Controversial Cupid

Snow:  beautiful and dangerous.  Beautiful to look at, dangerous to drive in, especially south of here.  Malden has about three inches and it's still falling.

Yeah, it hasn't even been a week since Winter Storm Blair and now Winter Storm Cora is upon us.  Cora is kinda unique in that she's a southern storm; I-40 is like a skating rink, I've been told.  University of Arkansas called off classes, so my sister and her husband got to stay home.  Guess who didn't get to stay home.  <raises hand>

Now to the topic at hand.  About five days ago I learned that C.A. Cupid was scheduled to get a G3 release as part of the Scary Sweet Birthday line, and yesterday youloveit.com got ahold of the doll's stock photos, as did the Monster High wiki.  This is her; her official name is now Cupid Asteria, which I think is kinda pretty.

I wonder if she still believes that not everything can be solved with an equation???  Overall I'm pleased with how she looks, I like that some of her G1 features were retained (like her lacy stockings and her bow and arrow bracelet), and I'm pleased that she's getting a reboot.  But already folks on Reddit are talking about how they don't like her coloring, don't like her hair, don't like this, don't like that.  One redditor compared her to Effie Trinket (kinda a fair comparison, actually), and some are going as far as to say she's downright ugly.  I personally think Cleo de Nile is the weak one of the bunch, largely because of her square hairline, but they're all pretty awesome dolls (Frankie and Draculaura are also part of the line).  In fact, I think Cupid stands out the best, because her getup doesn't incorporate a lot of black; Frankie, Cleo, and Drac all go heavy on the black, albeit paired with their favorite colors.

The one thing I DON'T like about this line (besides Cleo's hairline, which I can get over) also has nothing to do with Cupid.  The ghouls are celebrating Draculaura's Sweet 1600 all over again.  Uh...she HAD a Sweet 1600...when was that???  <glances at the wiki>  It was December of 2011.  Based on that Drac should be 1614 now, but oh well.  It's still a cute doll line, and Cupid is invited, just like she was at Drac's last Sweet 1600!  Clawdeen and Clawd both got left out this time around, sad face.  Back to Cupid now, I think that compared to some of the other G3 dolls (Lagoona Blue) she's pretty faithful to her old self.  Here's stock pictures of both Monster High Cupid and Ever After High Cupid; they're pretty different, but I like and own both of them (MH Cupid's head is sadly turning yellow, dern it).

But what say y'all???  I like hearing y'all's opinions, and I want to hear from my Monster High fans:  hit or miss on the new Cupid?  If a miss, what would you change about her?  Please discuss.

Warm love,
RagingMoon1987

My Bavatarbie

The Bootheel's weather woes continue, though I'm happy to report that there's no uncertainty like there was last Sunday. Last week we weren't sure whether it would be cold rain, FREEZING rain, ot sleet, but tonight and tomorrow we get snow, period. Last Friday the forecast was calling for one to two inches, and then by Monday it was up to two to four inches. I'd rather have snow than ice, but driving in snow still sucks.  Fortunately for us the worst of it is going south of us, but it could be bad for some of y'all.

Now to today's topic.  Years ago (I'm talking "I was in college" years ago, so the timeframe between 2006 and 2011), I was a fan of a blog called A Feminist's Guide to Barbie.  I hold a dim view of most modern-day feminists due to their obsession with their genitals and with sex in general, but this lady was...well, she actually had her head on straight.  She acted like she genuinely wanted to make the world better for women, and without all the man-bashing (she was married to a hunk, LOL).  She had a cute little girl, they played Barbie together, and the mom had a term for the doll one used to represent oneself.  This was your "Bavatarbie," a portmanteau of "avatar" and "Barbie."  This Bavatarbie could look like you, or it could...well, NOT look like you.  For example, I'm heavyset with shaggy brown hair, pale blue eyes, and a steadily worsening limp, but my Bavatarbie would likely be a redhead and able-bodied (any eye color goes).  Kinda like...

...California Midge (very subtle difference from California Dream Midge).  Red-haired, green-eyed, freckle-faced, and semi-standing on her own two feet.  Here's what the box looked like, because I'm like that.

