, I had a picture idea pop into my head. A visit to their gift shop provided the supplies and this is the result.
Model: Rare Appearance Dania Zarr with gloved hands that came with her
Jewelry: Rare Appearance Dania Zarr
Suit: Integrity Toys “In Good Form” from 2007
Shoes: Cold Shoulder Eugenia
If you are ever in NYC and have an afternoon to see some lovely paintings housed in an amazing mansion, I highly recommend visiting The Frick Museum.
Cream and Caramel
No, it’s not my latte order..but now that you mention it…I’ll take a grande please. I have been waiting to redress this stunning Tatyana that IT came out with in their 2015 Fashion Royalty collection. I predicted this doll to be a bit of a sleeper doll when her production photos were released. I still stand by that. While I liked her original ball gown ensemble, I think I prefer her redressed. She looks so regal and those perfect pink lips are the best. I looked at her and thought…elegant, luxury…leopard.
The Ivory leather dress is a recent purchase from the fabulous Etsy store Elenpriv. The clean lines and expert tailoring of her pieces have encouraged me to return to her shop again and again. You will be seeing more of her work in my photos. You can find her on Flickr too. Purse is from another Fabulous Etsy store DollhouseAra. They are expensive little pieces but you simply can’t beat the quality of them..or at least I have not found anything that rivals it…not even close. Lastly, coat is from Andy Warhol Barbie® Doll. Is the coat worth the price of the doll you ask? Hmmmm…it just may be. I am in love with this coat. This whole look is something I would put on my “ I would wear that!” Pinterest board.
The necklace was fashioned from a unique connector I found here. From the moment I found it, I knew I had to make a necklace out of it. Miss Tatyana pulls it off beautifully!
You can’t get more regal than that!! Robyne…I think one drives a Rolls Royce. 
And another perfect bag from DollhouseAra!
–Rebecca
To The Manor Born
I never saw the BBC show of this name but am interested in the phrase. It is believed to be originally from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the actual line is “To the manner born“. Language and time have morphed this line into today’s “to the manor born” which essentially means someone born into affluence. The well known phrase “being born with a silver spoon in your mouth” is another example of similar meaning. Now…why am I going into this? Excellent question. When I first saw promo photos of Black Tie Ball Vanessa, my first thought was “This is a party girl and she is inebriated.” She had the half-open eyes of someone who has imbibed just a bit too much. When I opened the box and saw her in real life, my opinion changed a bit. I still saw the party girl but I thought it would be fun to portray her as the trust fund baby party girl. I love the platinum tresses on this lady and while the sleepy eyes kind of bother me, it definitely set my imagination flying and produced some fun shots. I have nothing to complain about…oh…except perhaps the skirt on the dress she came in. It doesn’t hang right. The jewelry, shoes and top of the gown are all exceptional though. Photos of Miss BTB Vanessa in her original gown are on my Flickr page.
The gown in these shots is by Eifeldolldress. Love it!!
For those interested in the set for these shots, here is the info:
Champagne glasses are exquisitely delicate and in correct scale. They are from Facets by Marcia.
Champagne bottle…have absolutely no idea where I got this. Most likely from a Gloria furniture set.
Bombé chest is a repainted plastic jewelry chest. My friend and artist Carolyn Grentz did this for me.
Gold chairs were custom ordered from China. You can find more like them here. Frankly though, you should just get ahold of some Barbie Fan Club chairs from this year and spray paint them gold…it would be cheaper.
Floral arrangement: Made by me of various silk and fabric flowers.
And this little adorable Maltese!! I found her on Etsy.
-Rebecca
Power House Ayumi
I just received the first of three of the 2015 revamped NuFace line that I ordered. All I can say is she is stunning! The facial screening is absolutely beautiful in my opinion.
The shoe strings were too short for me to tie into a bow so I ended up knotting them in the back and tucking the ends into the shoes. Not a bad fix. It will be a pain to untie and redress though. The jewelry is simple but sturdy and appropriate given the very clean chic lines of the outfit. Love the red, red lips and simple and elegant facial screening. The hair was really good when I deboxed but I wanted the bangs to lie closer to the head so I did end up pinning the end of the swoop of her bangs so It would lay closer to the head. Looking forward to redressing this beauty.
Ending the Year with a WClub BANG!!
The Integrity Toys WClub may have had members playing the incessant waiting game this year with slow deliveries and slower than usual information releases but when they finally ship the product or give the information…it’s worth the wait. On Thursday, they released information and purchase specifics for the last WClub exclusive. Get ready folks and secure your jaws.
J’Adore La Fête
Elyse Jolie™ Dressed Doll Gift Set
The Fashion Royalty™ Collection
2015 W Club Exclusive
Limited Edition Size: TBA
Estimated Ship Date: Late Spring / Early Summer 2016
Regular W Club Price: $225.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax*.
