Filigree Flair

Even though the Integrity Genes are a lot more poseable than the Ashton Drake Genes, it is still quite tricky to do a full shot without reverting to shooting her just standing up straight, so I was quite pleased at how this turned out... she looks quite 'Dovima-ish'. If you are shooting her close-up and not full-length it is not as much of a problem.

'Ooh-La-La' Gene is modelling the complete 'Filigree' outfit ... looking at this now I wish I'd switched the gloves for black ones - they would look so much better! This is the text from the Storycard:

'Filigree' is a stylish cocktail dress circa 1949. A white cocktail dress provides the background for a lattice of lovely black. A flurry of black lace tops the bodice and a black ribbon highlights the back. Gene completes the look with a a scrumptious-looking hat, with black feathers jutting out from the centre of a small cap. Comes with white pearl earrings and thin ribbon shoes.

"Ohh-La-La' Gene by Integrity is modelling the complete 'Filigree' outfit by Ashton Drake. Chaise is a jewellery box from TK Maxx.

Día de los Muertos

This is the first doll photograph that I have taken for ages. I actually received 'Skaadu' today, she was a birthday gift to myself, and I have to say I totally love her, she's beautiful.

She was released as the Superdoll 'Halloween' doll last year and although I liked her I didn't buy her as I had only recently bought 'Faro' and as she has a latin vibe too, I thought that was enough!

But the more I looked at her the more I liked her ... her eye make-up, eyebrows, lower lashes and dark lip liner in particular. I was getting seriously tempted and ready to hit the checkout button on the Superdoll site but the Souls of the Dead must have been looking out for me as a doll appeared on ebay, in the UK, NRFB, 'Buy It Now' for almost half the price! Well I could not believe my luck and I am still pinching myself now!

She came in a large gold 'Salon-style' box and 'Skaadu' certainly did not disappoint - she is every bit as gorgeous in reality. The gown is amazing in its construction and the quality and detailing are fantastic (some of the roses are paper however, so not sure how well these will last) The jewellery is very dramatic with red crystal cube earrings and a multi-coloured rhinestone necklace and the rose-festooned headpiece finishes off the whole look. The gown is huge and would take up half a shelf on its own so I'll have to box it up until I have more display space but I'm delighted with the whole package and am so glad I got her!

'Skaadu' is modelling her default gown, headpiece and jewellery. Fan is from 'You Devil, You' Abbe Lane Sybarite, all by Superdoll.

Emerald Mood

This is the mesmerising 'Mood' from the 'Youthquake' Superdoll Convention of October 2012 and she was the second of the Sybarites that attendees received over the three days.

The first was 'Concubine' who is a DC sculpt at the Friday night 'Youth' dinner, 'Mood' was the second on the Saturday night 'Tantrum' dinner and finally 'Sherbert' was the third at the Sunday 'Therapy' brunch.

It is unusual for me to like all the dolls from a convention but this trio are an exception - I loved every one of them, so much so that a few days after the convention I traded another doll for 'Concubine' and bought 'Mood', minus her outfit, from another collector in November 2016 (as you can see I waited quite a while to get her!) I love her face and her updo, which is based on a reverse of Daphne Guinesses’ hair.

'Mood' (LE 50) is modelling the 'Emerald Oyster' gown from Christmas 2014, and the 'Acquired Wealth' choker and bracelet set 'Glistening Bandeau', all by Superdoll. Tulle and sequin stole by Doll-scum.

The 'Too Much' Girl

'As a major star of the late silent era, Zita Louise (as she was then called) was the epitome of the Jazz Age glamour. Known as the "Too Much Girl", Zita forged a reputation
as a party girl and was a favourite of the Hollywood gossip columns. Counts and Princes seemed always to be proposing to her in front of a fountain while the cameras were rolling. Everyone and anyone just wanted to be with Zita Charles! With her vampish look, sassy style and elegant vintage inspired gowns'.

