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
Giselle in the Flowers
Wow!! Do I even know how to do this anymore? {snort}. I’m not going to lie people…it felt like rusty gears starting to work again setting up for this photo shoot and getting it done. When all was said and done, I have to honestly say…”Dag it felt good!!”
I have always been a fan of Vogue style editor Grace Coddington and her work. When I first had the idea for this image, I thought of her and her styling and went from there. I had to use this glorious background and then I needed natural light. For those who follow me on Instagram, I teased a few photos there.
Here are a couple quick behind the scene shots and a little peak at my new studio space….will be sharing more of that through the holiday season 
.
And after some post production magic…this is what we have.
I think this Giselle was the breakout hit from last years Integrity toys convention. Many people had difficulty seeing past the the retinal searing yellow outfit she sported. I have to admit, I almost didn’t get her. But then I took a second look at her soft makeup palette and decided, “yeah…I can work with that”. Believe it or not, I had an image in my mind close to this final floral image when I first bought her over a year ago. Yes…I really do have images sitting in my head that long and longer before I can get it on film. So often, it never gets rendered. I was happy to get it and bring it forth today. Hope you all enjoy.
–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
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
The Elyse Chronicles: La Vie en Rose
The first doll released from the Jason Wu 10th Anniversary collection was the La Vie en Bleu Elyse. The option to purchase her was given to each 2016 Integrity Toys Convention attendee.
So in keeping with the theme I started, since she came to us originally in an evening look, I thought to put her in a daywear look. I looked no further than a new uber chic suit I received from Etsy designer and seller HoangAnhKhoi.
And what blog post called “La Vie en Rose” could not include a link to this…
The Elyse Chronicles: Daywear to Nightwear
The Bergdorf Goodman Elsye in the navy pants and yellow and navy sweater is clearly a daywear look. To me it is VERY Sonya Rykiel and while I loved the turban on the real life fashion, I don’t feel it translated well to 1/6 scale.
Perhaps the turban will be put to good use elsewhere in my collection…that remains to be seen but…I needed to transform this Elyse from daywear to eveningwear.
Talk about DRAMA!
Model: Bergdorf Goodman Elyse Navy Pant
Gown: And Another Thing Kyori gift set by Integrity Toys
Jewelry and Shoes: Malefique Elyse
Love the short slicked back hairstyle and the facial screening on this one.
-Rebecca
