Review of FR:16 "Perfect Layout" Freja Mossimo

Freja wearing a Gene outfit.

I saw someone was selling Freja secondhand, and, having a rather empty bank account due to other pre-orders, I asked if they'd be willing to make a trade.  Lucky me, they accepted, and so I now have my first FR:16!  Sending many hugs to my trading partner, Don!

Since the FR:16s are a new line, I thought I'd do a review. 

First off, I'm totally in love with this sculpt.  This is the face sculpt that previously had seven incarnations in the AvantGuards line by Integrity Toys, beginning with "Eclectic," "Lush" and "Livewire." I'm so glad Integrity resurrected this face for their FR:16 line!  However, instead of the anorexic AvantGuard bodies, the FR:16s have a new, curvier, beautiful body sculpt.  A HUGE improvement!  Freja's body is not floppy, either, like many of the AvantGuards were.  This girl would actually look nice in a swimsuit.

The jewelry Freja came with was very simple (stud earrings and two bracelets).  Not exciting, but at least it kept the cost down.  I was pleased to discover her sweater is a separate piece from the skirt!  I've spent the past month thinking it was a one-piece dress.  She comes with panties underneath the skirt, which is also nice.  No pantyhose. 

Her hair is rooted.  No wigs!

Pluses: 
1. Her toes are hinged so that she will fit into a wide variety of shoes of differing heights.  This will make it easy to find shoes for her.  She literally can wear both flat shoes AND heels equally well.
2. The makeup is nicely applied and blended.  Lips are pink, but not TOO pink. 
3. She has the "handspeak" system, which means her hands pop out so it's easier to re-dress her in tops with tight-fitting sleeves. 
4. Sweater is a separate piece from the skirt for more re-dressing mixing and matching. 
5. Since she is 41cm / 16" tall, she can fit into a lot of Tyler Wentworth outfits, and some Gene outfits.  (Some Gene outfits will be too tight, however.  It seems like the Integrity-made Gene clothes fit better than the older Gene outfits.)

Minuses: 

1. Sweater does NOT open in the back at all, which makes it difficult to get on and off the doll. 
2. The shoes are delicate and one of the shoes on mine has already come apart.  The shoes are attractive, though. 
3. Her articulation is slightly less perfect than the articulation the AvantGuards had, although the body is so much more attractive that this really doesn't bother me in the slightest.  She's still very nicely articulated. 
4. The toe joint isn't attractive.  My 4-year-old said "Look!  She has MONKEY TOES!!!"  LOL.  Well, I guess sometimes we have to trade esthetics for functionality, eh?

I will definitely be posting more redress pics here at some later date. 

Overall:  I love her.

What they could do better:  Make those awesome sweaters so they open in the back!

Thanks for reading. :)