An early Christmas

First I'll run over the things I bought for myself.  With a semi (LOL).

Hedda Get Bedda and Cindy Lou Who.  The bane of my mother's existence vs. the Grinch's stumbling block.  I'll discuss Hedda in more detail in the coming weeks, while Cindy Lou...well, she's cute, but once you've owned one My Life doll you've essentially owned 'em all.  Same tight joints, same sedate face, same inability to stand.  But...I won't knock those pajamas!

For someone so unlovable, everyone seems to love the Grinch.  Goodness knows my mama does, and so does Luciana.  Remember this?

I've got another of my dolls dressed in Grinch garb too, but I'm holding her back until my doll-sized Christmas tree gets here.  And if I ever get my front room presentable then I need to dress a whole gaggle of my girls in Grinch garb.  Hey, alliteration! 

Then I picked up a Sweet Sue doll.  She's well-dressed and came with a small wardrobe.  Her hair needs a little tidying.

Lastly, I got a G1 Abbey Bominable, a character that I always wanted in G1 form but never got.

She's Geek Shriek Abbey, one of the last Abbey dolls from the G1 era.  Geek Shriek was a budget line, which I always liked because you got a full doll with a full outfit, but for maybe half the price.  Plus, anything that pays tribute to nerds and geeks is a good thing in my book.  Abbey will be helping out with a review in the...well, in the not-too-distant future, but it will be a couple'a months away.  I'll keep y'all (and myself) entertained in the meantime, though.  Promise!

So let's skip on to the stuff that Tam sent me.  Poor Tam apologized in her email about sending me stuff when I've complained about storage, and I'll admit something right here and now:  the storage issue is my own fault.  If I'd get my doll room organized and put in some kind of order, and then I'll have room for nice new stuff.  

That said, I've got a box of nice new stuff!  Or it's nice new-to-me stuff, courtesy of my buddy Tam.  I recognized this first one right off the bat.  She's Velvet, but she's Talky Velvet.  See the grille in her stomach?

She needs her talking mech repaired, and she needs some new lashes, but otherwise she looks fine.  I've already got clothes and shoes on the way for her.

Then there's these two, who need no introduction.

Cloe times two!  LOL, Tam remembers how much I love Bratz dolls!  The dressed Cloe appears to be from the Flashback Fever line, and she's got very pretty lips.

I remember the Flashback Fever line!  My favorite one was Jade, because she was JADE and because she was Mod (and because her minidress was green), but these dolls came with compact disks that drove the cost up so I just looked.  Cloe represented the eighties.  My particular doll has a delicate neck so I'll need to treat her with care...or just bust out the super glue and freeze that joint completely.  Whatever works.  The other Cloe doesn't have a stitch to her name.  

No biggie, I've got an outfit coming for her too, and said outfit comes with shoes.  This Cloe is a later doll, from the fish-lipped era, but that's no problem either.  I have fish-lipped Bratz and I treat them like I treat the other Bratz.  This one has a sweet face...well, sweet for a Bratz doll.

I think she may be a Black Friday Cloe, but I'm not certain.

This last one is a bit of a surprise and a bit of an enigma.  She's vintage like I like, and her name is Tammy, but her tag says "Horsman."

The back of her neck is marked "H" too, so the Horsman label is definitely right.

She's welcome no matter who she is, but because I'm eternally curious I want to learn more about her.  A quick perusal of Google Images suggests that she may be Mary Poppins, and if so then that would explain why she looks a bit bigger than Tammy does.  Mary is a nice, statuesque doll, at an even twelve inches in height.

Oh yes, and I got some blue vinyl boots.  Shoes this size are always appreciated.

River Song likes blue, so I think I'll give these to her...when and if I see her again.

Now...I mentioned my storage woes, right?  They're well on their way to being solved.  Look what Mommy got for me!

A FREAKING SHED!!!  Watching the men install it was quite the event.  Oh, nothing bad happened.  It was just interesting watching them raise one end and then the other and then propping up this area or that.  They used a gizmo that looks like a miniature forklift.  Mama would've loved watching this part; she likes vehicles that do heavy work.

Here they've moved to the back and are working to get the rear end leveled.

Putting it in took about thirty minutes, tops.  The shed locks and has a door and a window, plus a porch where I can put a small chair if I so choose.  I intend to fence my backyard in during the coming year to add a little extra security and to give a safe place for my dogs to play, but for now the shed is more than enuff.  The dolls are more than enuff too; indeed, I couldn't look at the box of new dolls without smiling.  So I send sincere thanks to Tam and to my mama for their incredible kindness, and to God above for putting such people in my life!  Thank you, all of you.

Much love,

RagingMoon1987 

Dolly Dress Discussion: Bratz Boyz clothes

Beware, y'all.  It's another Bratz post.  LOL, I wanna talk about Cameron, my lone boy.

Cameron is kinda special, because he's the only boy doll I own in this "smaller than Barbie but still a fashion doll" category.  I think I said that once.  A special doll needs nice things to wear, but up until recently all I had for Cameron to wear were the outfits that he came with.  Both outfits are nice, with pieces for mixing, matching, and layering, but it's time for a change.  Two weeks ago I bought this lot off of Etsy.

If you look closely it's possible to see that NONE of these outfits are actually meant for Cameron.  I have three for Dylan, two for Koby, and one for Eitan.  This is significant because like the girl Bratz, the Boyz have varying skin tones and snap-on shoes.  Inevitably parts of these shoe-feet have skin showing, and if the outfit is put on a doll that it's not meant for those feet are gonna look funny.  This could've been avoided for the Boyz by painting on some socks, but I don't guess MGA thought of that.  Luckily for Cameron, all of these outfits have long pants and will thus cover his ankles.  Outta sight, outta mind.  

