There was much unpicking involved in my working process during the last few days, it has been growing at a slower pace.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
2005 Fashion Royalty - A Fashionable Life - Vanessa Perrin
The year was 2005 - a year of amazing Fashion Royalty dolls including:
Born to Gamble Kyori
Flirtatious Veronique
Bodacious Adele
Age of Opulence Isha
Amazing gift sets including:
Poesie Sans Couleur Vanessa
Ginza Blond and Redhead Kyori
A Fashionable Life Raven and Platinum.
It was also the year for furniture including the chaise, coffee table, liquor cabinet and bed.
I started collecting FR in earnest that year as well. I got the platinum AFL right away but it took several years to get her sister. This week, they were both redressed in Talking Drama Adele's gown. I dyed the steel blue version.
I love these dolls. There is something about handling the 'older' Fashion Royalty dolls and redressing them that is very satisfying and comfortable.
I think I'll do Poesie next.
Born to Gamble Kyori
Amazing gift sets including:
Poesie Sans Couleur Vanessa
Ginza Blond and Redhead Kyori
A Fashionable Life Raven and Platinum.
I started collecting FR in earnest that year as well. I got the platinum AFL right away but it took several years to get her sister. This week, they were both redressed in Talking Drama Adele's gown. I dyed the steel blue version.
I think I'll do Poesie next.
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.
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
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 |
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...
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.
 |
| Integrity Promo Photo |
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.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Why do we love the Nativity Scene?
We love Nativity Scenes, don't we? "Isn't the baby doll cute?" "Aren't Mary and Joseph sweet?" "I like the part about the angels. Wow, supernatural!" "Can I arrange the animals and the figures in the stable, please, Mama?" Those are just a few of the comments we hear.
But, really, why do millions of people celebrate the birth of this particular baby called Jesus? It's not just because it's a cute scene with a sweet baby. It's WHY he was born that is the reason for the celebrating! Isaiah tells us the answer. The Bible says even as a child Jesus said he had a special purpose ("I must be about my Father's business." ) Luke 2: 49 In fact, His work started long before that--because He was "in the beginning" John 1:1 In the book of John "the Word" means Jesus and God because only God could tell and show us about Himself). Jesus/God is the Creator. God actually has 3 parts: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (our Counselor, teacher, prompter). The point is that when Jesus came to earth, he was not just a special man but God.
So Jesus as a part of our three-in-one God, was all set up in Heaven; but He came to earth to be born in a dirty stable and later to be crucified on a cross. Why would He do that? The book of Matthew says that Jesus Christ came to be your Savior. Matthew 1:21 That was His plan. The Bible says He came to seek and save those who are lost. He created all of us so why would He want us to be lost? I remember once I lost my little girl in a grocery store, I was frantic and did everything I could to find her so surely our Creator would do the same for us.
"Hold on!" somebody might say, "I'm not lost!" Let's see. How do you answer this question? Have you asked Christ Jesus to come live in your heart? The Bible says that if you haven't, you are lost. Luke 19:10
So what? Those without Christ are really lost. They are confused like wanderers in the dark! They are lost because without Jesus to forgive and clean them from their sins, they are separated from God.There is no light to guide them.Jesus said He is the Light of the world. John 8:12 To live with God, we have to be clean and we can't do it ourselves. We are cleaned through the Grace of God, Jesus's work of dying for our sins, taking our punishment and conquering death and sin on our behalf. He calls us while we are sinners. We can't try to be really good and then feel like we're good enough to be saved. Jesus says He calls the sinners, not the righteous (Matthew 9:13) We can't even forgive ourselves to get close God. Jesus, because he is perfect as man and God, had to take the punishment for us to pay for our sins. So we have to ask Him to forgive us. That's why He was born!
We don't have to be in the darkness separated from God. It's lonely and awful there. He wants you to be with Him. That is His desire. John 3:16-17 He loved you before you knew about him. He loves you even when you're sinning and didn't even want forgiveness. Romans 5:8 If you don't ask Him to forgive you and come into your heart, you'll miss the whole point of Christmas. When you do ask Him in, you will have great joy even in tough times. What a Christmas present! That's one reason why we sing "Joy to the World".
But, really, why do millions of people celebrate the birth of this particular baby called Jesus? It's not just because it's a cute scene with a sweet baby. It's WHY he was born that is the reason for the celebrating! Isaiah tells us the answer. The Bible says even as a child Jesus said he had a special purpose ("I must be about my Father's business." ) Luke 2: 49 In fact, His work started long before that--because He was "in the beginning" John 1:1 In the book of John "the Word" means Jesus and God because only God could tell and show us about Himself). Jesus/God is the Creator. God actually has 3 parts: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (our Counselor, teacher, prompter). The point is that when Jesus came to earth, he was not just a special man but God.
