Who Is This Doll and Why Are They Calling Her Veronique?

Most of my readers know by now that the re-designing of Veronique is something I was opposed to. I believe she should have been discontinued if anything at all.  She is unique and was one of the two characters that launched the Fashion Royalty line. How can she be improved upon? She can't.
She can only become a new character. But the decision was made two years ago and the new Veronique has finally been introduced as Modern Comeback Noir and Blonde.  Each edition is 500 dolls and retails for $90. directly from IT. The opportunity to purchase the dolls has been offered as a lottery to W Club members only.

My personal reaction to these dolls is underwhelming. I was hoping for something I could love - something that attempted to be better than I expected - but what I got was ho-hum. Just another nice face and nice lingerie. Nothing new. This is not a comeback it is a drawback.
This doll should have been offered to all who wanted to buy her, not as a lottery. There are going to be lots of disappointed W Club members.

Last Few Hours to Sign Up for W Club 2011

Logo is the Property of the W Club

The end of the sign up period for this year's W Club membership is on Friday, January 21 at 10 AM CST.

http://www.integritytoys.com/wclubforum/2011clubregintro.html

Carol Roth Markets Her New Book and Doll to the W Club

Carol Roth, aka CJ, is the owner of and her company operates the W Club. The book is called The Entrepreneur Equation. There is a post on the W Club board which explains what the book is about. (Hint: it's not dolls.)

According to the post, the doll was created for the press

 

and Carol has set aside several (?) hundred for Club members. In order to get the doll you have to buy 6 books at $25. each. If you live in the States, that amounts to $150 plus $13 shipping.  Outside of the USA, shipping is $40. and you don't get the books at all, just the doll - except in Canada.

Why?
"Because of the outsourced fulfillment for this particular project, we are unable to send books outside of Canada and the US through our provider." In English that means that the company (provider/outsourcer) that is doing the shipping for them doesn't ship overseas.

 

I've just gotten 

an entire business lesson 

trying to 

disambiguate.

The doll uses the Anja sculpt and is on a Nu.Face body. She is dressed in a simple black sheath and comes with pink heels, a black handbag and a miniature version of the book.

It's a cute doll. 
The W Club is a business.

W Club Registration for 2011 is Open

Registration opened for the 2011 W Club yesterday.  A beautifully put together brochure is available.
It is a PDF download. Check it out.

The Fashion Royalty upgrade doll is a tanned Kyori in resort wear. Images in this post are the property of Integrity Toys, Inc.

Rising Sun Kyori $90. Plus Shipping (Plus $50 W Club Membership)

Hopefully, the designers will have the factory improve the fit of the jacket which looks awkward and ill-fitting in the prototype. I like big jewelry but this piece does not lay properly on the doll. The shoes look wonderful! Why no fabulous handbag?


The other optional upgrade doll is a rooted Avantguard with a new sculpt.

Spring Kissed $160. Plus Shipping (Plus $50. W Club Membership)

 

 It was a jaw-dropping moment to see this doll's face. Was she a giant Poppy or a super tall Dynamite Girl? Are the Avantguards to join the enormous ranks of cutesy teenage dolls?

Avantguard Compared to DG Neve

The rooted hair was a surprise. The fashion is very attractive; I want it for other dolls.  It seems out of character in this sophisticated line. I wonder what the top and shorts look like without the jacket on. Following in the wake of Bijou, this doll pales (literally) by comparison.
Collectors have been asking for a new AG sculpt. Is this what they had in mind?


I won't be buying the Kyori but I'm undecided about the AG only for the fashion. It's a good thing that I have until January 21, 2011 to make up my mind.

On a different topic that's sort of related, those of us who joined the 2010 Gene W Club for a year got only 6 months. We definitely should be compensated in some manner.

Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans

W Club members received an email explaining the situation with the factories in China. They reported that due to "changes" there is a high turnover of employees resulting in fewer employees who are now overburdened and need training. Another consequence is that less items are being produced and waiting periods are longer. Higher prices come along with this.
I vaguely remember that Jason said there would be a mini-collection at the end of the year. I assume that will not happen. 

http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/the_real_toy_story/index.html

The image above is one of many from a very interesting installation by photographer Michael Wolf. The caption under the image is the link to the story and more pictures about toy factory workers in China in 2004. Hopefully conditions have changed. 

Also announced :
-Integrity's "Toy Fair" will be held on-line (again) and they said the event doll is awesome.
-The 2011 convention will be held in Schaumburg, IL on October 6—8 with a cocktail reception on the evening of October 5.
-There will be a club exclusive Poppy Parker doll.

Link to the article in the Onion: 
Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans

 *Note to Trolls: This article does not say that Integrity makes shit. 

Dania Zarr "Lady in Waiting" & The Cost of W Club Dolls

Dania Zarr "Lady in Waiting" is the first of two 2010 W Club dolls. She arrived a few days ago and had her photo shoot last night. She looks just like the promotional photos...

