Black and White Forever Barbie
2020 will be the final year for the BFMC Barbie adult collector line. While it is sad to see the end, I think it is time to let this one go. The line since the articulated body made it’s appearance and economy measures were installed at Mattel have really taken this line down to the basic level. Case in point, the first doll of the final series in 2020 is “Best in Black”
- Label: Gold Label®
- Designer: Robert Best
- Release Date: 11/20/2019
- Eyelashes: Painted
- Body Type: Poseable silkstone
- Included With Dress, pair of sheer socks,pair of shoes, & Doll Stand
- Facial sculpt: Vintage Silkstone
- Fashion Sewn On?: No
- Fashion: Jet-black mini dress with stylish leg-of-mutton sleeves
Ok…so if you were looking to design and offer a doll to symbolize a funeral for the BFMC line….Mattel hit the nail on the head. This doll is indeed headed to a funeral with all the austerity and solemnity that would entail. No jewelry, no handbag, socks shoes and a black dress. Okie Dokie. Not the way this amazing BFMC line of dolls should begin the end of its career in my opinion but here we are.
Who knows what the last entries for this line will entail but at this point, my hopes are not high. For it’s last offering of 2019, the BFMC managed to at least give us collectors a ball gown so I have decided to celebrate that with a blog post. Don’t get me wrong, the BFMC has thrilled and blown this collector away many times since 2001. I am happy to have been able to collect this line for the past 19 years. I am just sad to see it ending on such a low note.
This past season, I was able to add a tree to the ITFDS studio. The theme for the tree was all black and white. Chanel was an inspiration.
And it inspired me to give the 2019 Black and White Forever Barbie a photo shoot.
Barbie® Black and White Forever™ Doll
- Label: Gold Label®
- Designer: Robert Best
- Release Date: 6/04/2019
- Included with doll: Slingback shoes, Earrings, Doll Stand,gloves, petticoat,wrist tag
- Eyelashes: Painted
- Fashion: Petticoat, Slingback shoes
- Fashion Sewn On?: No
- Body Type: Posable BFMC
- Doll Stand: Yes
- Facial sculpt: 11590
She at least has some earrings 
. I’m not a huge fan of the articulated body or the glitter eye shadow but at least she has a ballgown. I also like the two toned white with black hair in an elegant updo. Is she worth the $100 price tag? I would wait for a sale on this one.
-Rebecca
Day 1 at the Museum
Model: Integrity Toys Out of Sight Nadja
Dress: Mizi Dolls Fashion “Paris”
Purse: Phillip Nuveen on Etsy
Earings and Shoes: Integrity Toys
Glasses: ITFDS
Miniature Portrait: Kelly Rinaldi ( contact her @ you_are_a_doll on Instagram)
Day 2 at the Museum
I don’t know about you guys…but one day at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is never enough for me. Apparently it wasn’t for Nadja either.
Model: Integrity Toys “Out of Sight” Nadja
Jacket, Dress, Hat, and Boots: Integrity Toys “Female Icon” Dasha
Floral jacket pin: Scrapbooking element….swear…to God LOL!
Purse: Tiny Frock Shop
Earrings: Integrity Toys
–Rebecca
Inspirational Thursday
Good Morning readers! Or for some of you it is afternoon or evening. Well, wherever you are in the world, are you ready for some inspiration? I was recently at the Integrity Toys Convention in Baltimore MD and I was captivated by some mini portraits that were so cleverly done I immediately snapped them up and look forward to adding more to my collection. The clever and talented artist is Kelly Rinaldi and she is seriously multi talented. She walked away with the the judges choice award for diorama and wowed shoppers with these mini portraits.
Sometimes, it’s one item that sends me into a whole different level of creativity. This past week, it has been these mini portraits…or rather just one.
Mini portrait: Kelly Rinaldi ( contact her on Instagram @you_are_a_doll )
Purse: Phillip Nuveen on Etsy
Dress: Mizi dolls
Shoes and jewelry: Integrity toys
Shopping bag and sunglasses: ITFDS
Above is the mood board going forward into the next week of posts. One of my favorite places on the planet to visit is NYC. Specifically I LOVE visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Frick Collection art museum and Laduree ( which happens to be just around the corner from The Frick). I give all the credit to this trifecta of NYC loveliness to my sistah friend Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture who used to be Young Fellow of the Frick and encouraged me to explore it when I was in NYC for my daughter’s Carnegie Hall performance ( yes, proud Mom name dropping ). It is truly a jewel box of a museum. That love of museum hopping in NYC and the new love for these mini portraits plus some stellar fashions I have recently added to my collection have Inspired the next couple of blog posts. I hope you enjoy them as much I have enjoyed creating, styling and shooting them.
