Happy Holidays!

Attempted to take some Christmasy-themed pictures for the blog.  They all stink.  This one stinks slightly less than the others, so I guess it's the winner.   Merry Christmas everybody!  And happy Hanukkah to all our Jewish friends.  Love you all!

"Spicy Night" Deja Vu by the Tonner Doll Company

Spicy Night was one of the more under-rated Deja Vu dolls to come out this year.  I think she was overshadowed by the flood of amazing historical costumes in this line.  I got Spicy Night because 1) she went on sale (best reason ever) and 2) I've never seen a bad picture of this particular doll.  There is something about the colors they used for her face that is so perfect, and I love green eyes.  (Plus, her hair is the same color as my daughter's, so there's that.)

I love her outfit.  I'm sure it's not to everybody's tastes, but something about it makes me think of Spain.  (The bolero?  The bold-colored, oversized lace?  Don't know.)  I want to go shopping in Madrid when I look at it, which is pretty pretentious of me, since I've never been to Spain in my life.  LOL!  I really have no idea if this outfit looks Spanish-inspired, or if it's just my ignorant view of what a Spanish-inspired fashion should look like.  In any case, it works for me.

I was a little let-down by the choice of fabric for the dress, though.  The yellow fabric is merely an inexpensive cotton knit.  The cranberry-colored lace, however, is meticulously sewn to the dress.  It's machine-sewn along the edges of the dress and bolero, with each of the roses being individually sewn on by hand.  The overall effect is stunning, though, and I love the design.  The bolero is a separate piece, by the way, so you can take it off and just have the doll wear the strapless dress on its own.  (The black part of the bodice is attached to the skirt.)

I tried this outfit on a couple of my other dolls.   On my 16" Poppy Parker Fashion Teen, the dress fit in the waist, but was too small in the bust.  I couldn't get the top snap closed.  On an Antoinette, it fit even worse:  it fit in the waist, but I couldn't get the top TWO snaps closed.  It absolutely wouldn't fit a Tyler doll. 

The shoes are cute and different, and work perfectly with the outfit.  *Loves*

The jewelry is pretty nice, too.  I took a close-up of the bracelet so you can see it.  It goes with the earrings, and has a real clasp so it won't fall off your girl, not one of those annoying hooks.  I love Integrity Toys' doll jewelry, but they like to use hooks on doll bracelets, and they're absolutely terrible.  When a bracelet uses a hook and no clasp, it falls off the doll every two seconds.  I think overall, Integrity makes better doll jewelry than Tonner, but boy, it'd be nice if they stopped using hooks on jewelry.  So, Tonner definitely did it right with this bracelet.

I have to warn you about the headband:  It's sewn to the doll's head in five places, and the only way to get it off is with a seam ripper or scissors.  It does NOT have an elastic band, so once you snip it off, it's just a simple strip of fabric.  In order to get it on the doll again, you'd have to hand-sew snaps or bit of elastic to the ends, and tailor it yourself to turn it into a usable headband again. 

And a couple more random pictures.  Click on the pictures to see them larger.

Adios.

Fr16 Afterhours Hanne

Today is FR16 day!

... Mainly because I entered the W Club lottery for this lovely After Hours Hanne, and managed to get her.  She was an Integrity Toys convention doll this year, but they had some left over after the convention, and offered her (and the other left-over dolls) to W Club members in a special lottery.  Yay!  I was so happy to get her.  She looks amazing next to Obsidian Culture Hanne, her fiery red-headed cousin. 

I'm so in love with this new, side-glancing eye screening.  I SO HOPE they use it again next year.  We now need a Hanne with black hair and green eyes, with After Hours' face screening.  Are you listening, Integrity?  Hee hee.

Integrity writes her name on the box as "Afterhours" (one word).  Seeing as I'm a journalist who used to work for a newspaper, this FREAKS ME OUT.  That should not be squished together as one word.  It just shouldn't.  Yes, I'm a Grammar Nazi (or, in this case, spelling).  It's like if they'd squooshed her cousin's name together as "Obsidianculture Hanne."  Nope.  Just nope.

The dress is fabulous.

The whole dress is lined, with perfectly-scaled mini-sequins.  Her bracelet is lovely, and seems to be identical to the bracelet they gave "Ma Cherie" Poppy Parker Fashion Teen.  She comes with black strappy-type shoes (sorry, didn't get a picture). 

Her coloring makes me think she's a South American beauty who's dyed her hair blonde.  Is she a model or a movie star?  We don't know.

Later,

Lammily scalping has begun

I was taking some pictures today to get ready to post about a completely different type of doll, but then I noticed THIS.  The Lammily scalping has begun.  The same people also have listed the dolls on Amazon for almost $70.  DON'T BE FOOLED BY THESE PEOPLE!  The Lammily doll is not sold out, and is still available on the lammily.com web site for $25, and they ship internationally.  As far as I know, it's an open edition.

One of the scalpers was brazen enough to put his own watermark on the Lammily company's photos.  Sigh.  Seriously?  You don't own those photos, dude.  Why are you putting your own watermark on them?

Yegads.

Lammily dolls officially launched

There are always room for more dolls in the world.  This is my motto, and I'll stick to it. 

I like this doll.  Mostly.  I don't generally feature dolls on my blog that I DON'T like, so there you go.  I'm intrigued by her, at least, and wanted to devote a post to her.  I don't have this doll, but I'm seriously thinking of getting one.  She might be the only adult doll in creation who has short little legs like I do!  Also, she's nicely articulated (invisible joints in the elbows and knees, as well as joints in the wrists and ankles), and the $25 price is surprisingly low considering this is not a hugely mass-produced doll. 

She's the Lammily doll, by artist Nickolay Lamm.  She first got attention as a crowd-funder project, and is now officially in production. The first dolls will begin shipping in a week!  (Nov. 28, 2014, according to the web site.)

There are a couple of videos on Youtube about her.  I was scrolling through the comments on them, and was surprised at how mixed the reactions to the Lammily doll were.  Some people loved her.  Some people either didn't like her proportions, or else they seemed to be insulted that the creator was comparing his doll to Barbie.  Let's face it, Barbie has a lot of fans.  She's been the standard for a long time.  The way I feel about it is that this world has enough room for both Barbie AND Lammily dolls.  They aren't direct competitors:  Barbie is the reining queen of the toy aisles, while Lammily dolls fit neatly into a niche market for people who want something different and unexpected.  That's awesome.  I'd happily have both on my shelf. 

I think the debut doll has a great face: a pretty head sculpt, and nicely-done face paint.  I love that her legs aren't insanely long. (Looking at YOU, Fashion Royalty "tall" body!  LOL.)  I like her, overall. 

At first, I had an issue with wishing her body was a teeny bit skinnier. I think it's because Lammily's biggest selling point is that she's supposed to be an "average"-sized 19-year-old.  But what is "average" for that age?  My body looks like this now at age 40-something, but when I was 19, I was skinnier than this girl.  Of course, there are plenty of 19-year-olds with bodies like this doll's, too, and I sure as heck don't represent everybody.  Never have, never will.

Perhaps it would have been better if Lamm hadn't assigned an age to her, since then she could be any age we wanted her to be in our imaginations. If I'd had to guess her age, I would have said "late 20s," not 19. 

I think what intrigues me the most about this girl is that I've always wished for fashion dolls to be shorter-proportioned and have shorter legs, so in that sense, she's the doll I've always wanted.  I love pretty dolls, but I don't think every pretty doll has to have super-long limbs like the tallest runway models.  There's nothing wrong with that, but it's refreshing to see a change, as well.

Anyway, she's cute and personable, and looks like she'd be fun to play with, with her articulated elbows and knees.  The creator has even come out with separate fashions for her, which will be available in January. 

