Hollywood Dolls

When I heard that The Tonner Doll Company was making a vintage line of dolls again, I was excited. I own many of the Brenda Starr and friends dolls, and I really regret not buying any of the Dick Tracy line several years ago. Gene was not longer being produced and I hoped that the Ann Harper line would fill the Gene void a little.

When the Ann Harper doll arrived, I as a little disappointed. She looks different than her promo pictures, but that is not unusual. I am also underwhelmed about the quality of the clothes. It is a nice design, but there were many shortcuts taken in the construction. I think she looks nice in her closeup though.



I like the Carol Barrie doll more than Ann Harper. Her suit is interesting, though the fabric looks cheap, in the promo photos it looks like silk. This is not silk.



I think Ann looks great in Brenda Starr's "Cruise on the Nile" suit. Her hair is too high and big for the hat though.



Carol looks very haughty in Brenda's Par Excellence" outfit. Her hair style also doesn't work with the hat.

Though Gene is still my first love, the Ann Harper line is growing on me and I may have ordered some more dolls and fashions the other day.

So she could have looked like that. Sigh.



Let us stay in Holywood then and check out the Holywood Glamour collection. Tonner have condensed here all the old Holywood star dolls they make plus a series of glamorous outfits.

So many dolls have arrived this year it's mind-boggling to look back.
I do keep an accurate database with images so I know exactly who arrived and when. I also know who was voted off or waiting for adoption.
The following are not all newly released dolls but they were new to my collection this year and deserve their honors. 

Favorite Dolls of 2010




This was a year in which I felt I had way too many dolls and I looked at fashions and accessories more than acquiring dressed dolls. 


The disappointments were:
This was, for me, the biggest disappointment of the year: 
—Tonner Convention 'Unforgettable' 13” Revlon

Unforgettable - pre-ordering sight unseen can be a disaster.

—'Virtually Stunning' Alex - Coarse and cartoony-looking features ruined this doll's appearance and made me appreciate the original Alex even more. Why was this gal turned into an Amazon?

Left: Original Alex Body   Right: New Alex Body

 Today I acetone-removed her lip paint and eyebrows and she looks much better already! I am going to attempt a partial repaint.

—Deneuve - I could not love her face no matter how hard I tried.  Her body was wonderful.
—'Tricks of the Trade' Eugenia Perrin Frost - The fashion was not fashionable.

I think several design possibilities were overlooked. ;-)

—Vaughn Workshop Doll - My straightforward one-word opinion of this doll started a shit storm. The word was ugly.

Image by Petra Elise used by Permission

—Kesenia - Ridiculous looking mouth was created when the vampire fangs weren't painted in.

—Jordan 'Fire Within' - A sad mess in her overly youthful fashion and under-developed facial
screening. I did a partial repaint and sold her so I wouldn't be reminded of how much I paid for her. Loved the earrings and shoes.
This year we saw Fashion Royalty dolls' prices slashed by Integrity for the first time ever. It began with the discontinued Gene Marshall line and once they crossed that barrier, which had to have been an ego blow, they went forward with everything else that couldn't sell at retail.

I will be way more careful next year with the 12" dolls. Some of the dolls were pre-ordered with a kind of magical thinking that I'd love them. It was painful to see the gorgeous exclusive Nadja go on sale for half price...it's still up there.

My list of wonderful acquisitions is by no means complete. Compared to the amount of items I collected, the list of disappointments is small—but if you collect dolls, you will agree that every disappointment hurts.

During the year I added to my Silkstone, Tiny Kitty and Cissette collections. I'm still hunting for Tiny Kitty's Dress Shoppe.  The Silkies are useful for displaying Fashion Royalty 1st generation articulated body (short) fashions. They fit the Silkies almost perfectly! The Silkie I really wanted was ridiculously expensive so I didn't get her. I do draw the line once in a while.
Cissette has an unexplainable attraction for me. How did they get all the pieces of this fashion onto this little doll? It's so over the top.
Look how cute she is next to Cissy.

Time to wrap up this way-too-long post. I'd love to hear what your favorites and disappointments were in 2010.