On the 65th anniversary Fashionistas

With the day off and the temperatures lower than Satan's basement, I thought I'd talk a bit about a new group of Fashionistas that recently started hitting store shelves.  Remember when I spoke on New Year's Day about no anniversaries or milestone birthdays to look forward to?  Apparently Barbie considers the big six-five to be a milestone, and a handful of Fashionistas have been released with fashions that are "inspired by" older Barbie clothes.  Now, Carlisle Nuera is an amazing dolly designer.  He's done a few that I really coveted, and probably a few that I own.  But I think these fashions fall a little flat in the "inspired by" category.  Or some of 'em do.  Keep in mind that all opinions are strictly my own and you may disagree with me completely.  That's okay.  But here's my say about these dolls.

This first doll does a pretty good job.  I could tell right away that she's modelled after the original Barbie.

Yep, I can see the resemblance.  Same curly ponytail, same smart-a$$ look, similar simple black shoes, same black and white stripes, similar sunglasses.  Not just anyone can wear horizontal stripes, y'all.  The Fashionista even has rims of blue eyeliner under those glasses.  The original Barbie had brown eyeliner, but who's lookin' that close?  And yet the Fashionista is her own self, adding a pink skirt to the mix.  This one, I like.  Oh, and in real life the Fashionista doesn't look quite so sardonic, though since she's modelling after the very first Barbie, sardonic doesn't hurt.

Admittedly I like this next one too, but she doesn't look a thing like her predecessor.  1967's Twist 'n' Turn Barbie is the inspiration for this one.

Okay, maybe I CAN see the inspiration here, especially if I compare the Fashionista to a TNT with Coco-a-Go-Go (dark brown) hair.  The original TNTs had four hair colors, two blonde and two brunette (Summer Sand/silver ash blonde is my favorite), with a lovely shade of red later popping up.  Anyway, they've both got hair decorations in the same color, and they're both lightly clad, with the Fashionista's cute little dress being speckled like the TNT's original coverup.  I don't like the Fashionista's shoes, though.  The original TNT rocked lovely bare feet, and I kinda wish the Fashionista was wearing lighter shoes.  My overall opinion of this doll is better now that I've looked at her closer, though.  

I had to cheat to figure out this next one's inspiration.

When I DID cheat I slapped my forehead and went "DUH!!!"  Superstar Barbie will never be a favorite of mine.  Too much pink, too many teeth, too much blonde...Superstar Christie was better.  She had the same toothy grin, but she had highlighted hair and was wearing yellow!  I like yellow.  It makes me think of my mama.  The Fashionista does have her own blingy necklace that reads "STAR" in script, a cute interpretation of the original Superstar necklace, and the shade of pink is right and the ruffles are right.  But the flat black shoes and the overall look don't really give me superstar vibes.  Plus, this doll looks a lot like one I already have, so this one is a hard pass for me.  She's got the inspiration, but...well, too much pink!

Like the TNT doll, this one had to grow on me a bit.  She too is pink, but that wasn't my biggest beef.  Jeez, I'm a hypocrite!

I admit that I don't like this doll's face much.  It's mostly the painted teeth; her smile looks kinda cheesy.  But I saw this doll and said right away "Uh-huh, Peaches and Cream!"  The Fashionista isn't as glamorous as Peaches is, but she does have pink ruffles on her dress!  I also love the touches of blue on the Fashionista, in her eyeshadow and in her shoes.  And she's a pretty black doll without bubblegum lips.  I've harped on that long and loud.  So this doll is okay, but...maybe a smidge simplistic?  And this is just me, but looking at all that bare plastic makes me shiver!  ALL of these Fashionistas make me shiver!

Also in 1984, Barbie got physical, physical...gonna get physical.  I never was a big fan of Olivia Newton-John's shrill voice, but that song I liked.  Now the dolls.  I didn't need much help with this one, thanks in part to her role in the Toy Story franchise.  

It should be no surprise that this one is one of my favorite new Fashionistas.  Rainbow stripes?  Blue hair?  Icy blue eyes?  Chunky build?  Yes, please!  Like the Peaches and Cream doll I don't love this one's expression, but also like Peaches and Cream this one grew on me.  Again, I wish those clod-hopper shoes were smaller, but then again I like big shoes myself.  Further, neither the shoes nor the face are so bad in real life.  I wanted desperately to buy this one...but I promised Mama no more dolls for awhile.  This time Imma try to KEEP that promise.

Next one...hmmm...

I like the Fashionista, but I wish she were a bit more over-the-top like the original Barbie is.  Granted, one can't get much more over-the-top than Barbie and the Rockers, but I feel like this doll is missing something.  I can see the Rockers inspiration in the Fashionista's top and in her boots, and she's got a cute purple bangle like her Rocker self does, but this one falls a little flat for me.  She's got a pretty face, though.  I've seen this one in life and she has big, pretty, fuchsia lips.  

Ken will get a couple of new designs too, but he has sadly been left out of the inspiration series.  Might've been fun to see a doll designed after Live Action Ken or the one that accompanied Barbie and the Rockers.  That particular Ken doll reminded me a little of...of some musician that I vocalized a fondness for in my teens.  Joe Elliot or Jon Bon Jovi or shucks, I don't remember who!  Could've been Robert Plant, for all I know, because Robert Plant wore his hair like that in the eighties (but wouldn't be caught dead playing a pink guitar, LOL).  But anyway, I promised Mama I wouldn't buy anything for the next few pay periods (tax season, y'know), so I've got plenty of time to think about which of these dolls, if any, will come home with me.  Right now Peaches and Cream and Great Shape are the top contenders.

And now I'm going outside, believe it or not.  We got some snow last night, and Joie's dying to build a snowman.

Frosty love,
RagingMoon1987