The crux of the site is good old fashioned voting for your favourite Tonner Doll photo out of the two presented to you on the screen, hense the nature of the ‘duel’! However don’t worry if you can’t decide, you do have the ability to call off the fight and declare a ‘draw’. The best thing about this site is the fact that all the doll photos are submitted by Tonner Doll fans and lovers themselves.

So be sure to check it out dollduels.com

An analysis of the ‘States 75 most-popular Christmas gifts found that a total of 2,598 shipments of Barbie products were received in the US throughout August and September, when retailers receive Christmas stock.

Barbie’s popularity continues to rise despite competition from other doll brands. Recovering from a slip in 2008, US sales of Barbie went up 4 per cent in 2009 and 14 percent in 2010.

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She is very much in the same vein as the American Girl dolls and as such is a historical doll, taking her place in the court of Henry VIII with a thoughtfully designed period costume and backstory.

Toy maker Frances Cain believes the fashion and music industries are stealing little girls’ childhood forcing them to grow up too quickly. This means there are no toys for the tween age group. As an antidote, Frances Cain has created a doll specifically for eight to twelve-year-olds.

Matilda is the first in a series of tween dolls being launched by Frances’ boutique toy company Daughters Of History. Themed to Tudor times, she comes complete with a range of period clothing and accessories. The aim being to allow girls to play intelligently and femininely without feeling pressured to be skinny and fashion conscious.

Frances takes up the story:

“It was impossible to find a doll for my daughter when she reached the age of ten so I decided to create one. Matilda has a young teenage figure to deliberately challenge aspirational fashion dolls like Bratz and Barbie.

The doll is not just about play. As well as introducing history to young girls, Matilda helps children to get to grips with some real life issues such as coping with loss”.

Standing 16 inches high, Matilda is beautifully crafted out of high-quality vinyl. Whilst looking like a porcelain doll, she has been made with play in mind and has fully-jointed arms and legs. Her extra-long hair will withstand endless brushing and styling.

Frances Cain has also extended the range with other Matilda products. As well as costumes, there’s also a keepsake book brimming with unique ideas such as a Tudor sleepover or making a pre-execution wish list. Matilda’s Secret is the accompanying novel which tells the story of her role as lady-in-waiting to Katherine Howard at the court of Henry VIIIth.

Matilda comes in her own sturdy carry case and costs £89.99 from www.agirlforalltime.com

Following the January announcement of the 2011 Doll of the Year® (DOTY®) Industry’s Choice® awards winners at IDEX Premiere in Orlando, Fla., 83 dolls went on to compete for the esteemed DOTY®Public’s Choice® awards. Over the last few months, readers and members of the collecting public were asked to select their favorite dolls from this pool of Industry’s Choice® winners. And so, DollReader proudly presents the 2011 Doll of the Year® Public’s Choice® award winners.

Check out pictures of all this year’s award winners in the August/September issue of Doll Reader magazine, and stay tuned for the October issue where interview each award winner about their prize-winning doll and what’s next for them.

Children’s Play Doll
Black Velvet – Adora, Charisma Brands

Collectible Baby Doll
Amy – Doris Stannat, MasterPiece Dolls

Collectible Fashion Doll
Ava Gardner Hearts Ablaze - Tonner Doll Company

Collectible Ball-Jointed Doll
Alice - Ashton-Drake Galleries

Collectible Vinyl/Plastic Doll, Less than $175
Little Red Riding Hood – Joanne Flitton, Heartstring Dolls

Collectible Vinyl/Plastic Doll, More than $175
Jethe - Heidi Plusczok

Collectible Porcelain Doll
Journey – Karen Alderson, Charisma Brands

Collectible Miniature Doll, 8 Inches or Less
Tiny Bundle - Camille Allen

Collectible Manufacturer’s Artist Doll, Less than $250
Flame Blue Vanessa Perrin Dressed Doll – Jason Wu, Integrity Toys

Collectible Manufacturer’s Artist Doll, More than $250
Victoria Rose – Luciana Miglioranzi, Babies N Bubbles

Artist Ball-Jointed Doll
Mia – Lorella Falconi, Lorella Falconi Dolls

Artist Baby Doll
Sweet AlyMarie – Lori Ivanovic, Silver Spoon Nursery

Artist Miniature Doll
Katherine – Anna Hardman, Anna Hardman Dolls

Artist Doll, Less than $1,250
Apolonia - Zawieruszynski Originals

Artist Doll, More than $1,250 + BEST IN SHOW!
Little Red Riding Hood - Hildegard Gunzel

One-Of-A-Kind Doll, Less than $1,250
Karley - Annette Hermann Originals

One-Of-A-Kind Doll, More than $1,250
Little Apache - Lynn Cartwright

Image via Wikipedia

This morning at Integrity Toys W Club breakfast time webinar there was a grand unveiling of a brand new line of dolls tied to the movie classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Suddenly the breakfast time event made sense (well breakfast for those of you in the east of the planet!).

Now BAT happen to be one of my favourite films, not least because of the devastating beauty and iconic performance by its leading lady, Audrey Hepburn in her role as the kooky, gal about town, Holly Golightly. The doll boasts a brand new sculpt and for the first time feet made just for kitten heels à la Miss Hepburn in the original movie.

The webinar gave a fascinating insight into the way the collection was researched and put together and I for one am looking forward to its release.  The dolls also boast a miriad of authentic accessories which were painfully researched and manufactured including the mask Hepburn wore for the ‘five and dime’ scene. The webinar also revealed that dress for the doll representing this scene was made as a result of a candid on set photo as it is hardly seen in the real movie. Now that’s dedication to authenticity!

There’s also a rather fun dress making and photography competition in this month’s issue!

My Muse Website

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 Well it’s official. The girls with the fashion for passion and a knack for getting the world’s mothers all hot under the collar are set to be back with avengance. Having come through the ravages of various legal battles with Barbie‘s maker mattel Bratz dolls are cleared for sale once again.

Whether, with the current backlash against the sexualization of young girls, they will be quite as successful this time around remains to be seen…

Bratz are back! Barbie better watch out.

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From the Sybarite cover star to the high fashion style shots we had come to know and love from HD this definitely helps fill the hole it left. I do therefore hope this magazine will be here to stay. Be sure to check it out and subscribe by print, digital and soon to be released ipad/iphone versions.

http://www.mymusemag.com

The ongoing fight between the two companies over exactly who owns the copyright of the Bratz doll line has rolled on for several years with the previous court room ruling in 2008 ruling in favour of Mattel. Not so this time but then barbie does have her 120 plus careers to fall back on in order to come up with the cash.

Failing that she could always sell a dream house or two!

Related Articles

• Barbie vs. Bratz: It’s A Doll-Eat-Doll World (time.com)
• Bratz dolls case resolved with $88.4m payout by Mattel (guardian.co.uk)

So far the Sybarite event doll looks to die for!

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