Cherry & Other Blossoms

I have recently upgraded my Ruby Red Fashionista with a Made to Move body. When trees started blooming, I wanted her to be my model.

In all fairness, my original plan was to take photos of my new Mulan among the blossoms – and I did bring her as well –  but I wanted to reset the visual ‘taste buds’ before posting about her again.

The local botanical garden that I visited has a Japanese corner with three different species of cherry trees, all equally beautiful…

With the Fashionista, I mostly stopped by the last tree.

I haven’t officially given her a name. The mold is usually called after the dolls Kayla or Lea. To me, she kind of looks like an Emily 🙂

I had not prepared a special outfit in advance, so I dressed the doll in a top and skirt from a fashion pack. I would have loved to make her a kimono of sorts, but I just couldn’t find the right fabric.

I was hesitant whether the pink accents in her clothes would go with her red lips. I decided that the red lip is her personal trademark and it just has to be so, regardless of the outfit 🙂

She is very lovely doll and it was great to finally let her be more expressive with an articulated body. I always wanted her, even when I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to re-body her, but the original, stiff Fashionista bodies do stifle creativity.

This one last tree in bloom is probably not a cherry, hence the title of the post 🙂 It had pink petals as well, but much more fine. That actually made them a better scale for the doll.

The beautiful show that nature has put on recently has really motivated me to go out and take photos, and I actually have some more waiting to be posted 🙂 Unfortunately, this will have to wait until I do a little tidying around the apartment – after all, with spring also comes… spring cleaning 🙂

Blue Violet Petite Barbie Fashionista – a review and outfit sharing

I tend to like my dolls highly articulated, but sometimes I will see one so cute that I have to reconsider my principles. Say hello to the “Blue Violet” Barbie Fashionista 🙂

Recently, I have been focusing more on Barbie clothes. Unfortunately, buying them separately isn’t always that great of a bargain. I have figured that it pays more to get a nicely dressed Barbie Fashionista and expand both the doll and the fashions collection in one go.

Due to my recent interest in pastel hair, I was especially intrigued by the “Blue Violet” Fashionista and in the “Tutu Cool” one – both are very cute and come with nice outfits – especially much needed tops. I hate sewing tops 🙂 (Other than that, there are plenty of pastel-haired options!) Unfortunately, I had some trouble finding either one – until I ran into a single “Blue Violet” during recent shopping trip. Yay!

I kept seeing number 34 and 37 above, but, for some reason, this Petite was nowhere to be found.

This doll comes with two tops, two bottoms, two pairs of  shoes, two bags and a dress. Not a bad boost to the Barbie wardrobe!

Out of the box, she wears a black and white t-shirt that closes with a velcro, a pair of shorts with tights attached to them, yellow shoes and a bow. It’s a colorful and imaginative outfit.

I’m only not a fan of the shoes. They look a bit weird and it feels like the soles are at on odd angle that makes her lean forward. You also have to be very careful not to tear the tights while pulling the shoes on.

The top can also be paired with denim capris. They are good enough, versatile jeans.

They don’t have a lot of detail, and only a simple jeggings type finish at the waistline.

The second top is pink with a peplum and a black collar. It is adorable! Unfrotunately, the collar is a tad crooked.

It goes well with the jeans and the second pair of shoes.

 

I like these shoes. They have a smart retro feel to them.

Finally, there is a sleeveless dress with a lemon print. It is my least favourite piece, perhaps because it is so simple in its cut, or perhaps it’s just me always looking for separate top and bottoms 🙂

The print looks fairly realistic and is covered with some pearlescent glitter. It sheds a little bit, but nothing too too crazy.

Here is a closer look at the bags. I happen to have the heart-shaped one in a different colour, but the pink one is new for me. I would love for all Barbie bags to open, but even though these don’t, they are nice enough accessories to enrich an outfit.

I do love all the fun clothes and accessories that I received with the doll, but the doll herself is no less cute. She has a very kind looking face. It is the ‘Mbili’ mould. I definitely approve of her soft, neutral lip colour.

Perhaps the most fun aspect of her look is her two-toned pastel hair. It makes me think of cotton candy and magic 🙂 The doll’s name evidently comes from this hairstyle, however, the ‘Violet’ part looks almost pink.

Actually, if you look close enough, there is a third, white-ish colour mixed in there:

As mentioned in the title, this doll has a Petite body. She is somewhat shorter than the Original. Her chest and hips are also slightly smaller. This doll happens to only have articulation that allows her to rotate her arms, also move them to the side, the same with her legs – they go back and forth and somewhat to the side.

I’ve read that she matches the Yellow Top Made to Move, but then she would no longer be a petite… I don’t believe there yet exist a Petite MtM of any skin tone.

The option of putting her on an Original MtM raises an important question: do petite Barbie clothes fit an Original Barbie body? This is also important to me because I am hoping to use the fashions with other dolls. The answers is… so so, with some excpetions.

This Ariel head is on the Purple Top Original MtM. The peplum top looks a bit short, but I think it could be worn with a high waisted skirt.

