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.

A new breed of Lalaloopsy

Okay, I know that the next blog was supposed to be about Meygana Broomstix's new clothes, but I've made a dolly discovery, and I find it fitting that this blog comes on the heels of my review on Blossom Flowerpot's new clothes.  During my usual browsing section on Facebook yesterday I stumbled across these new variations of Lalaloopsy dolls.  They are called Lala-Oopsies!

Judging from the descriptions on Facebook's Lalaloopsy page, the Oopsies are princesses.  Like the normal Lalas they come with cute outfits, pets, and their own unique personalities.  Oh, and they have extremely long legs that apparently bend.  Princess Nutmeg (left) "lives in a topsy-turvy kingdom where everything's all about fun."  She loves to dance and make her friends happy, and is apparently something of a klutz.  Sounds like my kind of princess!  Princess Anise (right) is "the princess of knickknacks."  She loves pretty things and will regale you with stories about her large collection of knickknacks.  She also loves throwing tea parties.  Both of these dolls come in large form and in mini-form; the minis have two extra characters named Princess Saffron and Princess Juniper.  MGA hasn't released a stock photo yet, but there is already an image running around of Princess Juniper's large doll self.

In addition to that, there is evidence to suggest that these four princesses each have coordinating fairies to go with them.  I assume that these are to be the Lala-Ooopsy equivalent of Lalaloopsy Littles (the Littles in turn are younger siblings of the large Lalaloopsies).  Fairy Fern takes after Princess Saffron:

Fairy Daffodil looks like Princess Juniper:

Fairy Lilac resembles Princess Anise:

And Fairy Tulip coordinates with Princess Nutmeg:

These fairies utilize something that I have not seen done with Lalaloopsy Littles.  Each is wrapped in their own little cocoon!  Take a gander at the pictures again; two of them are wrapped in strawberry cocoons, and two are little peanuts.  I love this idea and I hope MGA will expand on it.  

And that brings us to the topic of success.  The regular Lalaloopsy dolls are already hideously popular (especially certain characters like Mittens Fluff 'n Stuff), and the Littles are apparently also popular.  According to some of the comments I've read the Littles are easier for small children to carry, and don't double as a club like the large-sized Lalaloopsy dolls do.  That said, reception to the large Lala-Oopsies appears to be somewhat mixed.  Comments on Facebook's images on the dolls range from "I like this" to "I'll pass, thanks" to "I F**KING HATE THESE!!!" or some equivalent of that comment.  Reaction to the fairies has been more warm, though I've only seen a handful of comments on each picture.  One mother laments "that's just great, now we're going to need all of these too!"  Another person remarks that she's "not much for the bigs" and is thus looking forward to the release of the fairies.  In short, I predict that these Lala-Oopsies may be either a smash hit or a tremendous flop.  Consumers appear to like the fantasy theme and the bright colors, but are up in arms about the long legs.  Some are also concerned that Lala-Oopsies will not be able to fit regular Lalaloopsy clothes, which is something I too am curious about.  As for the fairies, I'm almost positive that they will be popular.  They take the small size of the Lalaloopsy Littles and add on wings and a ton of fun colors.  The cocoons are a huge plus; they'll be easy for little kids to hold, and add some cuddle-ability to these otherwise stiff dolls.  

To wrap it up I'm going to give you my opinion on these dolls.  C'mon, you knew it was coming!  Since when have I ever done a blog without voicing my opinion???  LOL, anyways I absolutely love this idea.  The bright colors have caught my eye, as have the long bendy legs.  I also love the airbrushed cheeks; that's a cute departure from the molded patches.  However, I do want to examine these dolls first-hand and see for myself if they have molded cheeks underneath the paint.  So far all the Lalaloopsies have used the same basic head mold, with the only variations being the hair, the paint schemes, and the skin tone.  A departure from using the same mold for every doll certainly will be interesting to see.  As for the fairies, I don't normally like the smaller-sized Lalaloopsies, but given the fact that these fairies are so colorful I may take the plunge and get one.  The coordination factor is another thing; for some weird reason if a doll I own has a partner (a boyfriend, girlfriend, brother, sister, pet or some sort of counterpart) then I have to have that partner to complete the set.  I felt this way about Beauty and Beast, and about Meygana and Wingzy, and I feel this way about the Lala-Oopsies.  And since each of the four characters has a smaller counterpart that means I'll be paying for two dolls no matter what.  Judging from one image on Facebook the larger dolls are starting to hit store shelves, and when they do, I plan on getting one.  You'll get a review then, of course.  

