Poppy Parker Fashion Teen "Spring Morning" by Integrity

First of all, Rebecca is running away with the American Girl poll!  The poll closed and I haven't bought a doll yet, so I'll open up the voting for a few more days in case anyone wanted to weigh in but couldn't.  Thank you for helping me with this decision!  Second, I am on vacation, so I am s-l-o-w.  BUT!  There might be some beach blogging later in the week.

It's been a while since I've reviewed a larger fashion doll.  The 16" Poppy Parker "Fashion Teen" line was announced by Integrity in January of 2012 and the dolls started shipping last summer.  So...I am a little late with this, but I wanted to review this doll now for two reasons.  First, I missed out on the 2013 12" Poppys and I thought de-boxing some older Poppy dolls might make me feel better.  Second, the new Integrity 16" Tulabelle line is shipping and I want to be able to compare my Tulabelle to the Fashion Teens.

Integrity specializes in 12" fashion dolls, but seems to be trying to find a niche in the 16" market.  So far, we have seen the release of the AvantGuard dolls, the FR16 line, the larger Poppy Parker teens, and now Tulabelle.  Honestly, I am not sure if any of these dolls have been a huge success.  I have noticed that if you miss the Integrity pre-ordering frenzy and show up late to the party (as I often do) the 12" dolls are mostly sold out, but there are usually plenty of 16" girls to choose from.  All but one of the Poppy Parker Fashion Teen dolls can still be found for sale at their retail price of $150.

Large or small, Integrity offers gorgeous clothes and high quality, so I was pretty excited about de-boxing my behemoth Fashion Teen.  Here is Spring Morning:

Poppy Parker Fashion Teen
 "Spring Morning"

Integrity Toys Doll Comparison Review

I have wanted to write this review for a long time.  It is probably too ambitious, but I'm going to give it my best shot anyway.  Last year, during the Jason Wu Integrity Toys pre-ordering frenzy (which I have no skill at whatsoever) I had a vision of doing a comparative review between Integrity dolls across different price points.  In particular, I have always been curious about the differences between a Fashion Royalty doll and a Dynamite Girl.  I wanted the dolls I compared to look similar and I wanted to like all of them enough that I would buy them even without this crazy review scheme.  The problem is, the Integrity pre-order situation is hard enough without throwing in so many other constraints.  Still, I did pretty well.  I ordered "Back to Brooklyn" Gavin, a Dynamite Girl ($65.00), and Fashion Royalty "World on a String" Eugenia Perrin ($110.00).  I also ordered the discontinued ITBE doll, Confident ($19.99).  They are all redheads.  The dolls arrived at various times over the past year.  Eugenia trailed the pack and didn't make her appearance until the end of December.  Having just gone through the Integrity pre-order for 2013, I thought that this would be a good time to de-box my 2012 girls and see what Integrity has to offer at three very different prices.

Left to right: Dynamite Girl ($65), Fashion Royalty ($110), ITBE ($20).

The Poppy Parker and Chip "Baby It's You" Gift Set by Integrity Toys

Typically, when fashion doll pre-order season comes around each year, I select a few Tonner dolls with Cinderella faces to add to my collection and that's about it.  This leaves me in a position where I can get out the popcorn, sit back, and watch the chaos that surrounds the yearly Integrity Toys pre-order extravaganza.  I have tried once or twice (half-heartedly, I'll admit) to buy a new Integrity doll, but by the time I get my act together, the dolls I want are always sold out.  Why are these dolls so popular?  Well, the edition sizes are pretty small (400-600), and the dolls are also Barbie-sized, so they fit nicely into the collections of established Barbie fans.  Furthermore, Jason Wu is a brilliant designer and many people want to own something he has created (have you seen his clothes at Target, by the way?  They are very nice).  But I also suspect that there's another intangible element to these dolls that makes them so tempting--a kind of "X factor."

