Girl of the Moment Veronique Perrin

Bianca wearing a Pink Ponytail exclusive sweater by Randall Craig.

It's only my second blog post, and I'm already behind schedule!  In the little Florida town where I live, we're in the middle of the Florida Strawberry Festival -- ten days each year filled with lots of food (and when I say LOTS.....), music (mostly country -- the big draw this year is Reba McEntire), parades, and carnival rides.  So I apologize for not staying on my self-imposed schedule, but I've been busy! LOL!

Bianca inspired by her original promo pictures.

This week I’m going even a little earlier into the FR line than I did last week, with Girl of the Moment Veronique.  She was an exlusive for MFD (My Favorite Doll) offered in conjunction with the 2004 FR Convention in Toronto (actually Mississauga). Girl of the Moment was sold to Convention attendees for $72.00, and then later that day was made available to the first 150 people attending the “public” sale at MFD for $83. She was a limited edition of 1000, and was part of a line-up of “basic” dolls that also included Graphic Language Adele (LE 1000), Glam Slam Kyori (LE 1200) and Shock Bon Bon Vanessa (LE 1200). 

A good friend told me her story of GOTM -- she was still in the very beginning of her collecting when that convention rolled around.  So early, in fact, that she didn't really know what a "doll convention" was, so she did not sign up to go.  But she did see an advertisement for Girl of the Moment, and that she would be available to the public. The advertisement she saw said, “As part of convention festivities, we will be offering an exclusive MFD Fashion Royalty Doll, Girl of the Moment Veronique ($83). The first 150 people to arrive for the Public Sale at 1 p.m. will be able to purchase this exciting new doll.” My friend continued,

I drove up to Toronto/Mississauga with my  husband (about 2.5 hours), and we lined up. We were nearly the first ones in line, and pretty soon, the line-up grew to about 100 people (at least, that’s how my hubby remembers it). We had to wait for the convention attendees to come out before they would let us (the public attendees) come in—the lines ups to the cash registers basically snaked through the whole store, and I think they had two or three line-ups (and it was a BIG store! lol). Conventioneers eventually started coming out with bags and bags of MFD merchandise—it was incredible!

This was the first time I had ever been able to purchase an FR doll for retail (keep in mind that the Black Lacquer collection came out a few months later, in early 2005). I couldn’t believe it. The limit was one per person, so I got one and my husband got one (I traded the 2nd one to a friend in NYC for Traveler By Nature, which of course I also couldn’t get!). I couldn’t believe how gorgeous she was—the pop of red, the intricate little case, gorgeous piercing blue eyes, the “leather” booties and headband, the chunky red bracelet with the “W” in diamonds—just stunning!

By the time we got [home] that night, the boards were already going crazy with people trying to buy one ...and people selling them for over $200—and of course, several had already sold on eBay for crazy prices!

Some people weren’t crazy about her, though—there [were] mixed reactions, mainly because of the makeup palette (the dark gold eye shadow with the light, piercing blue eyes). Also, not everyone “got” the whole hot pants thing, but pretty much everyone loved the perfect little red sweater—so detailed and so perfectly scaled.

I still have my GotM, although I’ve switched her to a tall body and changed the hot pants for a pair of the Future Perfect black leggings (the hot pants with attached black stockings are too short for the taller FR bodies). I can’t bear to change her outfit because she reminds me so much of that awesome day—the excitement of being one of the 150 people in the line up to get a chance at the special event doll! 

Bianca, in original sweater & accessories with train case. 
Skirt by Karen Kolkman and shoes by Mattel.

A lot of my dolls came to me -- I found them, listed at good prices, without ever searching for them in particular -- in the very beginning, I often had not even seen a picture of them or known such a doll existed before seeing her picture in her “for sale” post!  But Girl of the Moment was one of the first that I actually looked for -- searched the auction/sales sites for her by name. I feel quite sure I had seen her listed earlier for a better price than I ended up getting her for (though possibly minus her train case). I was like some other people, though, and  initially I was unsure about her face-up palette, at least judging from the promo shots I’d seen of her.  But later, I fell so in love with her hair, and that little red train case, I decided I had to have her. I finally found her listed with a person from the boards who had LOTS of dolls listed, and at a price I could live with.  I didn’t want to pay too much for her, because I already knew I would give her a new, tall, articulated body, since she was originally on a very first generation body, with no elbow or wrist joints. 

Eden Riegel as Bianca
Montgomery on All My Children

And so, my Bianca came home.  She got the name Bianca after Erica Kane’s daughter on All My Children, played by Eden Riegel.  On her new, taller body, she couldn’t wear her black shorts/hose combo, but I have to admit that didn’t really break my heart.  I initially kept her in her wonderful little red sweater, and put her in a black pencil skirt (thank you, Karen Kolkman!) and some red stilettos. In person, I found her eye makeup to be much more subtle than I had expected, and I absolutely LOVE her piercing blue eyes! She has become one of my most played-with, most often redressed dolls.  

Bianca wearing an outfit by La Boutique.

Bianca, in FR Monogram fashion,
Beyond the Still.

Bianca in Lavish Threads.

Bianca in Lavish Threads.

Bianca wearing an outfit by La Boutique.

Bianca wearing a Pink Ponytail
exclusive sweater by Randall Craig