Yours truly,

RagingMoon1987

Update:  Lala-Oopsies have their own website; it appears to be a branch of the regular Lalaloopsy site.  If you're curious about these unusual creatures, go there.

Finally...clothes for Blossom Flowerpot!

When I was eleven I made the transition over from collecting Beanie Babies to collecting Barbie and other dolls, and one of the key reasons why was because Beanie Babies are pretty static.  Oh sure, they're cute, but that's about it.  They don't have any hair to braid or clothes to change, and when you've seen one you've seen them all (this is especially true for the teddy bears).  Furthermore, I love being able to switch things around, so it was a pretty easy transition over from stuffed animals to dolls.  That being said, I've spent a considerable amount of time moaning and groaning on this blog about how certain dolls don't have a lot of clothing options.  I've already touched on the difficulty of finding decent clothes for Moxie Teenz and modern-day Bratz, and clothes for Moxie Girlz are becoming few and far between as well.  In this blog post I lamented the fact that Lalaloopsy clothes were becoming difficult to find as well...until the next wave of new dolls came out!  In addition to some very cute new members to the Lalaloopsy family there were some very cute new outfits as well.  After the new outfits were introduced prices on the old ones got slashed (or they did in my area), so I took advantage of that and bought my Blossom three new outfits.

Outfit number one is a pajamas set, which MGA has made plenty of for Lalaloopsy dolls.  In addition to the one I've got they had this one, this one for the boys, this one, and this one (the last two are fairly new).  There's also a cute little bathrobe, which I think counts as a pajamas set.  My set is NONE of these; it's this one.

I absolutely LOVE this outfit.  It's made of terry cloth so it's soft and cuddly, and if it gets dirty it can be washed (gotta love the durability of terry cloth).  It also has POLKA DOTS, which I love.  And to top it all off, it's white polka dots against a blue background, kinda like clouds!

A trifle washed out, but I believe you get the idea.

The seams have hot pink piping, which looks awesome with my Blossom's pink hair.  The front seam also has three round, white, nonfunctional buttons.

If I recall correctly, these buttons were pink in the promo pics.  They were also hearts.  I wonder why MGA changed it?  Why must doll companies always do that???  Oh well, it still looks cute.

Back on track.  The sleeve cuffs are bright orange with more pink piping.

Of particular notice is the feet; these are feet pajamas, but the feet on these look like little slippers.  So cute!  Or rather, SEW cute!

They have orange ribbon straps, and the slipper-looking part is hot pink with darker pink polka dots (more polka dots, yay).  The soles have the rubber grippy bits, which I think is a cute little touch.  We can't have Blossom slipping and falling down!  LOL

Here is what Blossom looks like in the outfit.  She looks comfy!

The best thing about this outfit is that it covers Blossom's leggings.  Blossom has painted on orange/white striped leggings, and these won't match all of the outfits that MGA has for Lalaloopsy dolls.  They would've matched here thanks to the orange cuffs, but the pajamas cover them so no worries.  The worst thing about this outfit is that it restricts Blossom's movement.  This outfit fits pretty close in places, and sometimes the fabric gets caught up in the joints.  If you own a large Lalaloopsy like this then you know that Blossom is not the most poseable doll to begin with; just shoulder joints and hip joints (and a swivel head, but it's not affected by this outfit).

Outfit number two is one of the swimsuits.  In my last Lalaloopsy-themed blog (okay, here's the link again, haha) I discussed the merits of the new swimsuit and the design flaws of the older one.  So guess which one I ended up with?

This is the older swimsuit.  Remember that the new one has an inner tube.

LOL, talk about eating crow!  Frankly I was so desperate to give Blossom a halfway-decent wardrobe that I really didn't care about the reviews on Amazon.  After all, it was mostly kids that had problems with those fiddly little ties.  I am not a child, and I've spent my life tying fiddly little ties into sturdy little knots, so I bought the swimsuit.

Anyways, let's take a look here.  The swimsuit itself is orange and pink, with pink ruffles on the top and skirt.  The top has one ruffle layer and the skirt has two.

The fabric is a stretchy knit, and it feels a lot like Spandex.  It definitely has a swimsuit-y feel to it.

The top was one part that a lot of folks had issues with.  It is a halter top made out of dark pink satin ribbon, and if tied into a bow it will slide apart easily.

