The search for B.F.C. Ink dolls

I have to ask:  what comes first, the doll, or the outfit for the doll?  Do you by a doll first and then a ton of cute little outfits, or do you buy the clothes first in anticipation of bringing home a new arrival?  For me, the answer is usually the former; I buy the doll first and then spend the next few weeks, months, and years scouting out clothes and accessories.  In fact, I'm racking my brain to recall any times when the opposite was true, and I'm drawing a complete blank.  That means that last night was the first time I bought a dolly outfit without buying the doll beforehand.

In short, I have this:

This is an outfit for an 18-inch B.F.C. Ink doll.  It consists of a blue top, a pair of shorts, some yellow flats, and a purse.  Now you may be saying "no biggie, it's a cute outfit but that's all."  Except that I bought this outfit without even seeing a B.F.C. Ink doll in person!

The B.F.C. (or Best Friends Club) Ink dolls were a group of dolls that MGA Entertainment had out; they came in ten and eighteen-inch models.  There were several different races and personalities in the mix, and there was even a boy.  The big ones were kind of like giant LIV dolls without the awesome wigs; they had joints and inset eyes.  They were cute dolls...and MGA has pulled the plug on them!  In fact, they probably did so back in the spring; Miss Emily's review of her B.F.C doll was in early April, and she mentioned the difficulty then of finding any B.F.C. Ink dolls in stores.  She eventually had to order one online.  Fast forward to last night, when I went to one of the local Wal-Marts and found this outfit in clearance for seven bucks.  My hopes were high that Wal-Mart might have just ONE more doll, but the sales rep politely told me that no, they didn't and hadn't since July.  MGA's cancellation of the B.F.C. line apparently was swift and final; as of writing the Moxie Teenz still have their website (remember that MGA has pulled the plug on them as well).  Type in the URL for the B.F.C. dolls however, and you get a redirect site.  One can't help but wonder why MGA abandoned the line so quickly.  Maybe B.F.C. wasn't producing the horde that Bratz and Lalaloopsy dolls have.  Hey, as rich as those two lines have made MGA Entertainment one can afford a flop or two!

So why do I bother now, you ask?  Well...I have Miss Emily to thank for this, of course.  Sort of.  Some of it is my own doing (LOL).  I had never even heard of these dolls until I saw her review of B.F.C. Ink Britt, from the Pen Pal line.  Britt is a cute doll but didn't quite make the cut in Miss Emily's eyes.  Her word is very trustworthy so I decided not to pursue any of the dolls.  Then I saw Yuko.

This is a stock photo of Yuko.  She popped up in a search on Amazon for...I forget what I was looking for at the time.  Oh yes, it was Karito Kids, yet another doll that Miss Emily reviewed.  She has Ling and Ling is a gorgeous doll.  I love Oriental dolls and thus embarked on a search for Ling.  She turned out to be way out of my price range, but Yuko also appeared in the search and she IS in my price range.  The B.F.C. dolls do have some qualities that Karito Kids (and most other dolls currently on market) do not; they are jointed all over.  Miss Emily's doll Britt has fourteen joints, for example.  Also, the eyes are inset.  They aren't glass like Moxie Teenz, LIV, or Bratzillaz eyes, but they ARE inset.  Plus, Yuko is Oriental.  All that together sets the deal for me.

So that's why I bought that outfit, in preparation for the possibility of adding a Yuko doll to my collection.  Well, that and the fact that the outfit was on clearance for seven bucks.  I love a good clearance item, especially if it's like this.  I am fully aware that finding any B.F.C. Ink doll is going to be a challenge, and finding a particular character like Yuko is going to be even more tricky.  Does it absolutely have to be Yuko???  Heck to the no, I'd be happy with any of the other 18-inch characters like Gianna, Noelle, or Aleisha.  Or even Britt; beggars can't be choosers, after all.  The only requirement here is the type of doll.  It absolutely has to be an 18-inch B.F.C. Ink doll (the only exception I'll make is C.J., because he's a boy and would thus look ridiculous in the outfit).  These outfits will not work on any other doll, or at least, not the ones I have.  American Girls are out of the question; they're the same height as B.F.C. dolls, but their stuffed bodies are much MUCH thicker, something which has a lot of the folks on Amazon irked (never mind that they don't bother to read the product description).  One doll that I personally own looked like a possible candidate.  This is Ideal's Look Around Crissy, a relic from 1972.