–Rebecca
NBDCC 2019- The OOAK Parties
Many collectors show up days in advance of the actual start of convention to take part in room shopping and to participate in the One of A Kind (OOAK) parties by various artists. There is a rich and varied pool of artists that repaint and redress Barbie in haute couture. It’s one of my favorite parts of convention to be honest and I was honored to be allowed to photograph many of the shows. I apologize in advance for the shows I did not cover…namely Ninimomo. There were simply not enough hours in the day and too many amazing artists to photograph. I encourage you to scrounge the internet to find images of Nick and Marie’s amazing creations. They are not to be missed.
I have put the full set of images on my Flickr ( you can find the link on my sidebar…too the right on your screen) I have included a few of my favorite shots here.
The collection was sublime as always. Such a pleasure to see and be able to photograph these lovely pieces of art.
This year the talented duo of Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi payed tribute to the history of Barbie. They reimagined all the famous and popular looks of Barbie from her 1959 beginnings up through the current day. It was a thorough and imaginative collection with some truly stellar examples of couture Barbie.
Madame du Barbie interpretation
And the original…
Malibu Barbie interpretation
and the original…
Roman Holiday interpretation
and the original…
Every piece was a work of art!!! And lucky me…my number was chosen early and I got to come home with this lovely!!
Evening Splendor interpretation
and the original…
Another show that many collectors will show up early to ensure they won’t miss these works of art.
So many artist dolls to enjoy and photograph!! My cup runneth over 
Again, if you want to see the full set of images, head over to my flickr. All photos from the OOAK parties will be there by end of the day.
–Rebecca
NBDCC 2019–Let It Begin!!!
I have just returned from the National Barbie Doll Collector Convention which was held in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a big year this year as it is Barbie’s 60th birthday. The actual convention began on Wednesday, July31st but most avid collectors show up as early as the Sunday before to take advantage of amazing room shopping. Hilda Westervelt of Bellissima Couture and I opened on Monday for room sales. Here are a few of the shots of what we had available in our room.
Hilda’s exclusives for room shopping and sales room
And some fun eyewear and neck scarves from me….
Needless to say, we hit the ground running upon landing in Kansas City on Sunday 
Stay tuned….more blog posts on ooak designer parties and convention events coming up!!
–Rebecca
2018 NBDCC–Magia2000 OOAK Event
On Tuesday, Magia2000 unveiled their convention collection and it did not disappoint. This collection paid tribute to couture collections and designers of the past and present. All of the big couture houses were represented…Dior, Valentino, Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, YSL and the list goes on. The collection sold out in the hours it was up for bid and purchase. Many lucky collectors whose numbers were called early walked away happy campers.
Mario and Gianni also included inspiration photos next to each doll. I always love to see what inspires an artist to create.
The attention to detail by these two artists is really amazing! It is a treat to just see these pieces of art let alone be able to purchase them.
The complete set of photos will be up on my Flickr account(link in the side bar to the right) in about and hour. I will be uploading after this post. Hope you all enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed viewing this collection and photographing it.
-Rebecca
Doll Photography and Blogging: The Set
This one is the fun one…or at least I think it is. It’s about the diorama photos and all those little details. If set building for a photo is not your thing…this might not be your favorite episode. For me, this is the joy of what I do…creating that story and scene. Hope you walk away with a new idea or way to make your photos or collecting more fun and meaningful.
Don’t forget to upgrade to hi-def and full screen in bottom right corner of video.
–Rebecca
Doll Photography and Blogging: Light
So I attempt to do every Friday but some days…it will be later. This weeks mini segment is about light and how important it is when taking an image. Hope you all enjoy! Don’t forget to click on the HD button in bottom right of video to get high quality video and use the other button in bottom right of screen to get full screen.
–Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: Red Sparrow
Ok…so I couldn’t just leave this Elyse with just a Barbie makeover shot. I also wanted to show her in a more sophisticated look than the white and black sundress she came in. I was having some difficulty coming up with a different look for her and received some inspiration from an unlikely place…the current book I was reading.
Model: Jason Wu 10th Anniversary Doll “Nordstrom Exclusive”
Dress, cape, shoes, jewelry: Star Power Vanessa by Integrity Toys
Hat: Dimitha
Muff: Bogue’s Vogues
–Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: The B Word
For this installment of the Elyse Chronicles and my homage to the 10th Anniversary Jason Wu dolls, I’m using the Nordstrom’s Elyse. This doll was an exclusive release from the upscale retailer Nordstrom.
Ok come on….when the first images of this doll were released…even though many of us are Integrity Toys collectors…we all thought it…Barbie.
She looks a whole like like Miss Babs with the hairstyle and bright red lips, nails and toes. Given that, I just had to do this next set of photos. I just had to.
–Rebecca
