High Tide

Item #: 91184

High Tide Vanessa Perrin™ Close-Up Doll

Style du Jour Collection - Fall 2007

Limited Edition: 1200 dolls worldwide; SRP $79.99

Style Stats:

Hair: Bombshell Blond

Make-Up: Retro Rouge

Skin: Natural Silk

Style du Jour: Sailor Chic

Photos and review may not be used without permission.

What's not to love about High Tide Vanessa? A platinum blonde retro-style beauty with a retail price of only $79.99....Vanessa is the first of the Style du Jour dolls to arrive at my door. Stunning! She’s even better than her promo photos, and I immediately notice the quality of her Sailor Chic outfit (of which I was not originally a fan); It’s much nicer in real life.

Vanessa's hair is styled similarly to "Intimately Aquainted Luchia" with that "cinnamon bun" effect -- someone at Integrity sure loves "forehead rolls" this year, huh? I've pulled the hair net off of her face for these photos.

As a habit, I grab the Story Card first...it's a different design in the shape of a postage stamp with a jagged edge....yet I'm immediately disappointed that there is STILL no Story printed on the "Story" Card! Alain had stated that the stories would be reinstated "by the Fall Collection" but I see that's not happened. (As of this writing, the story is still not available at the printed online link yet either). Is it still being proofed? I inspect my COA to see that someone abbreviated this one as "HTE" instead of "HTV" (so maybe they thought this was Eugenia?).

Accessories: "Pearl" stud earrings, a 2-strand gold-tone chain bracelet, and red "patent" platform pumps. Someone else told me that they couldn't get her bracelet on because it was "too small;” mine fit fine. It did, however, fall off twice, so you have to tighten the clasp with tweezers if you want to keep it in place. The shoes look similar to the platform pumps that came with "Odd Girl Out Colette" - but my Vanessa couldn't/wouldn't stand on her own [like my Colette did]. Regardless, the shoes fit perfectly and look great! HT Vanessa also comes with a square acrylic telescoping FR stand...as shown.

Her sailor hat was pinned to her head with 2 straight pins...ON TOP of the hairnet (!), so to remove the hair net you have to remove the hat & pins (or cut the hairnet out carefully). I was unable to replace the pins in her head, so I just pinned the hat into her hairstyle. No rust was observed near either pin....then again, I did notice a definite lack of "hardcore styling gel" as my doll has several flyaway strands that will need taming. I could definitely see the forehead swirls loosen on my doll during the removal of the hair net....and there were many loose hairs dangling from the swirls...

Again, I was never a fan of this Sailor Look outfit originally....but it really does look adorable on Vanessa in person. The quality is impeccable and really does justice to the concept of this collection.

Front: The attention to detail [button size], box pleats and top-stitching is impressive.

Back: Stainless steel fasteners, of course, not too tight - no snaps!

The mini-skirt has built-in shorts, and the bodysuit is fully lined in white.

High Tide Vanessa modeling some other outfits: