A) knew nothing about until fairly recently, and
B) stumbled upon by pure chance.
Back in December (it was the 14th, but that doesn't matter) I was researching a ship lost in Hurricane Sandy, Bounty. Bounty was a replica of the HMS Bounty and was constructed for the 1962 box office flop Mutiny on the Bounty (not to be confused with the 1935 film that has Clark Gable in it; that DOES matter). The ship's captain tried to either outrun or dodge the hurricane but ended up sailing right into it, and the ship subsequently sank. Two of the sixteen occupants died, Robin Walbridge (the captain) and a woman named Claudene Christian, and that is where the doll ties in, albeit tangentially. Before her fatal stint on Bounty Ms. Christian was a busy lady, being a college student, a USC Song Girl (NOT to be confused with a "sing-song girl"), and the head of a small business called "Cheerleader Doll." That last bit is what my doll is. Her box says "Collegiate Cheerleader Doll," so that's likely what I'll be calling her.
Pop in some eyedrops and grab some munchies now, because I'm about to start bloviating. Cheerleader Doll was authorized to use cheerleader uniforms from a staggering 150 colleges, from the well-known to the relatively obscure, but the dolls were also very similar to Barbie and that soon led to trouble. Ms. Christian cast the first stone, claiming that Mattel copied HER design with a line of cheerleader-themed Barbie dolls (I don't know which line she was thinking of, as Mattel has done several cheerleader lines). She lost that first lawsuit AND a subsequent second suit, then Mattel sued, and...oh Lordy, it got complicated! There were three lawsuits in all, and a synopsis of the court cases can be found here and here. Claudene also apparently sued her lawyer for "gross misconduct," and that suit apparently went a little better for her. The dolls were apparently fairly big sellers though, in spite of all the legal mess. So how did a former USC Song Girl and doll entrepreneur end up on a ship like the Bounty??? Easy: Ms. Christian claimed kinship to one of the mutineers on the original HMS Bounty, and she volunteered for duty. Claudene apparently relished her job on the Bounty, occasionally joking that despite being related to a mutineer she had no plans for a mutiny herself. When she was found after the ship's sinking (ten hours after the fact) she was unconscious and unresponsive, and resuscitation efforts failed to bring her back. Sources don't say whether she drowned, froze to death, or died of exhaustion (she was wearing a survival suit so I doubt she drowned), but several early sources state that she was the only fatality, as Captain Walbridge was still missing and could not yet be confirmed dead (his body was never found). The Coast Guard ruled that the captain's behavior before and during the storm was reckless, stating that if he'd "exercised the proper responsibility, judgement, and prudence" then the Bounty's loss would've been avoided. The Coast Guard also noted that the decision to abandon ship came way too late and that the Bounty's crew hadn't had a drill in months, further damning Captain Walbridge's actions during the storm. Fault was also found with Bounty's owners, with the inexperienced and fatigued crew, and with the ship itself, as parts of it were starting to rot and needed repairs.
As y'all may have figured out by now, if a doll has an interesting history I usually have to have an example of one, and that is the case here. Okay, maybe the doll herself doesn't have all that interesting of a history, but she's connected to someone who does. Here's a better look at my girl's box, front and back.
Even though my doll looks nothing like the flaxen-haired Claudene Christian, I've chosen to name her Claudene anyway as sort of a tribute. She is NOT to be confused with Clawdeen Wolf, even though their hair is a similar color.
Poor Clawdeen is going to need a hairwash. I'm not sure if it's the hair gel she once had that's making her hair nasty, or if she's got a glue-filled head like some Monster High dolls do. Whatever it is, it's making her hair stringy, limp, and nasty to the touch. Anyway, at first glance Claudene is your typical 11.5-inch fashion doll, similar in height and appearance to a nineties-era Barbie and to Hasbro Sindy.
In the face Claudene looks a bit like a Teresa doll. Her jaw and nose are narrower, but the expressions are similar.