Before I begin I'll say that I never knew any boy during high school who was this sharp a dresser.  We were all working-to-middle class.  We either couldn't afford designer crap, or we owned it and didn't want to yuck it up with football practice or farm work or what-have-you.  Besides all that, the boys I knew were more into comfort than style, and if they did follow a style it was usually "macho."  Of course there's nothing wrong with wanting to look masculine or be comfortable, but when one of the boys did dress up we all took notice (usually it was for a job interview after school).  Cameron's wiki insinuates that he prefers to dress to attract the ladies, but that his preferred overall look is "sporty."  The wiki also states that Cameron likes leather jackets, so this first outfit ought to suit him.

One of Dylan's getups, "Chance Encounter!" incorporates the jacket, plus khakis (uh, khakis?) and some stuff that would flatter Dylan's dark coloring.  See the shirt?

Dylan's wiki doesn't outright say that he's black, but he was produced with a small Afro once, so I figure he's probably either Afro-American or biracial.  Either way he was the darker of the first two Boyz, and this orange would thus look amazing on him.  I hope Cameron will look okay too.

I ended up being mistaken when I said these pants were khakis.  Both they and the jacket are pleather.  This is problematic because pleather and time are not friends.  Cameron's man purse is pleather, and see how rough it looks?

I need to see what I can do to prevent further deterioration.  Anyway, Cameron's new jacket creates another problem, one that is fairly common to pleather or any sort of doll jacket.  His arms are restricted to a slightly-out-to-the-side position. 

I sometimes wear jackets that are like that too, Cameron.  It's a pain in the posterior.  Cameron looks okay in this outfit, but I doubt he'll wear it much.  It's stiff, and I worry about tearing those pants.  They fit pretty tight.

The next outfit is...dare I say it?  It's a suit!  "Dream Date!" was originally meant for Koby.

Koby is fair-skinned (possibly even more so than Cameron), and his style is also listed as "sporty."  I'm not sure how sporty a suit is, but I like the maroon with the gray.

This getup reminds me a lot of the suit Sandy McCall was wearing when I met him.  Cameron doesn't look much like Sandy, but we'll see how he looks in gray.

Those shoes don't do Cameron's feet any favors, but then all Bratz have big feet.  This outfit was ridiculously hard to get on Cameron.  The maroon shirt's sleeves are full-length, and they wanted to bunch up inside the sleeves of the jacket.  The cuffs are Velcroed, but that didn't want to hold so I had to fight with these sleeves to get them in place.  Then I had to tuck the shirt tail in.  The end result looks good, but overall it looks kinda mature for the sixteen-year-old that I presume Cameron is.

Rounding out the top row is another of Dylan's getups, "Phys Ed Funk!"

This one kinda had an analogous outfit in the girls' line, with "Just Do P.E.!"  Hmmm...those shoes don't look like athletic shoes.

Or they don't look like the ones I'm familiar with.  This outfit looks nice and comfortable for the class I hated most in high school.

Who in blue blazes works out in blue jeans???  Oh sure, I reckon it could be done, especially if the jeans are loose enuff, but I never did it, LOL.  I like this outfit better than the first two because I can actually picture a teenage boy wearing something like this.  It's stylish, but it also looks comfortable.  Plus, it can be worn with or without the jacket.  I like.

First getup on the bottom row now, this is the last of Dylan's outfits.  "Saturday Night Style!" is the name. 

S!  A!  T-U-R!  D-A-Y!  NIGHT!!!  LOL, I never can hear that song without picturing Mr. Peanut dancing wildly.  I dunno about y'all, but for me Saturday night is for staying in, popping open a bottle of Snapple, and catching up on some T.V., particularly if one has to be up early the next day.  I unfortunately haven't gone to church in years, but when I was younger one had to be washed, clean, and in bed by ten on a Saturday night.  If it was stormy we all went to bed even earlier, LOL.  But ANYWAY, this is another outfit that I could picture Dylan in; the print shirt underneath isn't as eye-catching as the orange shirt accompanying "Chance Encounter!," but it'll definitely do on the dance floor.  Plus, blue jeans!  Dig this belt buckle.

Belt buckles are great, but if one isn't careful they can be dangerous.  My parents told of an incident that occurred when they were dating.  While he was getting dressed, Daddy somehow popped himself in the mouth with his very heavy belt buckle.  He didn't lose any teeth, thank God, but he did a number on the soft tissue!  He and Mama went through with the date, and Mama told me things got interesting when one of Daddy's wounds opened up.  Hopefully Cameron will be more careful. 

I know from personal experience that blue jeans aren't always the easiest things to dance in, but then the only dances I can do are the Twist and the Drunken Giraffe (LOL).  Cameron looks to me like he can do a mean moonwalk.  Unlike the jackets with "Chance Encounter!" and "Dream Date!", these sleeves are big enuff to slide over the shirt with no fuss.  That said, the shirt itself was tough to put on due to loose ends inside the sleeves.  Still, I really like this outfit.  Hell, I'd have worn something like it myself once; I'm not opposed to wearing men's clothes from time to time.

Now...while Dylan is out stylin' on Saturday, Koby is feverin' on Friday.

Gotta fever of a hundred three!  If I had a fever that high I'd be hitting the doctor's office instead of the dating scene, but apparently that didn't occur to either Foreigner or Koby...or John Travolta either, but that's Saturday again.  The packaging for this no-frills outfit suggests that Friday nights are when these Boyz tend to chillax, and if that's the case then this is the perfect getup for chillaxing...except for pajamas, of course!

This outfit was the easiest one to put on so far.  The shirt has short sleeves, so I didn't have to cram the jacket onto Cameron's arms.  Everything is soft and comfy, again like something I'd have worn when I was a teenager.  I could also picture some of my guy friends wearing this, especially in spring or fall when evenings might be a teeny bit chilly.  

