Madame Alexander Play Wonder Dolls on Sale at Target

Hey everyone, just a quick post for now.  I was in my local Target the other day and saw that the Play Wonder dolls by Madame Alexander were on the end of the aisle and were on sale for $24.95 each.  This may possibly mean that they are phasing out the Play Wonder dolls.  Then again, they may just be trying to clear out their current stock.  I'm not sure if this is the case in every Target, but you might check yours, just in case.

I checked Target's site online, and three of the dolls are on clearance there, too.  In fact, those three dolls are the only Play Wonder items left available to purchase online.  The other dolls and all of the outfits are out of stock (although some are marked as "available in stores"), so this seems to confirm my suspicion that they may be phasing them out.  You can see them HERE.

I've had a lot of readers interested in this line, so I wanted to let everyone know. :)  For those of you who are unfamiliar with these dolls, you can read my review HERE.

Talk to you later, everyone! Be back soon. :)

Target Play Wonder Outfit Review

Well, I was going to start with pics from Oldest Gal's Tangled Party, but I realized that I hadn't gotten the pics uploaded to the draft post yet.  So, being my naturally lazy self, ;) I decided to start with a post that already had the pics added.

[Side note here:  Is anyone else having issues with their post labels?  I'm getting a message saying "These characters are not allowed in a post label:  &."  The thing is, I don't have periods or &s in my labels!  Not only that, but there doesn't appear to be a way to go in and edit the labels!  I think it might be the quotation marks from 18" that's causing the problem.  The bummer is, I use that in my labels A LOT!!   Anyone else having this issue, or am I going crazy on my own?]

Okay, sorry...just dealing with the new Blogger format (why do things have to keep changing just when I feel like a pro?). ;)  On to the actual post...I promise! 

A while back, I decided to try out one of the outfits from Target's Play Wonder line.  Most of you will remember that these are the trendy 18" play dolls made by the Madame Alexander company.  For a review of the doll itself, you can view my earlier post HERE.

I never thought I would be interested in purchasing one of these outfits.  The ones I saw when they were first released looked very Hannah Montana/Disney Channel-ish, which is not really a style I'm fond of.  When I saw some of the more recent outfits, though, I thought they had potential, especially because the items could be mixed and matched with other clothes.

So here's the one I chose:

Here's the tag, which lists all of the items included.

The tag also gives you two style ideas for your new outfit.

The clothing is tagged with both a Play Wonder tag...

...and a Madame Alexander tag.

Here's a picture of everything the set came with.

A denim skirt, a hanger, a white headband/belt, a pink striped shirt...

...a polka-dotted bandana, grey leggings, a purple and pink purse...

...a reversible denim vest with floral print on the inside, and a blue striped shirt.

Since Jenna is the most interested in clothes and fashion, I thought she would be an appropriate doll to model the new clothing. ;)  Here she is with the leggings and the shirt.

Now I've added the denim skirt and the pink striped shirt over the blue one.

And here's what the outfit looks like is you use all of the pieces (aside from the headband and the bandana). Oh, and her shoes were not included.  I got them at Michael's (they're part of the Springfield Collection).

Once I'd seen everything together, I decided to try different combinations of the outfit.  Here's the first one. 

Here's another simple look using just the shirt and skirt.

Yet another look.  I added the denim vest to the ensemble.

As a finishing touch, I tied the bandana around Jenna's neck.  I think it looks really cute that way. ;)

Next, I tried dressing 4 different dolls using pieces from the Play Wonder outfit. :)

Jenna is wearing the headband, striped pink shirt, and denim skirt.  She also has the purse.

Hayden is wearing the denim vest.  This picture makes me think of some of my high school photos.  I totally would have worn something like this to school (denim vests...or any vests, for that matter, were very "in" when I was a teen). ;)

Charlie is wearing the blue/green striped shirt.  I love this shirt on her!  I think she likes it too...she hasn't taken it off since! ;)

Finally, Emma is wearing the bandana and the grey leggings with her outfit.

Overall, I was very impressed with my purchase.  The Play Wonder dolls are just a tad bit slimmer than AG dolls, so some of the clothes are a little snug, especially if you have an AG with a thicker middle.  I was able to get everything to fit, though.  The clothes are not the highest quality in the world, but they aren't terribly shoddy, either.  I think they would hold up to normal play about as well as Battat clothing or any similar play doll brands.  

