Yeah, I know Lila Monetti has been out awhile now, but when do I ever pass up an opportunity to make a post...or gripe? LOL, here's Girl of the Year 2024, out three months before 2024. Lila Maria Monetti, born May 6th, 2014. Sheesh, 2014 feels like it was just a heartbeat ago, and yet here's Lila, aged nine years already.
Okay, bad stuff first. She's a white doll with the Josefina mold, just like recent Girls of the Year Kira and Blaire. Her gimmicks are horseback riding (done by
Nicki and by
Saige) and gymnastics (done by
McKenna). I kinda, sorta, REALLY hate her meet outfit, though in Lila's defense it's the perfect thing to wear at gymnastics class...except for those shoes. Those look like platforms, and no one in their right mind performs gymnastics in platforms. Lila probably takes those off before beginning practice, so I won't gripe too loudly about that. I will, however, gripe that there's a LOT of pink going on in this doll's collection.
The pink is broken up with touches of orange, and I like that, but overall it looks like Lila is your stereotypical girly girl, kinda like Isabelle. And oh Lordy, don't get me started on Hollyhock.
Hollyhock is Lila's horse, an apparent palomino. I love the name "Hollyhock." But unfortunately Hollyhock has a lot of frippery that very few real horses wear. She reminds me a lot of the unicorn that the My Life bunch had once. Is that a bad thing? Not really, but I hope Lila doesn't make Hollyhock go around all dolled up ALL the time!
Admittedly my complaints about Lila are pretty petty. She's a cute little doll with pretty brown hair, brown eyes...AND FRECKLES!!! The wiki says that Lila's freckle pattern is the same as Evette's. I think these eyes are amber, and if so then Lila is only the third doll to have this eye color, with
#26 and
#62 coming before her.
She also comes with little gems to stick in her hair. Seven-year-old me would've been all over that like white on rice, and thirty-six-year-old me still likes sparkles in moderation. Lila's
dog of choice is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, one of my family's favorite breeds. Oh, and get this: y'all wouldn't know this simply from looking at the doll, but Lila's gymnastics coach is none other than McKenna Brooks. According to the wiki McKenna is now studying to be a teacher, suggesting that she overcame her reading problems as a kid. But some things never change, and McKenna clearly still loves gymnastics. McKenna will never be my favorite Girl of the Year, but I love that tie-in. I don't think AG has ever done anything like that before.
Sigh...I wanted to absolutely trash Lila for raining on Kavi's parade, but I'm finding it very hard to say anything good or bad about her. The bad things I was able to dig up are piddling little things, and I've already run into several Italian-American fans who say their daughters are all over Lila for being "like them." I don't like Lila as much as
I do Kavi, and I doubt that I'll bring Lila home, but she's...not bad. Kinda rehashy, kinda pink, kinda stealing Kavi's thunder, but she's not terrible.
Much love,
RagingMoon1987
Mr. BTEG is mostly Italian, and my first though when I saw the doll's name was, "Yay, an Italian girl!" so I'm another one who likes her heritage. I think her hair should be darker if she's Italian, but other than that, she's cute. I agree that the horse's accessories are kind of... terrifying. I can only hope Mattel is doing some kind of market research that tells them pink and stick-on gems are popular, although the more I look at this doll, the more that I think she is geared toward a younger crowd than previous dolls?
ReplyDeleteMy friends on Failbook kinda suggested the same thing. Maybe the Wellie Wishers are on the chopping block and American Girls will have to fill that void? Shucks, I hope not!
DeleteI like her hair RM, it looks really pretty and of course being a fan of dolls with teeth, they made me smile too. However, way too much Barbie pink is used for my liking.
ReplyDeleteBig hugs,
X
Y'know, I read that this doll's hair is of low quality! I ran into some folks on Failbook who say their dolls' hair is already a bird's nest, and they're adult collectors who don't abuse their dolls. It certainly LOOKS nice in pictures, though.
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