As I've said before I've always preferred Midge to Barbie, because Midge was less perfect and more personal, but she was capable of being just as glamorous as Barbie was if she wanted to be.  Now for the record, I do own a rebodied California Dream Midge and I love her, but I wanted one of these dolls intact.  And I got her!  I got her MIB with her full outfit, her skates, her paper inserts, and pale spots on her legs.  Indeed, Midge's spots have developed into full-tilt patches.  Her legs are also very sticky, and a rubdown with a wet wipe didn't help much.

Here's a better look at the patches.

Bopsy can relate.  I don't know what it is about Barbie dolls from the late eighties, but a lot of 'em develop these round faded marks on their legs.  Bopsy dates from 1987 and thus has the spots.

A few years made a world of difference.  Snap 'n' Play (1991) and Teen Talk (1992) do not have these fade marks...nor do any of my nineties dolls.

The spots are an aesthetic problem, but as far as I know it's nothing more than that.  Spots notwithstanding, Midge is structurally sound and has everything that a good California Midge should.  She's got her skates, which I think are adorable.

I never learned how to skate, by the way.  Pain and I never have been friends, and the thought of sandpapering skin off my hands and knees turned me off of skating...and scootering...AND riding a bike.  My sister learned to ride both a scooter and a bicycle, so I figure she'd have been good at skating.  Anyway, here's a closeup of Midge's face; the first three Midge dolls of the eighties had my beloved Steffie head.  

California, California Dream, and Cool Times.  After that Midge took on the Diva head, and I think I own the first doll with that head, All-Star Midge.  Indeed, I think the Diva head favors the old-fashioned Midge head more than Steffie does.

I own Cool Times Midge, but guess where she is.  In storage!  Cool Times has pink lips that don't go very well with her tan, while California and California Dream Midge both have raspberry lips that I love.  Take special note of these eyes, as they're the best way to tell California Midge from California Dream Midge.  My doll is the California variant and has two round white dots...

...while California Dream has a dot and a line.  Told y'all the difference was subtle!  I think there were some minor differences in the enclosed skates too, but that's all the difference there is.  Hair's the same, coloration is the same, earrings are the same.  Let's take a moment to admire the paint on these dolls; I love their coloration. 

Shucks, I wish I had Dee Dee with me!  I love her fiery eyeshadow, but then I also love Teen Talk Barbie's paint, because her eyes are green rather than the usual blue sported by Barbie dolls.  Before the Fashionista days blonde Barbie dolls were almost always blue-eyed, so it always pleases me to find one of these older dolls with brown or green eyes.  But when it comes to heads, for me Steffie is at the head of the pack as always, and I'm glad to have another one aboard. 

After unboxing Midge I left her sitting on the arm of the couch, and she looked so cute that I turned her head and snapped a picture.

When I was just beginning to blog about dolls I'd sit typing up the words, and I'd usually have a doll sitting or standing nearby.  More often than not they'd look cute sitting or standing close to me, and I'd snap a picture.  I wish I had some of those now, but they're locked up in my old computer...which hasn't been used in ten years.  I can start the habit up again, but I still wish I had some of those old images, those that had a lot of extraneous junk in the background, or were kinda weird, or were just...well, candids of my Barbie dolls.  Maybe they'd be a little scruffy or not looking directly at the camera, but I was pleased anyway.  

Now, as usual, I'm gonna keep an eye out for ice halos and batten down the hatches for snow!  So far I haven't seen any halos, but I did see some beautiful hoarfrost on the windows and mirrors of our car (plus my reflection, LOL).  I love hoarfrost; it inspired my favorite Faberge egg.

We got put under a winter storm warning yesterday afternoon, but thank God, the weather folks aren't predicting any ice for us.  Snow is a pain in the posterior to drive in, but it's tolerable.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

My first Cutie Reveal...and our crap weather

I WAS gonna dive right in today, but the first big winter storm of the season is on its way.  The Weather Channel has taken it upon itself to start naming winter storms, with this one apparently being Winter Storm Blair.  I never have liked the names that the Weather Channel picks; one year we had Leon and Cleon back to back.  Anyway, we've known Blair was coming for a week now, but early this morning was the first time the Bootheel got put under any sort of advisory.  Here's what the weather map looked like early this morning; my hometown is the blue dot.  

