Everything's Coming Up Red

I have been very fortunate with the list I generated, "Five Dolls I Want To Add To My Collection".  So fortunate, I'm beginning to worry about adding names to the list to replace names coming off!  Last week, I added Follow the Line Kesenia.  She is from 2011 and had a limited production of 300 dolls worldwide.  I thought she would be very difficult to find.

But ... here she is ...

She is wearing the outfit from the FR 2011 line that I did not have.  The outfit rarely comes up for sale, and when it does, it's usually about $100 just for the ensemble.  It comes with a "crop" tuxedo jacket, white bloues, and stunning black pencil pants.

The accessories are quite wonderful.  There is a a great little blue clutch purse, pale pink/black shoes that have an elastic band in the back for easy dressing, an extra set of hands, and one of the best modern necklaces IT has released.

This doll often sells for more than $250.  I have never really cared for this doll's hair or faceup.  I am not a Kesenia fan, having sold the first two released.  So, my plan was to get the doll for the clothing/accessories, and use her body for the IFDC Shake It Up Korinne.  I refused to pay the high secondary markup on her.  But I found her still at a dealer's, but at a markup price I could live with.  (I struggle quite a bit with purchasing dolls from dealers at a markup, but it was less than secondary market.  And I do want to support the small doll shops and help them whenever I can.)

But, when I got Follow The Line out of the box, I was surprised by how much I really do like her.  She reminds me a great deal of the actress Julianne Moore.  I almost want to get some water color pencils and draw freckles all over her body (but that would be exhausting).  Here is another full length shot, but out of the box this time.  I told you those pants were awesome!

Here is another photo of her wearing the necklace and the TOTT dress. Maybe Your Kind of Model Kesenia has mellowed me a little on this mold, but I am loving Follow The Line.  Now what is Korinne going to do about that Bride of Dracula body??

While I was typing my blog this morning, the mail person suprised me with a package from the W Club.  Another red head arrived.

"Out Sass Vanessa 3.0" was the second W Club doll from 2012.  She is just now being shipped.  I don't want to take away from Kesenia, but I wanted to share how beautiful this doll really is!

She will deserve a whole blog feature of her own. 

The Great Reveal - Part Deux

Please note that I am not going to include all of the promo photos for this reveal.  I'm going to do a simple review of what was offered.  The text included in the reveal is copyrighted, and members were informed by Integrity that this material should not be included in our summaries.  We are free to use the photos as long as we give credit to Integrity Toys as owners of the copyrighted material.

Let's start with a line that I do not collect.  Integrity and Hasbro continue to forge ahead with their Jem and the Holograms line - this time giving us the Misfits.  If there was less hair and no art makeup (lightning flashes, etc) on the faces, I could be tempted.  I do love the little guitars this time around though.  The dolls will be produced in edition sizes of 1200 to accomodate "cross collectors".  Each doll is priced at $119 and is expected for delivery the end of May.  

Here is Phyllis "Pizzazz" Gabor:

Next up is Roxanne "Roxy" Pelligrini:

And finally, we have Mary "Stormer" Phillips:

I guess I continue to show my actual age by having no interest in this collection.  I was a young adult when Jem and Holograms was popular and felt myself "too cool" for cartoons, but I wasn't cool enough to be in to pop culture.  I was busy "clubbing" and "getting my groove on".  LOL!

Having just ordered the first W Club offering, The Young Sophisticate Poppy, I was afraid that Integrity was going to "reel me back in" with these Poppy dolls.  Here is a photo of the first W Club doll:

When I first saw the e-mail, she immediately reminded me of my favorite Misaki, and regular on this blog, Honey Harajuku.  She appears to be a more modern interpretation.  I really didn't have to think hard about ordering her.  I now wish I had ordered two (since I have two memberships).

At the W Club Convention, attendees were told that this year's Poppy offerings were going to be based on the 1964-65 International World's Fair.  In December, the W Club upgrade Poppy was announced.  She had my hopes really high that we would be getting Poppy styled in mid 1960's clothing to represent the magazine stories from that time showing what attendees of the World's Fair would be wearing.  Here is a photo of the W Club Upgrade Poppy, To The Fair:

Well ... I didn't get what I secretly hoped for ... Integrity Toys took us to the International Pavillions from the Fair - which was partly the inspiration behind Disney's Epcot Center.  These dolls are in edition sizes of 750 (quite high compared to previous years ... probably trying to keep up with Poppy's increasing popularity).  Each doll is priced at $89.  Delivery is expected in June.

First we have the Indian Pavillion - Irresistible in India.

This is a very interesting doll.  I am not a fan of the jewelry - it seems a little too clunky for the delicate look of the doll.  I wish the bracelets matched the earrings more.  Although the dress is lovely - there is no redress possiblities for it.  It is obviously an ethnic costume. 

She is using the Bergdorf Goodman Screening.  I'm not sure how I feel about it with this skintone.  I think her eyebrows look "raised" to me.  I love the haircolor, but it would have to come down out of that style. 

Next up is Spicy in Spain

I really get this interpretation.   The outfit is really cool without being "costumey" and the hat is a must have. 

I really like this hair color - it is a blonde/brunette blend.  The faceup is new this year.  It was referred to as "cat eye".  The purse is my favorite detail.  Take the oversized bow off, replace it with a skinny belt, and you have something cute!

