I have been a tremendous fan of the Victoire Roux line since its introduction in 2011. I LOVE the vintage clothing styles. I love the body and how it can wear Vintage Barbie and the oldest Integrity Toys (IT) ensembles, even the pants. Here is Avenue George V wearing the Mattel Christian Dior Walking Suit.
And here is Faubourg St. Honore wearing Vintage Barbie Saturday Matinee.
St. Tropez is wearing the IT Lustrous Silhouette gown from 2005. The length still works!
I actually own eleven versions of Victoire Roux and have the newest on pre-order. She is due to arrive in early 2019. I was very excited that she was returning after a four year hiatus.
NOTE: From this point on, I only include photos of dolls that either joined my collection in 2018 or were actually shipped to consumers in 2018.
Convention attendees were able to purchase a version this year, Divine Evening. (Photo property of Integrity Toys)
There have been so many beautiful dolls this year, Divine Evening was not a "must have" for me.
While Victoire was "getting work done", IT introduced a supporting line called East 59th Street in 2017 which gave us two additional characters to the Victoire line, Constance Madssen and Evelyn Weaverton. I purchased one of each that year and was very pleased with my choices. I reviewed this line; here is the link East 59th Street 2017
In 2018, I played "catch up" and purchased Wicked Glamour Constance Madssen from the 2017 Fairytale Convention.
I just couldn't live without that gorgeous purple cocktail dress and she was selling very reasonably on secondary market (and still is if you can catch one!). Additionally, I needed her to go with Midnight Glimmer Evelyn Weaverton which W Club members were allowed to purchase following the 2017 Fairytale Convention. She didn't arrive until 2018.
In 2018, The Cocktails Collection was released and introduced us to a male character named Laird Drake wearing Cocktails for Men. (Photo by Integrity Toys)
Another female character was introduced later in the year named Aurelia Gray, the first black character in the Victoire Roux/East 59th Street line. She will not be shipped until 2019. The other dolls from the The Cocktail Collection that I did not purchase were Mai Tai Sizzle Constance Madssen. (Photo by Integrity Toys). She also came a cute yellow shorts/jacket combination.
And Turquoise Sparkler Evelyn Weaverton.
For some reason, I think of Evelyn Weaverton and Constance Madssen as twinsies. They always show up in pairs in my collection! The two I ordered from this collection were The Americano Evelyn Weaverton.
And Tangier Tangerine Constance Madssen.
The only reason I purchased these two dolls were I took a chance on an eBay seller that was selling them for $80 each, NRFB. I thought it was gimmick, but they arrived in perfect condition. Great deal on some beautiful dolls!
... So who is the Best Victoire Roux/East 59th Street of 2018? I have been completely smitten with Tangier Tangerine Constance Madssen. Here she redressed with a change in her hair.
And representing Doll #18 of 2018 wearing Mattel's Fabulous Forties ensemble.
Definitely a Best of 2018 doll. Tangier Tangerine is gorgeous!
I've not made up my mind about keeping Evelyn Weaverton. If I do, I'm afraid I may have to put her head on a different body. This will sound weird, but I think she is "too lovely" to fit in with my Victoire dolls. With that in mind, I opted to release Constance Madssen. (I don't have another Victoire with the cream skin tone and I believe she also shares a highly stylized palette.)
Here is what Constance looks like in her box ...
And, again, the accessories were generous.
The shoes for Luxurious Leisure are not plastic like the shoes that came with the other ensembles. The straw purse reminds me of the purses that used to come with Dressmaker Details ensembles; it is minimal and the little flowers just cheapen it. The earrings are small loops. She does have several bracelets, a hat, second set of hands, pack of Marlboro (?) cigarettes, a cigarette holder, red sunglasses, and a red pillow. I would've liked a ring and necklace to make it feel a little more substantial.
Faubourg, who reigns supreme among my Victoire ladies, decided to welcome her to the clan.
"Constance, darling, welcome to Athens. I've come to take you shopping and to lunch."
