Aoi (First Blush Ayumi)

I'm getting a soft spot for Ayumi 3.0.  I love, love, loved Ayumi 2.0, but I'm liking this one a lot too.  However, I'm kind of hoping that she takes a small break.  She's been in a lot of the recent Nu.Face releases, and I don't want her to become stale.  There are several other Nu.Face characters that can be put into releases. (Or maybe even some new characters...?)

Eugenia (Going Public Eugenia)

Here she is.  I've been paying off this gorgeous beauty for... hmm, maybe almost a year?  Maybe not quite that long, but actually getting pretty close.  And she is SO GORGEOUS I can't even.  I sold Style Mantra Eden recently (mostly to pay for my plane trip to Convention), but I used a little bit towards finishing paying off Eugenia.  And, to me it's a trade up up up.

Korinne (Jet Set Vaughn Workshop Blonde Korinne)

Whew, the title of this doll is a mouthful.  I've *always* wanted this doll, and I'm happy that I now have her.  I had her (and another doll who I will show tomorrow) on hold for a long long time, so I'm stoked that they're finally home.

I wonder if we'll ever see Korinne again?

Xiu (Dangerous To Know Kyori)

She's making her return to my collection.  I'd sold this girl a while ago, but after some time, I regretted it and wanted her back.  That does tend to happen, sometimes.  75% of the time, I'm okay with selling a doll, but that other 25%... I think nearly every doll collector has had that happen to them.

I also pulled out my knitting stuff for the first time in a long, long time.  Need to think about doing table gifts for convention.

Kiki (Vice Kyori)

Once again I am thankful for my backlog of doll images.  Today I was planning to go outside and take pics, but I just wasn't feeling it.  I didn't want to force myself and take pictures that I didn't really like, so I'll try again tomorrow.

You don't see pictures of this doll very often - with all the new, awesome dolls that come out so frequently, it's easier for some of the older ones to get lost in the shuffle.  I originally had her hair in this style for one fashion a while ago, but I just plain liked it, so I've kept it like that.

Thuban (Age Of Opulence Isha)

Hope everyone who gets the weekend off has a great one, be it just because it's a weekend off (like me), or more religious reasons.  I'm spending the weekend playing Dungeons and Dragons, and binge-watching Critical Role (also Dungeons and Dragons).

Isha is absolutely my fave character in the Fashion Royalty pantheon.  I wish she appeared more often.  I'm REALLY hoping that she's available in the convention collection.  Like, really REALLY hoping. (I'll also happily settle for Mademoiselle Jolie who is Luchia 1.0, but since she was at last convention, I'm not going to bank on that one).  And yeah, I know that her body doesn't match her head - Age Of Opulence has one of those skintones that's really hard to match with replacement bodies.  The one she's got now is FR Black, and it's too dark, but Latina would be too light.

Tien (Total Betty Ayumi)

This doll didn't take off when she was released.  All the other dolls sold out pretty quickly, but she was still available at dealers.  I'm not sure why - I knew as soon as I saw her that she was going to be great.  I wish that they'd do more Hungarian/Latina skintone Asian dolls.  I also really like that her ears are double-pierced.  It's a cool little touch that IT hasn't done before.

Maxine (Mad Love Rayna)

This girl is GORGEOUS.  I'm so glad I was able to get my hands on her.  I think Nadja is still my fave of the collection, but it's definitely a hard choice.  All the girls are gorgeous.  I love Rayna's matte lipstick.  I can't wait to redress her.

East 59th - New Collection!

We in the WClub were treated on Friday to a new line, and now everyone gets to see it - East 59th, a new vintage inspired 12" line in the same vein as Victoire Roux (who will be joining this line, too).  Personally I'm not really into vintage, but I know a lot of doll collectors are, and are over the moon with this collection.  I know IT has Poppy as their other big vintage line, but this one goes back to the 50's (earlier than Poppy's timeline) and also features grown women (whereas Poppy is a teenager).  There's also going to be a new storyline going on with this line, and it sounds intriguing!

Luxurious Leisure Constance Madssen:

Constance Madssen is the bad girl of the storyline.  She's quite beautiful, and comes with a lot of cool accessories and such.  She, along with the other new character, are brand new face sculpts.


Classic Glamour Evelyn Weaverton:

Evelyn is also a new sculpt, and is the main character of the East 59th line.  She comes to New York and is discovered by Laird Drake (who owns a modelling agency, and whom I guess we'll be seeing in the line in the future).

Glittering Gala Evelyn:

I LOVE this doll.  She's my fave of the bunch.  I love this Evelyn face, but since I'm not as into updos, Glittering Gala spoke to me more than Classic Glamour.  I have her pre-ordered.  I can't wait to see what she looks like in more modern fashions.

Captivating Cocktails Constance:

I also really like this doll - again, buns and twists don't really do it for me all the time, so I prefer the Constance that has loose hair.  I'm considering also pre-ordering this girl since I also think she's really pretty.

Each of these dolls has an edition size of 400, costs 135 USD, and will ship sometime in the Summer of 2017.  I really hope that this line is successful.  Even if an IT line isn't my bag, I still always want the dolls to sell well so that they'll keep trying new things.

I know that there is some disappointment that the shoes are molded plastic instead of the fabric shoes that Integrity usually does.  I can see both sides of the argument.  For the price of these dolls, we've come to expect more detailed shoes.  But, there's also the throwback vintage plastic shoes from the Barbie era.  Also, Chris Stoeckel, the designer of the line, mentioned that he wanted to try some new things.  I think they took the plastic shoe tradeoff so there could be more accessories thrown in with the dolls at the price point.

Nadja (I Slay Nadja)

When the Reckless Collection was first announced, this was the doll that I wanted more than all the others.  And in person, she doesn't disappoint.  She is by far the best one of the line.  Her hair, her makeup palette, her fashion pieces... it's all perfect.