It is the end of February and that can only mean one thing: the 2023 W Club registration is open! If you want to be a member of the W Club, make sure to register by 9 PM ET on Tuesday, March 21st. Go here if you are anxious to do so and come back to read what I think about the dolls below. You can register for as many memberships as you want and pre-order 1, 2 or all 3 of the upgrade dolls per membership for an additional fee before the deadline passes. In addition to the first-to-know information, members-only forum, online chats, priority customer service and special events, W Club members will receive the following opportunities:
1. Five additional W Club exclusive made-to-order dolls guaranteed throughout the year (W Club cannot guarantee which lines they will be from or how many from which line, but they are currently expecting that these will come from Poppy Parker, Fashion Royalty, NU. Face and/or NU. Fantasy during 2023).
2. Special pricing for most IT Direct releases that are also made available to the public. This is for most, not all of the items. There may be some items excepted, including but not limited to collaboration projects or sales outside of Integrity’s control, such as through dealers.
3. Priority access to register for the smaller, in-person event expected to take place Summer 2023. With the exception of a few spots which may be held for the public or other purposes; priority access does not guarantee every member a spot. Also access to an online event later in the 2023 membership year that is expected to be similar in scope to the 2022 online event.
More details are available in the FAQs
In addition to the above, you can also pay to upgrade each membership with one, two or all three of the upgrade dolls for 2023. These are $160 each on top of the price of the membership; a $30 non-refundable deposit per doll is due now and the rest will be due at time of shipping.
You can watch the online presentation of the registration and the unveil of the upgrade dolls here.
So this year Integrity Toys will have an in-person event again. In the presentation they mentioned it will be small and held in the Washington D.C. area sometime this summer. One of the event dolls, in a colour variation, will be available for all W Club members, attending or not. I’m guessing a 100-person luncheon with two or three dolls available to attendees. Upgrades have the same price as last year, so I am guessing the same happen for the dolls released in 2023.
Item # 82162
Billion Dollar Beauty
Alejandra Luna™ Dressed Doll
NU. Face®: The Moments Collection
2023 W Club Upgrade Doll
Edition Size: TBD
Price: $160 + Shipping.
This doll will have a $30 non-refundable deposit due immediately, with $130 + shipping balance due at shipping time, approximately in Fall/Winter 2023.
Head Sculpt: Alejandra
Body Type: NF 3.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: FR White
Hair Color: Pale Crimson
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
The Story: Trans Latina billionaire heiress and NU. Face agency top model Alejandra Luna returns in this incredible color variation of the highly coveted "Billion Dollar Baddie" look! Alejandra just knows that the twist on this ensemble will ensure that all the gossip and every spotlight will be focused right where they belong... on her!
Includes:
12.5-inch articulated doll with rooted hair and hand applied eyelashes;
High-shine micro-sequined long sleeve dress with contrasting corset detail at the waist;
Fluffy marabou wrap;
Silver-tone faux-leather military-inspired hat with contrasting piping;
Dollar sign silver-tone earrings;
Silver-tone ring;
NU. FACE choker necklace;
Faux-diamond studded sunglasses;
Faux-crocodile silver-tone purse;
High-heeled "patent leather" pumps with silver-tone spike details;
Sheer black below-the-knee nylons;
Pair of painted-on gloved hands with long manicured nails;
Alternate pair of hands with long manicured nails;
Alternate pair of grip hands;
Doll stand;
Certificate of authenticity.
It was a major surprise to almost everyone, myself included, when we discovered that all three upgrade dolls were colour variations of previously released dolls. Jessy mentioned that he wanted to revisit dolls from the past that had their moment in a particular release, and offer them in different colours. This will appear again in 2023, not as a coherent collection, but as releases spread throughout the year. While the idea is certainly appealing when the dolls are grails that are beyond what most people can now afford to buy, the whole concept looks lazy and uninspired. If, as they have done in the past, they re-interpreted older dolls in a fresh and inspiring way, I am guessing it would have gone down much better. And if this is a way for the company to save money, it could certainly have been better handled. Alejandra has been whitewashed completely here - while her previous two versions were darker, this one is FR white. I still think the original is better looking but I am happy that people who could not get her then, as she was a dealer exclusive, have their chance now. One other thing: when a character is only on its third ever release, it sucks a bit to get a repeat. They should have kept Alejandra for one of the five club exclusives and have another NU Face, like Erin, as the upgrade.
