Monday, February 1, 2010

Sharp and Susie, Part I



Here's a photo of Sonokong's Leather Mania Sharp and R&D's Tokyo Trendy Susie. As I mentioned previously, I love Sharp's curly hair - even if it is a little sparse at the back - her over-sized but sleepy eyes, and that she seems to wear "white pancake" (thick liquid) foundation that contrasts with her pinkish complexion. She's the only Asian fashion doll that I have whose face contrasts vividly with her complexion. (Whoa, I need to check among my Momokos. Note to self.)

This Susie is the Tokyo Trendy Susie from The Premiere Collection. I bought her from R&D. Tokyo Trendy is from the February 2004 release Premiere Collection - 300 of the Tokyo Trendy Susie dolls were issued. This Susie is one of my favorites with her "candy apple red" hair and lovely green eyes.

There are similarities in Sharp's and Susie's bodies, but their faces contrast. Sharp seems more anime-influenced. Her head is larger (but not annoyingly so). Susie has a more realistic look and more natural head proportion. Both dolls wear "leather," but Sharp's suit is conservative while Susie's black buckled dress reflects the video game assignment she was hired to promote. If you click on the link for Tokyo Trendy Susie on the R&D Susie page, you can see additional photos of her.

I will submit a fuller review of Susie and possibly Sharp in future posts.

7 comments:

Niel said...

Thanks for this comparison Dana. :) Sharp's head is bigger than Susie? It doesn't seem so in the photo. Maybe her big hair made her head look smaller.

smidge girl said...

I've never seen a Sharp, and I've always been very drawn to Susie-- I'm love to hear more about both these dolls:)

D7ana said...

Glad to share a "new" face ;-D

Oh the wonderful world of Asian fashion dolls, SmidgeGirl! It began with Barbies sold in Japan, moved to special market Barbies sold in Japan then to Takara Jenny and Ma-Ba Barbies. Then Momoko, Susie, Annz, etc. And let's NOT go into the wonderful mooks with their fab projects.

I'm working on a Petworks-Sekiguchi post now. Have photos, need to write the text.

D7ana said...

Your welcome, Niel. Sharp's head is a little bigger than Susie's. Also Sharp has bigger eyes and much bigger hair than Susie. I'll submit more photos for comparison and perhaps some measurements :-)

AilanthusAltissima said...

Great post! I like the comparison of the two dolls. I don't have a Sharp (and I don't think I want one). I don't have/want a Jenny or Licca and I am not overly fond of Momoko though I will probably get one or two (Momoko has great fashions and some great concepts). It could be that I don't prefer the anime look on dolls (though I do like the anime look on urban vinyl figures). I have three Susies and I really like Susie, though I don't know exactly why. I think the sculpt is pleasing. If memory serves me correctly, she is intended to be Eurasian or of mixed ancestry which I think is an interesting concept for a doll and reflects life in cosmopolitan cities.

I really want an Annz, but I haven't gotten around to getting one yet.

I don't know what to think about dollfie - I am really conflicted. I love the idea of the doll intellectually, but I can't warm up to how many of them actually look and then again, some are very beautiful.

I am beginning to see convergence in the various ideas and approaches to fashion doll/figures from the different lines.

D7ana said...

Hi Kim! Glad you enjoyed the post.

I have Jennys, Momokos, and Susies. No Liccas or Annz - though I would like at least one Annz because they remind me of Francies.

I consider Susie "An American Abroad" because the native of San Francisco has a Chinese-American father and a Spanish- American mother as told on the "Susie's Story" page.

(Aside: other multi-ethnic dolls are the Mixis by YNU Group. There are a few posts here about the Mixis dolls LOL.)

While Dollfies are attractive, they cost more than I would want to spend on one doll (aha! bet no one thought I put a limit on what I would spend on dolls.) so I don't study them.

I love the growing articulation of fashion dolls. Now even Barbies have jointed elbows and knees and wrists. That's progress indeed ;-)

D7ana said...

Niel, you have a great eye for doll head sizes :-D

Both Susie and Sharp have face width's about 1 1/16 inches. I'm submitting a second photo with a fuller haired Susie, Ibiza Heat Susie.