For some context, the pink, which stretches from Ste. Genevieve County northward, is a winter storm warning.  All conceivable types of winter precip are expected there.  My uncle (the one I like), his significant other, and her mother are all in the crosshairs of this.

The purple is an ice storm warning, and that to me is the scariest of all of it.  I love rain, and I can tolerate snow, but I hate, hate, HATE freezing rain!!!  The National Weather Service is encouraging everyone in this band to stay the hell off the streets.

As for Malden and surrounding areas, we're under a winter weather advisory.  I make note of this because yesterday we were expected to get nothing but a lot of rain.  Now they're calling for a little snow as well.  Some ice may also fall, but thank God, NWS says it probably won't stick.

Xanadu, I think it was you that commented on our iffy weather here in my neck of the woods, and I have to admit that yes, it can be VERY rubbish at times.  But thankfully we have far more good days than bad, and after this storm buggers off we should be in for smooth (but very, very cold) sailing.  The lows next week are predicted to be in the mid-teens, so anything that does fall should hang around for awhile.  As for y'all...let's see, I have readers in Ohio and in Pennsylvania...<glances at the map>...looks like southern Ohio is gonna get a dose of this crap too, and extreme southern Pennsylvania may get a taste too.  So if you're gonna be affected by ice or snow, BE CAREFUL!!!  How do I hate January?  Let me count the ways.  

Okay, I'm done bloviating about the weather.  I like to post when excrement is about to hit the fan, and now that I've done that, on to today's doll.  I've been tempted by Barbie's Cutie Reveal bunch ever since the line that had the elephant and the sloth in their lineup, but the Care Bear wave was what finally forced my hand.  I was a fairly big fan of the Care Bears growing up, and lately they have been something to laugh about as well.  Back during the summer I woke up in the middle of the night, but not all the way...and when you're half-asleep anything can come out of your mouth.  So I turned to Mama and had a brief but detailed conversation about Secret Bear, one of my childhood favorite Care Bears.  Secret Bear NEVER talks, only communicating through pantomime and Charades-like behavior, and as  a result it can be a pain in the posterior to understand her unless her bestie Friend Bear is around.  Friend Bear understands Secret Bear perfectly and usually serves as translator.  Anyway, morning rolled around, I had only a hazy recollection of the night's events, and I had to ask Mama:

ME (slightly bemused):  Did we or did we not have a conversation about Care Bears in the middle of the night?

MAMA (Dumbledore-level calmness):  Yes, we did.

ME (even more nonplussed):  ...o-kay...

I was left shaking my head at that one since it was so out of left field, even for me.  But anyway, I've kept the Care Bears close to my weird little psychie ever since, and when I saw this line of Cutie Reveal Barbies I grabbed one.

There are are at least three characters involved in this line:  Grumpy Bear (blue), Cheer Bear (pink), and Share Bear (lavender).  I also saw an image of a white Bear with rainbow polka dots, but I think that was a photoshop job...no, it's not.  It's not even a stinkin' Care Bear, but rather a dream Dalmatian. 

My favorite of this dreamy series is the penguin; she may have to join my little party of furries, along with the sloth and the elephant.

Anyway, this infernal sciatica pain often leaves me feeling grumpy and frustrated, so I picked the doll dressed as Grumpy Bear.  According to this link the word "Vex" has gained some traction as a name, so I'll use that for the doll's name...though I know dern good and well she's gonna be smiling.

Cutie Reveal dolls come in a tube, just like those old Color Reveal dolls did...

...but no water is involved like it was with Color Reveal.  Just slide the doll and her packages out of the tube...

...and she's free!  

The packages hold outfit pieces so that Vex doesn't have to eternally cosplay as Grumpy Bear or pose in her panties.  Part of the costume also doubles as a reversible jacket.

