I finally decided to sit down and spend some time with the FR2 and FR bodies. I started collecting Fashion Royalty dolls in 2004; my very first one was Flame Rouge Veronique. I owned seven dolls when Integrity Toys added articulation to the body. It was so exciting. I had added nine more dolls when IT announced they were moving to a taller body. I didn't know what to do … I already owned 16 dolls!
As with all things related to progress, you have to move with it or get out of the way. I remember sitting and carefully looking at my dolls. I decided to sell five of my dolls to other collectors. As the earlier bodies turned yellow and brittle, the eleven I kept were transferred to taller bodies.
The good news was that pants and long-sleeved tops could still be worn by my Silkstones and other mattel dolls. All other clothing pieces easily transferred to the taller bodies since the main changes were in the arm and leg lengths.
When Integrity Toys announced recently they would be moving the mainline dolls to the FR2 body, I just couldn't face going through all of this again. In addition to the 11 dolls that started my collection, I have added 10 more of the shorter dolls to my collection over the past several years. They, too, have all been transferred to taller bodies, so I'm not new to playing "Frankendollie"; however, I also have 78 other dolls I have purchased since 2006.
There simply is no way to transfer all of these dolls to the FR2 body - even if I wanted to try. IT has further complicated matters by changing the tone of the Caucasian skin tone. Almost all of the convention dolls were on FR2 bodies. What makes these bodies so great? How difficult will it be to adjust my collection? Do I even want to convert my older dolls? Do I want to rebody newer dolls to original FR bodies? Let's see.
I tried laying the dolls side-by-side with their waists at about the same place.
When I sat them up, I was surprised at how much better the FR2 sat. She has better posture.
As the old saying goes, "The proof is in the pudding." And the pudding for me is how they wear clothes. The FR2 doll are NOT able to wear most FR/NuFace pants, a-line skirts, sheaths, coats, shoes, or long sleeved shirts. This really stinks as I have amassed quite a collection of clothing. Anything with a "fitted" bodice is too big on the FR2 body.
I did find that some items made for the Victoire/Bride of Dracula body and the Monograms could fit. Many Nuface short-sleeved blouses worked also. I found that the Rock Me Baby Rayna shoes fit fine. The pants required some patience to get up and could not close in the back - WARNING- it did stretch the pants a little. I put the Heart of Glass lace top with the pants (it wouldn't close on the regular FR body in the back). Here is a side-by-side comparison
I do see benefits to the FR2 body - it sits better. The torso looks more natural when showing belly-button area. Someone said the body was supposed to look like a fashion drawing - thin with exaggerated limbs. I can see that. I still appreciate the hourglass shape of the regular body. I may still prefer the height and limbs on the regular body as well.
I guess I stand looking at the line in the sand. Maybe instead of getting out of the way or forging ahead, I'll just pull a Johnny Cash and choose to walk it for a while. I'm not going to do anything drastic with the dolls I already own. I may reduce my numbers more and only keep those dolls I truly love. There are a couple Convention dolls that I intend to switch to the regular body (I know "sacrilege" and all).
Before the Convention, I owned a handful of FR2 dolls - one of which was a FR character moved to this particular body. They had their own separate place in my collection like the Poppies, Vintage Barbies, and Silkstones. I do struggle with having the same character on both body types. I'm sure I'll find a solution.