So Jesus as a part of our three-in-one God, was all set up in Heaven; but He came to earth to be born in a dirty stable and later to be crucified on a cross. Why would He do that? The book of Matthew says that Jesus Christ came to be your Savior. Matthew 1:21 That was His plan. The Bible says He came to seek and save those who are lost. He created all of us so why would He want us to be lost? I remember once I lost my little girl in a grocery store, I was frantic and did everything I could to find her so surely our Creator would do the same for us.
"Hold on!" somebody might say, "I'm not lost!" Let's see. How do you answer this question? Have you asked Christ Jesus to come live in your heart? The Bible says that if you haven't, you are lost. Luke 19:10
So what? Those without Christ are really lost. They are confused like wanderers in the dark! They are lost because without Jesus to forgive and clean them from their sins, they are separated from God.There is no light to guide them.Jesus said He is the Light of the world. John 8:12 To live with God, we have to be clean and we can't do it ourselves. We are cleaned through the Grace of God, Jesus's work of dying for our sins, taking our punishment and conquering death and sin on our behalf. He calls us while we are sinners. We can't try to be really good and then feel like we're good enough to be saved. Jesus says He calls the sinners, not the righteous (Matthew 9:13) We can't even forgive ourselves to get close God. Jesus, because he is perfect as man and God, had to take the punishment for us to pay for our sins. So we have to ask Him to forgive us. That's why He was born!
We don't have to be in the darkness separated from God. It's lonely and awful there. He wants you to be with Him. That is His desire. John 3:16-17 He loved you before you knew about him. He loves you even when you're sinning and didn't even want forgiveness. Romans 5:8 If you don't ask Him to forgive you and come into your heart, you'll miss the whole point of Christmas. When you do ask Him in, you will have great joy even in tough times. What a Christmas present! That's one reason why we sing "Joy to the World".
Couture Sleuthing
I searched couture images everywhere this afternoon looking for a style that could have been the inspiration for Anja's gown. There are plenty of hem lines that are shorter in the front. The photo below shows last season's Avantguard "Hot to Trot" in profile compared to "Regal Solstice."
Another collector sent me this image of a Balenciaga design which certainly inspired "Hot to Trot."
The Dior below has many design similarities and may be the closest couture item that could be identified as inspiration for Regal.
I could not find the shape of the bodice which resembles opened petals that stand away from the body. I'm starting to think that the factory may not have interpreted the look properly. I believe the images we were presented with are prototypes.
The Valentino dresses below show a wrapped style that could be related to Anja's gown as far as the gathered, ruffly upper part. But these dresses have a closer fitted bodice that is very flattering to the female body and works with the rest of the fashion. Hopefully, there will be an adjustment in the bodice on the finished product for Anja.
If I could sew really well, I'd fit the bodice to the body more closely. Then I would add many more layers of tulle under the chartreuse as can be seen in the black/yellow Dior above. I'd get rid of the black straps that look like a bra and pick up one of the brighter colors.
I give the designer/s an A for effort. Now if only the factory could interpret the designers' wishes to provide us with an edgy as opposed to messy fashion.
Some Armani and Dior eye candy for your enjoyment follows:
 | |
| Hot to Trot and Regal Solstice |
The Valentino dresses below show a wrapped style that could be related to Anja's gown as far as the gathered, ruffly upper part. But these dresses have a closer fitted bodice that is very flattering to the female body and works with the rest of the fashion. Hopefully, there will be an adjustment in the bodice on the finished product for Anja.
If I could sew really well, I'd fit the bodice to the body more closely. Then I would add many more layers of tulle under the chartreuse as can be seen in the black/yellow Dior above. I'd get rid of the black straps that look like a bra and pick up one of the brighter colors.
I give the designer/s an A for effort. Now if only the factory could interpret the designers' wishes to provide us with an edgy as opposed to messy fashion.
Some Armani and Dior eye candy for your enjoyment follows:
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Rudolph Valentino
In addition to boudoir dolls, I have a collection of vintage photos of Rudolph Valentino. The photo, above, was taken by Mabel Sykes. The photo, below, was taken in 1925.
On the back of this photo is typed "Rudy Arrives in New York. New York.....photo shows Rudolph Valentino, the erstwhile Sheik of the silver sheet, as he arrived in New York this morning on the Twentieth Century. He has recently been separated from his wife, Winifred Hudnut. 12-7-25" and it's stamped "Nov 14 1925."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)