Quick aside now, since Ive made a few classic rock references.  If I toss Foreigner into my CD player, I usually go straight for "Juke Box Hero" or "Cold As Ice."  Never was a big fan of the song "Hot Blooded."  If y'all bother to click the links, look closely at "Cold As Ice"; I do believe one of those men is left-handed!  I know that some folks play their guitars left-handed even if they're not, usually to emulate Paul McCartney or Jimi Hendrix, but when that guy waves at the end of the video he waves with his left hand.  Pretty cool.  

Alrighty, music trivia, over, last outfit!  This is Eitan's getup, "School is Cool!"

School is coolest when you're loading up your backpack after last period.  You've got a full bladder and a full colon, but the bathrooms are full too, and sweet relief is only a two-minute car ride away.  So you bid your best friend adieu, whisper "You're a bitch" to the school bully, and go sauntering away like you're not about to mess yourself.  Best part of my school day, and yes, I always made my opinions on the school bully known, LOL.  Anyway, of the four initial boys Eitan's style is the most ambiguous.  His wiki lists him as such, also noting that he has a punky edge to him.  He is darker than Cameron and Koby, but lighter than Dylan, though that won't matter since Cameron's ankles don't show in ANY of these ensembles.  

I rest my case!  Once again MGA paired a long-sleeved shirt with a jacket, but I didn't have too hard a time getting the jacket in place.  No, the hard part here was getting the shirt on, because the cuffs of the sleeves were very tight.  Still, Cameron does indeed look like he's ready to head off to school, especially on a chilly day like today.  If one of my high school guy friends was feeling particularly dressy during the winter, he might've worn something like this.  I only knew one guy who did habitually dress like this, and he was the school heartthrob so it would make sense for him to be stylish.  Seriously, everyone loved that guy, all the girls (and probably one or two of the guys) had at least a little crush on him, and he was popular because he was nice to everyone, not just because he was attractive and well-dressed.  It CAN be done, kids!  Popularity can be achieved just by being kind, though it does depend on what the rest of the student body is like too.  Anyway, I like to pretend that Cameron is like my friend, kind to everyone AND a sharp dresser all in one.

With all that said, Cameron's wardrobe is full now!  "Friday Night Fever!" is my favorite outfit of the bunch due to its multiple pieces and its soft, comfortable look.  That kinda getup is the stuff that my friends would wear while relaxing (male and female alike).  Some of us would wear something like that to school to, particularly if it were during finals or if we weren't feeling too well.  "Dream Date!" is my least favorite, as threading Cameron's shirtsleeves through his jacket sleeves was a pain, and because the suit look doesn't really suit him (pun intended, LOL).  But I still like the suit enuff to put Cameron in it from time to time.  

God bless our veterans,
RagingMoon1987

G3 Draculaura review

It feels so weird reviewing Draculaura now, long after Monster High was a thing.  For one, Monster High isn't really a "thing" anymore, nor has it been in close to twelve years.  For another thing, Draculaura was never my favorite Monster High character.  Too much pink, and she was a vegan, for heaven's sake!  What kind of vampire is VEGAN???  But I watched a couple of the old webisodes, and I saw that the animated Drac has a cute personality with the prerequisite Transylvanian accent that all stereotypical vampires have...unless they sparkle or have a maw of poorly done CGI teeth.  I wonder if Matt Smith regrets letting Karen Gillan talk him into taking that Morbius role, by the way?  Yeah, that apparently did happen; Matt was waffling on the idea of taking the part he'd been offered, and Karen told him to go for it.  I've never seen Morbius, but I hear it really stunk.  Brave heart, Matt; John Wayne and Vincent Price had some stinkers too.  Anyone for The Conqueror???  But yeah, Draculaura's online personality was/is adorable, and her G3 self has big hips like me, so I said "What the hell?" and bought her.

Nope, I never was a fan of Draculaura.  The only G1 example I own is the Sweet Screams line, and those dolls are so steeped in fantasy that I didn't think that doll was a good representative of the character.  I did like Drac's art class self, which paired the pink with a healthy dose of yellow, but I went for Skelita Calaveras from that line because skeletons, that's why.  I still adore Art Class Draculaura, by the way, but I can always dress my new pet in yellow if I so choose...and if I like her.  I might end up not liking her, though she LOOKS promising.  By the way, y'all don't tell Jaylin that Draculaura is using her rock!  Jaylin is kinda particular about that rock.

Monster High has changed a lot since I bought my first doll back in 2011.  It's mostly niggling little things, stuff like Draculaura being thick, like Frankie Stein being out of the closet and non-binary, like Clawdeen having freckles (dang, she cute!), and...and...WHYYYY THE SAM-HILL IS LAGOONA BLUE PINK???  It wouldn't bug me, because there are fish in the sea (and the aquarium) that are pink and blue like the doll is, and because the new Lagoona is adorable.  But she's Lagoona BLUE.  If you have a color in your name, you kinda become associated with said color.  Believe me, I'm a Moody Blues fan, so I've seen this phenomena with my own eyes.  I wonder if Justin Hayward and John Lodge ever get sick of being associated with the color blue, by the way?  But yeah, I would prefer that Lagoona Blue be blue, especially when Draculaura is already pink.  Now...when the G2 Monster High dolls were released I wasn't a big fan of most of the changes, but I did like Draculaura's face.  Here's what one of those dolls looked like.

In the webisodes Drac had a sugar-and-spice sort of personality, and her G2 face showed it.  The G3 face has some of the same attributes, but we'll get to that.  The biggest difference between G2 and G3 is the wildly differing body shapes (Frankie Stein is tall, for example).  I don't know if ALL these dolls have different bodies, but I know that Draculaura can't share clothes with the other G3 dolls, and she's significantly bigger across the hips than my G1 and G2 dolls (Clawdeen Wolf and River Styxx are shown).  She also appears to be shorter than Clawdeen.  Initially the G1 dolls were all the same height, with dolls sized like River coming along later.

