I hate group pictures

Today is the day that that Barbie movie is being released, so...this one's kinda a just-for-the-heckuvit post, but good ol' Barbie will be the main focus.  That said...I hate group pictures.  I try to put my dolls together for group photos all the time, and more often than not one or more of them is looking over me or off to the left or toppling over.  I considered it extremely good luck that this image came out so well, and even here they're not all looking at the camera.  Courtney appears to be fixated on a passing car, and God only knows what Rita Cheryl is looking at.

It seems like the bigger the doll, the more likely one or more of them are going to be staring into space.  For Barbie it doesn't seem to matter so much, presumably since their smaller heads and eyes seem to take the world in.  For example, even though these girls aren't looking directly at the camera, I was able to make it work.  From left, I have a TNT Stacey (thank you Gaston Calloway, for sending her to me!), a reproduction American Girl ("Victorine"), red-haired Cut 'n' Style Barbie ("Marie"), Tressy, and Mary Makeup in a dress that belonged to my mother's old Barbie.

Never in my life did I dream that a Mod doll could look good in a semi-modern outfit, but I threw Stacey in a nineties-era dress and shoes and they fit her like a glove.

I can't help but giggle at this next image, since they're not the prettiest dolls in not the prettiest dresses.  Western Winking Barbie is the one in the glasses (I think I named her "Sue Ellen" after that broad from Dallas), an unidentified Disney doll (I think she was Belle at one time), and Kissing Barbie (I named her "Lola" after the Kinks song).  They're all modelling dresses that I knitted (Sue Ellen and Lola) or crocheted (Belle).

Poor, poor Sue Ellen!  Western Winking Barbie never was a pretty doll, and my doll has not aged well.  I pretend that her green shades both hide her deformity and help her see better.  "She's like that guy on Star Trek:  The Next Generation," was how I explained it at the time, and that's the explanation I'm sticking with.  Belle suffered an unfixable haircut (even a buzz didn't do her), so at the moment she is completely bald and clad in a hat.  I may have her rerooted some day, but for now I kinda like her the way she is.  I made her the little hat for that specific purpose.  As for Lola, I was trying to teach myself fair isle knitting, and...well, y'all see the result.  Not the prettiest little dress, but I was proud of it then and I'm proud of it still.

Like American Girls and the various Doctors, Barbie Fashionistas are numbered...and I have the damnedest time keeping the numbers straight!  It's even harder for me personally since I give them all pet names.  I don't remember why I took this particular picture...yeah I do!  They were all the petite Barbie dolls that I had at the time (the different body sizes were a novelty back then), and I loved how they were a nice diverse trio even though they're the same size.  Natalie (Love That Lace, #23) is a honey blonde with light brown eyes, China (Blue Brocade, #25) has the lovely Mbili head, and Bambi (Pretty in Paisley, #41) has two-toned hair and brown eyes paired with a nice tan.  China and Bambi are both clad in Bambi's extra outfits; for awhile some of the Fashionistas with the new bodies came with extra clothes.

China and Natalie went on to become two of my favorite little models, while poor Bambi kinda fell by the wayside.  Even now I sometimes forget I have her.  I have group pictures of the tall dolls and the curvy ones too somewhere, but goodness only knows where they are.  I don't have very many curvy dolls as it is.  There have been plenty along the line that I've loved, but I only loved Billie Jean and Deb enuff to buy them.  I liked Daisy Pop and To Tie-Dye For (I even mentioned them in my post about curvy dolls), but when I saw them IRL they didn't give me that "Wow, I gotta have that!" feeling.

Moving on, here's the biggest group shot I got.  Everyone I can think of is in this shot.

Not the greatest quality, but y'all get the drift.  Gosh, where do I start?  Okay, back row, from left:  I started out with 2015's IT Girl Elizabeth (#12 on the Barbie wiki) and Rapunzel is next to her.  Then there's Merida and Chandra, Belle, a redressed Barbie LOOK doll that I never named, then Tiana, and Kenzie (#14 on the same wiki).  Up front from left are Aurora and Mulan, Mara (whom I bought during a depressed spell, hence the name), Cassandra, Dreamhouse Midge, and Sherralee.  Sherralee shows what the Fashionistas once were, as they're both jointed all over.  Fashionistas nowadays have five joints, period.  They're still a lot of fun, and they have shoulders that move out as well as back and forth, which is more than a lot of my childhood Barbie dolls had.  Tangent alert now, because this last bit isn't a group picture or anything of that sort.  That said, I'm trying to be very choosy about which Fashionistas I bring home now since I have so many, but the new Down syndrome doll is a must-have!  Her Fashionistas number is #208.

There have been other Down syndrome dolls in the past (Lottie's friend Rosie Boo has it), but this is the first Barbie!  She's even got pink leg braces, which I love.  If you've gotta use leg braces or anything like that, get them in your favorite color!  I'd want mine to be green, of course.  This doll is so stinkin' cute, though!  She's loaded with references to down syndrome; the dress has both the awareness colors and the insignia for Down syndrome, and her necklace has three chromosomes on it, for Trisomy 21.  She also has a specially designed body.

Are any of y'all going to see the Barbie movie today?  If so, let me know if you enjoyed it!  I think it looks cute, but I don't have wheels so I won't be going to see it.  Sooooo...let me know if you saw it and enjoyed it!  Also, do any of y'all have trouble getting group pictures to look decent?  Share your horror stories.  As a final little Barbie bit, check out Miss Emily's post on Barbie's growing inclusivity.  It touches on Fashionistas #91, #121, #135, and #208, plus a few other dolls that I don't own (I like the Chelsea doll with scoliosis the best).  It's a nice diverse bunch, far better than the blonde, blue-eyed group I had as a teenager, AND it opens with an awesome group pic.  I don't know how Emily does it without tearing her hair out.

Cheers,
RagingMoon1987