Costume Bash Jade and a sack of old Barbies

Yesterday was a very dolly day for me.  I hadn't intended for it to be; Mama and I had only gone to Wal-Mart to buy eye drops.  But as usual we both got sidetracked, and I found this in the sales bin.

She's a Costume Bash Jade, one of the newer Bratz with the rescaled body, and possibly the only one I'll ever get like this.  I recently heard that the Bratz are going on hiatus again, which to me sounds troubling since they just came out of hiatus four years ago.  MGA has announced that there will be no new Bratz dolls in the U.S. during 2014, and that preparations are being made for a huge comeback in 2015.  Sheesh, if Bratzillaz and these tall Bratz aren't cutting it then I don't know what will!  But that's for another blog post.

I had planned for this post to be a review on Jade, but that's not the way it went.  I probably WILL review her in the future, but not today.  No, Jade got upstaged by a very, VERY unexpected visit from a friend of mine.  Said friend, whom I'll call Miss Jo, is an older woman who has access to older Barbie dolls.  Today she had a sack of them for me.  Not one or two, but A SACK FULL OF BARBIE DOLLS!!!  And she gave them to me!  With Jade sitting beside me, momentarily forgotten, I opened the sack and began pulling out dolls.  There were two Asian dolls in the mix.  The one in white looks like Western Fun Nia, and I later learned that the one on the left is likely Animal Lovin' Nikki.

There was Malibu Barbie, whom Miss Jo pulled out of the sack to show off.  I'm very excited about this one.  She's wearing a dress that Miss Jo made, which makes her even more special.

My friend was also eager to show me Beauty Secrets Barbie, whose arms move when her torso is gently squeezed.

The sack contained another, smaller doll with an arm mechanism similar to Beauty Secrets Barbie.  I assumed that she was a Skipper of some sort, but my friends on Facebook say that she is likely a Starr doll.

I was particularly happy to be reunited with my childhood friend Maxie, whom I owned when I was a toddler.  She came out of the sack in the arms of a 90's Ken (who unfortunately is nude).  

Another pair of dolls took some time to get acquainted.

"So, do you come here often?"

My Scene Barbie was there, but at first she was too shell-shocked from the trip to take a good picture.  She collapsed next to one of the Asian girls and promptly went to sleep.

"Jeez, I'm beat."

She eventually agreed to stand up and be photographed.  She has pretty lip paint.

The contents of the sack were very star-studded.  Elvis was there, albeit in the buff.

Mary Poppins also showed up naked, so I put her in this Gemini dress which had been crammed onto a doll with much bigger hips.

Dorothy Gale was there, sans ruby slippers.

Beyonce Knowles also made an appearance, which Jade wasn't too happy about.

"What am I, chopped liver?"

I never have been a Beyonce fan and I never will be, but I'll still admit that this doll has a lovely face.  Look at that big smile!

Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato rounded out the celebrity group.  

This Barbie had a number of map pins thrust into her head.  I pulled the pins out before I photographed her.

Who does stuff like that???  Why on earth would anyone want to shove map pins into Barbie's head?  Luckily, Fashion Fever Drew escaped such treatment.  She is wearing a slinky black dress which I love.

Lastly, there was this very regal looking Midge, whom I've renamed "Amber" and given the title of princess.

In all, there were nineteen dolls in that sack.  They are varying ages, in varying states of dress, and in varying conditions.  Some of them just need a pair of shoes and a hair fix to make them look good again.  Others present a formidable challenge.  All of the Ken dolls need clothes, but they can't wear any of the outfits made for modern Ken dolls.  Good thing I know how to knit!  Maybe this Christmas my boys can have an ugly sweater party!  In short, I'm thrilled with my sack full of surprises.  Malibu Barbie is only my third vintage doll, and seeing Maxie was like being reunited with a long-lost friend.  I look forward to making Beyonce and Elvis look like A-list dolls again, and I'm excited over Joe Jonas's joints.  These next few weeks and months look to be a lot of fun.  I owe a debt of gratitude to my friend Jo for giving these dolls to me.  Thank you, Miss Jo!

Very happily yours,

RagingMoon1987