"Anything You Can Do …"

First, I want to emphasize that I am not, in any way, inferring that my redressed dolls are "better" than the promotional Integrity Toys dolls.   The song I am referencing is more a song about playful competition and it's what I hum when I am trying to convince myself that I do not need to purchase another doll.

For those less familiar with Integrity Toys, there is a special "members only" W Club which affords many benefits to its members.  I will outline what I consider the most important features.

1.  You are on the "first to know" list.  Before dolls are advertised by dealers, W Club members get an exclusive preview.   This usually allows a member the chance to contact dealers first to place orders.  W Club members are also the first to know about convention registration.

2.  There are several "exclusive" dolls each year only offered to W Club members.  Additional purchase opportunities are offered through multiple lotteries.  Some of my very favorite dolls have been purchased this way.

3.  There is a wonderful private message forum just for W Club members.  Members share photos, reviews, custom clothing, etc.  It's a great way to get ideas for your own collection.  There is also a marketplace thread to buy and sell dolls for your collection.

4.  Any dolls not sold at the IT Convention are offered to W Club members first.  In the past,  this has been done both through a lottery and a "first come" basis.

The membership window has been open for a few weeks now, but the deadline is this Tuesday, February 16, at 9:00 p.m. EST.

There is a full-color online brochure that can be downloaded through this link:

http://www.integritytoys.com/wclubforum/2016club.pdf

Or you can access the you-tube video here:

https://youtu.be/emk4Rd9gjuE

The cost to join is only $50.   I have been a member of the W Club since it started in 2005.  Because IT dolls make up the bulk of my personal collection, I cannot imagine not joining.  Like most members, I own multiple memberships.  I have one for my husband in case we get to attend the convention.  It also increases a member's chances of winning a lottery to have more than one membership.

Every year, the W Club offers "upgrade" dolls to add to your membership.  You pay a $25 deposit for each upgrade doll and the remainder when the doll is ready to ship.  (Photos of upgrade dolls are the property of Integrity Toys.)

There are three upgrade possibilities this year.  The first is Take Me On Vanessa Perrin (mold 3.0):  Cost $130.

When considering the purchase of a new doll, I now ask myself some specific questions.  Do I already own a version of this mold with similar hair/makeup/skin tone?  Do I really prefer the newer version?  Do I own any clothing that could produce a similar redress effect?

The 2014 W Club Upgrade Doll, Fashion Explorer, is also brunette.  Even though I like Take Me On's face up better, Fashion Explorer is a beautiful doll.  I redressed her in Tatyana's Fete Accompli ensemble and saved myself $130.   (The Sound Advice Navy skirt also fits!  Which is very similar to skirt shown.)

The second upgrade doll is for all those Poppy Parker Fans. She is called Ma Petit Fleur:  Cost $120.  Apparently this doll is a version of Bridget Bardot.

One of my favorite Poppy girls is I Love How You Love Me.  Throw on a Barbie repro dress and voila!  $120 gets to stay in my bank account.

The final doll was a NuFace doll using the Imogen mold.  Her name is Be Daring:  Cost $120.  This ensemble continues the Balmain designs from the 2015 NuFace line.

Imogen is a favorite NuFace mold of mine, with Fame by Frame being one of my very favorite dolls in my collection (eye correction by Veronica Hage).   Even though Fame by Frame also uses a tan skin tone, Be Daring uses the Hungarian skin tone version which has never been used on a NuFace doll before.  The best I could do to duplicate the ensemble was Natalia's Femme Du Monde pantsuit.

I felt like Be Daring was different enough to justify her cost.  I do not have an Imogen similar, so I did upgrade my membership with Imogen.  I purchased two membership + one upgrade (Be Daring).

How did everyone else fare?

NuFace Models

It has been over a year since NuFace admirers have received a new collection.   With no NuFace dolls on the horizon, I decided to get out my girls and take some photos.  There are other versions of these molds available, but my blog is devoted to only those that are in my collection.

NuFace was introduced in 2006 with two models - Erin Salston and Nadja Rhymes.   Unfortunately, I only have one version of each of these girls in my collection.  They both come from 2007.  The first is Urban Outfitting Nadja:

And the second is Making A Scene Erin.  This doll has never been redressed.  I love her in stock.

Erin received a makeover in 2012 with a W Club Exclusive called High End Envy (right).  She also showed up at the 2012 Convention as Lady in Red (left).  I really like what they did to this mold.

Introduced in 2007 was Colette Duranger.  She came in a gift set with Erin called Painted Black.  I instantly fell in love with this hazel-eyed doll.  She was my entry in Pink Parlor's Next Top Doll Model.  I named her KiKi.  She has been re-bodied and will always hold a special place in my collection.  She is on the far left (and reminds me of Shakira).  The Colette in the middle is from 2010 and is called Perk.  Collectors often remark that she looks Native American.  The doll on the right is All White Now and was a 2012 Convention Exclusive.

Two other characters released in 2007 were Ayumi Nakamura - I only have the 2008 version of this mold London By Night:

And Giselle Diefendorf as Costume Drama (top left).  Giselle is a very popular mold.   Masterpiece Theater (top right) showed up at the 2008 Convention.  She is my favorite strawberry blonde.  She was the actual Convention Doll for 2010 as Dark Romance (bottom left).   The final Giselle in my collection is from 2012 and is Glam Addict (bottom right).  I have owned other Giselles, but, in an attempt to manage my collection, they have gone to other homes.  These four would be difficult to let go.

In 2008, Integrity Toys wowed us with our first set of twins - two dolls that share the same mold but have separate characters.   Some collectors feel like they have to keep "sets" in their collection of Lilith and Eden.  Somehow I wound up with three Lilith (2010 Great Pretender top left, 2011 Rocking Ever After top right, and 2013 Hard Metal bottom left) and only one Eden (2012 Sweet Nothings Gretel).   Because Great Pretender looks more like Eden, I don't obsess too much over it.

In 2009, another new character, Dominque Makeda, was introduced.  She moved on to become part of the FR2 line.  The 2009 Evening Glow was the only NuFace version ever produced.  Although Vaughn used her mold for his pale caucasian workshop doll that is fondly referred to as Lady Gaga.  

Three new characters were released in 2011.  I do not own any version of Annik.  Her secondary market price prevents me from adding her to my collection.  I hope we see a good version this year.  I am fortunate to own all three versions of Rayna.  At the Fashion Royalty Convention we got High Toned (far left) who looks fantastic with her hair taken down.  She showed up at the IFDC as Go Home Dorothy (middle), and again at the 2012 IFDC as Rock Me Baby (far right).  I have placed Rock Me Baby on a FR2 body.  For some reason, Rock Me Baby looks more mature than the other NuFace dolls in my collection.

The last character of 2011 was Imogen.  I own Mission Control which was a 2011 Convention doll (left) and the 2012 Convention doll Fame by Frame (right) which is one of my very favorite dolls.

There are some very beautiful NuFace molds.  I always thought of them as the "models" for the Integrity story lines.  The Fashion Royalty dolls were the executives and the "professional working women" while these girls were the ones in front of the cameras.  I am eager to see what Integrity gives us this year!