Nod to Fire and Ice

 Taking a break from my Muses today to photograph another "muse" of mine, Victoire from Integrity's East 59th line. The East 59th line was what pulled me back over to the 1:6 size again. Like many fashion doll collector's, my love of dolls started with Barbie. Barbie was also what got me into collecting as an adult. As the years went by and Gene was introduced 1n 1995, my interest switched to the 16" dolls. I dabbled in several different lines in that size range, and still retain my favorites from Ashton Drake, Integrity, Tonner and Jamieshow in the 16" size, but for many years I moved out of the traditional fashion dolls and my focus became centered more on the asian ball jointed dolls, specifically Iplehouse, and other doll companies with a similar realistic aesthetic. I still love my Iplehouse dolls, and have added dolls from both Raccoon Doll and SartoriaJ as well. I even have blogs devoted to those dolls in the sidebar. I had always admired Chris Stoeckel's designs when others would show their OOAK piece on 16" dolls on various doll forums, so during the pandemic I found a couple of East 59th dolls for sale at one of my favorite retailers and decided to give them a try. I was hooked!! They brought me back to enjoying the 1:6 doll size in a big way again. I joined Integrity's collector's club hoping to get the inside scoop on the new lines and have continued to enjoy the East 59th line very much. Chris Stoeckel's designs are perfection! Now back to this particular Victoire doll, Sparkling New Year. Yes, I know I'm a little out of season, but she had been lingering in her box waiting for the right timing and when I received this background in from a seller in China on Ebay, I knew it would be perfect for this version of Victoire, so decided to spring her from her box to photograph her today.

When this doll first came out it reminded me of a juxtaposition of  Revlon's Fire and Ice campaign. A picture of the famous Fire and Ice ad below, both in the original 1952 ad and an updated ad campaign in 2010.

I may dress my Basic raven Victoire in this outfit eventually, or maybe Alexis from the Muse collection and try and emulate the ad, but for now, Sparkling New Year's time to shine.

She's a stunning version of Victoire with her ice blue eyes and red lips. I could have done without the white stripe in her hair, but I see why it was done. It definitely adds to the drama, and ties to the beautiful coat.

And as always with Chris' ensembles the tailoring and details are wonderful! Her jewelry is really beautiful, and love her red gloves and clutch. Another gorgeous addition to the East 59th collection.