Hola, compadres, it's RagingMoon1987 once again. I'm still not feeling 100% depression-wise, but I'm feeling well enuff to do a gripe post. With Barbie and American Girl both being Mattel entities now it makes sense that one day the two would cross paths. They sorta did in Julie Albright's collection, with
Julie's Quick Curl Barbie styling head, but as far as I know that was it. Courtney, Nicki, and Isabel don't have Barbie dolls in their collections, though Courtney does have Molly. So, fast-forward to the present day, and American Girl has this. A simply dressed, flaxen-haired American Girl with specialized face paint and painted nails, wearing naught but a bathing suit and shoes. The price tag? Three hundred bucks.
Granted, the cost probably comes from the doll having Swarovski crystals attached to her clothes and having the Swarovski name attached to her, period. But THREE HUNDRED BUCKS for a doll in a swimsuit??? No thanks. For me the
FAO Schwarz doll was a better buy, as she came in a full outfit. But that's just me, and I didn't buy her either. If I were gonna spend that kind of money on a collector AG doll, it would've been this one, because she has an eye color and a wig that the other dolls don't have.
That one offers more bang for one's buck, I believe. AND she was twenty-five dollars cheaper than the Barbie-themed doll.
I like the Barbie/American Girl mashup, but I think AG could've done that better. They could've put AG Barbie in a dress like one of the ones Barbie wore in the fifties or sixties; "
Solo in the Spotlight" would've been perfect. That dress had sparkles that could've been simulated by the Swarovski crystals, and everyone would've been happyish. I will admit that I love the nod towards the original Barbie doll, but for a doll in a swimsuit three hundred dollars is too much. I could throw my Rita Cheryl in a similar swimsuit, sew on some nice crystals, and have a doll with the same aesthetic for twenty to thirty bucks...but then again, she wouldn't have the Swarovski label attached to her. Some folks like that kinda thing.
Oh, and if you fancy more Barbie (or a good laugh), check out
Larvie the Teen Age Fashion Maggot. She's a scream!
Sparkles,
RagingMoon1987
Interesting views on Barbie's mashups RM. I do like the second doll better than the first, but it seems strange to me that they would bother to "clone" the two when AG dolls are so heavily built and Barbie the other extreme. Still each to their own.
ReplyDeleteBut that Larvie is just an evil sluggy maggot, whatever will they come up with next! 🤢
Hope you continue to improve healthwise.
Big hugs,
X
I'd thought about how different in build Barbie and the American Girls are, but I already have a reputation for body-shaming on this blog so I decided to leave that be. Quite frankly, I think American Girls look dumb in swimsuits anyway, seeing as they can't get wet.
DeleteLOL, as for Larvie, I think she's hilarious. I want one.
The crystals on the swimsuit strike me as a useless touch solely for the purpose of making this doll expensive. Barbie did not have crystals on her swimsuit! If the idea is a collector doll with a Barbie tie-in, it'd be more fun and exciting to keep the suit authentic and include some additional outfits based on the earliest Barbie fashions.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, that plan would run into the problem that Barbie's early fashions were not what a little girl would wear... maybe go with an additional outfit that's an iconic Skipper dress?
Oh, Skipper's vintage outfits were cute! That would've worked out.
Delete