Next, I got the Belle Boutique Playset, pictured here:
Here are the dresses out of the package
I know you're probably thinking, "She got another Belle doll? This one looks just the same." If you're thinking that, you're right. It is the same doll. I basically got it for the outfits. Between this set and last year's Belle Wardrobe Playset, I think I have just about every movie outfit for Belle, plus a wedding dress.
I just had to share my thoughts on the two sets I just mentioned, though, especially if someone is planning on buying the Belle Boutique set this year. I have to admit I was disappointed in the quality of the dresses in this year's playset. You can tell they put a lot more effort into the dresses last year.
For starters, here is the Belle doll and Wardrobe Play set from last year (I'll call it the BWP for short).
I was really excited to get this set last year...until it came and I saw Belle's face. For one thing, the eyebrows are all wrong. Then there's her blue eyeshadow and excessive glitter. I don't know if you can tell, but they used so much glitter on her lipstick that her teeth are covered too! The bottom line is she just really doesn't look that much like Belle.
This year's Belle doll (from the BBP) is much prettier. She has the exact same face as my Belle doll I already posted about earlier, so you're not seeing anything new here. I just love her so much, though. There's something about her eyes that just captures the essence of Belle from the movie. She has a sweetness in her expression, whereas the older Belle doll looks a little vacant.
When you compare the two side-by-side, it's an obvious choice (at least for me) which one has a better face. Not to mention that the newer Belle has the advantage of super poseable arms. :)
Now for the clothes. Even though I didn't care for the BWP Belle doll, I loved the clothes from this playset. There were lots of little details, such as the lovely roses on her Christmas dress, that made these dresses stand out.
As I said before, I was very unimpressed with the quality of the BBP dresses. I think my biggest complaint would have to be about Belle's Christmas dress. Maybe you wouldn't notice a problem if you had nothing else to compare it to, but this dress was downright shoddy. Take a look at some of these comparison pics here:
The Christmas dresses side-by-side
Bodice details of the BWP Christmas dress
Bodice details of the BBP Christmas dress-see how crooked the seam is?
A comparison of the sleeves-the BWP sleeve (on the right) is much more detailed and elegant.
The beautiful rose and glitter details of the BWP dress (once again on the right), contrasted with the plainness of the BBP dress on the left.
The other dresses weren't quite so bad. I did like the golden ball gown, although I still liked the earlier version better. The BBP ball gown is actually a little truer to the movie gown, but the BWP ball gown is just a bit classier.
BWP dress (left) and BBP dress (right)
A close-up of the BBP dress details
A close-up of the BWP dress details
There was another disappointment with this set. After opening it, I discovered that the pink dress and red cape are sewn together! Maybe that doesn't bother some people, but I thought it was sad. Belle wears her pink dress by itself so many times in the movie, and her pink dress and her green library dress are the two hardest dresses to find in a Barbie size. I was looking forward to using the pink dress by itself as well as with the cape. Not to mention that it would have been nice to have the cape available for other outfits. Also, the cape doesn't have a hood like in the movie.
I don't know if you can see from this pic how the cape is sewn right on to the pink dress...so disappointing!
I do like the wedding dress that came with the BBP. You don't often find a wedding dress for Belle either.
In summary, I still would recommend the BBP overall with an exception where the Christmas dress is concerned. The clothes are still nice, and I probably wouldn't have noticed the quality level as much if I didn't have the older playset to compare with them.
Eventually, I'll take some pics of Belle in all of her different outfits...not sure when. I have 2 girls fighting colds so I've been averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night. Needless to say, I'm a little tired! :)
Here's the whole lot of what I'm keeping at this point (I'm not sure if I'll keep both dolls yet or not).
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