The capris look alright to me. They don’t feel particularly tight either. The top exposes a bit of the belly, but is perfectly wearable. I did not have any trouble closing it in the back either.

The dress looks pretty short on her. Perhaps a pair of tight leggings could salvage this this outfit?

Finally, the shorts with tights are a definite wardrobe malfunction. They are just a tad too short to pull up all the way. Even if you’d cut off the tights, I’m not certain the velcro would close around her waist.

The next thing to consider is what options are available to the Petite doll. Actually, I’d say that Original Barbie fashions fit her quite well.

It looks like the Petite “Blue Violet” will be able to borrow clothes from her doll friends, and in some cases even return the favour. Given my aim to expand my Barbie wardrobe, I’m mostly satisfied.

Overall, this doll is somewhat limited by her poorly articulated body, but there is a unique feel to her and her fashions that for me justifies the purchase for a Barbie enthusiast. Even though she can’t do much in the way of posing, I may still make her some clothes and take some photos out of pure appreciation for her charm 🙂

I also think she would make a good gift for a child. The included outfits open up the door to a lot of mixing, matching and overall play – even when other dolls and fashions are not around.

The Ruby Red Barbie Fashionista

After discovering highly articulated dolls, I never thought I’d ever again be interested in any other kind. However, whenever I saw the “Ruby Red” Fashionista – usually online – I thought she looked lovely and that I should adopt her – eventually. Maybe I could put her on a Made to Move body? – I thought. Alas, the “purple top” MtM doll with the corresponding skin tone is both rare and now extra pricey. So I stalled.

This particular doll in the photos was the last one that I’ve been seeing in ‘offline’ shops in my area. Articulation or no articulation, I knew I’d be sad to one day find out that they are no longer available. I put my joint-count prejudice aside and let me take her home and love her for what she is.

According to the packaging, she is a part of the 2015 series of Fashionista dolls. She is definitely my favourite among the listed ones, although I also quite like number 23 and 25 (click here for a bigger image).

I was surprised how fun it was to open the doll (aside from the excess plastic tabs :)). I had not opened a Barbie doll in yeeeaars 🙂 A lot has changed, but there is a familiar feel to the experience.

Out of the box, her bangs were gelled stiff (above) and her hair overall messy, so I gave her a wash at once (below).

Here is the back, before and after. Never mind the tab through the skull. They are used to it 🙂

I feel like she would benefit from a quick trim too, but I haven’t had the courage so far.

Upon seeing her face to face, I do think her face is lovely:

It’s a kind of a simple, classy look. It is certainly in good harmony with her outfit. Her right eye might be a tad higher than the other one, but it’s nothing distracting. I knew I’d take her over a blind online purchase any day.

I also really like the way she looks with her hair tied – except it’s kind of hard to make a bun that will actually hold:

Speaking of her outfit, I pretty much love everything about it! Give it to me in human size and I’ll totally wear it 🙂

Actually-wearable-if-life-sized fashions are a relatively new development in the Barbie world. From my childhood, I remember everything being pink and either puffy, or glittery or iridescent. I really can’t decide which style I like better in dolls. Each has a very different appeal.

I think this dress looks cute and classy, and the colours are well matched. I like the pattern, too. My only complaint is that the skirt part and the collar aren’t hemmed. They also took the easy route and the sleeves aren’t separate pieces – but they look fine anyway. Sometimes I take the same shortcut when sewing, so I’d better not criticise too harshly 🙂 The dress is one piece, but I would expect it to be.

Oh, and there is a slight mistake with the collar which makes it curl up, but I can live with it.

Lea – which I believe is this character’s name – wears a bunch of white bracelets…

And simple black mary-jane flats:

…which let her stand on her own on smooth surfaces.

I love these shoes as well 🙂 They aren’t necessarily flawlessly sculpted, but I do love this style – for toddler dolls, for adult dolls, for myself! I think they are cute and girly. I see them as a playful reference to school uniforms, but my love for this style started with Disney’s animated Alice in Wonderland.

(I didn’t like the film as a kid, it was too trippy. But I did like the shoes)

I’m very happy to own a pair of similar ones for Lea and my future Barbie-sized dolls.

To accommodate these flats, Lea’s feet are flat as well – as in, no high heels for her. Other than that, I believe she is a classic body type – although it didn’t say on the box.

Her legs move front and back, and slightly to the side. So do her arms – except the range is greater in each direction. Her head moves pretty much any way you want it to, except, like most dolls I own, you can’t lower her chin quite as much as I’d like to.

 

There are a few aspects about the Ruby Red Fashionista that do whisper “budget doll”. Her limited articulation is perhaps the most painful one when it comes to doll photography – the number of possible poses really is small. At the same time, I am fully aware that advanced range of motion has been the exception rather than the rule with Barbie, and you simply have to decide if Barbie is your thing nonetheless. If you don’t expect this Fashionista to be something that she wasn’t meant to be (which at first was a challenge for me) she has enough to offer: a good design and a lot of charm.

If I ever do find her a Made to Move body it would be great. If not, she’s been a great source of fun even as mere eye candy 🙂