Fittingly, all the pieces are either blue and/or white, and the jacket is a little fuzzy. 

I like fuzzy.  But I don't really like the painted shine marks on her lips.  I haven't seen doll lips like that since Wild Hair Sindy.

Vex makes up for it with her eyeshine...done up like little hearts!  And now that I look closer, I can see little hearts on Vex's lips as well.  I love it!  I also love this doll's highlights; the color reveal gimmick hasn't been completely abandoned...just heavily modified.  My Color Reveal doll (whereabouts unknown) had hair and makeup that would shift colors with warm or cold temperatures, and Vex is the same way.  As far as I know, all of the Cutie Reveals have this feature.

Right now the room is a little cold, so Vex's highlights are on full display.  When it's warm her highlights are more blonde in color. 

Online posts suggest that I can use the costume head as a bed for Vex's mini Grumpy Bear, but usually she just holds him since he's the size of a regular teddy bear.

Not half-bad.  I do wish Vex's legs were more limber like a Made to Move doll's, but then that would probably drive the cost of these Cutie Reveals up.  Vex has more joints than the Fashionistas do, so I'll just let that baby sleep.  Overall Vex is pretty cute.  She's a little more limber than the Fashionistas, but she still can't hold a candle to the Made to Move bunch.  She's dressed pretty cute, though those legs look cold without something on them.  Her face is a little pixeled, but not terribly so.  I can see how these dolls could get addictive, with those cute costumes and their colorful hair.  

Now I'm going to find my warm pajamas and pray that we don't get ice!  On the plus side I'm wearing new winter pajamas, and Mama made potato soup earlier today so we have that to look forward to tomorrow.  Heck, I already had a big bowl of it!  Despite the specter of foul weather ahead, I'm feeling pretty positive and that's an epic feeling.  Love y'all!

Frosty love,

RagingMoon1987 

A lot of pink

Shoo, I'm hitting the ground running with the blog this year, aren't I???  I would've posted this on Tuesday, but a so random post had just gone up so I thought "What the heck, post this on Friday."  Apparently the Barbie Extra line is being phased out (bummer, I liked those dolls), and Barbie Deluxe Style is being brought in.  So far there's four of them...

...and there's so...much...pink.  I'm gonna say this again:  I DO NOT HATE PINK!!!  Indeed, I love wearing pink myself, but I wonder why Barbie picked pink as her favorite color???  She's done so well in the Fashionista line by NOT drowning herself in Pepto-Bismol, and also with the Extras, so WHY DO IT NOW???  Deep breath, Moon Girl...Barbie has gone a long stretch without a lot of pink in her life, so I guess it's fair that this line would be nothing but.  And I'll admit that each doll has something I like.  Do y'all see Model #2, the one with the dark hair?  Look what she's got!

A PINK PROSTHETIC LEG!!!  Now that, I can get behind.  If you've gotta wear a fake leg or utilize any sort of mobility aid, may as well make it your own.  I myself use a cane now, thirty-three inches with a Lucite shaft and handle, and look what the shaft has in it.  Little silk roses!  Best hundred bucks I've ever spent.

I also read about a college student who suffered a spinal injury in the Tuscaloosa tornado, and one of the things she did to cheer herself during recovery was to buy and use a pink cane.  The girl recovered enuff to walk on her own at graduation that same year, though she did have to use the cane.  I was not crippled at the time that I read that book, but I kept the idea in the back of my head, and now that I AM crippled I'm glad I did.  Now...to further sweeten the deal for Model #2, this prosthesis looks like it's articulated.  

I have a Fashionista with a prosthetic leg, but since Leide is a Fashionista she's stiff as a board all over.  The Deluxe girls sadly don't have Made to Move bodies, but they're a lot more poseable than the Fashionistas.  

My other favorite Deluxe model is #4, with her dusty rose microbraids.

This one's got a really pretty face.  I hope it's as pretty IRL.

Despite all the pink I gotta admit that this is a fun looking bunch.  Model #2 is a must-have for me, and maybe #4 as well, and then...gosh, I wonder what'll come after that?  Pink or no pink, it'll be interesting to see.  Barbie is almost never dull.