Kiyomi is a late arrival to this party, but fashionably late can be a good thing.  Here's how she looks with Draculaura; since Kiyomi has the same body as Clawdeen she too is taller than Drac.  These two used to be the same height, and Draculaura is wondering what the hell happened.  Kiyomi is too happy to care.

Kiyomi:  OMG, you're here!
Draculaura:  ...how'd you get so tall???

Clawdeen is always the one I grab for reviews, but River...River has stiff competition with Kiyomi Haunterly and Skelita Calaveras for my second-favorite MH doll.   I wanted to compare Draculaura to one of the petite characters, so River won that non-battle.  Truthfully there wasn't a loser in the "Haunted" and "Getting Ghostly" lines, not with their soft colors and luminous vinyl, but River is the daughter of the freakin' Grim Reaper.  When you want to be a mortician (or wanted to, in my case), you don't fear the Reaper.  Literally, you don't.  

River is kinda hard to fear anyway.  She tries to be dark and dramatic, but she just ends up looking cute. 

As is often the case, the original Monster High dolls (River, Kiyomi, Clawdeen, and all) drew a lot of criticism form the eternally pissed woke crew for being so lean.  Clawdeen shows her frame better since she's lightly clad, but River and Kiyomi kinda show it too.  I love how these three can work it even inside a cardboard box, by the way.

Japanese ghost girls can walk like an Egyptian too!  As an aside, Kiyomi and Draculaura apparently got pretty thick during Draculaura's brief stent as a ghost.  Upon their reunion Kiyomi got a little emotional. 

Kiyomi:  <sniffle>  I've missed you...

Draculaura:  Awww, I'm glad to see you too.

While Kiyomi pulls herself together, I'm going to talk a bit about these dolls and their bodies.  I've made some vitriolic comments on dolls with deliberately chunky frames in the past, and while I've softened my stance a bit I still think it's not the greatest thing.  Making doll bodies various sizes may help some little kid's self-image, but it doesn't diminish the realities of high cholesterol, early-onset arthritis, and heart problems that we heavy people face.  For example, I just turned 36 and I already have arthritis because I'm heavy, particularly in my knees and ankles.  That said, not everyone has big hips because of body fat.  My sister's sister-in-law has big hips, for example, but it's because she has a wide pelvis.  Soooooooo...the only shade I'm going to throw at the new MH bodies is that they can't share each other's clothes, nor can they wear the old stuff.  Draculaura doesn't have a prayer of wearing Clawdeen's swimsuit, and I don't think the other G3 dolls would either.

Draculaura:  But it's so cute!

Clawdeen:  Sorry, Ula.

If you're a good girl, Draculaura, I'll find one on Etsy.  Summertime will come around again, unless the Rapture occurs before then, and if it'sa doozy like last summer you'll need a nice swimsuit.  In the meantime, maybe that tulle cape of River's might fit Draculaura.  The only place it's fitted is around the neck.

Not too shabby!  I think Draculaura is gonna need a cape of her own.  The full-priced dolls do have a capelet, but my doll is a budget doll and didn't come with that.

Just for funzies I'm gonna introduce the other characters in this little play group.  In September I bought Cabbage Patch Kids like they were going out of style, and in early October I went a little crazy with modern fashion dolls.  Besides Kiyomi, River, and G1 Clawdeen, Draculaura's other new friends are my Bratz dolls Kylie, Tiana, and Felicia, an O.M.G. named Sways, and Monique Verbena, a student from Shadow High.  Monique and Sways both have nice curves of their own, and Monique's dress is frilly like Draculaura likes, but I doubt that Draculaura can wear and share with them.  

Felicia and Tiana are largely here for size reference; the original Monster High dolls are taller than the Bratz, and Draculaura is too.  These three probably won't be able to share clothes, though I may try blouses and jackets.  Felicia isn't thrilled to meet yet another Monster High doll, but Tiana is more than happy be a buffer.

Felicia:  How many of these weirdos does the Moon Girl have???

Tiana:  I think they're cool!

Lastly, there's Kylie Jenner.  Kylie has similar measurements to Tiana and Felicia and will thus not be able to share clothes with Draculaura, but her platform shoes make her look taller than the other Bratz.  Typical of modern-day socialite girls, Kylie is colored something like a Goldfish cracker.

When I went to the local Wal-Mart to fetch Tiana, I noticed that the Monster High dolls had been relegated to the sales rack and the Bratz were now occupying their space.  I saw something similar when I picked up Reenie and Liya in Dexter.  At the time I found this darkly humorous due to the old Mattel-vs-MGA thing, but it also made me wonder...has the Monster High relaunch been axed already?  But then again I found plenty of Shadow High dolls in the sales rack at Malden Wal-Mart too, and I know that line is doing quite well.  So we'll see.

Now let's finally get to the meat and potatoes of this review, and look at Draculaura's hair.  She's got a respectable amount of hair.  Not as much as the current Lagoona does, but enuff.

A lot of my old Monster High dolls have a ton of hair product on their hair, or far worse, a glue-filled head.  Clawdeen and C.A. Cupid are aging the worst of my MH bunch because of the glue.  For Clawdeen, this means stiff, eternally wet-looking hair that can be explained away by her beach theme...

...but snow-white Cupid is beginning to yellow, and her hair is very dusty.  Poor Cupid, I was hoping I could keep her in good condition.

While putting this post together I read that some of these dolls have singed hair inside the head.  Miss Emily's singed Clawdeen has greasy tresses just like my doll does, so that may be part of the reason why my Clawdeen's hair looks scuzzy.  I don't know why singed hair would be chronically greasy, but it's that way with Miss Emily's original Clawdeen and it's that way with my Clawdeen.  I'm not going to cut Clawdeen's head open to find out, so I'm just gonna leave that baby lie and let Clawdeen strike a pose.  Even with that hair she can do it.