"We're in Greece? That's fabulous! I know just the place."
"Not Greece, sweetheart. Athens, Georgia. You know, home of the Bulldogs!"
"Well, I guess I am dressed in the right colors then. Where are we going?"
"Darling, you can't wear that to lunch. The driver is taking us in to Atlanta today. ... And please put away that cigarette before you singe my fur! The human lost her mother to lung cancer and she has been putting dolls on the chopping block left and right!"
"Is this better?"
"Ack! We're going to Lenox, not Jonesboro! You'll be in Buckhead! Please put on something more appropriate ... and don't forget your fur and fascinator! ...
... Since you are getting undressed, I am very eager to see the revisions in the Victoire body. I hope you don't mind; I've brought Number Two to compare."
"Number Two?"
"That's what I call her. She was the second doll int the Victoire series. See what being the first to arrive does for you. You will always be Constance!"
"Well ... I hadn't planned on undressing for the camera ... but in the interest of knowledge ..."
"It's wonderful to see that the changes are very subtle. That means we can all share the same wardrobe. May I see a view from behind, please?"
"I better be getting more than lunch for this ..."
"Wait until you see our closet!"
"Okay ... now from the side ...."
"I can see the difference in the way the thigh joins the hip. It may be time for me to invest in a little plastic surgery for myself after seeing how much firmer the tummy appears ... Now, hurry and get dressed." (STAIN ALERT: The red has already lightly stained the thighs and torso!)
"I didn't realize you had such an amazing closet here. Why do we even need to go shopping?"
"Oh my! ... And I didn't realize how much you resemble Karen Walker from the television series Will and Grace.
"Wait for me!" Number Two yells from off stage.
"Does she have to go, too? I am just getting the hang of all of this ..." Constance is already beginning to develop into her true divalicious self.
"Well she did take off her clothes and show her bits."
"I'm not going to wait for her to redress. I bet she's not ready."
"Number Two never makes mistakes when we go out. Just wait and see."
"I told you.; Number Two is always on point! Ready girls? Buckhead awaits!"
.... I hope someone else is paying ... I wasn't packed with lunch money ....
One of the reasons I've been playing with my vintage items is the anticipation of the East 59th dolls' arrival. When these dolls were revealed in early April, many collectors who love Victoire Roux were excited about adding additional characters to her line. The designer is Chris Stoekel who is famous for his vintage flair with fashions. There were four dolls revealed with two different NEW face molds.
The first face mold is Constance Madssen. She came in two versions: Captivating Cocktails (this fabric reminds me of the skirt for Venus Secret Eugenia).
and Luxurious Leisure.
The second face mold is Evelyn Weaverton. She also came in two versions: Classic Glamour:
and Glittering Gala:
Integrity Toys reported that these ensembles could be shared with the current Victoire Roux line, so I decided to take a chance and purchase one of each face mold. I've been collecting Integrity products for a very long time. I remember how much I loved opening the boxes because there was so much detail involved in the packaging. They have brought that back! I actually squealed when I pulled the box out!
Here is the back.
And the box opens to look like a little dressing room!!
And the little "card stock paper" doors actually pull open with ribbon tabs to reveal areas for the accessories!
I guess you realized that Glittering Gala was my first choice to purchase! Here is a closeup of her face. (I'm afraid she does suffer from a "suspiciously large woman head".) But her makeup palette is gorgeous! I wish her eyes were a couple mm farther apart; she would be perfect. Her head mold is a tad bigger than Victoire's and even Constance's. It's not "huge" or even "too big"; it's just a little bigger. I think she would rock a Color Infusion body! I may even put her on a FR2 body!
Look at all those accessories! You get a lot for your money!!
My second choice was Luxurious Leisure Constance Madssen...
This ensemble is exceptional quality. Here is a closeup.
She photographs better than she looks in hand. She is a very pale skin tone. Her sculpt is a closer to the scale of Victoire's.
I'm trying to decide if I am going to keep the dolls, redress them, etc. What do you think?