Collegiate Doll tried to diversify its dolls in terms of appearance, and they did...pretty well. Though there are blonde, blue-eyed cheerleaders, there is a fair amount of other hair colors and skin colors as well. Boy dolls were also available, referred to as "Collegiate Sports Dolls." Anyway, as we saw above, Claudene has medium brown hair. It's very curly and tied up in a double ponytail.
The fibers are coarse and wiry, the kind that will turn into a nightmare of tangles if not properly cared for. Indeed, Claudene's ponytail is already pretty wild.
She has bangs up front that are curved and have a fair amount of volume. For the most part they look nice.
Precious few dolls Claudene's age have bangs that want to behave, but then again they weren't protected by a box for years like Claudene's bangs were. Regarding the root job, I don't dare take this ponytail down lest I get the rubber bands hopelessly snarled in Claudene's hair, but the hairline looks good.
Unfortunately a good hairline can hide a multitude of sins, as Blueberry Muffin and Tea Blossom and Bozena the Czech reveal. So I dug around a little more in this hair and finally found a spot where I could see the roots. Doesn't look like there's a lot going on in there.
Claudene has plenty of hair so thin roots aren't a huge travesty, at least for the hairstyle that she's got. A restyle would likely be out of the question though, especially a braided or parted restyle that would show every gap the root job has. So not the best hair I've seen on a doll this size. That wouldn't be a huge problem for a college kid that just wanted this doll as a dorm decoration, but for a little kid who wanted a cheerleader doll in her favorite team this hair WOULD'VE been a problem because little kids always do a number on doll hair.
Now to the face, which I noted above looks a lot like a Teresa doll's face.
Right away I can tell y'all that something ain't right. Those eyebrows are WAAAAAY too pale!
I don't know if they faded over time or if they just are really light to begin with, but either way Claudene has Johnny Winter Syndrome, a problem that I discussed clean back during Jem and the Holograms' review. Luckily eyebrows are easy to repaint if one knows what one is doing...and guess who doesn't know what they're doing when it comes to repainting? <raises hand> I confess. Thus why my poor little Freya still does not have a face-up, two years after her purchase.
The paint job is average, with subtle brown eyeshadow and thick but sparse eyelashes surrounding sky blue eyes. The eyes have some light clusters painted in, so they don't look super-lifeless. Also, are my own eyes deceiving me, or are the edges and pupils of Claudene's eyes dark blue???
I can't tell! That would be unnatural in real life, but on a doll dark blue softens the eyes and makes them look less harsh. Regarding lip color, Claudene is wearing pink lipstick, the kind that I usually freak out about. I'll give Claudene a free pass though, because the color looks...well, it looks halfway decent with her vinyl.
Better put some Vaseline on those teeth, chica, 'cause your makeup's getting on them! Overall Claudene is generically pretty, like most clone dolls are. She could easily be mistaken for a Barbie by someone who isn't a doll enthusiast. The eyeshadow is ugly (it looks to me like almost-but-not-quite-healed bruises), but luckily it's pretty subtle and doesn't take away from this doll's looks. Her eye decals are also a little wrinkled, but again this isn't noticeable at a normal distance. My big issue with Claudene's face is her eyebrows, which are wayyyyyy too light. I also think her face is a little bland overall; she lacks the charisma that the old Teresa and Barbie dolls have, but that isn't saying much since they too could look blank at times.
I'm going to skim this body since it looks so much like the bodies that Barbie and Sindy dolls possessed during the nineties.
This has a tiny effect on the rotation of the waist, but not a lot.
Brief rabbit trail about hands. I like the shape and I don't at the same time. From a distance they look very natural and strong, like some women's hands are. But up close...well, up close they look kinda funny. Claudene's thumbs are too long and too thick, while the fingers are too short. They're unusual hands.
Of course no cheerleader would be complete without pom-poms, and Claudene has them. One gold and one purple.
...and here's Sindy, using the same stand.