EDIT:  The blonde doll in this lineup apparently has a red-haired variant that's been popping up in Target...and guess which head she has!!!  She looks a lot like Dreamhouse Midge, but oh, to see a playline Steffie!  Could my hopes for a Fashionista with the Steffie head be not as farfetched as I thought???

Pink love,
RagingMoon1987

Throwback Thursday review: Kenner Baby Needs-A-Name

When I was a little kid I had a Little Golden Book called Noel, about a small red Christmas ornament who had a "happiness" (a soul, in a sense).  In said book January second was called "the back-to-normal thing," in which the Christmas decorations were packed up and the tree (a REAL tree that Noel had befriended) was hauled outside and presumably burned.  For my family January second usually also meant "the back-to-school thing," in which we...well, we went back to school after Christmas break!  I've never been a huge advocate of January anyway, with all its wind and cold and bleakness, and since it's the back-to-normal thing today...what else but a doll review?  This is Baby Needs-A-Name, from the Strawberry Shortcake line.  She debuted here last July.

As I've discussed ad nauseam, 1983 was the year everyone just HAD to have a Cabbage Patch Kid, but Strawberry Shortcake was still a big seller as well.  In 1983 these baby dolls that blew scented kisses were available, and I don't know about y'all, but if I couldn't have had a Cabbage Patch Kid a Strawberry Shortcake baby doll would've done me just fine.  Baby Needs-A-Name was joined by Angel Cake, Baby Apricot, Lemon Meringue, Orange Blossom, and Strawberry Shortcake herself.  They "blew" their kisses when one squeezed their tummies.  I don't know why I picked Baby Needs-A-Name over Orange Blossom, by the way, because Orange Blossom is usually my go-to gal, and if I'd been a child in 1983 Lemon Meringue likely would've been my choice.

Now before I finally get to the review, a word about this name.  Baby Needs-A-Name was like Mattel's P.J. and Ideal's Velvet's Little Sister in that it was up to the doll's owner to give her a name.  Velvet's Little Sister eventually became Cinnamon, and in a similar manner Kenner later bestowed the name "Lullaberry" on Baby Needs-A-Name.  But my eye was drawn to something else.

The decal on her chest looks almost exactly like a strawberry hybrid called a pineberry.  Pineberries are a fairly recent thing, being first cultivated in 2002.  They're these drop-dead gorgeous white berries with red seeds, possessing the shape of a strawberry and the flavor of a pineapple.  Despite first appearing for sale in 2010 pineberries are STILL not a terribly profitable crop.  The fruits are little, the plants apparently don't yield much fruit, and there aren't many farmers growing the fruit in the first place.  But "Pineberry" is original, so "Pineberry" shall be my doll's pet name.  My doll is the one that blows kisses; another example can be seen...where else???  On Tam's blog!  I don't know why, but I think these kissy dolls are extra cute.  They don't smell very cute, though; Pineberry smells like cheap soap when she blows a kiss.  But she's still fun to squeeze!

Now.  Pineberry is thirteen inches from head to toe, putting her on a similar scale as a Bitty Baby.  Similar, mind y'all; Kiara and Pineberry are different enuff that clothes sharing will probably be out of the question. 

Pineberry is also on a similar scale to Cabbage Patch Preemies (Ernest John is shown) and Magic Nursery babies (Mikey is shown).  Her measurements are different from theirs, though.

Just for grins, here's how Pineberry compares to her smaller friends, Orange Blossom and Lime Chiffon.  It's easy to see their shared aesthetic. 

To be fair, I sat the clone doll, Sorbet, with Pineberry too.  They...I gotta admit, they favor!  Sorbet's hair tidied up nicely, by the way. 

The smaller Kenner dolls didn't have the thickest hair so my hopes are not high for Pineberry's dome, and indeed, Pineberry has some thin spots.  Because her hair is the kind to hold kinks, it's also got a few cowlicks.

