Random Barbie buzz

Confession time:  I'm not a tremendous silent movie fan.  Not yet, anyway.  I don't hate them, but I can count the number of silents I've seen on one finger.  Thus it might surprise y'all that I was delighted to see who debuted as a Barbie back in May.

I've been living under a rock for the past month, okay?  For the uninitiated, the doll is done up like silent film actress Anna May Wong.  Anna May was kinda ahead of her time; remember that during the era of silent movies the country was a lot more racist than it is now, and if you were any color other than white you could forget about being some kind of star...unless you were a jazz musician, or Josephine Baker.  Okay, there were exceptions back then, and Anna May was one of those.  She was seventeen when she got her first big role, that of Lotus Flower in a loose remake of Madama Butterfly.  Ms. Wong even made a successful transition to movies with sound ("talkies"), something that not all silent film stars could do.  She had to put up with racism and stereotypes for much of her career, but she stuck it out and was active in acting until her untimely death in 1961 (she was sadly a heavy drinker and had been unhealthy for some time).  She truly was a gem, one that richly deserves to be immortalized as Barbie.  By the way, I think it's so ironic that Anna May Wong's family was delighted to have a doll in their family member's likeness, but Frida Kahlo's descendents were...well, NOT happy.  Granted, Mattel didn't get the rights from the family to use Ms. Kahlo's likeness as a doll...but if that's the case then shouldn't the family be PO'd at the folk dolls on Etsy?  It makes one wonder.  Either way Anna May has been out for awhile, and I'm going to want her in my collection...someday.  I have been taking it easy with Barbie lately since I have so many already.  But this one, I like a lot.  Anna May Wong, Margot Robbie, and Fashionista #208 are all on my wish list right now, and I know if I'm patient enuff I'll find #208 in the local Wal-Mart.  Despite my complaining in the past, my local Wal-Mart does eventually get the new stuff.

In other news, I found this on Buzzfeed Thursday afternoon.  Apparently the author asked an AI app to show what the various states would look like as Barbie dolls.  Here's what Missouri looks like; to my delight, she's a little redhead.

For reasons unknown, Miss Nevada got pink hair.

I kinda wish that some of the dolls had some reference to the state they represent.  Arkansas could've had a few rhinestones on her to simulate diamonds, for example.  But it was the AI's decision so I won't complain.  Miss Emily puttered around with a similar AI app not too long ago, and the results were...humorous, to say the least!  A link to the article can be found HERE.

Then Friday morning I found THIS news story, about the most valuable Barbie dolls ever made.  To my considerable surprise, one of my childhood friends made the list.  Totally Hair Barbie was extremely popular in her day, and nowadays she can sometimes retail for as high as $160 American, provided she's in-box and in good shape.  A doll with that much hair isn't always in good shape, LOL.  Here's a reminder of what Totally Hair Barbie looks like;  even though she's a product of the nineties, her dress is sixties-flavored.

I gotta admit that she's cute, but y'all won't catch me dead paying $160 for her.  Hell, I paid that for my most expensive AG doll (Lark), and even then I called myself crazy.  What can I say, I thought Lark was adorable and wanted to own her!  I got a giggle out of Ferrari Barbie being on the list too, since Ferraris are ridiculously expensive.  Thus it would make sense that a doll designed after a luxury car would be kinda luxurious herself.  I wonder which Ferrari Barbie the list means, though?  This one?  This one?  The article says the doll had the Ferrari logo in diamonds as a headpiece, so it must be this one.

She is gorgeous indeed, but I won't be adding that one to my collection either.  Not anytime soon, anyway.  The list was rounded out by one of the Monique Lhuillier brides, a Bob Mackie design, and Athena (she's just a girl!)...and guess what?  Those three were the bottom five in an eighty-five-doll list!  Blond Diamond got #66.  Y'all remember her?  I talked about her back when she and the blog were young, and she was controversial.  A Day of the Dead doll, also controversial and dearly loved by Yours Truly, tied with Blond Diamond, as did Maiko Barbie, whom I loved when I was a teenager.  A bunch of 'em tied for the sixty-sixth slot, LOL.  Color Magic Barbie got the fifty-fifth slot, the first vintage doll that I saw (and again, one of my favorites).  Indeed, I usually specialize in the vintage, before-I-was-born stuff, and I was pleased to see vintage dolls occupying slots #43, #33, #29 through #26, #26, #24 through #18, #16 through #14 (#16 was just a dress!), #8 and #7, and #5 and #4.  No, the original Barbie did not get the number one slot, to my considerable surprise.  #29, #26, #21, #19, #18, and the dress at #16, were foreign releases, and that alone drives the price up for us Yanks.  If y'all want to see who they are, you get to read the list yourself!  And if any of y'all own any of the dolls on that list, it should be remembered that to be worth all of that money the doll must be mint in her box.  Guess who HATES keeping her dolls in their boxes???  <raises hand>  If I've got a gorgeous doll like Maiko Barbie, I'm busting her out of that box and letting her meet the crew.  To hell with resale value (and the raggedy, LOL).  I did it for Lucy, after all.  This one is represents the episode "The Audition," by the way; my Vitameatavegimin doll still resides on the island (I can't believe that post is ten years old now), but she's currently out of reach in my doll room.

Lucy wasn't on the list, and her box was in terrible shape, but my point still stands.  I want to have fun with my girls, not resell them.  Now if I had the Improvers Island Steel promotional doll I'd leave her in situ, because there's only four of them known in existence, but for the most part I prefer to play with my dolls, even the vintage ones.