Found her at a thrift shop for ten bucks.

Crissy is taller than a B.F.C. Ink doll, but short shorts were becoming popular in the 1970's so I was willing to take a shot.  Plus, it's getting cold and Crissy needs some shoes on those poor little feet!!!  Haha, anyway my particular Crissy has two things sticking out of her back, which had me concerned about the fit of the top.

The round knob is supposed to make Crissy's hair grow (this mechanism doesn't work with my doll) and the butterfly is a pull-string to activate a twisting "look around" motion (this does work and scared the bejesus out of my sister).  I was still cautiously optimistic in spite of these gimmicks, and as it turned out the top fit.

I did have a little trouble fitting it over those knobs, but it fits.  

The shoes were another story.

Too big, but this didn't surprise me too terribly since the shoes are ill-fitting on some B.F.C. dolls

Here is the real test.

As long-legged as Crissy is these would definitely look like Daisy Dukes.  But the length of the shorts proved to be the least of my problems.

That's a spirit-breaker

Too small, so sad!  In truth the whole outfit is too small, except for the too-large shoes.  The shorts are obviously way too tight, and the shirt fits but it too is tight, especially across the chest.  Oh well, the outfit didn't really suit Crissy's personality anyway.  Crissy's long hair suggests a hippie theme or something like that, and this is certainly not hippie!  It also highlights Crissy's large head and comparatively small body, something that her old dress hides.

Here it is on her.  Doesn't really suit her.  

Seeing that top on Crissy does give me an idea, though.  It would look adorable with some love beads and a handmade bracelet.  The dolls that this outfit is intended for are modeled to resemble young girls, and what girl between the ages of 11 and 18 doesn't love jewelry???

With regards to that outfit fitting dolls I already have, Crissy was my only candidate.  Oh yes, I could also try it on some of my porcelain dolls, but with most of my girls that's an impossibility since the clothing is sewn on. It would look weird anyway; all my porcelain dolls have fabric bodies that would show too much in this outfit.  None of them have feet big enough to fit those shoes, either.  So that leaves me back where I started, with one outfit and no doll to wear it.  It's not a huge travesty, really.  I'll just put it back in storage for the first B.F.C. Ink doll who comes along.  Or Lorifina; according to Miss Emily some of these B.F.C. outfits do fit Hasbro Lorifina dolls, but I have no Lorifina and the various outfits are hit and miss on Lorifina anyway.  This particular outfit would probably work just fine since the top stretches, but I can't try it out right now.  It's an idea worth remembering, though.  Who knows, I may stumble across a doll that can wear these clothes at the next junk shop I go to.  After all, that's how I ended up with Crissy!  

In other news I saw no Lala-Oopsies at the local Wal-Marts yet, and it may be a long time before I do.  It's been almost a full year since Mattel released C.A. Cupid and she's just now making it to my area.  But boy, has she made it!  I saw no fewer than thirty of them last evening and almost walked away with one of them.  Keep your eyes peeled for her in a future review.  Also regarding future reviews, I have Meygana dressed in her new outfit and she's ready to talk about that (she's getting a little impatient with me about it, in fact).  I absolutely promise that unless something very weird comes up I'll talk about that next.  That may be awhile since finals are approaching and I really need to study for them.  I have a C in accounting and have struggled with that class all year so this final is really going to be what makes me or breaks me here.  It's time to batten down the hatches!

See you soon,
RagingMoon1987

Update:  A friend of mine on Facebook suggested that I try Journey Girls clothing for B.F.C. dolls.  Journey Girls can't wear B.F.C. clothing because they're American Girl-sized, but some JG pieces will fit B.F.C. dolls.  This is definitely something I want to remember.