On May 30th of this year, I celebrated my three-year anniversary collecting Jamieshow/Owensu Muses. Where Integrity Toys has fallen short delivering quality dolls to collectors since the pandemic, Jamieshow has truly excelled. Integrity Toys has several doll lines and several designers. They have a private networking club on the internet. It wasn't that long ago when they were releasing upwards of 100 or more different versions of dolls in one year! They really need to straighten out whatever is going on.
Yes, Jamieshow/Owensu Muses are more expensive, but I've come to the conclusion that my collection, which is bursting at the seams, needs to focus more on quality than quantity. Integrity Toys still has many quality control issues such as crooked hairlines and head/body mismatching skin tones. They need to revisit their quality control. There will still be extraordinary examples of IT dolls that make their way into my collection, but my focus has generally turned to Jamieshow/Owensu Muses.
Last year, Owen Su introduced his Versailles I Line, Mademoiselle, which was very Rococo. I didn't want to love this line, but I did. There were only two dolls offered: Sabina, a favored model around here from her Bonjour Paris release, and Astrid, first offered in the previous collection La Vacanza, but this time with freckles.
First out of the gate we have Sabina. These dolls were sold nude for the first time but with special face-ups. They came with dressing hands and a wig. Sabina had two small flat backed pink crystals applied under the outer corner of each eye.
And here she is wearing Look 4 and Wig 2 in Platinum.
You need to see the full length to fully appreciate these ensembles.
The ensembles weren't cheap (Look 4 was $250), but Owen Su spared no expense with the details. Underneath the skirt is this big form to make the dress stay flared out.
Collecting Cycle 2024, Number 16 is Jamieshow/Owensu Muses Versailles Mademoiselle Sabina.
My favorite thing about Versailles I and II were the extravagant wig caps. The really big ones weren't cheap - upwards of $145. But they were handmade using a scalp form. This means they can be worn by other 12" Fashion Dolls with similarly shaped bald heads.
Next up is Versailles I Mademoiselle Astrid. Here she is right out of the box.
In addition to the extravagant Rococo wigs, Jamieshow/Owensu offered a more budget friendly wig cap version at $45 each. They came in four colors. Here is Astrid wearing Look 7 from the 2022 Summer Kisses Line, Wig Cap 1 in Blonde, Crown (used upside down intentionally) from IT, and blue thigh high boots from the IT 2020 Legendary Convention Style Lab Fast Fashion Accessory Set. One of the things I love about Jamieshow/Owensu Muses is the versatility of mixing and matching with Integrity Toys.
Yes, you need to see the full length.
Collecting Cycle 2024, Number 17 is Jamieshow/Owensu Muses Versailles Mademoiselle Astrid.
There were four looks that went with this collection. I purchased three of them. Look 2 was selected for a doll that I already owned, Enchanted Lilly. Here she is wearing it with Versailles Wig 1 in Black. Even though Lilly is from a previous collecting cycle, this ensemble needed to be shared.
Versailles I - Rococo Mademoiselle - was so popular with collectors that there was another mini-capsule offered in the spring of this year, Versailles II - Rococo Let Them Eat Cake. This time the ensembles offered were "cakes". Here is a promotional photo from Jamieshow since I did not purchase any of these as their price was $125 and you had to buy the accessory set separately for $85.
I did however buy this accessory set (mainly for the white gloved hands). Here is a mix n match combination using the Versailles Accessory Set Fraises with Jamieshow/Owensu Look 2 from their Go East 2023 Collection, and Versailles Wig 1 in purple. The model is 2020/21 Premier Eshe (my very favorite Muses doll ever produced).
It was so much fun using these wigs on previous editions and mixing and matching fashions!
Two dolls were offered in the Versailles II - Rococo Let Them Eat Cake collection. In response to collector input about posing these dolls, the bodies were revised to have double-joints at the elbows and knees. In my opinion, this was an excellent enhancement!
At first I passed on the Let Them Eat Cake Camille because I had just purchased the La Vacanza version that had just been released. Also, the eye shadow reminded me of Go East Sasha. When collector photos started showing up on social media, I reconsidered my decision. She reminds me of a relative of Integrity Toys Agnes Von Weiss/Giselle Diefendorf. Here she is right out of the box.
Since I had already used the three ensembles from Versailles and the accessory set I had purchased, I scrambled to find her something to wear. Here she is in Versailles Rococo Mademoiselle Wig 3 in Blue, Jamieshow/Owensu Bonjour Paris Anya's sequin mini-dress, the ostrich feather peplum/cape from Dangerous Love Look 18, and Integrity Toys Meteor Afterglow Keeki Adaeze's boots.
Collecting Cycle 2024 - Number 18 is Jamieshow/Owensu Versailles Let Them Eat Cake Camille.
This brings me to the fourth and final doll from this collection. One of my very favorite Muses dolls is Bonjour Paris Eileen. She is just an extraordinary mold that looks good in everything I've dressed her wearing. I was excited to see another version of Eileen offered in Versailles Let Them Eat Cake collection. Here she is right out of the box. For me, personally, she was the best of the four dolls and looks like an artisan's OOAK doll. She is just exquisite.
This doll had a more exotic look to her. I love her brown irises and cat's eye liner. I put her in my favorite look from the Versailles collection, Look 1, and Let Them Eat Cake Chocolate wig.
Now, this is what Fashion Doll collecting is all about. I just sigh when I look at this beautiful doll! Collecting Cycle 2024, Number 19 is Jamieshow/Owensu Versailles Let Them Eat Cake Eileen.
The fashion I did not purchase from Mademoiselle was Look 3. Here is a photo of it. (I included this photo because it shows the construction of the underskirt used on three of the ensembles.)
I was not a fan of the dark purple with the white lace; the white lace, in my opinion, was a little out of scale and cheapened the look for me.
In addition to the four short looks offered in Mademoiselle, there were ultra limited edition gowns, designed and created by Owen Su himself. They were little works of art, selling at $1475. Here is a photo of my favorite from the three that were offered.
Now, that is truly decadent.
Even though I couldn't justify a Mademoiselle gown, I purchased all three wigs from the Let Them Eat Cake collection. This time the wigs were named after flavors of cake. There was chocolate, strawberry, and lemon. That lemon wig was a hard sale, but I knew exactly who and what was going to go with it. Even though the gown is actually Look 7 from the Moments of Joy collection (my very favorite Jamieshow/Owensu gown ever produced) and the doll is Go East Sasha (another of my Top 10 Jamieshow doll versions), the wig is the Let Them Eat Cake Lemon Wig. To make up for missing the couture gowns from Mademoiselle, I created my own formal look. So, I leave you with a last image which should further explain why I am an avid Jamieshow/Owensu Muses collector. (The jewelry, including the ship hair ornament, is from Integrity Toys.)
