New Barbie Fashionista Dolls Review

Hello, everyone! Sorry it's been a while since my last post. My grand plans to publish three posts this past week just didn't happen. However, I had a great time with the girls at a couple of school events, and we had four family dinners together with Hubby, which is usually unheard of during the week. Hubby has officially started his training for his new position, so he gets off at between 3:00 and 4:00 each night. It's been so nice! :)

Thanks for waiting so patiently for this review. 

Like many of you, I was excited to hear of the new Barbie bodies for 2016. Over the weekend of the birthday trip, I set aside some of my trip money to order two dolls online. The first was "Terrific Teal" in the Tall body.

(By the way, I haven't had to put this warning in for a while, but if you're uncomfortable with naked doll pictures, you'll probably want to skip this post. I'll be sharing several pictures of the various new bodies undressed.)

She arrived a little over a week after I ordered her.

She was just a lovely in real life as she was in the pictures.

My second doll, "Crazy for Coral" in Petite, has still not arrived, nearly a month later. I'm not too concerned at this point. I know that Mattel tends to release dolls in waves, and while some of the dolls have started showing up in local stores now, "Crazy for Coral" is not one of them. 

I figure she'll get here eventually. ;)

Here she is in all of her boxed glory. I'm thinking I'll call her "Teal" after her full "Terrific Teal" name. :)

A closer look at her outfit...

...and box label.

The back of the box gives pictures and numbers of most of the new Fashionistas coming out this year:

Teal was fairly easy to remove from her box, although Mattel still put those horrid plastic ties through her scalp. :(

By sheer coincidence, I happened to pull them out of her head completely with little effort. Hooray! :D No accidentally cutting Barbie hair whilst trying to cut plastic ties! (Too bad I didn't have the same success with subsequent dolls.) ;)

Here she is out of her box.

Back view

She has such a lovely, photogenic face. 

As I've said before, I think the "Bambi" mold (or whatever you want to call it) is one of my favorite molds to come out of the Barbie line makeover. There's something so pleasing about her expression.

Teal's clothing is simple and not the highest quality, but for a $9 doll, I wasn't expecting grand fashion. ;)

Her blue plastic bracelet is cute.

I love her pink shoes, too.

One of the things that excited me most about Teal was the fact that she could stand on her own.

And in spite of her lack of detailed articulation, she's actually fairly mobile. She can spread her legs and arms out to the sides...

...put her arms straight up...

...and also put them up and out.

I love the fact that she sits nicely. Unlike some current fashion dolls on the market, Teal can sit with her legs together. Nice and ladylike. ;)

I was surprised at the sculpt of the tall body. The cut of her skirt made Teal looked more curvy than she really was. As you can see, her body is pretty straight up and down, almost giving her a young teenager look.

Teal from the back.

For comparison's sake, here she is with an Original Barbie Fashionista doll.

And here she is next to my "Made to Move" doll with the same face mold.

I was curious whether Teal and Rosie (the name Middle Gal gave her Original Fashionista) would be able to share clothing. To my pleasant surprise, the clothing swap was a success. :)

I think these two would make great sisters.

Don't you? ;)

So after purchasing Teal, I decided I would be good and not order any more Barbies. My original plan was to only purchase one of each of the new body styles, especially since I prefer dolls with more articulation. I'd wait for the Petite doll I'd ordered and wait to order a Curvy girl until the one I liked best was available on the Mattel website.

Then my mom found another Tall and another Petite at my local Walmart and picked them up for me. And they just happened to be the other Tall and Petite dolls I liked best. :}

So "White and Pink Pizzazz" in Tall joined my fashion doll family.

As did "Blue Brocade" in Petite. ;)

So, the same name system doesn't work for these two. Unless I call them "Pizzazz" and "Blue." ;) I'm still working on real names for them, so maybe I'll call them that for this blog post. Name suggestions are welcome! Leave them in the comments below. :)

Pizzazz's body is identical to Teal's.

Blue's is much shorter, pretty close in size to one of the current Skipper dolls. 

Taking a slight pictorial detour. ;) Here is Blue with my girls' Skipper doll. They are similar in size, but as you can see, Blue is slightly taller and more developed.

A closer look at their torsos. 

Skipper and Blue from the back. (Please pardon Skipper's wonky leg...she was a thrift store rescue.)

Skipper has flat feet, while Blue has pointy-toe feet.

I didn't have any current Skipper clothing to try on Blue, but I went ahead and tried Blue's dress on Skipper. It's a bit loose, but it fits.

Blue's dress from the back.

Okay, back to Blue and Pizzazz. :)

Blue and Pizzazz side-by-side.

And side-by-side from the back.

I was curious if these two could share clothing, too. To my surprise, they could! But Pizzazz probably shouldn't lean over at all. ;) Her dress is reeeaally short.

So, I now had two Talls and a Petite (with a Petite on the way at some point). 

Then the next day I went to our other Walmart and found...

My first Curvy doll. :}

I wasn't completely sold on this one on the website, but she was super cute in person. 