It was while Clawdeen was striking her pose that I noticed her eyes, and how they're the same color as Felicia's.  LOL, this picture may be the reason why Felicia doesn't trust the Monster High bunch.

Back on subject, Draculaura's head is stiff, but not rock-hard like Clawdeen's and River's.  I don't know what to make of that, so I'm just gonna pray that Drac's head is not filled with glue and move on.  Her bangs are stiff, meaning that she's got gom in her hair that will attract dust with time.  I like the angular cut, though.

The rest of the hair is worn loose and falls to Drac's knees.  It's mostly straight, but the packaging did leave some waves.  The fibers feel soft, but not as smooth as Felicia's braids are.  There's a tiny bit of product in there, making the hair slightly clumpy and sticky to the touch.  This is particularly noticeable up front, near Draculaura's ears (Tiana and Kylie also have this problem).

I kinda miss the pigtails that G1 Draculaura sported, but I love my doll's two-toned hair.  Yep, that black isn't just a patch on her bangs!  Indeed, while her bangs are fifty-fifty pink and black, the black dominates a little as the part extends back.  I can definitely dig that.

Unfortunately I can't recreate the hairdo of the original Draculaura on this doll; the rooting is okay, but the plugs are spaced too far apart to make a part look good.  Notice that Draculaura's scalp is two-toned.  LOL, I'd wondered if her head would be painted two colors, and now I have my answer.

Since we're looking at hair, dig Sways.  Microbraids AND Bantu knots!  I freaking love Bantu knots.  I don't remember any Monster High doll having these.

Or I think these are Bantu knots.  They kinda look like 'em, but maybe they're just regular hair knots.  Monique doesn't have knots, but she does have two-toned microbraided pigtails with wrapped bases.  She has so much hair that she could wear the braids if she wanted to.

BOTH of these dolls have extremely long hair, and it's braided to the tips.  Can y'all imagine the time and effort it would take to style a full-sized human's hair like this?  And the upkeep, especially with those dye jobs?  Good thing Sways and Monique are dolls, LOL.

I love how Shadow High and Monster High subvert the age-old critiques about dolly racial diversity, by the way.  By being pink and purple Draculaura and Monique can be any stinkin' race their owner projects on them, OR they can be something completely made up.  Hmmm...is "vampire" a race or a species?  Drac?

Draculaura:  I never really thought about it.  Hey, aren't we supposed to be talking about hair???

Oh, right!  I'm having a little too much fun with these dolls, LOL!  Drac's hair is topped with a pink plastic headband, and said headband has a black heart with bat wings on it.  Very predictable for this particular doll, but I'd have preferred a skullette.  I really liked the skullettes.

Get this:  the headband is plastic-tacked to Draculaura's head.  I should've foreseen this, as both Mattel and MGA Entertainment like these damn things.

Seriously, Draculaura, Tiana, Kylie, and Felicia all had three plastic tacks holding their heads to their packaging.  Sways had four, and Monique had SIX.  For dolls smaller than Barbie!  If these dolls were the size of Gooliope Jellington I'd understand (Gooliope was/is pretty top-heavy), but they're not.  One tack is enuff.  <takes deep breath>  Okay...Draculaura's hair is okay, but nothing super-duper special like the hair of past Monster High dolls.  I've yet to see an MH doll with hair as insane as Dawn of the Dance Lagoona Blue's mohawk, for example, or Operetta's modernized victory rolls.  But then again, I'll bet DotD Lagoona's hair is a fright now.  My Cupid and Operetta are holding their own, but their heavily gelled 'dos are very dusty.  Draculaura's hair will need a wash, and the style is boring, but it's just right for the target audience of these dolls.

This face is where my decision NOT to collect Draculaura in my youth is coming back to bite me.  I don't really have anything to compare my doll to and will thus have to rely on old stock images.  First, here's my girl up close.

Now here's how she compares to her G1, first wave self.

They're definitely the same character, but there's a lot of differences.  That said, sometimes bangs hide some very unflattering eyebrows, and sometimes they cover some pretty ones.  Let's see what Draculaura has under that helmet.

Actually these bangs were easy to manipulate, and they smoothed down right afterwards.  Underneath them Drac has bold black brows with individual hairs painted in.  None of my other Monster High dolls have that kind of detail, and poor Clawdeen is even missing part of one eyebrow. 

Hold up, River does have a little bit of detail hiding under her gelled bangs.  Her brows are not as detailed as Draculaura's, though.

Kiyomi's eyebrows are silvery white and are single-stroke like Clawdeen's.

Under her eyebrows Draculaura has your typical large MH eyes with long eyelashes.  Her eyeshadow is predictably pink, as are her irises, and she retains the little heart on her left cheek.  All good Draculaura dolls have that heart.  The paint job sometimes varies, but the heart is always there.

She's also got hearts in her eyes, so I guess she's no juke box hero.  This lips are a nice coral shade with two fangs showing, again par for the course for Draculaura.  I like the shade of pink, but I prefer the crimson lips on the G1 doll, or the black lips sported by...shucks, I forgot which Draculaura doll had black lips.  Pink lips are more fitting for this doll's character, but they're less striking.  Still, they're big, pretty lips, not huge like the Bratzpack's lips are, but big enuff to be eye-catching.

I was surprised to see that Draculaura has pointed ears underneath that hair.  Her G1 and G2 selves don't have this.

I've never known a vampire with pointy ears...except for Alistair, one of my ball-jointed dolls.  Dream of Doll advertised him as a "vampire elf," so his pointed ears are the result of elven lineage.  I just skip all that and identify him as a werewolf, like Clawdeen.  