Integrity Promo Photo

 

until you start to comb her hair to get the flyaways and other distracting hairs fixed. The more I tried to smooth it out, the worse it became. I used three different products by the time I was done and it still wasn't perfect. Photoshop helped this image a great deal in that area.
The jewelry is interesting. The earrings are overscaled and in real life they would tear her ears off. The necklace is stunning and I've seen loads of huge neckpieces on the market recently. It can be gently adjusted. My recommendation - put it on before you do her hair and tape it in place temporarily. It wants to turn around backwards.
The dress came with a stitch holding the skirt to the box between her legs which created a dip in the fabric. The bottom of the dress is rather stiff due to the applied ruffles so I don't know if that can be steamed to make the shape more moderate. I think if it were carefully pinned to shape and then steamed, it might hold. Her shoes are the omnipresent gladiator style with a platform sole.

W Club dolls are expensive when you do the actual math.
There is the base membership of $50. which shows up as $25 in the math below.

Dania cost $110 plus shipping per doll. Everyone got a $20 coupon so the doll came to $90 ps. which cost me $14.05 as I purchased two of them.
$90. + $25. + $7.02 =  $122.02 per Dania.

The second club doll, Anja, is selling for $135. plus shipping. If I order two and the shipping remains the same, that doll will cost me $135. + $25. + $7.02 =  $167.02! Holy Moly. That's a lot of money for a doll whose promotional photo looks iffy. She may actually be the only W Club doll that won't be purchased by me. 

There's also the upgrade membership which, this year, included the option to purchase an Avantguard doll (Freeze Frame) and a Fashion Royalty doll (Spring Forward Eugenia) neither of which I kept. That membership cost an additional $105. above the base membership. At least I think it did. The dolls were an additional sum.

W Club Exclusive Doll Avantguard BIJOUX

Bijoux is a French word meaning a small, dainty ornamental piece of delicate work or, as the adjective bijou, it describes something delicate, elegant or highly prized. That's a nice name for a doll.

This new Avantguard doll is described by Integrity as follows:

The Exclusive W Club Bijoux AvantGuards Doll wears a dark fuchsia satin gown with black contrasting embroidery, orange chiffon inserted accent panels and striking black netting. A dramatic sprinkle of gold on her eyes makes this doll the shimmering bijoux that she is. The fabulous tapered black bob wig delicately shapes her face. The jewelry that accents this fashion consists of a necklace with three black roses and matching earrings. To complete the ensemble, Bijoux wears black platform skyscraper shoes.

The price is $185. which is $40 less than prior releases. What happened? Is the price seeking the correct level at last?

W Club Mini Androgyny - Aphrodisiac Giftset

A nice sized box arrived the other day. It looked exactly like an Avantguard doll box. Opening it and peering inside at the two dolls was a really satisfying feeling. You know how it is when your expectations of a doll are met. It just makes you feel happy.

It is amazing that these two, who sport the Monogram sculpt, looked just like their bigger sisters. Actually, this mini Androgyny is prettier than the larger version. The outfits are almost exactly the same as well. I had heard that there was an issue with Andro being stained but mine did not have a mark on her. The pant suit is very, very tight and the fabric looked a little shaggy. The wigs, which are not shown, fit very well.  Each wig came packaged in its own teeny hatbox. The stands have the AG symbol on them - again exactly the same as the maxi AGs.

The new packaging sports little green rectangles here and there which are the moisture protectors being used now instead of the silica packets. Although there are a few packets amongst the accessories.

I decided that I didn't need to duplicate the outfits in miniature so I have redressed these dolls.
Androgyny is wearing a Kio wig, the outfit from Incandescent Monogram and carrying a Purse of the Month pink leather bag. Her diamond pin is from a Gene Marshall fashion. I have removed the hooks from the jacket as I like it better open and the hooks didn't look good.

I thought Aphrodisiac's exaggerated makeup would work with the outfit from Mina, Bride of Dracula. She is wearing a wig made for Puki Puki dolls. The pin on her lapel is from Facets. It attaches by means of a small magnetic disc.

I love these two dolls redressed. Because they are wigged gals, there are so many play possibilities. The giftset earns a 9 out of 10.  It's a winner.

First 2010 W Club Exclusive Doll Announced

Members of the W Club received the announcement and photos of the first W Club Exclusive doll on July 29. My first reaction was to the photography. I thought, "This is how I would photograph a doll I wanted to sell."
They are absolutely beautiful shots which showed the doll clearly and in several poses. I was truly impressed.

The doll is called "Lady in Waiting" and it uses the Dania Zarr sculpt on a Nu.Face body. According to the marketing email, "Dania has been working out and now is able to wear this tight fitted number over her smaller bust." Perhaps Dania has become bulimic as well? Time will tell.  Real life models get skinnier and skinnier and IT's dolls shrink down in size, too.

I'm not a big fan of the Dania sculpt but I love her dress and jewelry. She does look classic and beautiful and that's what most collectors have been wanting. I have sent in a query about the hem of the dress to find out if it's wired for shaping purposes. If it isn't, and it needs it, that would be a simple project.


The doll is available only to W Club members for $110. and must be ordered no later than August 13, 2010.