Item # 91543
Summer Rose
Eugenia Perrin-Frost™ Dressed Doll
Fashion Royalty®: The Moments Collection
2023 W Club Upgrade Doll
Edition Size: TBD
Price: $160 + Shipping. This doll will have a $30 non-refundable deposit due immediately, with $130 + shipping balance due at shipping time, approximately in Fall/Winter 2023.
Head Sculpt: Eugenia
Body Type: FR 6.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: Hungarian
Hair Color: Sunny Blonde
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
The Story: Collector-favorite Eugenia is invoking all the beauty of a Summer Rose in this gorgeous twist on "English Rose" from the 2019 Integrity Toys Live From Fashion Week Convention!
Includes:
12.5-inch articulated doll with rooted hair and hand applied eyelashes;
Sheer watermelon-red deep V-neck blouse with ruffle detail;
Floral print pleated skirt with matching belt;
Black beaded headband;
Woven "leather" handbag;
Gold-tone drop earrings;
Butterfly ring;
Black "leather" high heels;
Pair of long manicured hands;
Alternate pair of grip hands;
Doll stand;
Certificate of authenticity.
Eugenia is a character we often get as an upgrade - Le Tuxedo in 2020, Modernist in 2018, plus Reigning Grace as the Cinematic convention upgrade in 2015. This one is a colour variation of a convention doll, English Rose from the 2019 Live From Fashion Week event. The OG doll was dressed in pale pastels, with dark hair (reminding me of Vivacité Eugenia) and her bag was embroidered instead of textured. The fabric of the original blouse looked like crepe and her barrette had a short tulle veil. She reminds me both of Tuxedo and Going Public (just a bit), and also of Secret Garden a bit, if she went darker. Good for those that missed one of the aforementioned dolls in the first place. I do not like the skirt print, it looks dated and not what one of the Perrins would wear going out.
Item # 77242
Lemon Lullaby
Poppy Parker® Dressed Doll
Poppy Parker®: The Moments Collection
2023 W Club Upgrade Doll
Edition Size: TBD
Price: $160 + Shipping. This doll will have a $30 non-refundable deposit due immediately, with $130 + shipping balance due at shipping time, approximately in Fall/Winter 2023.
Head Sculpt: Poppy
Body Type: PP 1.5
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: A-Tone
Hair Color: Black
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
The Story: When Poppy walked by the window of her favorite boutique, Lemieux, and saw her prized "Powder Puff" peignoir set in a dreamy yellow color, she just couldn't pass it up! And of course, her teddy bear, Plato Parker, had to come along, too!
Includes:
12-inch articulated doll with rooted hair and hand applied eyelashes;
Adorable yellow peignoir set featuring a baby doll nightie with delicate ribbon and lace detailing;
Dramatic layered full-length sheer robe;
Matching satin mules with pompom accents;
Doll-sized teddy bear;
Matching stud earrings and ring with "stone" detail;
Ribbon headband;
Pair of Poppy Parker hands;
Alternate pair of grip hands;
Doll stand;
Certificate of authenticity.
The original Powder Puff Poppy was released as a lottery doll in the 2016 BonBon collection, which makes this the variant with the oldest connection - albeit of a quite near past. And she is actually the third colour variant, as there was a pink one as the giveaway in the 2019 Poppy Parker event, which had two colour variant Poppy dolls. Unlike the baby blue OG, the teddy bears of both later variants are white, with the latest one smiling ominously. The actual doll is the best of the three, in her dark skin tone, but she reminds me too much of both Milan Poppy and Resort Ready to entice me. Something tells me that I am going to buy less IT dolls this year, if this trend continuous - last year was the first ever that I pre-ordered only one of the five exclusives. Again, while these three are all beautiful dolls, they don’t entice me, as an older collector, to upgrade my club membership. On the other hand, I am glad that many people are getting variations of grails they cannot afford otherwise. And that can only be a good thing.
If you are ready to join the W Club for 2023, first, please review the membership rules here
The IT shop instructions are here.
And if you need the link again to registrate go here and scroll down to press agree.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Prototypes shown, final product may vary. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only.
All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2023 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission. POPPY PARKER, FASHION ROYALTY, NU. FACE, EAST 59TH, THE MONARCHS HOMME, METEOR, NU. FANTASY, TULABELLE TRUE & CO. and all other character marks followed by ™ or ® are trademarks of Integrity Toys, Inc. Chesapeake City MD USA 21915. All rights reserved. The W Club is a trademark of Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.
Photography by Bill and Shaunessey Peck. Layouts and graphics by Alain Tremblay, Marketing.