The box art (left) is exquisite, by the way!

Her web site is here, if you're curious:  https://lammily.com/

*Photos are the property of the creator and are used with permission.

2014 Poppy Parker Fashion Teens

These ladies are 16" Poppy Parker Fashion Teens by Integrity Toys:  Floating Dream (blonde) and Sunny Splash (brunette).  I posted these pictures on the W Club forum, but this is their first appearance here.  Just wanted to share the pictures!  Dream is wearing a Gene gown (um, I think ... I got it secondhand) and Splash is wearing an Alex dress.

Floating Dream has such a beautiful hairstyle!  I hope this hair never gets messed up.  I want her to look like this forever.  (Hate the name "Floating Dream," though ... It sounds a little corny.  LOL.)  She's a romantic girly-girl.

Sunny Splash looks like more of a sporty girl, with her no-nonsense hair and confident expression.  I didn't get any pictures of Splash in her original bathing suit outfit.  Sorry.  I couldn't wait to redress her.  She'd gotten sand in the swimsuit and was dying to take it off.  LOL.

Here's Dream in her original gown. It's beautifully constructed, with a fairly elaborate bodice design, and hooks up the back instead of a zipper.  When I was photographing her I somehow managed to get a spot of dirt right on her bust, so I had to take the gown off to hand-wash the dirt out in the sink.  Ack!  That was actually what prompted me to put her in the black gown shown up above.  She rocks black, too, though.  I think she'd pretty much work in any color. 

 

Included this closeup (below) just so you can see the necklace better.  The pearls are strung onto string.  It doesn't seem like the sturdiest-made necklace in the world, but it looks quite nice.  The stone part makes me think of topaz, and does look very much like a genuine gemstone, although I'm sure it must be fake. 

The last picture is just so you can see Sunny Splash and It's A Wrap side-by-side, for comparison.  They look so different!  Both side-glancing with brown hair, but with completely different looks.  Splash has grey eyes, by the way, while It's A Wrap (on the left) has blue. 

That's all for now.  Hugs!

Just In Time Ellowyne Wilde

I took these pictures a while ago and then never got around to posting them!  This is "Just In Time" Ellowyne by Wilde Imagination.  Her outfit is so fun and steampunk-y.  She comes with the goggles and the hat.  The goggles are on an elastic band, and can be worn by the doll, or draped over the hat as decoration.  She looks so funny with the goggles on, so I had to show you a picture.  (They don't really have lenses, though.)  The hat also has an elastic band you can loop under her chin, so it stays on her head quite nicely. 

I haven't undressed her yet, but I can see she has a cream-colored blouse on underneath the jacket.  The jacket fastens in front with snaps. 

The original promo pics of this doll showed her with green eyes, so that's what I was expecting, but mine came with blue eyes!  I was astounded to see the surprise eye color, but she was so pretty that I didn't make an issue of it to the company.  Since I bought her, Wilde Imagination has since changed the listing to say "blue eyes" instead of green, and photoshopped one of the promo pics to change her eye color.  LOL! 

Please click on the pictures to make them bigger.  :)

Lalaloopsy Tinies

These belong to my daughter, but I thought I'd photograph them for the blog.  They're just so stinking cute.  They're only 1 inch high!  (2.5 centimeters.) 

I won't do a review, but I had to share the cuteness.  It's like having a little tiny army of sweetness in the house.  The only thing I don't like about them is that they all have very tiny holes in the tops of their heads, going all the way through to the bottoms of the feet, like the company that made them (MGA Entertainment) thought kids would want to string them like beads.  I suppose you could make a doll necklace out of them if you wanted to.  A CUTE doll necklace.

As usual, click on the pictures to make them bigger.  I try to keep the pictures a reasonable size on the main page so the page will load faster.

A zelf decided to jump into the picture. What could I do? 

The one on the left is wearing a doughnut for an outfit.  LOL.

Later, alligator.