This is the first 'Zita Charles' doll and she had her introduction in October 2008. Unfortunately for me, she was an FAO Schwarz Exclusive and at well over $250, plus shipping, out of
my reach.

There are various other incarnations of Zita -
I did toy with the idea of 'Wrap Party' as I liked
her outfit, but the only Zita that a truly wanted was 'Azalea Ice' - I just adore the streak in her hair - so I could not take the plunge and accept second best, as it were.

Needless to say I was delighted when trawling through the doll board I saw a post offering a NRFB 'Azalea Ice' for sale for $120! I emailed straight away and although the seller would not ship outside the US, they were happy to send the package to my darling shipping buddy in LA (thank you Andrew!)

Miss Zita Louise Charles arrived and as soon as I opened the box, I knew I had done the right thing in holding out for 'Azalea Ice' ... she is the BEST Zita, no contest! Her gown is really pretty and the chiffon drapes really nicely - the shoes are great too - I thought the jewellery was a bit lacklustre but nothing I cannot rectify! Here is the 'official' blurb:

Azalea Ice is the very first Zita Charles doll and is offered exclusively through FAO's online catalogue division. Zita wears a luscious one-shouldered gown with detailing at the bust that echoes the gown's incredible colorful train. Zita comes complete with matching gloves, shoes and jewelry so she is totally prepared to take on tonight's party, wherever it may be.

'Azalea Ice' Zita by Integrity models the 'Azalea Ice' gown, gloves and heels, Jewellery is a mixture of Franklin Mint and Tonner.

Entente Cordiale

Still on a wedding theme, the happy couple in this image are Sybarites 'Yves' (groom) and 'Patience' (bride) from the 'War and Peace' off-schedule event at the PFDF in March 2008.

They were betrothed at an exclusive invite-only ceremony in a grand Parisienne Salon on 13th March 2008. The guests were led up a grand marble and stone staircase to a spectacular room, where they were then shown into another room where the ceremony took place. The Padre declared them married and the guests toasted them with absynthe.

All the guests were in awe of 'Yves' and 'Patience' so imagine our surprise and delight when we were actually all presented with a huge box containing both dolls!

The dolls are unique given the fact that they are made of french resin and both sculpts have never been repeated. Superdoll decided against using this resin again as they were not sure of its properties and how it would age. I have to say that I have had these dolls since 2008 and they still look great to me.

The 'Yves St Evangelist' sculpt is based loosely on the likeness of supermodel Linda Evangelista. The Union Jack frock-coat is inspired by a David Bowie jacket. 'Patience Myristil' is based on the French legend 'Marianne'. Both dolls are studio pieces, hand-painted by Charles and represent a symbolic union of England and France and are an edition size of only 30.

'Yves' and 'Patience' (seated on the 'Discobum' chaise) are wearing their default outfits, apart from 'Yves' wearing the stiletto boots from 'Sabbatha', all by Superdoll. Diamond tiara off ebay and Union Jack sequinned cushion by Doll-scum.

June Bride

Isn't it supposed to be lucky to get married in June? There is something about June and brides as the song says, "when you marry in June, you're a bride all your life."

Gene Marshall has certainly been a bride a fair few times; we are not sure if it is for real or as parts in her films, but she has appeared as 'I Do' (1920s Bride), 'To Have and To Hold' (1940s Bride, 'I Thee Wed', (1950s Bride) and 'Monaco' (a copy of Grace Kelly's wedding gown). She has even had a pegnoir set in blue lace with blue fluffy high-heeled mules called 'Honeymoon'.

This wedding gown is by Franklin Mint and not surprisingly is for their Jackie Kennedy doll ... as you can see it is a copy of her wedding ensemble. It is a wonderful copy, all in scale, even down to lace on the veil and the head-cap and is very faithful to the original. Even the bouquet is pretty accurate.

It's not a bad fit on Gene either - a little large on the waist and the shoes do not fit but overall it looks good.

