I picked it up two days ago in Toys R Us. Outside of the fact that looked interesting visually, what really got my attention was the price tag: $34.99 But diorama addict that I am, I bought it anyway.

So, having a day off today, I decided to debox it and see what's what. Here's the Reader's Digest version of my review: TOO DARN CUTE!!!

The set itself has two sections: the checkout/display counter and the mannequin wall. The checkout/display counter comes with a plastic human sized Fashion Fever credit card that when swiped through the back of the counter, denotes the balance. The wacky part, however, is that it doesn't give the balance due for the "purchase", but instead provides the amount left on the card. For instance: "You have $300." Each time you swipe the card, it decreases by $50 until it gets to zero, then it resets at $300 again.

The real seller of this set, however, is the mannequin wall. Although I found it a bit of a challenge to set up (the directions aren't quite as clear as I would have liked), in the end, I figured it out. When it's completely assembled and loaded with fashions and accessories, the mannequin wall will hold 5 skirts/shorts/trousers on the bottom tier, 5 tops/jackets/vests in the middle tier, 5 small hats/caps (or wigs?) plus 2 pairs of sunglasses/eyeglasses on the top tier, and then 5 purses or up to 10 pairs of shoes in the tray on the mannequin pedestal base. To change one or all of the individual items, just pull off the translucent, colorless mannequin section, put on the new fashion item and then push the mannequin back in place on the column.

By lining up the arrow with the appropriate icon (head, blouse, skirt) and then pushing down on the plunger style button at the top of the column, the selected section rotates to the next fashion piece, thereby allowing you to create a full ensemble one piece at a time. The movement is jerky at best, but it does the job. The tray at the very bottom for holding shoes, purses and other small accessories also rotates manually, but via it's own small "thumb wheel".

The upside: Used alone, it's a great way to display favorite fashion pieces. Used in combination with other things, of course, it would make a wonderful boutique setting. As an added bonus, though it was meant to be viewed from the front, it also looks quite nice when displayed backwards (back side to front). The styling is fabulous -- a nice cross between classic and contemporary (think Victoria's Secret stores) -- and due to the fact that it doesn't have a lot of fussy details, it can be easily customized on both sides with paper, paint, ribbon, beads, etc.

The downside: You can't display dresses (for good reason, however) plus the blouses, jackets and vests have to be short, or they will they keep the middle section from rotating properly. Also, once again, the MSRP is a little steep, though I understand why. A lot of thought and mechanics went into this, the rotating display mannequin pedestal, specifically.

In addition to the two structural pieces, the set comes with 2 blouses, 1 fur trimmed vest, 1 mini skirt, 1 pair of jeans, a plastic headband, 2 pairs of sunglasses, three pairs of shoes (two different styles of strappy silver sandals and one pair of bubble gum pink high heel Mary Janes), plus a flat screen computer monitor and a separate matching keyboard.

Due to the fact that is has a LOT of loose parts, and some of them are absolutely crucial for the rotating display to function properly, my guess is, this set will be hard to find loose, mint and complete at garage sales and flea markets in years to come. On that note, if you're thinking of buying it, your best bet is to get it NRFB.

For the sake of the photograph, I put the checkout counter close to the mannequin wall, but it's actually a separate, unattached piece that you can put wherever you like. The plastic FF "credit card" that is used to activate the voice in the display counter is on the right.

Personally, I think it looks a LOT more appealing out of the box. On that note, here it is in all it's deboxed glory:

I actually like this set as is, but I can also see myself buying another one to customize when it goes on sale somewhere. Oh, the possibilities! I mean, just look at that great little silver artwork frame! The artwork inside is a sticker, but it would be easy to print or cut out your own artwork or sign to put in there on top of it.

I really like mine, but I'd be interested to hear what your opinion is if you bought it and deboxed it.