Pineberry's hair is baby blonde, about as pale as blonde hair can get without being white.  Rose (Baby Won't Let Go) and Suzy Cute also have this shade, but Pineberry's is in better shape.  It's not dry like Suzy's or frizzy like Rose's.

A couple of these blow-kiss dolls have pigtails, but Pineberry's is the same length all the way around...except for her bangs, of course.  Her bangs are wispy and a teensy bit long, but I can brush them out of the way.

Down to the face now.  These dolls' faces always reminded me of lumps of dough, with their smooth curves and plump, squidgy-looking cheeks.  Seeing as Strawberry Shortcake and co. are named after baked goods, that would make sense.  Here's Pineberry's face with the bangs brushed aside.

Since Pineberry is blonde, guess what color her eyes are.

Oh well, at least they're different from Kiara's and Honeymoon's, right?  Plus, I don't see too many dolls with periwinkle eyes.  These eyes are ovoid with BIG pupils, and to keep the pupils from being too blank there are two light clusters.  The eyelashes are interesting. 

Five eyelashes in two colors, a blueberry-colored iris, and very little visible sclera.  They give me a bit of an anime/Licca-chan vibe.

Lower part of the face, now.  Pineberry has a flat, wide nose, wide cheeks with both blush and freckles, and a cute little mouth with melon-colored lips.

Yep, the Strawberry Shortcake aesthetic is alive and well!  Their little faces always have reminded me of hunks of dough, and Pineberry is no exception.  I do kinda wish her vinyl was softer, though.  Cheeks that thick beg to be gently pinched...or just stroked with a single finger, like I like to do to a baby's cheeks.  I also love that Pineberry has freckles.  Indeed, the only one of these kissing babies that DIDN'T have freckles was Orange Blossom, and that may be why I didn't go with her instead.  Pineberry also has a copious amount of blush, and that I can do without because blush and freckles together makes me think of sunburn.

Let's take a quick look at this mouth, since that's where part of the gimmick lies.  Hey, they're blow-kiss babies!  The paint has a slight orangish hue.

I know from personal experience that it's pert near impossible to pucker one's lips and smile at the same time, but then I am not a doll.

Now this body.  Pineberry has a stuffed body with vinyl limbs attached.

In this way Pineberry is similar to a Bitty Baby.  She's put together in a similar way, and she doesn't have joints.  However, Pineberry can't even sit on her own.  She always flops onto her back.  Kiara can sit on her own with some bamboozling.

Pineberry CAN sit if propped up, though.  Pardon my tablet in the background; I had the Misery Machine going.  Viewer discretion is advised. 

In Kiara's case her hip joints are loosely stuffed, allowing for a certain amount of floppiness and flexibility.  Pineberry's flexibility is due to her soft body; she's much softer than Kiara is.  The trade-off is that Pineberry's torso is a hair flimsier than Kiara's.  If you're familiar with American Girls and Bitty Babies, then you know that their torsos are made of this extremely durable canvaslike fabric.  Pineberry has a muslin torso that feels a little like it might be double-layered.  The color is very pale pink.

Pineberry isn't falling apart at the seams like one of my Lazy Dazy dolls is, but if I ever need to get inside her there's a big seam in the back.  It looks a little like the seams on the backs of some My Twinn dolls, and it's very robustly sewn.

Like a great many of my dolls, Pineberry's limbs are sewn to her body, but the stitches are not obvious like they are on some of my other dolls.

Pineberry's limbs are three-quarter limbs and are made of vinyl with a pinkish flesh tone.  I like this coloration; she doesn't look whiter than a sheet of brand-new printing paper, but she doesn't look like ham salad either.  The vinyl is pretty firm; no squishiness here!

Above it's easy to see that the hand has few molded details; no knuckles and only the merest indentations for nails.  The palm is a little better, with creases on Pineberry's thick little fingers.  I've heard of banana fingers, but Pineberry takes it a step further, to...oh, I'll say bratwurst.

Pineberry's feet are the same way, with barely-there nails, thick, short toes, and a little definition on the sole.  They are not meant for standing, unsurprisingly.