I was able to make the blouse more fitted by tucking it into the skirt, which makes me think that's the way it was supposed to be all along. Overall this outfit fits Barbie and Hasbro Sindy bodies very well, with the exception of the shoes. Giselle managed, but Sindy couldn't squeeze her big feet into these dinky little shoes, with socks OR without!
Just for funzies I threw Arlo, my tall Ken doll, into Claudene's blouse. Sure enough, it looks like a basketball jersey on him, and it fits well enough that I could get it to close!
When the tables are turned Claudene can wear Giselle's dress but not her shoes (her feet are too small). She also cannot wear Sindy's shoes for the same reason, and I couldn't snap Sindy's blouse closed in the front. This of course means that even though Claudene looks similar to Sindy, her measurements around the bust are just an eensy bit bigger.
Precious few dolls Claudene's age have bangs that want to behave, but then again they weren't protected by a box for years like Claudene's bangs were. Regarding the root job, I don't dare take this ponytail down lest I get the rubber bands hopelessly snarled in Claudene's hair, but the hairline looks good.
Unfortunately a good hairline can hide a multitude of sins, as Blueberry Muffin and Tea Blossom and Bozena the Czech reveal. So I dug around a little more in this hair and finally found a spot where I could see the roots. Doesn't look like there's a lot going on in there.
Claudene has plenty of hair so thin roots aren't a huge travesty, at least for the hairstyle that she's got. A restyle would likely be out of the question though, especially a braided or parted restyle that would show every gap the root job has. So not the best hair I've seen on a doll this size. That wouldn't be a huge problem for a college kid that just wanted this doll as a dorm decoration, but for a little kid who wanted a cheerleader doll in her favorite team this hair WOULD'VE been a problem because little kids always do a number on doll hair.
Now to the face, which I noted above looks a lot like a Teresa doll's face.
I don't know if they faded over time or if they just are really light to begin with, but either way Claudene has Johnny Winter Syndrome, a problem that I discussed clean back during Jem and the Holograms' review. Luckily eyebrows are easy to repaint if one knows what one is doing...and guess who doesn't know what they're doing when it comes to repainting? <raises hand> I confess. Thus why my poor little Freya still does not have a face-up, two years after her purchase.
Getting back to Claudene, let's look at her eyes again. If I ignore her faded eyebrows she's got very pretty eyes.
The paint job is average, with subtle brown eyeshadow and thick but sparse eyelashes surrounding sky blue eyes. The eyes have some light clusters painted in, so they don't look super-lifeless. Also, are my own eyes deceiving me, or are the edges and pupils of Claudene's eyes dark blue???
I can't tell! That would be unnatural in real life, but on a doll dark blue softens the eyes and makes them look less harsh. Regarding lip color, Claudene is wearing pink lipstick, the kind that I usually freak out about. I'll give Claudene a free pass though, because the color looks...well, it looks halfway decent with her vinyl.
Better put some Vaseline on those teeth, chica, 'cause your makeup's getting on them! Overall Claudene is generically pretty, like most clone dolls are. She could easily be mistaken for a Barbie by someone who isn't a doll enthusiast. The eyeshadow is ugly (it looks to me like almost-but-not-quite-healed bruises), but luckily it's pretty subtle and doesn't take away from this doll's looks. Her eye decals are also a little wrinkled, but again this isn't noticeable at a normal distance. My big issue with Claudene's face is her eyebrows, which are wayyyyyy too light. I also think her face is a little bland overall; she lacks the charisma that the old Teresa and Barbie dolls have, but that isn't saying much since they too could look blank at times.
I'm going to skim this body since it looks so much like the bodies that Barbie and Sindy dolls possessed during the nineties.
Big boobs, little waist, long legs, nubbin feet. She can probably wear Barbie's and Sindy's clothes, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I can't remember if Claudene's knees can bend...
...yep, they can! It's the old click knee joint that doesn't have a lot of mobility, but a knee joint is better than no knee joint. The waist also twists, and it's cut at an angle like the waist joints on some of my other clone dolls.