I do own a few Integrity dolls, but only ones that don't sell very well for some reason.  For example, I got my 16" AvantGuard dolls on a big clearance sale and I found my I.T.B.E. doll collecting dust at an online shop two years after her release.  I really like these dolls, though, and that got me thinking that if mine are the undesirable Integrity dolls, the hot dolls must be pretty spectacular.  So, this year I decided to put a little more effort into my quest for a popular Integrity doll.

Lately, one of the most sought-after Integrity characters is Poppy Parker.  Poppy portrays a teenaged fashion model from the 1960s.  2012 has been an exciting year for Poppy Parker doll releases, because along with the usual 12" additions to the Poppy collection, there are new 16" versions of this character as well.  The 16" Poppy dolls are actually among the few Integrity dolls still available to order now, but the 12" dolls were typically scarce.  I managed to get my hands on one of the 12" Poppy dolls, the "Baby It's You" gift set that also includes Poppy's boyfriend Chip:

Poppy Parker and Chip Baby it's You gift set.

Barbie Basic vs. Integrity Toys Basic Edition (I.T.B.E.) Comparison Review

Mattel and Integrity Toys both offer (or have offered) basic edition 12" fashion dolls in the $20 price range.  While Integrity looks like it might have phased out the ITBE dolls (there were no new releases in 2011 or 2102), there are still a few of the older dolls to be found at various doll shops, and I thought it would be fun to do a comparison review of these two very similar dolls.

Barbie Basics were first released in spring of 2010.  The original line included 12 dolls, all wearing a different simple black dress.  I thought the promotional pictures for this line were awesome.  Subsequent releases have included some dolls wearing red dresses (exclusive to Target), dolls modeling jeans and tee shirts, and, most recently, a small collection of dolls sporting swimsuits.

Integrity released their ITBE line in 2009.  The original collection had 6 dolls modeling a diversity of dress styles in an array of colors with no apparent unifying theme.  The second collection, "Roma 2010," has only 5 dolls and features fashions inspired by friends traveling together to Rome.

I wanted to compare two dolls that resembled each other in terms of hair, coloring and outfit, so rather than choosing my favorite dolls from these lines, I selected Barbie Basic Model 09 (from the first collection) and the ITBE Roma doll "Desirable" from 2010.  Both dolls are caucasian with blonde hair and bangs, and both are wearing little black dresses.

ITBE Desirable and Barbie Basic Model 09

AvantGuard Dolls by Jason Wu for Integrity Toys

Jason Wu is an extraordinary young American fashion designer.  He was designing for Integrity Toys when he was the same age as my oldest son (14).  Fans of Project Runway might be interested to know that Mr. Wu is a graduate of the Parson's School of Design in New York.  Fans of First Lady Michelle Obama's style will know that Jason Wu is the talented man who designed her beautiful inauguration gown.  For dolls lovers, Jason Wu is probably best known for his incredibly popular Fashion Royalty line of 12" fashion dolls.  Soon, Jason Wu's fashion influence will be even more far-reaching, as he has just unveiled a line of affordable clothing for Target stores.

I have been a fan of Jason Wu's work from a distance for several years.  I have tried on a few occasions to buy a Fashion Royalty doll, but I am often too slow with the keyboard to pre-order the one I want (they sell out very quickly).  Furthermore, I tend to lean more towards the 16" fashion dolls like Tonner dolls, Sybarites, and Jamieshow dolls, and have never really gotten into Barbie or any of the other smaller scale dolls.

When Integrity first announced their new line of 16" AvantGuard dolls in 2008, I really wanted to buy one.  They are pricey, though, at around $250, and the first few sold out quickly.  Some of the newer dolls have not been as well-received, and these ended up lingering on shelves and eventually going on clearance for a more reasonable price.  A recent store credit at Angelic Dreamz (and an unbeatable sale price) pushed me to take the plunge and buy my first AvantGuard dolls:

"On Edge" and "Hot Trot"