The third doll in the collection is Sweet in Switzerland

This is a first for Integrity Toys - ice skates.  The fabric reminds me of Sweet Confection.  I believe Poppy is borrowing some inspiration this year from Misaki.  This girl reminds me of Perfect in Paris.

I know this was a "pavillion", but I just struggle with that white swiss dot, short sleeve blouse detail.  I'm from cold weather and know I would freeze to death in that!  She's a very cute doll though.

Doll number four is Pretty in Polynesia.

I'm putting it out there to my readers ... if you do not want this outfit, I know a St. Tropez that is really dieing to get her hands on it!   This necklace was another of my favorite pieces from the reveal.

This doll uses the Reluctant Debutante faceup.  As I already have Reluctante Debutante, I couldn't justify the purchase.  I hope her forehead isn't this low.

And the final Poppy is Joyful in Japan

This doll also suffers from the fact that the outfit is a costume.  Even so, I think it is adorable.   I know that we already had two brunettes in this collection, but I really wish this doll had black hair and very pale makeup.  I would have totally fallen.

This doll also has the cat eye screening. 

So, I was a little disappointed that we didn't have dolls in 1964-1965 clothing.  It did wind up saving me money.  I have heard collectors refer to this collection as reminiscent of the "Barbie Dolls of the World".  I didn't order anything - but am definitely looking for that Polynesian outfit!

This brings me to the final collection revealed.  It is the mainline FR girls in a grouping called "Classic".

First up was Notalgia Dania Zarr.  She is an edition of 600 and sells for $130. 

Attendees of the reveal were told that Integrity was borrowing inspiration from some of its earlier editions from the past 10 years.   I'm not sure where this dress is from.  My guess is that the pinstripe with red accessories may be vibing off AFL Vanessa; the doll has a similar faceup; I guess if you took that elaborate hairdo down, it could be imagined this would be how it may look.  A similar stole came in the AFL giftset.

Next up was Splendid Jordan.  Edition size 400.  Price $130.

This was a "must buy" for me.  I love everything about it.  I'm going on a limb trying to figure out the interpretation.   The outfit may be a modern interpretatoin of the Soir De Paris evening dress.  The fur definitely follows that SDP/Purple Factor fur.  I have wanted a beautiful white FR dress for a long time.  This one really fit the bill. 

I think the doll, itself, may be a takeoff on Bodacious Adele.  I personally believe this is the best we have ever seen Jordan.  I am loving it.

I wanted to include the photo of the accessories here - as much as I hate that necklace, I absolutely adore that handbag with matching shoes!!

The next doll revealed was Captivating Anja - Edition Size 800 - Price $130.

A member of the Integrity team told attendees that the inspiration for this doll's faceup was Paradise Veroniqe.  (Which I do not own).  I believe her hair is from Intimately Acquainted Luchia.  The dress is similar to Costume Drama Giselle.

She was my least favorite of the reveal.  But that is probably because few of my dolls wear gowns - they just take too much room on the shelf.

The fourth doll was quite a surprise.  She is Ambitious Kesenia.  This doll is quite dramatic.  The outfit may be inspired by Successful Journey.  The jacket is black wool.  I wish the ensemble came with a hat.

To me at least, I believe the doll reminds me a great deal of Flame Rouge Veronique. 

Again, the accessories are worth a photo.  I really love these shoes.

The final doll in this collection was Polished Korinne.  I'm not sure about this doll.  The skirt is obviously Dressing the Part Agnes.  The top ... maybe an interpretation of Face Time Eugenia? 

Attendees were told this is a modern FR ponytail with a center part.  The doll really doesn't resemble another doll to me personally.  She had the most unique look of the dolls showcased.

The final doll revealed was the Event Doll - all W Club members can purchase this doll.  She was another Dania (many attendees have voiced they would have preferred a different mold rather than have two Dania dolls).  The edition size will be determined by how many W Club members order her.  There are 2000 W Club memberships this year.  Her price was $130 - the same as all of the dolls in this line.  She is Irresistible Dania Zarr - Yes, we will need to buy IT a thesaurus - we also had Irrestible in India earlier in the blog.

I love the black jacket!  One of my favorite pieces of the whole reveal.  I'm not sure about the taupe in the shoes. I don't believe this ensemble has a previously issued inspiration.

The doll however, is obviously a tan version of Optic Clash Dania.

This is my personal opinion of the FR Classic line (excluding the fact that those lower lashes must go!):

If I've learned anything from collecting IT dolls, it's that you can't judge a doll from its promo photos. I wasn't feeling the Dania last year until collectors took her hair down; then ... WOW! Following last year's reveal, I didn't order Eugenia, Veronique, or Kyori. After seeing them live at the Convention and later redressed by collectors, I went crazy for them. I followed the old "Better safe than sorry" and ordered one of each of the FR Classic dolls. I figured I could sell what I didn't like after the fact.

The nods to previous editions were very interesting. I'm betting this reveal is a foreshadowing of what is coming at the 2012 convention (at least that's what the storylines in the e-mail elude to). These dolls are the first pieces to the puzzle, and IT wouldn't want them to outshine what is offered at the convention. I think we'll see all the older favorite characters make an appearance at the convention, following the same idea of re-imagined dolls from the past 10 years. That when it will all fall together and everyone will start scrambling for the dolls revealed this weekend to complete the collection.