I think the biggest plus for these outfits is what you get for the price.  I mean, I just was able to use elements from one outfit to dress 4 dolls, and I only spent $16.99 plus tax!  There are lots of different outfits to choose from, too.  I actually had to sit and think for a while in the store, because there were several other outfits I liked just as well. :}

Have any of you tried the Play Wonder clothing?  I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)

More posts to come!  These next few weeks will be really crazy as the school year winds down, but I'm hoping to get as much blogging done as I can whenever I have the chance. :}

More on the New Dolls at Target

Okay, it was killing me to talk about the new dolls Target just got in without having any pics to go along with them! :}  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please view my earlier post about them HERE).  As I mentioned before, I checked with Target and they wouldn't allow me to take pictures in the store.

So, after discussing it with hubby, I decided to purchase some things for the sole purpose of taking pics and then returning them to the store.  The downside to this is that I can't give you as complete of a review as I would like to, as I can't remove them from their packaging.  The upside is, I can show you some pics without permanently spending the $80.99 it cost me for this grand scheme! :{

The first doll I purchased was the African American (or perhaps Hispanic?) Play Wonder doll that I mentioned in my earlier post.  Her name is Isabella.  By the way, I'd like to apologize in advance for the quality of these photos.  I had a really hard time getting decent pics, because the plastic was extremely reflective! 

Isabella is an 18" play doll with vinyl arms, legs, and chest, a posable vinyl head, and a cloth body.  She has beddy bye eyes and rooted hair.

From the front of the box:

From the back of the box:

This photo shows her vinyl shoulders.

Head Shots:

 The Fashion:  Hello 80s!! ;)

Here are those separated toes I told you about. :)  I noticed that her feet have a bit of an arch.  I'm wondering if these dolls can stand on their own when they're barefooted, or if they can only stand when they're wearing shoes.  If I could open the box and investigate further, I could let you know. :} 

  

Here are some comparisons between Isabella and some of my other 18" dolls.

Play Wonder and American Girl:

Isabella looks a bit taller than Piper (my AG doll), which she may be, but keep in mind that a lot of it is because Isabella is in a box.  I think these dolls are pretty compatible, which doesn't surprise me since Isabella is essentially the same as my Maggie doll, aside from a different face mold.  In person, Isabella's head looks a lot bigger than Piper's, but I wasn't really able to capture that on film.  I don't think it's enough of a difference to cause a problem, though.  Some of her styles may be a bit snug on AG dolls simply because they're made to be form-fitting fashions, and the Madame Alexander dolls have a slimmer body than American Girl.  Personally, I'd play it safe and go for a Battat outfit for your AG doll instead.

Head comparison of Isabella and Piper.

Play Wonder and Alexander Girlz: 

As I mentioned earlier, these dolls are essentially the same aside from their heads.   Well, their heads and their toes. :)  Any of the Play Wonder clothes should fit Maggie since their body styles are nearly identical.  Of course, I can't really see Maggie wanting to dress like a pop princess...it's not exactly her style. ;)

It was interesting comparing their faces.  Once again, the camera didn't capture how much bigger Isabella's head is than Maggie's.  But the thing that really struck me was how Maggie has much more of a "baby face", while with the Play Wonder dolls they're obviously going for a more mature, teenager look. 

Play Wonder and Karito Kids: 

Elena (my Karito Kid) is a totally different scale than Isabella, so I know this is a bit of a different comparison.  I was curious to see how they looked together, though.  Once again, Isabella's head is much bigger than Elena's, but it doesn't show, especially since Elena is in front of the box.  I tried to put their heads in the same pose (I wish Isabella was looking up a little more!).  It would be interesting to see how the Play Wonder clothes would fit on a Karito Kid doll.  They would still be short, but I'd imagine they'd be a slightly better fit than AG clothes on a KK.  Overall, even with they're differences, I think these dolls would still be compatible in a collection together.

Those are all the pics I have of Isabella.  I think she has a nice face.  The eyebrows are still a bit overdone in my opinion, but hers were the best out of all of the other dolls.  I can't say anything about the quality of her hair or clothing, since I can't open the box and examine her further.  This at least gives you a better idea of what the Play Wonder dolls look like, though.  If you have a daughter who wants a starter doll, especially if she is into these types of fashions, I think a Play Wonder doll could be a good choice.  The dolls cost $34.99, and there are also separate shoes and outfits you can purchase.  It's $16.99 for an extra outfit (and each outfit can be worn in at least 2 different ways, giving you more for your money).  I can't remember the cost of the shoes, but I think it's around $17 for a set of three. 

