Tyler Market Week Outfit by Robert Tonner

by Kathryn Darden

One of the highlights of Toy Fair Week was the Tonner Fashion Show at Parson's School of Design, located in the garment district of New York City. Robert Tonner's alma mater played host to several hundred Tyler fans as fashion models donned Tyler's fashionable duds. Those in attendance for the evening's festivities were permitted to purchase a special limited Tyler ensemble, Market Week, a trendy little number comprised of a black body suit, a leopard print mini skirt and a black jacket, along with black hose and black "suede" boots.

 I waited until today to put my outfit on Tyler, and I am sharing my first impressions as I remove the outfit from the box and put it on Tyler. The body suit is not anything to brag about IMHO. As was noted with A Little Night Music, the male snaps were sewn on with black thread while the female snaps were sewn on with WHITE thread. In addition, the seams are finished with white thread. The collar is faced with beige fabric, but the rest of the black top remains black so there is the possibility (likelihood?) of staining. The fit is good, but there are odd little white threads poking out here and there at the crotch and seams. Once the leopard skirt is put on over the top, the loose threads don't show, but the white seam stitching and the white threads used on the snaps are visible behind her ponytail until you put the jacket on.

The jacket features velvet collar and cuffs, plus four gold-tone buttons and an attached belt with a gold-tone buckle. The "bag trick" is needed to get her hands through the sleeves easily. Unlike the top, the jacket is sewn entirely with black thread -- a big improvement over the top-- and the sleeves are lined with white, but the rest of the jacket is lined in black. The skirt is lined with black mesh, the hose are black -- in fact, there is a great deal of black touching Tyler's vinyl with this outfit. I do like leopard print, however, and the black and leopard look good together.

The boots are very difficult to put on but fit extremely well once forced on. The second boot just tore as I was putting it on -- the sole tore away from the upper. Other than the white threads and torn boot, the other flaw with the outfit is that Tyler's knee joints are evident even under the black hose. This will not bother some, but it takes away from the overall look. This is a cute outfit with tons of potential that just didn't quite live up to its full possibilities.