Other dolls (not BJD & fashion type)
In case you're new to 16-inch fashion dolls, you may want to read this presentation before viewing the photos of my dolls.
Clicking a name of the doll line will take you to the respective page.
Tyler Wentworth by Tonner Doll Company - Tyler is 16" tall and propably the best known and the most popular fashion doll in her size.
Tyler debuted in 1999. Back then only her shoulders, knees, hips and neck could be moved. Since then she's got bending arms, drop-shoulder, swivel waist, in 2004 bending wrist (now used with all Tonner 16" dolls) and in 2006-2007 flat foot sculpt, in the latest basic dolls interchangeable with heeled foot part. Tyler is made of vinyl and hard plastic, her hair is saran fiber, usually rooted, some short-haired styles are wigged this days. Tyler's face is hand-painted. Earliest face paints were pale compared to new ones, sweet in their own way. Early Tyler dolls have light skin tone, then there was a period when she was a little darker and now there are dolls with either light or tanned skin.
In 2008, Tonner's producing very limited editions of ball jointed dolls using the sculpts of Tyler and friends. These dolls are made of resin, and they have changeable eyes and wigs.
Tyler's a fashion designer by profession and runs her family business, the House of Wentworth in New York. Other professions represented in Tyler line are designer, model, PR-person, artist, ballerina, beauty queen, cosmetics company chief and news anchor. If I've counted right, 18* different sculpts have been used in TW-line, some sculpts have been or are still used for dolls in other Tonner product lines. Some sculpts are exclusive to a particular store or event and some have been retired, this year eight different dolls were produced and Angelina was photographed in an outfit but wasn't available herself.
*19 if you count 2006 convention exclusive Celebration. I didn't because she doesn't have a name, all Tyler dolls do.
Ellowyne Wilde by Wilde Imagination - Ellowyne is 16" tall fashion doll produced and sold by Wilde Imagination and designed by Robert Tonner. She is fully artculated with heeled feet. As for her body sculpt, I particularly like her finger's positions. Ellowyne was introduced in 2006 and has been a total success. She is very exceptional, where most fashion dolls are given a character defined by work, Ellowyne's story is a story of moodiness and boredom. Her clothing is very creative and her looks vary much more than any other fashion doll's.
Ellowyne's body structure is different from most other dolls in this size. She's a teenager, so her bust is smaller and waist bigger than adult dolls'. She also has large head and eyes which is why I see her as a link between a traditional 16" fashion doll and MSD-size BJDs.
Brenda Starr by Effanbee - Almost 100-year-old Effanbee Doll Company is now owned by Tonner so Brenda Starr dolls use the same body as Tyler. Their heads seem to be slightly bigger.
Brenda Starr is a reporter of Flash. Two other characters accompany her; Daphne Dimples who is a niece of the owner of Flash and works with Brenda and Betty Ann, Brenda's friend and copywriter. As reporter, Brenda gets to travel around the world followed by Daphne and Betty Ann and many of her outfits and looks have a story to go with them.
Just a couple of years ago, Brenda Starr line featured a very interesting male doll, Basil St.John, millionaire who cultivates black orchids to survive with his secret disease. With a better sculpt, he'd been a must!
I sort of have one Brenda Starr doll, Sammie uses Betty Ann sculpt but was released as a part of Tyler Wentworth collection, look for her at the Tyler & friends page.
Sob... in fall 2007 Effanbee presents Farewell Brenda collection.
Alexandra Fairchild Ford by Alexander Doll Company - The first Alexandra Fairchild Ford doll I know of is from 1999, so she's about as old as Tyler. Many early dolls have similarities with Tylers of that time. Now there are seven sculpts plus a similarly sized line called Desperate Housewives based on the TV-show.
Alex dolls are 16" like Tyler but their body structure is different so they cannot share clothes. Tonner dolls with new, smaller bustlines can wear some Alex clothing but tight-fitting garments are still too small for them.
Alex has been fully articulated since 2004, even toes can move! The dolls' faces are far less realistic than Tyler's, they have attached eyelashes and flat profiles which is why they aren't as attractive in my eyes as Tyler.
Alex and her friends are editors of Elan-magazine, each character has her own area of expertise, e.g. Sienna is the beauty editor, Sofia is in charge of fashion.
Marley Wentworth is Tyler's little sister, introduced by Tonner in 2005. Marley seems about 9-year-old and has incredibly lots of hobbies (she's an ice princess, plays violin, takes ballet lessons..). Marley is so far the only sculpt in the collection but can borrow clothing from the 12" dolls from other Tonner lines. The quality and innovativeness of Marley's clothing is pretty variable, 2007 outfits were great in every way, 2006 outfits were all weak.
Tiny Kitty by Tonner Doll Company - Tiny Kitty is a 10" fashion doll who debuted in 2003. She's "tiny" because she originally was a smaller version of an 18" Kitty Collier. These days most Tiny Kitty faces are painted the "saucy" style, while Kitty Collier still looks as innocent as ever with her big round inset eyes.
Tiny Kitty can wear many of Barbie's dresses, tops and jackets, but no pants or shoes.
Harry Potter by Tonner Doll Company - Tonner has recently made lots of "character figures", characters from movies and comics. Movie characters have been sculpted to look like the respective actors and actresses and all characters have authentical clothes based on movie/comic. I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter books and was delighted to see how well made Tonner's Harry Potter dolls and accessories are. Dolls have a teenager's body structure, boys are about 17", I'm not sure about the girls' height.
Ann Estelle/Mary Engelbreit by Tonner Doll Company - Ann Estelle line is produced by Tonner under the license from Mary Engelbreit. Ann Estelle doll has been available in four sizes: 8", 10", 18" and 29" (actually this doll was never produced but she appeared on Tonner 2006 catalog).
Ann Estelle and friends are 10", there are six different sculpts in the size (one is 9" baby). Dolls have inset eyes and rooted hair, they are articulated at neck, shoulders and hips, this year's dolls have bending legs. They are very cute themselves but what really makes AE-line special and desirable is their colourful clothing. Mary Engelbreit's print fabrics are used to make these cute garments.
Also a wide range of furniture and toys is available for 10" Ann Estelle and friends.
New York City Ballet by Tonner Doll Company - Tonner introduced their line of ballerina dolls in fall 2006 collection. Most adult dolls use Emilie's sculpt which I think is nice because Emilie happens to be my favourite. They naturally have 'en pointe' feet and smaller bustline than Tyler dolls.
My wish list of dolls not related to these categories:
Boneka Hanna
Kish & Company Chrysalis Piper
Ginger Brook Hollow Johanna
GBH Little Kathryn in underwear
GBH Little Meg in underwear