Special W Club 10th Anniversary Price: $175.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax*.
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpts: Elyse Jolie
Body Type: FR2013
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Colors: Raven
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied
And…for this 10th anniversary edition, they are pulling out one often longed for luxury of giftsets past…a gorgeous case to put it in. This harkens back to the Haute Luxuries sets of the first years of Fashion Royalty dolls. Classy and so very much appreciated.
So the whole package comes to you like this…
The gown bears a striking resemblance to a couture Dior worn by Charlise Theron at the 2014 Oscars ( one of my picks that year for favorite gown of the Oscars)
source: www.huffingtonpost.com
While the doll loves the party, I am loving the entire giftset!! When I first saw this offering from the WClub, my thought was “Now THAT is a gift set!!!” If they wanted to leave the WClub members happy after a year of fairly large product delivery delays, this will do it. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for this one. I adore that this is a raven haired Elyse ( even though we received another brunette Elyse offering at convention but poor girl suffers from hydrocephalic hairstyle **see previous blog post**so there you have it). I love the makeup and hair and the gown, while still a little too close to black for me, is gorgeous. I am really loving the jewelry in this offering as well.
WClub members have a generous 2 and a half weeks to decide if they want to preorder this beauty. Deadline to order is Tuesday, January 5th, 2016 at Noon Eastern Time (New York Time).
Are WClub members excited about this offering?? Oh, I think so. 
Dusk Falls at Integrity Toys
For the past couple of years, Integrity Toys has sponsored a contest during their annual convention. It is a fashion design challenge. The judges for the competition are Jason Wu and his design team from Integrity Toys. The person who wins the competition has their design produced by Integrity Toys and it is offered up for sale in the following years collection. Pretty cool right? This past years convention design competition winner was Julia Leroy a very talented designer and photographer. She holds a masters in design so it is no surprise that she would bring those skills into her collecting. A most excellent design Julia!!! Thank you so much for sharing your designing talent and creativity with the collecting community.
As Dusk Falls
Eugenia Perrin Frost™ Dressed Doll
The Fashion Royalty® Collection
2014 Design Competition Award Doll by Julia Leroy
Edition Size: TBA (Based on all orders received)
Suggested Retail Price: $150 public/$130 W Club Members (+ Shipping and tax if applicable)
Estimated Delivery Date: Approximately Winter 2015/2016
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Eugenia
Body Type: FR 2013
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Colors: Golden Blond
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied
**Pictures of prototype shown below; final production colors and textures may vary slightly.**
This was Julia’s competition entry. You can follow Julia and her amazing "Culte de Paris" work on Flickr.
Best of all, this beauty will not just be available to WClubbers but the general public as well! Check the Integrity Toys shop for more info.
Integrity Toys Announces next 2015 WClub Exclusive
For all you Vanessa face mold fans…this one is for you!!
Black-Tie Ball
Vanessa Perrin® Dressed Doll
The Fashion Royalty® Collection
2015 W Club Exclusive
Limited Edition Size: TBA
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately Winter 2015-2016
Special W Club Price: $130.00 + Shipping, Handling and Applicable Sales Tax*.
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpts: Vanessa 1.0
Body Type: FR 2013
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Colors: Platinum
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand Applied
Is it just me or does it look like Vanessa has been out partying until the wee hours of the morning? Maybe it’s the sleepy eyed look. Speaking for this collector, ENOUGH with the black dresses and gowns already!! I love the cut of the gown, just wish it had been in a different color. I know black is chic and oh so Parisienne but it wouldn’t kill us to add a little color to the wardrobe. The jewelry and platinum hair on this one are TO DIE FOR. The look of valium she is sporting…not my thing. Now I realize that if they had pushed up her eyelashes a bit for the photo, she may not look so..well..sleepy. This is actually perfect for the “after” Black Tie Ball look. Still on the fence as to whether I am buying on this one. Deadline for WClub members is Thursday, September 10th at Noon Eastern Time (New York Time).
I have to give credit to Integrity Toys and their responsive team here. Originally they had advertised this beauty as a Vanessa 3.0 face mold and within 24 hours after collectors had questioned this on the WClub Forums…they issued a correction. She is in fact a Vanessa 1.0 face mold. Man oh man is it nice to hear and see that a company is listening to their collector forums and issuing a correction when need be. Sometimes a true and heartfelt “I’m sorry we were wrong” can make all the difference in the world. Live, Learn, Grow.
Agnes of the Jungle
I can’t take credit for this title…that goes to my husband Jon. He was my faithful reflector holder during this photo shoot and we both learned that a full size “human” reflector for these small shoots are super HOT! Had no idea how hot those things can get in full sun…to models all over the world…”I’m truly sorry you have to deal with this on a daily basis” So I re-dressed Ms. Agnes in uptown haute couture last time so I needed to go a different way. I went straight for the animal print and leather moto jacket. **It is important to note here that I had to undo the seam between the legs in the bodysuit top to get it to fit the FR2 body**
I dressed her in this outfit and all I could think of was a leopard laying on a tree branch. Once the vision is there, I was compelled to find myself a tree branch and drape her over it for this shot.