The other dolls at Target were the Hearts 4 Hearts Girls.  I included a link to their website in my last post, but I really wanted to show you pics of a doll in person, since they look slightly different from the images on their box.  Since I enjoy Bollywood movies so much, I thought that Nahji from India would be an appropriate doll to review. ;)

Nahji is a 14", all-vinyl play doll.  She has stationary eyes and rooted hair.  



Here's the front of her box...

...and here's the inside.

Here's a close-up of the overlay on the front of her box:

Here are the sides and the back:

Head shots of pretty Nahji:

Nahji's Accessories: 

Beaded headband

Nose ring

Necklace

Henna hand tattoo

Arm bangles

Sandals (notice the pretty gold design on her pants?)

Overall, I think Nahji is absolutely adorable.  I was a little disappointed the first time I opened the box, just because the picture on the front was so flawless.  She's still really cute as a doll, but it just wasn't quite the same "wow factor" that I got from the picture.  I guess the best way I can explain it is the difference between seeing an airbrushed photo of a person, and then seeing the person face to face. :}  I think it would help if her hair wasn't pulled back so that she looked more like her cover photo.  Anyway, I'm probably just being my normal, picky, artistic self with that. :}  

I was only going to pick up the two dolls for my review, but I thought before I left I'd take another look at the Hearts 4 Hearts Girls outfit and accessory sets.  When I saw Nahji's, I just had to bring it home and take photos.  It's so adorable!

One of the things that's funny about this is that my aunt, who has also really gotten into Bollywood movies as well, was talking to me about the Hearts 4 Hearts girls and how much she loved Nahji.  We talked about how we wished she was wearing a traditional Indian sari, or at least had one offered as an extra outfit.

Well, lo and behold, a traditional sari was part of the outfit and accessory set I found! :D  Check out the pics below: 

Isn't it ADORABLE?

Nahji's tea set and tea tray.

I just had to include this pic because she looks so cute! :)

Nahji's sari (or "dance costume", as the package puts it).

Here's the back of the package:

Ready for a Bollywood dance! :)

Above is a little snippet of Nahji's story from the back of the package.

I just wanted to insert here that I'm with the small minority of people in America who do not agree with the whole "Believe in yourself" message being taught to our young people.  Of course, I'm not advocating verbal abuse or anything, and we do need to value our own self worth, because we are beings created by God for His glory.  But honestly, the philosophy that "if you just believe in yourself, you can do anything" is ridiculous.  I understand the motive behind it, but it can lead to a lot of disappointment.  Yes, there is a place for hard work, perseverance, and trying our best.  However, there are some things that will never happen, no matter how hard I "believe in myself".  I may believe that I can be a ballerina and work really hard to try to achieve my goal, but I can tell you right here and now that my ankles were not made to withstand the rigors of ballet...and not just because I'm almost 30! 

Instead of believing in ourselves, I believe true success comes from trusting in the Lord and believing what He can do through us.  Of course, I could hardly expect this philosophy to come from a non-Christian doll company. 

Please don't misunderstand me.  I do appreciate what the company is trying to bring about through these dolls.  I think it's important for us to see the needs around us, as well as in other countries, and desire to bring about change.  And I absolutely believe that one person can make a difference.  We just need to make sure we're putting our belief in the right source.  :)

Okay, getting back down from my soapbox now. :}  On to the rest of the review!!

 H4H and American Girl:

As you can see, these dolls are a completely different scale.  I probably wouldn't put them together, because the differences would bother me.  I know, I'm weird...but it would drive me crazy every time I saw them together!  For others, this might not be a problem.    

H4H and Karito Kids:  

On the other hand, the H4H proportions work much better with Karito Kids.  Granted, Nahji would have to be about 3 or 4 years old...maybe 5...but it would work.  At Target, they had a few of the BFC Ink dolls right next to the Hearts 4 Hearts girls.  I think the Hearts 4 Hearts girls would work even better as little sisters for the BFC Ink dolls.

     

I hope you all enjoyed this review.  If any of you are inspired to stop by your local Target and add one of these girls or their friends to your doll family, I'd love to hear from you! :) 

By the way, I'll only have these dolls for a couple of days at the most (unless I suddenly strike it rich and get to keep Nahji and her outfit!), so if you have any questions or would like to see any additional pics, please let me know in the comment section ASAP! :)