In another post Barb the Evil Genius left a comment informing me that the year's grail Barbie, Fashionista #91 Varsity Plaiditude, was making appearances in her neck of the woods. I thought "Okay, that's good. I'll see her around here in...about SIX MONTHS!!!" Seriously, it feels like the Bootheel is always the last place to get the new stuff...until now. I went to Dexter's Wally World tonight to see if they had any Hairdorables (yes, I'm jumping on that bandwagon), and mixed in with the other new (and not so new) Fashionistas were three Varsity Plaiditude dolls. For reference sake, this is the doll that I referred to as "Dandelion" in
my last Barbie-themed post. Here's my girl, out of her box and ready to face the world.
I'm not going to review this young lady fully like I did Jewel, but I WILL show her off. She's got a new face mold that I'm a little on the fence about. It's not ugly by any means. I guess I'm just not used to it yet.
She does have lovely eyes and lovely lips, though. And can y'all see her freckles??? Very faint freckles across her nose, forehead, and cheeks?
Once upon a time I wasn't a big fan of freckles, particularly since I've got some on my arms that I was self-conscious about, but nowadays freckles don't bother me. I do wonder though...the scuttlebutt online says this doll is an albino. I don't know that for sure, but she certainly does look the part. Thus I have to wonder...do albinos freckle??? Sheesh, some biology major I am, not even knowing if albinos can freckle or not! <pauses to search Google>
It turns out that there are
four types of albinism, or at least four that don't cause serious internal problems as well as pigmentation problems. These four types are subtypes of oculocutaneous albinism, and only Type 1 lacks the ability to freckle. Type 1 and Type 2 can both also have problems with their eyesight that neither glasses nor contacts can fix. As much as I hate the thought of anyone being legally blind, I may grub up some glasses for my girl to wear.
Since this doll is so pale, let's see how she compares to my darkest doll Duckie, whom I have difficulty photographing with the equipment I've got.
Yeah, yeah, I know Mattel has been packaging these two together and thus it's not an original pairing, but I wanted to see the pairing for myself. I've got to admit these two make a striking pair.
I also picked up another of the new Super Mario outfits. I love the cut of this dress.
What a surprise, it doesn't come with shoes. I can't wait to see how this looks on my girls, though; Duckie and her new friend will definitely be in the lineup to try it out when I do get to that bridge, but I'm going to wait for some other day to do that. Some day when I'm mad or sad or bored or some night when I can't sleep...I'll play Dolly Dress Shuffle then. Oh, and what will be Duckie's new friend's name, you ask? Well, since she's my doll, I'll probably stick with "Dandelion." If y'all think that's a dumb name for a doll, you should hear some of my OTHER names. I've got dolls named "Sparky" and "Tumbleweed" buried in my Barbie box somewhere.
As for the search for a Hairdorable...well, I found one. The store only had two left and I got one of them. But y'all will have to wait until Thursday to see her! LOL, gotta make you wait so I can get her properly reviewed!
Much love,
RagingMoon1987
One of Mattel's Fairytopia dolls came with the name Dandelion. If it's good enough for the manufacturer to use, I see no reason why you can't use it. My Fairytopia Dandelion doll is still named Dandelion, even though I've redressed her so she's not a fairy anymore. I've also been known to give some of my dolls 'odd' names. I have a blue-haired doll named Shade and a Barbie Long Long Hair doll named Rampion. (In case you didn't know, rampion is both a European salad green and is the origin of the name Rapunzel. It's a long story.) The point is, they're your dolls, so name them whatever you want and don't worry about what other people think.
ReplyDeleteSigned, Treesa
P.S. If you'd like to know more about Shade, Rampion, and the rest of my dolls you can read their stories, in their own words, on my blog, Fashion Doll Memoirs.
LOL, I love the name Rampion. I do recall that it was a rampion that led to Rapunzel getting her name, and if I remember correctly it was how she ended up in her predicament, wasn't it? I do remember Fairytopia Dandelion; once upon a time I owned her, Elena, and Dahlia. They don't live with me anymore; I gave 'em to a little kid who needed 'em more than I did. I'll happily check out your stories; I love a good backstory!
DeleteI'm glad that you found a Dandelion! Duckie is very striking, if only she had an articulated body. I was just watching a video the other day from the beginning of the year about makeup trends for 2018. It said that a "pop of color" was going to be stylish, neutral makeup except for one thing, eyes, lids, whatever, that was going to be brightly colored. Duckie's definitely got that pop. If only Mattel was as good at keeping up with other trends.
ReplyDeleteOh, I just love Duckie! I do wish though that her lips weren't that horrid pink shade. I never will understand why Mattel always does that to their beautiful dark dolls. Thanks for your information, by the way; I wouldn't have known to look for Dandelion otherwise.
DeleteI really like Dandelion, she's beautiful :-). And she does make a great pair with Duckie, the contrast between the two is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll make 'em besties.
DeleteI think Dandelion is a sweet name and fitting for this doll. At first, I thought this post was about the orange-haired fairy Mattel created years ago. When I saw this doll's photo, I smiled. Her hair does resemble dandelion plants.
ReplyDeleteAside: I think Mattel got the inspiration to create this albino doll from a South African doll, Alexa of the Malaville Dolls. I'm glad they did because they've made an albino doll accessible to children and/or adults who may have never heard of Alexa or who could not afford her if they did. I got an Alexa earlier this year. I gave her a short post - https://phillycollector.blogspot.com/2018/01/from-south-africa-whiter-shade-of-black.html . I need to write a more detailed post on her.
Dandelion and Duckie make an interesting contrast, complexion-wise. Just because Mattel photographed these dolls together, that doesn't mean that others can't. You bring your vision in how you posed them together. Thanks for sharing.
LOL, I did have Dandelion the fairy once. I gave her away to a little girl who needed her more than I did, but I never forgot her. You'd be right in thinking I got the inspiration for the name from this doll's hair; I mean it as a compliment, of course, because I love dandelions.
DeleteI took a peek at Alexa and I hope you'll expand on her one day. She certainly is a cute doll, and she does bear a passing resemblance to Dandelion and her flaxen-haired Varsity Plaiditude sisters. I'm so glad you enjoyed this post, and I'm glad you like the picture of Dandy and Duckie together. Group pictures are not the easiest ones to take.