And since she is wearing animal print…had to do a Roberto Cavalli ad LOL!
** Note: No rhododendron bushes were hurt during the filming of this blog post. We may have inadvertently signaled a satellite in space with our reflector and for that we are truly sorry. **
Aristocratic Re-dress
Is it redress or re-dress?? Could not come up with a consensus so I just published anyway. This Agnes is stunning! The re-dressing ( again…not sure if I am using the right spelling) potential is high for this one. She can go casual chic or uptown haute couture very easily. She is very much the Baroness here. I need to get her a little 1/6 Louis Vuitton passport cover .
2015 Integrity Toys Convention is Announced …
…and the only words I can give you if you are not a WClub member are:
“You can’t touch this!”
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Last year, the Integrity Toys convention sold out in 48 hours. The information for signup was given first to WClub members yesterday around 1PM PST. There were 500 spots open for the three day event and they were “gone baby gone” by yesterday evening. The unprecedented sellout speaks volumes about this company and the growing popularity of their products. It will be interesting to see if I.T. decides to open this convention up to a bigger audience. I am on the fence about it. On one side I would love to see the event grow to accommodate all who wish to attend. On the other side, I don’t want to lose the intimate family reunion feel of this collector weekend. Clearly, Integrity Toys is doing something right if their conventions are sold out within hours of announcing to their most preferred customers. Way to get people to sign up for your WClub next year guys….well done! Lesson learned…if you want to attend an I.T. convention…you really do need to be in the club…the WClub that is. If you would like to join the wait list for this event go to the Integrity Toys website or FB page. I would post the link but as of this posting, they have not updated their site or FB page. Just keep checking back, I am sure they will have a link for the waiting list soon.
Convention will be October 21-24th in Long Beach California. The theme is “Cinematic” and according to the literature it will be a mix of Fashion Royalty old Hollywood glamour mixed with Nu Face current brat pack red carpet Hollywood chic. This year Integrity Toys is celebrating 20 years of being in business so who knows what they have in store for convention goers. They have also changed up things a bit by offering a special bonus cocktail party and souvenir doll to people who signed up for the “early bird” registration. This type of registration requires you to pay your registration fee of $475 up front instead of in installments( installment method requires payment of $500 over a couple months). It is basically a perk for people who pay all up front. It is a smart business move on Integrity’s part because they get money with which to pay their convention costs earlier rather than later. They also let their WClub members know a couple weeks in advance that they would be announcing the convention registration. This was thoughtful on a couple of different levels. It let people know that it was coming up so nobody should have been blindsided with a big $500 fee out of nowhere . It also said “We care about our preferred customers equally”. It said “we want everyone who really wants to go to have an equal chance of grabbing a ticket. Lastly, it rewarded the people who have saved up to go to this event and could pay everything up front.
Another big change this year and in my humble opinion a good one was the removal of formal proxies for convention. A proxy is when you pay someone to attend a convention for you. In a typical “proxy” situation, a collector will pay the registration fee and possibly hotel and travel charges for someone to attend the convention for them and then they get all the convention goodies( gifts, dolls and convention collection) at convention prices without actually having to attend. Given the secondary market prices of some of these limited and rare convention goodies, many people did this. I always wondered why Integrity Toys would even allow themselves to act as the intermediary in these arrangements. In the past, you could register under your name and your “proxy” would pick up your stuff. The bookkeeping alone on these arrangements must have been a nightmare. From a legal standpoint, these arrangements are lawsuits waiting to happen ( calling all lawyers to jump in here with your opinions). If someone legally registers to receive a product and you deliver that product to their “proxy”, then their “proxy” doesn’t deliver…who is on the hook for the product? By my estimations, because Integrity Toys put themselves in the middle of that one…they are left having to satisfy both parties. WHAT A NIGHTMARE. From a business standpoint, they are smart to get out of the business of proxies all together. People can still proxy but it is a private agreement between two individuals. I.T. is not involved. As far as they are concerned, they give product ( convention goodies) only to the person registered for convention. Smart, simple, clean.
Integrity Toys is doing something else different this year as well. They are giving a special convention doll to the WClub…not just convention going WClubbers but all WClub members if they are interested. It is a nice way of saying they value their customers and a nice boost to those who want to go to convention but just can’t swing it. Let’s face it, not everyone can go to these events. I feel lucky and blessed to have been able to go these past couple of years. You have to give it to a company that understands their customer base and is trying to speak to it’s ever changing and growing needs. Maybe I am being too philosophical but I liked the way they are handling it this year.
So…did I manage to snag myself a ticket in the free for all yesterday??? What do YOU think? 
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 