The shoulders are ball joints, meaning that they move back, forth, and out to the side like so.
Claudene's neck is a simple ball joint, like many, many clone dolls before her.
Blick, the vinyl of her head doesn't match her body very well. Posing is fine, though! These types of neck usually do pose fine, and Claudene does not disappoint. I do think this body is a little disappointing overall since it can't strike a lot of poses that cheerleaders strike, but Claudene can look like a convincing cheerleader if I play with her a little...or she can when she is dressed! Clothes make the doll a cheerleader, and Claudene's clothes...well, the clothes are surprisingly ill-fitting, especially the top. Even when it's off the doll it looks like a basketball jersey.
The colors are nice, at least on the front. The bottom part is purple, and the purple part is topped with diagonal gold chunks and purple, white, and gold stripes, plus a big "ECU" on the chest. The back, however, is blank, just like too dang many Mattel outfits. All that's there is Velcro and an errant stain from God-knows-where.
Truthfully I don't mind the blank back so much since a lot of cheerleading uniforms have white as a dominant color. No, my biggest issue with Claudene's blouse is that it's WAYYYYYY too loose. Probably could be remedied with some simple stitchwork, but I'm no seamstress so Claudene will just have to make do for now. It should be noted that like most cheerleader unis, ECU cheerleader unis don't look like this anymore. They're significantly more purple and significantly more bimbo-ish nowadays, though not as much so as the unis on professional cheerleaders. Anyway, the interior is far from what one might call a professional finish, but the seams aren't pulling apart and there are honest-to-God hems.
Claudene's skirt is your typical rah-rah skirt, done up in purple, with painted white and gold trim at the hem.
It too is a little big around the waist, but it's not as big as the blouse is. The material is thicker here, and the hems look better on the interior.
The pleats look nice too. They're sewn in place, in stitches smaller than I could've sewn.
The skirt is the best part of the outfit in terms of quality, maybe a little stiff, but that's all. Footwear is nothing to write home about in comparison, consisting of white socks and white tennis shoes.
Those shoes remind me of the cheap canvas shoes I had to wear from Dollar General when I was a kid. They covered my nasty little feet and served as an effective tool for the occasional spanking (!!!), but they also got dirty quickly and had very little padding or support on the inside. Now for an ornery little kid who spent most of her time swinging or crouched in the sandbox, that's not a big deal. But if you're an athlete like Claudene is, then it IS a big deal. Add to that the fact that these shoes are very crudely molded, with rough seams.
The socks aren't so bad, though I don't recall cheerleaders being in the habit of wearing kogal-style socks.
These are at least hemmed nicely and have rolled down tops...
...but they make the shoes fall off a lot. Still, I'd rather see a cheerleader with socks than without. That way Claudene won't rub blisters in her Dollar General tennis shoes.
Of course no cheerleader would be complete without pom-poms, and Claudene has them. One gold and one purple.
These are pretty simple, made out of trimmed yarn with bobs of elastic attached. The elastic allows Claudene to hold them. In this picture it's also obvious that these pom-poms are magnets for cat hair.
Overall this outfit is pretty hit-and-miss, with the oversized shirt and the crude shoes being the biggest flaws, but they do make Claudene look like the cheerleader she is. They also make Giselle and Sindy look like believable cheerleaders. Here's Giselle in her oversized kaiser stand (jeez, do I hate those!)...
I think that covers it.
BAD
*The diploma that accompanied this doll is a FARCE!!! I was hoping she'd majored in something specific, but she didn't. I know that personalized diplomas would've been tricky for a small doll company, but I still would've preferred that. Just pick four or five popular majors, run 'em through a copy machine, and shove 'em into a random box. Easy.
*This doll's hair is about five levels of suck. It's thinly rooted and very tangled right out of the box.
*The face is a little bland, or a lot, depending on one's own tastes.