So I tied it in a knot.  Problem solved!

The shoes are plastic, but otherwise match the swimsuit.

In this case the laces are also pink satin, and they are very long.  In order to get Blossom to wear these the laces must be criss-crossed like ballet slippers.  These ties also require knots.

Lastly, there are these cute little water wings.

They're blue with white polka dots (!!!).  The material feels water resistant, but I'm not sure if it truly is or not.  And frankly, I don't plan on trying that little idea out.  By the way, these are difficult to slip over my Blossom's hands, so that time Amazon hit the target.  Or it did in this case.

These had huge tags sewn on them, by the way, so big that I clipped them off.  With that, here's Blossom in this outfit.

Normally I would've taken her outside and posed her by the pool for a pic like this, but it's November and the pool is closed!  I love how this outfit frees up Blossom's joints though, and I love how the colors match Blossom's tights.  Whoever would wear tights to the beach is anyone's guess, but it's still cute.  The shoes are cute, but I'm not in love with the ribbon ties.  That's something I can deal with, but it gets fiddly after awhile.  I also worry about how well this fabric will hold up over time.  It feels a little flimsy.

Now, third outfit!  This is the newest one; I got it on the same day that I got Katniss and Miss Kite.  It is a party dress, or something in that vein.

It looks a lot like the dress that Pepper Pots 'n Pans (another Lalaloopsy character) wears.  They're not exact matches, but still close.  This dress looks simple, but looks are deceptive.  The fabric is pink and white gingham with silver threads shot through.  The silver gives the dress a cheery sparkle.

The skirt is pleated:

...and the bodice is gathered.  It looks like it would stretch, but it does not.

In addition to the tailoring details there are several different types of trim.  The hem of the skirt and the sleeves are trimmed with one of my favorite fabrics, white eyelet!  Above the eyelet is a cute red ribbon with white polka dots.

On top of all that, the sleeves have red satin bows.

This dress comes cute little Mary Jane shoes and molded white socks.  The bow is painted white.

They are the same as Blossom's factory shoes, just with a different paint job.

Here's what Blossom looks like in this dress:

Shucks, I halfway wish that I had a Pepper Pots 'n Pans doll to sit next to her!  Of the three new outfits I think I like this one the best.  It looks the most like Blossom's default dress, and it looks country-ish and springtime-y, which fits Blossom's character.  It's full of cute little details, and it even has sparkles!  Oh, and the trim has polka dots too.  The one fault I have with this dress is that it neither matches nor fully covers Blossom's painted stockings.  That's hard to see when she's sitting, but they definitely show when she's not sitting.

Luckily for me, this doesn't bug me much.  I'm just glad they're not full-length, like some other Lalaloopsy dolls.  Picking Blossom Flowerpot as my favorite Lalaloopsy was definitely a smart move!

Before I wrap up this review I want to note that Lalaloopsy clothes, or at least the ones I have purchased, are of very good quality.  The fabrics that MGA uses feel substantial (with a possible exception of that Spandex swimsuit, but then again Spandex NEVER holds up), each of the outfits are dripping with cute little details like buttons or ribbons, and they're all sewn well.  Even that swimsuit is sewn well; the Spandex (or whatever fabric that is) may not stand up to the test of time, but at least it won't be falling apart at the seams.  If you have one of these dolls, I highly recommend that you go out and get some new duds for her if you haven't done so already.  And if you purchased one of the boy dolls...well, I hope there are some more boy outfits available besides that pair of skeleton pajamas!

I'm definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for more outfits for Blossom, but three is enough to keep this dolly glutton satisfied for now.  My mother said that Blossom needs a coat for this winter and I agree with her, but I can wait.  Instead I'm going to try to focus on finding outfits for Tristen (my Moxie Teenz doll) and particularly for Sophina (my Moxie Girlz doll).  If you follow my blog regularly then you know how I've bemoaned the lack of accessories and clothes available for Moxie Teenz.  As for the Girlz, my Sophina came dressed in a very basic little nightie and bare shoe-feet (she was a Dollar Store doll, if that tells you anything).  She looks cute, but I feel sorry for her not having anything cute to wear, so I want to find something else.  Both Moxie Teenz and Moxie Girlz clothes are difficult to find in my neck of the woods, and since Moxie Teenz are discontinued I want to put together a nice wardrobe for my Tristen.  She's too pretty to be a single-outfit non-entity!

