Sybarite - A Whole New World
Image Courtesy of Visibly-Vintage
Sybarite dolls… a whole other world; where fashion meets art, style & photography.
Sybarite: A general term for describing one fond of pleasure and luxury.
What is A Sybarite Doll?
A collectable fashion doll of the highest calibre like nothing you have ever seen before and featured in fashion magazines such as Style.com and Women’s Wear Daily. In 2007 a Sybarite fashion doll even had it’s own seat in the audience at a Dior Couture fashion show.
Image Courtesy of Visibly-Vintage
Image Courtesy of Visibly-Vintage
Image Courtesy of Visibly-Vintage
I wanted to show you some images first to inspire you.
Now a bit about the story behind Sybarite dolls.
The first 16 inch resin Sybarite fashion dolls were hand made in 2005 by South African born London artists Desmond Lingard and Charles Fegen (who worked in the fashion industry as a clothing designer).
The partners initially created one-off couture pieces for Barbie, Tonner and Gene, but in 2005 moved onto a creation of their own brand dolls.
Desmond and Charles still maintain a studio in London’s East End today and manage the Sybarite doll official brand Superfrock Ltd. They were recently interviewed by the bbc, a fascinating interview well worth a watch.
What is particularly fascinating about the dolls is their huge and loyal fan base and in particular I feel the photographs of some of dolls themselves have become works of art. Will be see these photographs at an art exhibition one day? I think we should is the answer, and I think we will.
Today Sybarite dolls are manufactered in China, but quality has not been sacrificed since their move onto the mainstream collectable dolls market. Original handmade studio Sybarites have been purchased for up to $40,000 by collectors.
Sybarite is just one brand of high quality fashion doll to collect, but very loyal fans will often insist Sybarites are the best. Not all Sybarite collectors are this devout and collect other types of dolls also.
Superdoll (another word for Sybarite dolls)collector links:
Visibly-Vintage
sYbalicious
Fashion Dolls
Judy’s Dolls
There are even a magazines for these dolls
www.hautedoll.com
fdqmedia.com
Special thanks to Tunde for providing valuable insight and links into the world of ‘Superdolls’
Some more beautiful images:
These feature some amazing room sets.
November 16th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hi!
Some Great Pictures!
Do You Know Where Do I Buy A Sybarite Doll On A Budget?
Thankyou x
November 17th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Tunde (my article info source and inspiration) is the expert on fashion dolls, and thus I’ve sent an email asking if they can point you in the right direction for places you can perhaps purchase the dolls.
I don’t know about ‘budget’ though, from what I understand they are highly collectible and fairly expensive all round.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Hi Emily,
Unfortunately not much can be done on a budget when it comes to these dolls. They are extremely popular and generally sell out in less than 24hours (I’ve seen them sell out in less than an hour). The best way to get a sybarite is to buy them directly from Superfrock or one of the dealers they periodically give exclusives to. The reason for this is that once they’re sold, the price will dramatically increase because they’re sold out and incredibly limited. An example is this. One of the most recent dolls that was released, Queen B, was sold from a dealer for $665 with an edition size of 125. The doll sold out in less than 24 hours. The price on eBay or doll boards for a Queen B now is about $1000 or $1200 with Buy-It-Now. The doll has literally just arrived with collectors this week and already the price is like this. It won’t come down either unless the doll is not in the best condition. This is very typical of the market. I’m sorry to have written such an essay but that’s just an idea of how it goes.
The only thing I can really suggest is buying a doll that is MIB (Mint in Box) which means it’s not exactly new but has been kept in good condition. This will bring the price down to about $600. The £-$ isn’t very good right now though. I hope I answered your question. If you have anymore feel free to email me, you can get my address from Amanda.
November 18th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Thank you very much Tunde for that detailed response, it’s appreciated