Plus, I reasoned, my doll club meeting was coming up, and wouldn't it be fun to bring one of each of the new body styles to share with the ladies?

It's a slippery slope, people. ;)

So "Dolled Up Denim" joined the dolly family.

"Denim" is so darling. I love her outfit, her coloring, and her hair.

Her face is great, too.

Denim from the back.

Her white lacy overshirt comes off to reveal a strappy denim dress underneath.

So here we have the complete lineup of new bodies: Petite, Curvy, and Tall. I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving the fact that there's finally a Barbie out there with my thighs...minus the varicose veins. ;) (For those of you who haven't guessed, I'm referring to the doll in the middle.) ;)

Petite, Curvy, and Tall from the back.

Of course, the lineup isn't complete without an Original Fashionista Barbie joining the mix:

At this point, I was really curious to see which dolls would be able to share clothing. This, I'm sure, is one of the concerns of other moms out there. I mean, we don't want to have to buy a whole new wardrobe for each different Barbie body, right? Well, let's see how things look:

Curvy in Tall: 

Denim was able to fit into Pizzazz's outfit, although the skirt was a super tight fit. I just barely got it on her, and I could almost hear her holding her breath. ;)

After this first picture, I thought it would be smart to take front and back pictures. ;)

Curvy in Original: 

I was really surprised to find that Denim fit in a regular Barbie dress. She can't wear Barbie pants. But her top half is close enough in size to Original Barbie to make it work.

Curvy in Petite: 

Denim technically fit in Blue's Petite dress, but the Velcro was a bit gappy in the back. It was also super short on her.

Tall in Curvy: 

Okay, apparently my first photo of each of the dolls was just a front picture. Sorry. :} 

Denim's Curvy dress fit Pizzazz just fine, although it was a bit gappy.

Tall in Petite: 

We've already seen this, but Blue's Petite dress fit her, too. It's more the length of a nightgown, though.

Tall in Original:

Somehow, I missed getting a picture of Pizzazz in a regular dress, so here's a repeat of Teal in a regular dress. It fits just fine. A little snug, but doable.

Petite in Original: 

Moving on to Petite. Blue looks great in this Original dress.

Petite in Tall: 

Pizzazz's outfit is a little roomy on Blue, but it stays up and still works.

Petite in Curvy: 

This was the one that was a surprise. Because of the elastic on the shoulder straps, Denim's dress fit Blue just fine. A bit roomy, but still wearable. :)

Petite in Curvy again: 

Here she is with the lacy overshirt, too.

Original in Petite: 

Here is Rosie, an "Original" Fashionista Barbie, in Blue's Petite dress.

Original in Curvy: 

Here she is in Denim's dress. Again, a roomy but nice fit.

Original in Curvy again: 

And here she is with the lacy overshirt.

Original in Tall: 

Pizzazz's Tall outfit looks nice on her, too.

The smart thing about Mattel's clothing options for these dolls is that they're mostly dresses or separates. Which, as you can see, makes most outfits at least partially interchangeable. And for those that don't fit across all doll bodies, it's a great conversation starter for kids about how we all have different body shapes and we're not always going to fit into our friends clothes. And that's okay. :)

I'm loving my growing Fashionista family with their beautiful, diverse bodies, colors, hairstyles, and face molds. Bravo, Mattel. :)

Oh, and you know that slippery slope I talked about earlier? Ahem. Guess who else just happened to jump in my cart day before yesterday?

Hee hee. :} 

Hey, I was hormonal, okay? And I figured this was better than the chocolate and Lucky Charms I could have put in the cart. ;)

The funny thing is, I wasn't sure I would like this particular Curvy as much. She didn't stand out to me like some of the others. But now, she's one of my very favorites. ;) I'm debating redoing her hair to make her a mini me. (Sorry, people. Too many of my acquaintances would pass out if I dyed my hair blue.) ;)

As I mentioned earlier, the new Fashionistas are starting to show up in local stores. I've seen them in Walmart and Target so far. I'm assuming they'll be in Toys R Us, too.

They do appear to be releasing in waves. So far, these are the new ones I've seen for this round:

Sweetheart Stripes (Curvy)

Chambray Chic (Curvy)

Dolled Up Denim (Curvy)

White and Pink Pizzazz (Tall)

Terrific Teal (Tall)

Blue Brocade (Petite)

Love That Lace (Petite)

Ruby Red Floral (Original)

You can see all of the new Fashionista dolls, including the upcoming releases, on Mattel's website HERE. 

Here's hoping we won't have to wait too long for the others! ;)

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So, as always, it's time to wrap things up with my overall thoughts. I'm just going to share my generic thoughts about all three of the new bodies in general.