Lastly, I'm going to set the stage for the next topic.  I have a new outfit for Meygana, and it's cute but it's got a very minor problem.  Okay, in my eyes it's a pretty big problem.  It may bug some of you too, or it may fall under the "oh whatever, Moony's just nitpicking again" category.  Either way we'll talk about that next time.  I wasn't assigned any homework this weekend so next time may be tomorrow.

Happy Black Friday,
RagingMoon1987

Being for the benefit of Miss Kite!

At the end of my review on the Katniss Everdeen doll I told you of a Barbie clone that I snagged yesterday.  I'll get to that, but first I have a bit of a Twilight Zone experience to tell you about.  Katniss has those arrows, right?  Well I went to bed very late last night, and since I am completely out of room in my bedroom I put Katniss on the top of our bookshelf in the front room.  As far as I know those arrows were in her quiver.  Then this morning I got up, traipsed in here and I found those arrows on the floor!  It was almost like she'd shot them!

I'm Katniss Everdeen, and I'm going to kill you.

LOL, okay so it's not so Twilight Zone-y; I probably forgot to put them in her quiver and dumped them when I stood up in my half-awake state.

Secondly, most of my page views are not coming from folks on Blogspot.  They are coming from sites called uglystat.com and adsensewatchdog.com.  I don't know who they are or where they're from.  I just want them to quit bugging me.  If you are out there and work for either of those websites, STOP IT.  I have nothing to hide, no shady activities for you to investigate.  This is a dolly blog, no more, no less.  If any of my followers have any ideas for how to put a stop to this, please drop me a line.

Now...on to Miss Kite.  This is her.

Her full name is Miss Katherine Lorelei Kite, Kate Kite for short, and Miss Kite until I get to know her better (LOL).  Her original name was Lovely Patsy or something like that.  How then did she get the name Miss Kite, you ask?  Because of this.

Her hair is held back with these ugly-as-sin rubber bands, and they had nothing covering them.  All I had were these two scraps of black ribbon, long enough to tie in knots but not into bows.  The back of her head looks a little like the tail of a kite with those ribbon bits fluttering around, and that reminded me of that song by The Beatles.  That loud outfit also looks like something that a circus performer might wear (if what The Beatles said was true the original Mr. Kite was part of a circus act).

Tangent over, let's look a little closer at Miss Kite.

She is your typical Barbie clone, with a soft vinyl head and a hollow plastic body.  Her hair is a reddish brown and is surprisingly well-rooted.  You know how clone dolls can sometimes have thin hair with bald patches on their heads?  Not this chica, babes!  Heck, it's even got a halfway-decent style; two parts of the hair are twisted and held back by one of those butt-ugly rubber bands.

The rest of the hair is swept back into a ponytail.  The ponytail falls to Miss Kite's waist; without the rubber bands it's a bit longer.  There are no bangs.

The hair feels smooth and soft like hair should, but it wants to fly away into a big fat mess.  I'm constantly having to brush it to keep it looking decent.  When I brushed it the first time a fair amount of hair came out.  Not enough to make Miss Kite bald, but still it was enough.

Miss Kite's face is average in appearance, not stunning, but not hideous either.

Her eyebrows are single-stroke, single-layer strips of orangey paint.  It's a good match with her hair, but it's very faint.  I find myself wondering what she'd look like with slightly darker eyebrows.

The eyes are surprisingly detailed, especially for a two-dollar dime store doll.  Miss Kite has blue eyes with long, thick eyelashes.  The eyes have painted white lines and spots to add some depth and shine.  There is also some pinkish-red eye shadow which doesn't match Miss Kite's dress.

Miss Kite's mouth is pinkish-red like her eyeshadow.  She has painted teeth.  Her mouth is just a teeny bit off-center...kinda like my mouth!

The paint is pretty good here; nothing's missing or rubbed off.  Miss Kite has a sweet smile, not too showy or flamboyant.  She's not as precisely painted as a Barbie with the same expression, though; the edges of the teeth aren't as well-painted as the rest.

Miss Kite versus Barbie

The dress was the main reason why I bought Miss Kite.  It's very...interesting looking.

The whole thing is made of a shiny, smooth, satiny material.  The bodice is completely black:

There's something odd about the fit of the bodice; it's baggy around Miss Kite's middle.  She almost looks pregnant.

That's a gnarly-looking baby bump!