Both of the legs have a single teeny-weeny black stain on the inside calf.  I don't know where they came from, unless some stupid little kid was fooling around with a ballpoint pen.

Sigh...I'm not gonna harp on that again.  Y'all know my opinions on children and their toys.  Granted, I don't know that that's what happened here with Pineberry, but it's what it looks like.  ANYWAY, dolls with stuffed bodies almost always have a tag somewhere, and so it is with Pineberry.  Her tag has Kenner's info, as well as some of American Greetings's info and the site of production.  Pineberry's tag isn't faded badly like those of some of my Cabbies (Beryl June).

Then on the other side we have your usual laundering blather.  After my last attempt to spot clean a doll, I'll be reading these very carefully.

Not that I think Pineberry will be dangerous when wet like Clio Teresa is, but can't hurt to be careful, both for the doll's sake and for my own.

As for clothes, these blow-kiss babies wore outfits that made their identity as Strawberry Shortcake dolls very clear.  All of them wore big hats, as the regular-sized dolls did.

Alrighty...the romper is one piece and is dominantly pink, since the dolly world always needs more pink.  The sleeves have faded little stripes, and at one time they were elasticized, but the elastic has long since given out.

The waist has a ruffle that...looks like a skirt but is way too short to be one.  It too has faint stripes...

...as does the no-frills collar.

Y'all have seen the little berry on the front, but here it is again.  It's made of printed felt, and it's affixed to the bodice with a line of straight little stitches, rather than the glue that some companies used.  This puppy is ON THERE!  

The elastic on the legs has also given out; these normally would puff up like the sleeves do.

The back closes with a single strip of Velcro at the collar, and the whole garment fits tightly.  I'm always afraid I'm gonna tear a seam when I pull this getup off Pineberry.

Here's where the berry is sewn in place; the stitches stick out like a sore thumb against the pink, but they're still solid as a rock.

The seams are not the prettiest to look at, and interestingly, only the pink fabric looks raggy.  The striped stuff does not.

Maybe it's because the striped stuff has been cut with pinking shears.  That sometimes helps prevent raveling, and it's not often seen on doll clothes.

The pink stuff is pinked too along the legholes, and sure enuff the raveling there isn't as bad.

Now, the hat.  It's a big floppy thing that would cover Pineberry's whole head if I pulled it down far enuff.

Interestingly, the ruffle on this hat is white rather than striped...or if it's striped the stripes have faded too much for me to see.

The hat is topped with a bow, but the bow is a little tired.  It needs a light steaming.

This little goober isn't original to Pineberry's ensemble, but she wears it anyway.  She's a miniature Furrever Friend, and Pineberry uses her as a feather boa.

Pineberry also had booties at one time, but my doll only came with one and it's tucked away with some of my other doll clothes.  It's made of striped fabric like the sleeves of the romper.  It fits Pineberry loosely, so I can see why she lost the other one.

Pineberry's slim build means that she can't wear Bitty Baby clothes or Cabbage Patch clothes...not without the pieces being tremendously baggy, that is.  Indeed, I'm not really sure what else Pineberry can wear, so I'm gonna wrap it up.

BAD
*This doll's kiss kinda stinks, literally.  That may be age-related. 

*Clothes might be fragile in places, especially in the back where the opening is.

*Posing isn't great.

*I couldn't find a single outfit in my admittedly short search that she can wear.

GOOD
*Soft.  I like soft dolls...and soft things in general. 

*Gimmick is child-friendly and still works

*The Strawberry Shortcake aesthetic is alive and well

*I don't think this doll can break easily!

*Just plain cute, LOL!

No joke, if you say "Strawberry Shortcake" to me I'll look around wildly and sat "Where???  Where???"  The only exception to that rule might be those sleep-eyed dolls, and even those I don't hate.  If you put the Strawberry Shortcake thing aside Pineberry is your average little baby doll, one that would fit in nicely with a collection of other baby dolls, or of eighties toys, or of Strawberry Shortcake stuff.  Now, with ice in the forecast, I may take a closer look at what this doll can wear; that will greatly increase her play potential. 

Cheers,

RagingMoon1987