Saturday, February 1, 2014

Auld Lang Syne

This past week I had a couple "snow days" from school.  On the second day, I was beginning to experience cabin fever and had to do something to take my mind off being locked up in the house.  I decided to revisit a doll line that has been really neglected lately.

The second Integrity line that I ventured into was Misaki.  2006 was a very good year for these dolls.  I remember seeing photos of Honey Harajuku and falling completely in love with this doll.  Honey has had many story lines and photos during the past 8 years.   She is the exception to my rule about stray hair.  Somehow, I just don't care with her.  She is just so stinking adorable!
Honey has two other friends who have been with her since the beginning.  They are Perfect in Paris:
and Dreadfully Cute:
In my "doll world", these three are roommates and share a loft in Europe while studying abroad.  I have several other Misaki dolls that are still in their boxes.  Over the years, I have sold a few and really regret it now.  Below is the rest of my collection:

Unfortunately, I believe Misaki suffered from the introduction of Poppy Parker.  This may be one reason I withhold affection from that line.  Poppy has the same body, and the two lines can share clothing and shoes.  Since Poppy premiered, her popularity has completely overshadowed Misaki.

There have been very few Misaki dolls released since 2008.  There were none in 2012 and only two in 2013.  The line seems to have been pushed aside.

Playing with my Misaki girls made me reminisce about other Integrity Lines that have "bit the dust".   Here is the list I came up with:

Monzieur Z
Eve Kitten
Mini Genes
Valia
ITBE
Monogram
Avant Garde

I would add FR to the list, but Integrity Toys just released a notice introducing a new ITBE line which has two "retired" FR molds on FR bodies.  There is another FR mold on a Monogram body.  I'm getting very confused by all of this.  Retired?  Not Retired?

I decided to redress a "retired" FR doll whose face mold has been already been "refreshed" twice.  Here is Poesie Sans Coleur Vanessa.
This is a perfect example of "If it's not broken, don't fix it."  Who would retire a mold that could produce something so beautiful?   I just hope the future is brighter for Misaki.



5 comments:

Lisa Neault said...

thank you for posting this especially what year and what the name of the dolls are. I have loved Misakis, but have never been able to afford them because of the price and they sell out so quickly. I guess that is why I took to Poppy so much because she was at least somewhat attainable and affordable, but the Misakis are so stinking cute...they do surpass Poppy on that level and their clothing is so well made.

AG Lanc said...

That is a beautiful Vanessa. I do not believe I have ever seen her before. Adele is another mold they have refreshed once too many.

Matty said...

I am in total agreement. <3 your blog and post as always!

jSarie said...

Thanks for posting this! I love the noses on the Misaki girls - it gives them such a unique expression, so it's fantastic to see them up-close like this!

ayuki said...

Hello wanted to know if u had sassy stripes misaki for sale still available
my email is ayu2sky@gmail.com