The top of the bodice ties around Miss Kite's neck in halter-top fashion.  There are two black ribbons holding this part together.  The rest of the bodice Velcros together, though the bottom of the seam gaps open.

Miss Kite's skirt is unusual.  It has a fifties-style shape to it, but I can't imagine any fifties female wearing material like this!  The front is a zebra print:

And the back, oddly enough, is solid black.

If Miss kite is standing with her back to you she looks like she's wearing a completely black dress.

Or it would if the zebra front didn't show.

Miss Kite wears basic black plastic pumps on her feet.  They fit poorly, so I have to use blue putty to keep them on.

She has no accessories or jewelry, which I find odd because she has molded ear holes.  At least give her some cute little black studs!

Oh well, I'm not helpless.  One of my favorite things to do is make jewelry for dolls, so I can make some earrings for Miss Kite myself.  I might even go further than studs and give her tiny kite earrings!

Miss Kite's body is typical of clone dolls, comprised of stiff, cheap, hollow plastic.

Her shoulders and hips swing back and forth but have no lateral movement.  The knees have no joints and the waist does not twist.

The right shoulder is extremely loose.

Due to the stiff hip joints Miss Kite can't sit very gracefully; her legs splay out like she's...well, like she's got something on her mind.  Having stiff knees doesn't help much.

Keep your pants zipped and your legs together, sis!

Miss Kite's head fits on a knob; this knob allows for limited mobility; she can swivel her head but not tilt it.  It can also pop off if I twist it just right.

Again, par for the course with a clone doll.

And that, my dears, is Miss Kate Kite in a nutshell.  She's not really a bad doll for two bucks.  I can see a little girl having fun with this doll.  She breaks up the humdrum and monotony that a Barbie collection can have.  You've probably seen it; the sea of blonde Barbie dolls with wide blue eyes and the same toothy smile, covered in every shade of pink you can think of.  Patsy/Miss Kite is certainly not that.  She has different hair, different makeup, and a different expression.  Yes, she's got an open-lipped grin like Barbie, but she doesn't look like she's about to star in a toothpaste commercial, like Barbie sometimes can.  And Miss Kite isn't wearing pink!!!  Nor is she wearing anything overtly slutty; that dress covers her knees and most of her chest.  Yeah, she's revealing a decent part of her back, but that's nowhere near as much skin revealed as some other playline dolls.  <cough> Bratz <cough>

The thing is, Dollar General also has basic Barbie dolls at the store for the same price, and they're of better quality than the generic dolls like Miss Kite.  While I was browsing I saw this doll:

She's a bit more imaginative than the doll I have.

I've also seen Moxie Girlz and basic Bratz, and yesterday I even saw one Monster High doll (Dead Tired Draculaura).  Draculaura was the most expensive, at fifteen bucks (high for a Dollar General doll, and a little ridiculous for a Dead Tired doll); the rest of the dolls there ranged from two to five bucks in price.  All of them were of superior quality to Miss Kite...or Patsy, whatever her name is.  Some of them also have gimmicks; this Barbie has jointed ankles to do ballet poses.  Obviously this issue with quality isn't a big deal to me.  I bought Miss Kite because she looked unique, not because I expected her to be a collector-quality item.  I just wouldn't expect a child to pick this doll over Barbie unless they want a break from the same-old, same-old that Barbie brings (and some kids do).

So that's Katniss and Miss Kite covered, and believe it or not, that's not the end of my dolly haul yesterday!  I STILL need to share my new Lalaloopsy dress.  In a prior blog I lamented not having any extra clothes for my Lalaloopsy...then I went out and managed to find three new clothing sets.  The next blog will be devoted to those and to my Lalaloopsy doll.  I've had her for almost a year and it's finally hitting me to do a review of her.  Keep your eyes peeled for that.  I also bought another outfit for my Cutie Pops doll.  Until then, stay safe on those roads and don't get killed during Black Friday sales.  Seriously, don't.  I highly recommend staying home tomorrow, in fact; our local Super Wal-Mart had people sitting in the isles waiting for bicycles, Lalaloopsy dolls, clothes, and God-knows-what-else to go on sale.  My sister and I could hardly move, and it doesn't do any good to say "excuse me, can you please let me by."  We had to push and shove a lot just to get to the checkout line.  And we weren't even there for the sale!!!  Long story short, please just stay home.  Eat some leftover turkey, spend some time with family, sleep late, and enjoy yourself.

Ciao,
RagingMoon1987