It's hard to tell underneath that wig, but trust me:  Alistair's ears are pointed.  I need to drag Johnny, Alistair, Chloe, and Wozzeck out and play with them more often.  Ball-jointed dolls aren't cheap, and yet I lost interest in mine almost as quickly as I discovered the hobby.  But resin aside, I wasn't aware that pointed ears were a thing for vampires, but it's a cute little touch anyway.  None of Drac's G3 friends have pointed ears except for Clawdeen, so this bit helps set Draculaura apart a little.  Overall the aesthetic of the makeup falls a little flat in my eyes, especially when compared to the paint on past dolls.  The Monster High squad was supposed to be freaky fabulous, but Drac's new palate is just...plain pink.  The paint is all there, though, and it's on straight.  My Clawdeen is missing part of an eyebrow, and my first-wave Lagoona has lopsided eyes.

Draculaura's eyes are straight, but they are frustrating in another way.  Since they're painted looking sideways and up, I have a very difficult time getting Drac to look at me, OR at her friends.  Here Tiana is trying to engage Draculaura in conversation, but the young ghoul's thoughts are clearly elsewhere. 

Tiana:  You listenin'?
Draculaura:  ...I'm sorry, what?

On the other hand, Draculaura is adept at looking dreamy, just like Monique is.  Granted, Monique has an excuse, as her heavy hair pulls her head back.  Alliteration! 

Most of the time Draculaura looks lost in her own thoughts...or just plain lost.  That wouldn't be a big deal, except that Ghoulia Yelps is the one I associate with looking kinda lost.  Seriously, my old Ghoulia always looks like she's weirded out by the world around her.  Draculaura's character always acted like she knew what was going on, but this doll has her head eternally in the clouds.  But other than that I have no room to complain.  Drac's paint is flawless, if a bit too pink, but when one's skin is pink more pink makes sense.

Now it's time to body-shame Drac some more.  Here's what she looks like without clothes.  This shade of pink is incredibly difficult to photograph with the tools I've got, by the way.  She's prone to looking washed out.

Her frame is pear-shaped, kinda like the bodies of the Rainbow High and the Shadow High bunch.  I also threw in Sways for the sake of comparison.

Okay, take that back:  Drac's body is more pair-shaped than either of these bodies.  She's got more junk in the trunk than Sways, but less up top than Monique.  It's probably also easy to see that Draculaura does NOT have the torso joint that most of the G3 crew has.  Mega-bummer.

Things get off to kinda an even slower start with the neck joint; it is supposed to turn and tip in all directions, but it doesn't do this very well.  It's well nigh impossible to get her to look down, for example.  Looking up is a cinch, but not down.

Her head does turn and tip smoothly, though.

Okay, take that back:  Draculaura can look down, but only if she's also looking to the side.  Weird.

In the G1 and G2 days these dolls had very dynamic arms.  Very slender, mind y'all, but very posable, with joints at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists.  Draculaura does not disappoint.  Her ball-jointed shoulders swing out all the way, and her elbows both rotate and bend to ninety degrees.

Her wrists also rotate and bend to a sharp angle.

As y'all saw above, Draculaura can bend her arms enuff to cover her eyes.  I'm glad these dolls still can do this; I used to pse my old MH dolls in Monkeys of Japan poses, and I can continue that tradition with Draculaura. 

In true Monster High fashion these hands detach, and since Draculaura is one of your more humanoid dolls her hands are pretty plain.  She's got five little fingers and a slight hitchhiker's thumb, but there's nothing much to see here.

Just for the heckuvit, here's how Draculaura's hands compare to Kiyomi's (blue), River's (bony), and Clawdeen's (brown).

This is what I mean when I talk about humanoid and non-humanoid hands.  Clawdeen is a werewolf, so her hands have obvious claws and fingers that are molded in a scratching position.  Kiyomi and River, being more humanoid, have smooth, slender fingers with rounded tips.  Notice that Drac's birdie and ring fingers are fused, while the older dolls have five separate fingers.  Just thought I'd throw that out there.  And spoiler alert, the other G3 characters have different hands.  We'll see examples of that around Christmas. 

Draculaura is missing the torso joint that some of the other dolls have, so to legs we go.  Draculaura's legs are a different size from those of her older friends, but the jointing is similar.  Her hips go out to a respectable angle, but she cannot do splits. 

Like many of my other dolls, Drac's butt is molded in such a way that she can't do front-to-back splits either.  She can move her legs all the way foreword, though.

It looks in this picture like Draculaura is kneeling, but she's leaning against the back of the box to do it.  Her knees bend to just past ninety degrees, but she can't kneel without face-planting.

Clawdeen, Kiyomi, and River all have a little backwards play in their hips, so they can kneel to some extent.  It looks a little awkward, but they can do it.

In addition to bending the knees rotate all the way out (and all the way in, but I didn't show that).

As a result of all of this Drac can sit, and she can sit pretty ladylike.  Her hips splay apart a little when I seat her, but she can still cross her ankles like my G1 dolls can.

There is, however, a bit of a problem when Draculaura sits, at least when she's in her skirt.  Drac's skirt is so short and tight that when I do sit her down one can see right up her skirt.  Since Drac has pink molded panties it looks like she's wearing NOTHING underneath!  I hate it when that happens; if Draculaura's drawers were painted something else this wouldn't be a huge issue, but...well, they're not.  As a result, when Drac sits I either have to shoot her from the side or pose her with her hands over her crotch, like she's desperate for a potty break, LOL.

Lastly, footsies.  Draculaura has big high-heeled feet, very typical of MH dolls of any stripe.  She's got ankle bones visible in the side...

...and a minor case of cankles from the front.  She's got a slight gap between her big toe and her other toes, I presume so she can wear sandals if need be.

Clawdeen's feet are also long and slender with a high arch, but her ankles are slimmer and her toes are more detailed. 

Draculaura's posing is...well, maybe not quite as good as that of the older dolls, but it's very, very close to being equal.  While she's a smidgen less limber than her friends, Draculaura makes up for it by being sturdier. 