Photo shoot with the 16" girls

With the reveal of the 2014 Poppy Parker Fashion Teens, I was inspired to take pictures of a few of my 16" girls.  This is "Winter Wowzers" in an Alex outfit; "One Fine Day" in the outfit from FR16 Obsidian Culture Hanne; and "Spring Morning" in One Fine Day's clothes.

I've discovered the older I get, the worse my eyesight gets.  And the worse my eyesight gets, the more I like 16" dolls over 12".  Sigh.


Now two last pictures, of "One Fine Day" and "It's A Wrap." I took these pictures last week, but haven't had an opportunity to post them yet. Poor Wrap gets outshined in pretty much every picture she's in because of her muted face paint.  Here she's favoring Kate Middleton in a white Tonner outfit with a feathery fascinator, and Fashion Royalty earrings.  "Day" is wearing Gene Marshall.  It is super nice that these girls (and Tulabelle, too) can wear both Gene outfits and Alex outfits, as well as most Tonner clothes.

I've noted that Alex pants are short in the leg for them, but they do fit in the waist. I've never owned an Alex, but she must be a shorter girl.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

New 16" Poppy Parker Fashion Teens

Integrity recently revealed their 2014 Poppy Parker Fashion Teen 16" collection!  Love all of them, although so far I've only ordered the two brunettes.  I kept watering and fertilizing that money tree, but it's just not growing very fast this year.  As soon as it blooms, I'll get the other two. 

The theme this year is a trip to Paris, and these outfits were apparently what designer David Buttry imagined Poppy wore at various times during her Paris stay.  Love that.  Very creative!

The one that seemed the most popular on the W Club forum (Integrity Toys' official club forum) was "Fashionably Suited," the one in the pink suit and navy blue hat.  Gorgeous, and she's my favorite of the group.  She made me think of actress Olivia de Havilland, probably just because of the hair and eye color.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of beautifully-tailored suits (both on dolls AND on people), so I had to get this one.  The doll looks like she'll have several nice mix-and-match pieces, because she has on a navy blue "shell"-type top on underneath the pink suit jacket.  The bow at the neck is actually a separate scarf, not connected to the blouse.  I love the hat, too.  The  MegaPoppys always come with the best hats.

And I'm SO GLAD there is another brown-eyed 16" Poppy, because up until now, there has only ever been ONE brown-eyed 16" Poppy, and that was Love Letters from a couple years ago. 

My second choice was the one in the lavender beach wear.  Swimsuits, however, are a throw away outfit for me ... meaning I throw them in a drawer and never look at them again.  Ha!  Not a swimsuit fan, although the lavender ruffles are so beautifully done.  It really IS a pretty swimsuit, but I don't want my dolls standing around in swimsuits.  The beach beauty is called "Sunny Splash."  Her face paint is wonderful.  I think this will be a beautiful doll redressed.  I have zero interest in the outfit.

My third favorite was "Ma Cherie," the green-eyed blonde in the turquoise dress.  The dress is very reminiscent of the dress from the 12" Foto Fab Poppy.  I loved it on her, and I love it in 16" form as well.  The styles are a bit different; the 16" dress is not an exact replica of the 12" one.  It's a lovely style, though, and fluffy cocktail dresses are my absolute favorite among favorites, so I'll have to get this one for her clothes eventually.

I do like her face as well, though.  I don't normally dig bright blue eyeshadow on dolls, but it looked so good on last year's Winter Wowzers that I have high hopes it will look great on Ma Cherie as well.

Last on my list is the platinum blonde in the coral gown, who is called "Floating Dream."  Seeing this gown reminded me of a similar Tonner gown in coral, which he did both in the 22" size AND in the 10" size for Tiny Kitty.  Integrity's version isn't TOO similar to Tonner's, but it would have helped if they hadn't been the same color.  LOL.  I have to say, the ruffles on the Integrity gown look very opulent and amazing.  The Tonner gown didn't have the ruffles or the sequins on the skirt, and the bodice was cut differently.