*The shirt is ill-fitting, and this appears to be a problem common to these dolls. Is tailoring a small blouse super-tricky? Seriously, is it? I've never sewn a fitted blouse myself so I don't know if it's hard. If it is then I'll cut this blouse some slack.
*Shoes are not the highest quality either, and they won't stay on. I hate doll shoes that won't stay on!
GOOD
*Can share clothes with TNT Barbie and some Hasbro Sindy bodies.
*Clothes are ill-fitting in places, but their seams and hems are nicely done.
*I like this concept overall, even though it's not original. Some of these dolls represent colleges that I've never even heard of.
BAD
*The diploma that accompanied this doll is a FARCE!!! I was hoping she'd majored in something specific, but she didn't. I know that personalized diplomas would've been tricky for a small doll company, but I still would've preferred that. Just pick four or five popular majors, run 'em through a copy machine, and shove 'em into a random box. Easy.
*This doll's hair is about five levels of suck. It's thinly rooted and very tangled right out of the box.
*The face is a little bland, or a lot, depending on one's own tastes.
*The shirt is ill-fitting, and this appears to be a problem common to these dolls. Is tailoring a small blouse super-tricky? Seriously, is it? I've never sewn a fitted blouse myself so I don't know if it's hard. If it is then I'll cut this blouse some slack.
*Shoes are not the highest quality either, and they won't stay on. I hate doll shoes that won't stay on!
GOOD
*Can share clothes with TNT Barbie and some Hasbro Sindy bodies.
*Clothes are ill-fitting in places, but their seams and hems are nicely done.
*I like this concept overall, even though it's not original. Some of these dolls represent colleges that I've never even heard of.
*Sturdy, just like good ol' Barbie.
*You'll never find another doll with a backstory like this one's got!
Overall I feel very...well, not to sound harsh, but I feel very "meh" about this doll. I like Barbie clones, and she does that job very well. I could also see this doll being a cute decoration for a dorm room, or a nice little souvenir for a young fan who likes collegiate sports or has a dream to go to a certain college. As for my collector self, though, my feelings for this doll are pretty lukewarm. The history of her company and her creator is interesting, but that has little to do with the actual doll. Claudene is sturdy, fits an older Barbie's clothes (but not shoes), and she'd make a nice toy. Unfortunately she also has lousy hair and her blouse fits poorly, though as I noted above I'm not sure how easy it is to sew a tiny little garment like this. Mattel does it well, but then Mattel is a huge business full of folks who know what they're doing (and probably get paid peanuts). But no, Claudene will probably go back in storage when I'm done with her and just sit there until I can get a nice curio cabinet for my Barbie dolls. If you went to a certain college and would like a doll representing that college then Collegiate Doll might be your best bet, but otherwise, best stick to Kari Mitchell for your Barbie clone fix.
*You'll never find another doll with a backstory like this one's got!
Overall I feel very...well, not to sound harsh, but I feel very "meh" about this doll. I like Barbie clones, and she does that job very well. I could also see this doll being a cute decoration for a dorm room, or a nice little souvenir for a young fan who likes collegiate sports or has a dream to go to a certain college. As for my collector self, though, my feelings for this doll are pretty lukewarm. The history of her company and her creator is interesting, but that has little to do with the actual doll. Claudene is sturdy, fits an older Barbie's clothes (but not shoes), and she'd make a nice toy. Unfortunately she also has lousy hair and her blouse fits poorly, though as I noted above I'm not sure how easy it is to sew a tiny little garment like this. Mattel does it well, but then Mattel is a huge business full of folks who know what they're doing (and probably get paid peanuts). But no, Claudene will probably go back in storage when I'm done with her and just sit there until I can get a nice curio cabinet for my Barbie dolls. If you went to a certain college and would like a doll representing that college then Collegiate Doll might be your best bet, but otherwise, best stick to Kari Mitchell for your Barbie clone fix.
Much love,
RagingMoon1987
RagingMoon1987