When it comes to clothes, Monster High dolls were/are occasionally saddled with something skimpy like pajamas or a swimsuit, but usually they come with multi-piece outfits.  Draculaura is no exception.

The more deluxe dolls come with some piece of outerwear (Draculaura's deluxe self came with a cape), but my doll just has the basics...sort of.  Her blouse is two pieces, a gauzy interior blouse and a corset-style tank top on the outside.  Here's the corset top.

At first i thought that the corset top was made of that papery vinyl stuff, the kind that doesn't hold up well in the hands of destructive little brats.  But in fact it is very stiff sateen with shiny hearts and bats printed on.  The front is decorated with a delicate black satin bow, and the straps are equally delicate little ribbons  The print goes all the way around (YAY!!!), and the top fastens with Velcro (boo).

The inside is not much to look at, but all the seams and hems are tidy.

I booed the Velcro on the corset top because the blouse worn under it is a sheer fabric that snags.  Spoiler alert, it closes with Velcro too.

The style is semi-predictable, being pink but lacking frills.  It does have cute puffed sleeves, though.

The bottom of the blouse is one of my favorite styles, a nicely pleated peplum.  It has a slit in the middle, where the blouse probably would've opened if it were a real blouse.  Once again, the hems and seams are nicely done.

The skirt falls slightly above the inee, meaning that it's shorter than something I'd have ever worn.  I think that this would classify as an A-line skirt, though Draculaura's full hips stretch it out a bit.

The base is black, and I think the print is white, though it could be pale pink too (I can't tell).  I like the pattern though, as it looks like the quilted surface of a Chanel bag.  In addition to the white diagonal lines, there are little winged hearts.  I like the hearts a lot.

As with the two topss the inside is nothing to look at.  Indeed, one can see the print on the inside of the skirt, suggesting thin fabric even though the fabric doesn't feel thin.  As with the blouse and the corset top the hems and seams are neat.

Moving down, Draculaura wears plain black mesh socks on her feet.  These are simple and no-frills like the blouse, but they're nicely fitted.  Again, they are also sewn well.

Lastly, the shoes.  Monster High shoes are legendary for their detail and for their appropriateness to the character wearing them.  Draculaura's shoes are indeed fitting for her pink-loving self, but they're sadly pretty boring.

Okay, they're not THAT bad.  They have chunky soles with little heart cutouts, and the buckles on the straps are heart-shaped.  The upper buckles also (predictably) have wings that I wish were painted.  The soles have a diamond print that echoes that on the skirt, and there are a few more hearts.

These shoes are obviously fitted left and right, but the insoles are stamped with tiny letters anyway.

On her back Draculaura wears this stiff-strapped, coffin-shaped backpack.  The winged bat IS painted here, making me wish even more that the shoes had painted details.  Underneath the heart the surface of the backpack appears to be quilted.

The underside of the backpack is pretty plain, but there are molded buckles and seams to be seen.  Not bad for an area that's NOT meant to be seen.

The backpack does open a bit, but the vinyl is so stiff that it doesn't stay open.  Still, this could probably hold Draculaura's sunblock bottle if need be. 

All fashionable teenage girls wear jewelry of some stripe, and Draculaura is no exception, though admittedly she's not wearing a ton of stuff.  She's got a simple black choker with yet another winged heart.  Again, the wings are painted.  I like now the ridges of the bat wings show through the paint, though this bit was probably not intentional. 

Drac's earrings are mismatched and I love that touch.  One is a black bat wing and the other is a bubblegum pink heart.  I think the heart has some cracks in it, but I'm not 100% sure.  There are no painted details on these.

Lastly, handheld accessories!  Draculaura has these.

For the record, the more deluxe Draculaura is accompanied by her pet bat Count Fabulous, some food and clothing items, and her cell phone.  The pets have sadly changed a lot, and IMO some of them aren't as good as their old selves.  Crescent and Neptuna (owned by Clawdeen and Lagoona respectively) are the biggest culprits there; Crescent looks more like a puppy than a cat, and Neptuna no longer travels in that awesome fishbowl purse that she used to have.  But thankfully, some things never change.  Back in 2012 Drac needed SPF 500 sunblock when she went to Gloom Beach, and she still needs it now.  My sister's sister-in-law thought this was a scream, by the way.  This is a solid piece of butter-yellow plastic with a sticker on the front.  

The back is plain.  

In both pictures the thumb ring can clearly be seen.  This only fits over Drac's thumb; the rest of her fingers are too slim.

Both Twilight and Morbius appear to have overlooked the fact that vampires can't handle sunlight...or I guess they do.  I've not seen either, and I still have no interest in the Twilight franchise years after the fact.  Anyway, in addition to her SPF 500 sunblock Draculaura has a carton of strawberry milk.

Wait a minute...MILK???  I thought Draculaura was a vegan.  Maybe Mattel forgot that little detail.  Maybe it's soy milk or almond milk, despite that huge pink MOO! on the carton.  Mmmmm, I like soy milk!  It's a bit of an acquired taste, but I found it not-so-bad.  Regardless of the contents, Drac is carrying a milk carton, it does say MOO! on the side, and there are personified strawberries along with a milk skullette.  LOL, I love seeing the skullette make a comeback!  I still think it belongs on Drac's headband, though.

Lovely to see you again, my friend!  LOL, Unlike the sunblock, the carton is hollow.

Also unlike the sunblock, the milk is printed on two other sides.  One side has some info on nutritional value, and while the writing isn't legible it IS recognizable. 

The milk also has a thumb ring, and it fits...you guessed it, over Drac's thumb!  I like both of these accessories because unlike some dolly add-ons they have some play value (Draculaura can hold and interact with the items).  Still, pairing a vegan with a carton of milk leaves me scratching my head, unless it is indeed soy milk.  A quick look at Draculaura's wiki confirmed that she is indeed still a vegan.  