I would have loved this Poppy gown in a bronze-brown, especially if the doll had had brown eyes, too.  I never loved coral, anyway (or chartreusse, either).  She's pretty, though, and I don't have a 16" Poppy with that hair color yet.  I'm not really sure if I'm going to get this one or not.  We'll see.

Here's the Tonner gown I mentioned, on "Champagne Supper" Tiny Kitty.  I just thought it would be interesting to compare the two.  There are a lot of differences, so it's very obvious that one isn't a copy of the other.  I think it's more a matter of there only being a finite number of colors in this world, and that both gowns reflect the same time period, the 1950s and 1960s.  I love the clothing from that period, which is probably why I'm both a Tiny Kitty fan AND a Poppy Parker fan.





Later,

FR16 Obsidian Culture Hanne Erikson

I didn't get this doll when she first came out.  It took seeing owner photos of her with her hair down before I realized what a stunning beauty she is.  The first time I saw the original promotional pictures of Obsidian Culture Hanne, I was in awe of how detailed the suit is, with the embroidered pink leaf design all down the sleeves and collar.  The jacket has working pockets!  The veil is on a headband that's adjustable, so it fits perfectly and doesn't need pins to hold it on.  The purse is detailed, and really looks like a minature of some haute couture purse.  The whole ensemble is amazing.  But I wasn't ready to jump into buying this newly-revamped FR16 line. 

The thing is, I'd bought three of the original FR16 dolls (one of Integrity Toys' 16" doll lines).  I kept waiting for them to release more like the original Freya, Anais and Elsa (the three I had), but instead, they decided to change the way they painted the eyes.  So there were new FR16 dolls this year, but they didn't match the ones I already had.  Sigh.  The new dolls had a more realistic look, as opposed to the slightly more doll-like look of the older FR16s.  

So, because they didn't quite match the dolls already in my collection, I resisted buying them.

But then I saw some pictures of Hanne redressed, with her hair down.  Suddenly she seemed amazing to me, and I had to have her.  It's astounding what one little change can do for the look of a doll. 

So when she arrived, that hair didn't stay up any longer than it took to snap a couple of pictures.  She went from eccentric fashionista to goddess in 30 seconds.  Taking the hair down was very easy.  It involved snipping two rubber bands, and unwinding one lock of hair that'd been wound around the base of the ponytail.  Then I just gently pulled the hair down with my fingers to give it its current look.  There was no bald spot in the back of the head.



Left:  How she looked right out of the box, before I took that down that giant mass of curls.

The set came with fur-trimmed gloves.  I made one half-hearted attempt at putting them on, but putting gloves on Integrity Toys dolls is like vacationing in the 10th Circle of Hell, so I left them in the box.  She couldn't wear her awesome ring at the same time she had the gloves on, anyway, and I wanted to show off the ring.  It's such a charming little accent, with a black stone in it to reflect her name, Obsidian.  The earrings are wonderful, too.  It's interesting they have pink stones to match the embroidery on the jacket, rather than a black stone like the ring.  It's an intriguing design detail that I find quite natural-looking.  How many people have rings that perfectly match their earrings, anyway?

 The one negative thing I have to say about Obsidian is not about the doll itself.  It's about her stand.  The stand was useless with my doll, because her skirt was so tight that I couldn't fit the stand underneath it.  If her skirt had been looser, the stand would have worked.  I'm going to have to get a waist-grip stand for her, because there's no way the average Integrity stand is going up that tight skirt.  (That sounds rude, but you know what I mean.  LOL!)

You'll notice I don't have any pictures of Hanne on her stand. 

Obsidian Culture is an exclusive at Couture Dolls.  There is one other version of Hanne, a blue-eyed blonde in a really incredible white dress ("Platinum Society" Hanne).   I had a hard time choosing between the two, and I *might* cave and buy the blonde for myself for Christmas. 



And now for a few more random pics.

Click on the pictures to see them larger.