Pleasing Qualities: 5 out of 5

   I love that Mattel has taken a risk and branched out with these new dolls. While I'm not 100% displeased with Barbie like many moms, and have many fond memories of playing with the dolls as a girl, I appreciate Mattel's attempt to make Barbie more diverse in size, shape, and color. My favorites are the Curvy dolls, because now I can actually find a fashion doll that looks somewhat like me out there. ;) I also appreciate anything I can use to reinforce to my girls that all sizes can be beautiful. And the variety of these new dolls is a great conversation starter about the differences between ourselves and others. My girls will have friends that are taller, slimmer, heavier, darker, lighter, and differently shaped than they are, and that's okay. There shouldn't be one exclusive standard for beauty. 

Of course, inner beauty is even more important than anything we see on the outside. One of the things my girls and I love most about our dolls is making up personalities for them. What are their hopes and dreams? What are their talents and interests? Are they kind and encouraging to others? Discussing these things about our dolls naturally leads to conversations about ourselves. What is true beauty? Does it matter if we're beautiful on the outside if we're rude and unkind to others? (I love using dolls as teaching tools...can you tell?) ;)

Another great thing about these new dolls is that it's now a lot easier to find dolly representations of some of the book characters I'm developing. I wanted very much to have women of different sizes and ethnic backgrounds in my books. It's been fun trying to find Barbies that come closest to representing them. Some of them aren't exactly perfect matches, but some of them are pretty close. ;)

Posability: 4 out of 5

   This is the only category where I felt I had to deduct points. While I love the fact that the Fashionista line is so affordable, I wish they had more posability than the bare minimum that has become the norm for play line Barbie dolls. Personally, I would be willing to pay a little extra for, at the very least, some added articulation in the elbows and wrists. My ultimate dream would be for Mattel to release each of the new body types with "Made to Move" articulation. (My girls and I have discussed this quite frequently, and you'll see from their reviews that they share my opinion.) ;)

Playability: 5 out of 5

   In spite of my disappointments with the simple articulation of this line, the dolls still have plenty of playability. My girls spend hours playing with their Barbies, advanced articulation or not. They dress them in all sorts of outfit combinations and act out their incredibly detailed and dramatic adventures. It's so much fun to watch their imaginations at work. ;)

Price: 5 out of 5

   I love the fact that we can select a doll from a wide variety of features, looks, and body styles for a very reasonable price. Eight to ten dollars per doll is very doable. It's an easy amount for the girls to save for, and perhaps a little too easy for me to spend, too. :} 

Thoughts from the Gals

  Today, the thoughts from the gals are extra special because they were typed by the gals themselves. Enjoy! :)

Oldest Gal (age 12...almost):   I absolutely adore the new bodies. It is SO smart of Mattel to come out with natural body styles. I hope that they eventually come out with Curvy Petite and Curvy Tall. I like "Crazy for Coral,'' "Floral Flair,"(she, for some reason, reminds me of lasagna) "Rock 'N' Roll Plaid," and "Pretty in Python." I'm super excited for the fashion packs for the Curvy dolls because I have a doll that has a curvy body style (not the actual curvy body, but a Happy Family Grandma body with a Barbie Fashion Fever face), and she can't fit the other Barbie clothes. The only problem I have with them is that they are pretty non-posable. I wish that they would make the Made to Move bodies the normal bodies. Hee hee. Like that will happen. Ah, well! It's fun to dream.

Middle Gal (age 10):   I'm really excited about the new dolls. I'm so glad that they have a curvy doll, because that is a lot like me. I believe it's a big step in the right direction for Mattel. I hope they come out with a tall curvy body and a curvy petite body. (That would be even more like me!) I also hope that they come out with Made to Move dolls with these bodies. That would be AWESOME! :D

Little Gal (age 8...almost):  First I want to say how it's really cool how I wanted them to do this with Barbie dolls (at least the curvy ones). I think it would be cool if they would bring out Made to Move Barbies in tall, curvy, and petite. And also, I would like it if they brought out Kens in tall, curvy, and petite. You might be asking, "Why are they so awesome?" Well, I think they're awesome because they don't just look like walking sticks,(no offense to the Barbie company) but they're actually normal proportions because most of us have curvy hips whether we're like the tall ones or the petite ones or the curvy ones. Anyways, they're reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally cute,(at least most of them) and if you like cute things, I think you should buy them.

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Thanks for stopping by and reading our review! :) What do you think of the new Barbie bodies? Which new molds/bodies are your favorites? Will you be adding any of these dolls to your collection?

Don't forget to leave name suggestions in the comments for Blue, Pizzazz, and Denim! :) Teal will keep her name. 

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On a slightly related note, I know that some of you have mentioned the Lammily dolls to me as a good Barbie alternative. I am definitely hoping to review a Lammily doll at some point, especially now that I have a couple of Curvy Barbies. I think it would be interesting to compare the two. 

Also, something I'm super excited about is the newest Lammily project on Tilt.com: a Boy Lammily doll with realistic male proportions. I just backed them and hope it gets funded. We need more nice boy fashion dolls out there. :) For more information about this project, you can click HERE. 

This post was not sponsored by Mattel or Lammily. I'm just a doll fan spreading my love for dolls with like-minded readers. :)