Alrighty Draculaura's outfit is adequate, but being the crazy dame that I am I'll eventually get bored with it.  Throwing her in the other MH dolls' clothes is out of the question, and the Bratz' itsy-bitsy clothes wouldn't work either.  <glances up at the beginning of the post>  I said above that Monique Verbena's frilly dress might fit, so let's try that.

Hmmm...not perfect, but not bad either.  The full skirt fits over Drac's hips with room to spare, while the bodice and the waist are...actually too big.  Draculaura really IS pear-shaped, enuff so that tops Rainbow High and Shadow High blouses probably would not look good.  In Monique's case the frills hide the poor fit.  As for shoes, those actually fit Draculaura's feet like they were made for her.

Sways, the O.M.G. doll, has the exact opposite problem from Monique:  her chest is close to Draculaura's in size, but her hips are smaller.  The top and shorts that Sways wears under her dress look like they fit...

...but the shorts don't close in back.  The top does fit pretty well.  I admit that that surprised me.  I think those teeny-weeny clothes brought out Draculaura's inner tramp, by the way; she struck a pose like the dancers at a 2 Live Crew concert.  Time to cover this girl and get my sweet little vampire back.  Believe it or not, Sways's fluffy jacket and mesh dress fit Draculaura nearly perfectly.  Drac would need some shorts or leggings of her own, but she actually looks pretty good.  Sways's shoes didn't have a prayer of fitting Draculaura's plates, though.

So that means that some O.M.G. pieces or Rainbow High/Shadow High pieces will work, but I can't really rely on it.  Since Mattel doesn't seem too keen to make outfits for the new MH bunch I turned to Etsy.  There's not a ton of stuff out there for these new doll bodies, but I was able to find a couple'a things.  This is what I was able to cobble together.  Both pieces are from MagzRockingStyle.

Drac's blouse appears to have prints of newspaper clippings about serial killers.  This one on the center appears to be about Charles Manson, and the "FIVE BLOODY MURDERS" also pertains to the Manson family.  A story about Ed Gein appears towards the bottom hem, and the headline on the chest may concern John Wayne Gacy.  I'm not 100% certain of that last one.

Oh yeah, there's also fake blood included.  Pretty gruesome, but for a true crime buff such a bizarre shirt is perfect for a doll I'd own.  The leggings are plain black leggings that match everything.  They do NOT fit well over Draculaura's socks.

Draculaura can sit a little better in these pants than she could in her skirt, and her modesty is preserved.

As for the purse, y'all saw that when Kiyomi Haunterly moved in.  Setsu-P sent that, and several others.

Three of the purses are pink, but I thought this one was the best match for Draculaura.  It's even big enuff to hold her accessories. 

Overall Draculaura doesn't give off the freaky fierce vibes that Clawdeen, River, and my other old Monster High dolls do, but if given a chance she can loosen up and look cute.  Few dolls can make a simple act like drinking milk look adorable, for example.

I'm not sure what could be so fascinating inside this box, but maybe Drac sees something I don't.

For the record, a good-sized spider did come crawling out of the box AFTER I was done monkeying with it.  Maybe Draculaura saw him before I did.  I had mercy on said spider and did not kill him, even though he looked like a brown recluse.  I think Draculaura appreciated me not smashing him.

Draculaura:  Yeah, thanks, girlie.

As I've noted on my bow blog, my opinions on spiders have mellowed over the years, though I still will not tolerate brown recluses near my cats.  I know better than to tease spiders, but Tommy the big shot doesn't.  Anyway, the weather turned colder over the weekend so I put Draculaura in her horror-themed clothes and took her to Park Cemetery.  Cameron accompanied her (with Jade's consent, LOL).  This is the same grave marker that Suzie stood in earlier in the month.

Cameron was his usual gentlemanly self, but as usual Draculaura's mind was elsewhere.  I'm pretty sure her heart will always belong to Clawd Wolf, just as Cameron's will always belong to Jade.

I sometimes question the ethics of photographing dolls on grave markers, but in this case I think it fits, particularly with Draculaura's murder-themed shirt.  Just the same, I try to follow the rule of modern-day explorers:  "Take nothing but pictures.  Leave nothing but footprints."  So far I've explored nothing but graveyards; exploring derelict buildings like this one is increasingly popular, but it's dangerous to go alone, especially for a woman.  As an aside, I find the Kmart in the linked video a fine howdy-do.  The North Flint Drive-In survived an F5 tornado, only to be demolished in favor of a Kmart that now sits empty and badly damaged.  In all fairness the drive-in was just out of the tornado's path, but several moviegoers drove INTO the tornado while trying to flee and were either killed or badly injured.  There's y'all's useless trivia for the day.

That's a good place to wrap it up.  Draculaura is good little doll in her own right, but I feel like something's missing.  I mean, this doll IS recognizable as Draculaura.  She has the teeth, she has the right colorization, she has a cohesive wardrobe, she has the joints that her G1 and G2 sisters had.  I can't put my finger on what's lacking, unless it's that dreamy expression.  These dolls were supposed to be freaky fabulous in their day, and Draculaura isn't all that freaky.  Compared to her past selves she's just...cute.  It probably doesn't help that I keep comparing these dolls to their past selves, and the last of those dolls were hitting shelves...what, five, six years ago???  To a kid the old dolls won't matter, but to an old biddy like me it does matter.

All that said, I am, like Miss Emily, happy to see these weirdos back in store shelves, if only for awhile.  Draculaura is imperfect but cute, and I have no regrets about adding her to my bunch.  Plus, I finally have an opportunity to add Abbey Bominable to my collection; she was always one of my favorite characters aesthetically, and her G3 self is cute.  Twyla Boogeyman has also made an appearance, and I've always liked her too.  Y'all have not seen the last of the G3 bunch, not on this blog.

Bat bites,
RagingMoon1987