Franklin Mint do a lot a bridal gowns - they have one for their Lucille Ball doll which is typical 1950s below the knee full-skirted tulle and also one for their Grace Kelly doll, which again is a very good copy of the original gown (better than the Ashton Drake 'Monaco' one for Gene).

If I could get them at a good price I'd go for it but I'm not desperate for them - maybe Ivy Jordan and Marsha Hunt would look good in them?

I'd like to think that Gene finally tamed Trent and they got married and had a long and happy life together ... who doesn't want a happy ending?

'Blue Parasol' Gene by Integrity is modelling the complete Franklin Mint Jackie Kennedy wedding ensemble, with the pearl necklace from 'Palm Springs' Jackie Kennedy outfit, also by Franklin Mint.

Pink 'n' Black

Apparently this was the favourite colour combo of Elvis and if it's good enough for him, then it is certainly good enough for me!

The shoes are by Rocket Originals who make excellent reproductions of mainly 1940s shoes, here in the UK. They are made by meticulously copying an actual old shoe and they certainly do a fantastic job - they are identical but have the benefit of being made for today's feet which are usually a lot wider (but not in my case as I have to go a size down with their shoes). They do take quite a bit of 'breaking in' and I would not say they are particularly comfortable even when you've had then a while but they do look good!

This particular style is called 'Esther' (after Esther Williams - all their ladies shoes are named after famous stars of the era) and they came in this colourway and also in navy/red, black/grey, green/cream and burgundy/grey. 

The lucite handbag was a lucky ebay find from a UK seller, which is a rarity and is by Jerri's of Miami. It is fabulous and one of my favourite handbags - the lucite lid has tribal dancers on it and a scattering of rhinestones (a few were missing but that was easily rectified!)

The costume jewellery parure if by Trifari from their 1956 Summer Collection and is called 'Valencia'. It is a 'Crown' piece (which basically is a higher-quality) and was designed by Alfred Philippe, who is the most known designer for Trifari; his designs are still an inspiration today. This set also came in white, aqua, yellow and coral red. It is very well made and has certainly stood the test of time - the pieces originally retailed at between $8-$4 and a full parure can now command around $80-$100.

I don't know much about the sunglasses, they are original 1950s but have no makers mark so are probably just a cheap pair that you would buy at the seaside but the colour and style are spot on!

Summer Bzzz

I just love this old photo of 'Summer' but then I'm biased as I love 'Summer' a lot! This was taken in 2009 and she's still a favourite of mine.

I know some people do not like her but she is easily in my top five Sybarites. The only thing I wasn't mad on initially was her original wig but it has since grown on me (this is not her original wig incidentally but an early attempt at a 'Headskin' type wig - I have since bought her a couple of proper 'Headskins' and she looks great in both of them.

At the moment, I have her dressed in the grey 'Headskin' and the dress/leggings from 'Precious' and she looks so cool ... I really do need to take some new photos.

'Summer' is modelling the sweater, bag and shoes from the 'Bzzz' accessory set, the silver lame corset which was a gift for attendees at the 'War and Peace' PFDF Event in 2008, the pleather skirt from 'Parsley' and is sitting on the 'Discobum' mirrored chaise all by Superdoll. Mongolian wool wig by Doll-scum.

Sheer Glamour

This is 'Special Appearance' Violet Waters and is the only Ashton Drake Violet that I have kept. She does have a beautiful hair-do (40s rolls) and face and I must get her a new 'Wu' body sometime.

I always seem to want to dress Violet in gowns and do not have any photos of her in anything other than gowns so I must try to take some of her looking more casual.

This gown is a Tonner gown from one of the very first Sydney Chase dolls called 'Sheer Glamour' and I think the pale yellow looks great against Violet's skintone. Tonner do have some nice gowns and I still have about five of the earlier Sydney Chase dolls that I can't part with. I think the later Sydney leaves a lot to be desired though!

'Special Apperance' Violet is modelling the Tonner 'Sheer Glamour' gown, opera-length gloves and heels (not seen). The microphone is from the Ashton Drake 'USO' accessory set and the white mink stole is by Dimitha.