Sorry, Poppy Parker is now sold out!
Say the words “Integrity Toys,” and gorgeous and haute glamour girls as depicted by the likes of the company’s AvantGuard and Fashion Royalty brands come to mind. Cutting-edge fashions, daring face-ups and hairstyles, to-die-for heels that ooze sexiness—these are a few of the ingredients Integrity Toys collectors have come to crave and expect from the design team led by fashion design superstar Jason Wu.
The dynamo company’s desired dolls haven’t historically evoked words like “sweet and innocent,” “Midwestern girl” and “simple elegance.”
Enter “Poppy Parker” in 2009. Raised on a farm in the Midwest, Poppy Parker was “discovered” and her modeling career launched in the city that never sleeps. From rows of corn, to the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue set in the 1950s and 1960s, Poppy’s pure and wholesome good looks represent a first for Integrity Toys.
“Inspired by teenage fashion models, and TV and movie icons from the early to mid-1960s, characters like Gidget, and actresses such as young Patty Duke, Hayley Mills and Annette Funicello, and teen models of the time, such as Colleen Corby and Jean Shrimpton, all have elements of their personalities that are reflected in our Miss Poppy Parker,” says David Buttry, Integrity Toys designer of the doll.
“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Buttry of Poppy’s reception in the collectible doll world. “We’ve been able to reach another segment of the collecting community who may have not collected Integrity dolls before. Poppy has garnered a loyal 
and large following, and collectors cannot wait to see where we take her next!” he says.
For the moment, that “next” incarnation of Poppy Parker happens to be a very special one—DOLLS magazine’s first exclusive doll, “I Love How You Love Me.”
The 300-piece limited-edition set comes complete with 12-inch vinyl Poppy Parker and a trio of red, pink and white outfits that Poppy dons as she journeys from day to evening to night. She starts the day in a smart red jumper with white blouse and patterned tights, which is followed by her lovely white satin party dress and brocade coat evening ensemble. Finally, she crawls into bed wearing her adorable pink gingham nighty, matching bloomers and fuzzy slippers.
The concept for the set started, says Buttry, with the Integrity design team’s love of vintage TV programs. “The original inspiration was to imagine Poppy as a character in a vintage television variety show of the1960s, like Andy Williams, Lawrence Welk or the King Family Singers. The more we thought of it, we decided to expand the concept, and it somehow morphed into a day-to-night set,” explains 
Buttry.
“Once we had the concept of a day-to-night set firm in our minds, we decided to depict the innocence of daily life as seen through the eyes of a teenage model in the early 1960s—from a busy day in the city, to a night on the town and, finally, off to slumber,” Buttry expands.
The set, Buttry says, brings Poppy a little farther into the 1960s, meaning the styles feel slightly mod with the bright colors and shorter hemlines.
In time for Valentine’s Day, the I Love How You Love Me set is named after a pop song from the era by the Paris Sisters. “It is a beautifully romantic song, and everyone should go and listen to it if you aren’t familiar with it,” Buttry says.
On the horizon for the 2011 Poppy Parker line is a new character—her friend “Darla Daley,” an African-American pop singer who Poppy met in a record shop in Greenwich Village in New York City. “This new character is a step in the direction of expanding Poppy’s world, and we are all very excited about it,” says Buttry. We are hoping collectors love Darla as much as we do, and we may even have another surprise or two up our sleeves relating to Poppy’s world in 2011.”
But meanwhile, DOLLS and the design team at Integrity Toys can’t resist I Love How Your Love Me. “We think the set turned out awesome! It far exceeded our expectations,” Buttry says. “It depicts a complete day in the life of Poppy Parker, and we hope collectors love it just as much as we do.”
Photos Caption
The 300-piece limited-edition set comes complete with 12-inch vinyl Poppy Parker and a trio of red, pink and white outfits that Poppy dons as she journeys from day to evening to night. She starts the day in a smart red jumper with white blouse and patterned tights, which is followed by her lovely white satin party dress and brocade coat evening ensemble. Finally, she crawls into bed wearing her adorable pink gingham nighty, matching bloomers and fuzzy slippers.