What does my mama's old #3 Barbie have to say about all of it?

"Meh.  That's what I say."

#3 Barbie did make it onto the list, but she was blonde, had blue eyeshadow, and was in superb condition.  My mother's doll has obviously been played with, both by Mama and by me, and she's not too impressed with what she calls "those big shots" on the list.  She'd rather pal around with Lucy.

Barbie:  "Pardon me, Miss Lucy, but I love your show!"
Lucy:  "💖💖💖"

I do too, Barbie!  I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show are prime examples of how comedy should be!  Indeed, Don Knotts and Lucille Ball remind me a bit of each other, the way they act through facial expressions as well as goofy scripts.

Love,
RagingMoon1987

Sunday randomness: Adamsaurus Rex and Lucille Ball

It's been awhile since I did one of these random posts on a Sunday, so here's one for you.  Take it or leave it, LOL.  But seriously, here it is the day before Easter and we've had two nights in a row below freezing.  One of my favorite patrons calls it blackberry winter, and I have to agree with him.  I HATE blackberry winter as it usually kills off my tulips and Bader's peach blossoms, but it did give me a chance to bundle my little Adam up in his brand-new Gerber outfit!

Back when I was still in college, a fellow church member, a woman who had both a son and a daughter, stated her opinion that baby girls were more fun to dress than baby boys.  I'm not sure I agree!  Girls are certainly easier to dress, but with boys the search for That Perfect Outfit can be a lot of fun...or a lot of frustration, take your pick.  Finding cute things for boys is certainly rewarding, though!  Anyway, Mama says that Adam looks like a real baby in his new outfit.  Most of the babies I've known refuse to wear a hat, but other than that Adam does look pretty real.  I've been calling him Adamsaurus Rex!  And make note of him, because he's as close to a real baby as I'm gonna have...until a reborn doll moves in, LOL.  Those things are pretty stinkin' real!  Adam is realistic enough, but not as realistic as some reborns can be.

I can't thank Tam enough for selling this little chap to me.  He truly is a gem in my collection with his charismatic face and his lifelike size and weight.  Thank you, Tam!  And thank you to my dear mother for getting me this for Easter!

Mama spoils me so!  This particular doll ties in with a post I made a million years ago about another Lucille Ball doll, but unlike "Lucy Does a T.V. Commercial" I had no idea that "The Audition" even existed!  My modus operandi for in-box dolls is usually to debox them, and indeed I'm dying to see if this Lucy's tightly bent knees are jointed.  But I'm going to leave her as she is for now since she's so perfect.  Look what Wal-Mart was asking for her at one point!

Before all was said and done she got marked down twice.  

Almost half-price!  I wouldn't have complained about that back in the day!  Regardless of what she once cost she's mine now!  Thank you so much, Mama! 

Happy Easter,
RagingMoon1987 

Who gets to come along?

As of right now it doesn't look like I'm going to be continuing my schooling this fall.  I have LASIK surgery scheduled for the second of August and I don't know how long the recovery will be.  The clinic sent me an information packet yesterday, and I'm afraid.  I wasn't afraid until I read the disclaimers and the side effects, but now I'm very nervous about it.  Anyway, the recovery may be lengthy so I will probably be staying close to home this fall.  Add to that the fact that I don't have an apartment or a set of wheels yet, and all that equals up to a firm anchor in Malden for the next couple of months.  While I'm here I plan on getting my affairs in order, getting my bags packed and my things organized, and making some plans.

One of the things that I do want to do is decide which dolls I want to take with me.  The dorm rooms at SEMO were horrendously drab, and I ended up taking some of my girls to liven the place up.  This time around will be no exception, but I can't take ALL of them with me.  Who stays home?  Who goes with me?  Who can I live without?  Who am I so protective of that I won't even photograph?  Who can be easily replaced in the event of a theft?  Who has a place to stand in my room?  Who doesn't?  LOL, that's a lot of "who-this" and "who-that!"  Cue the guitars, LOL.  But that was what I had to ask myself.  Eventually I got it whittled down to thirteen names.  Thirteen out of the three-hundred-some-odd dolls in my group.

My Scene Nolee and Svetlana (Barbie dolls)

Back in the days when I hadn't worked out all the bugs with my watermark.  LOL

Perhaps a third of my doll collection consists of Barbie dolls, but these are the only two My Scene dolls I've ever owned.  They didn't appeal to me when they were in stores; I bought Nolee at Dollar General shortly after they were discontinued because I fell in love with her black hair.  Svetlana was a secondhand find; I found her at one of the antique marts that I frequent.  Back then that particular store carried modern dolls for reasons I'll never know.  But anyway, I bought Svetlana, combed her hair, and redressed her.  The two of them joined me at SEMO and served as conversation pieces.

Cinderella (Heritage Signature Collection)

This porcelain doll channels more of a Rapunzel vibe than a Cinderella vibe, but she has glass slippers so that leaves little doubt about her identity.  Cinderella was a Christmas present from my grandmother one year, and since I had no place to put her at home she joined Nolee, Svetlana, and me at Cape Girardeau.  She was the biggest doll I had there, and I always liked to pretend that she was supervising the activities of her smaller dolly friends.  Yes, I still like to pretend!  The year that I had her, I had plenty of reasons to want to daydream.  But let's not revisit that little nightmare.

Melody and Miss September (Barbie dolls)

Melody (left) is a redressed My Melody Barbie, and Miss September is a redressed Miss Sapphire Birthstone Beauties Barbie.  Both of these were gifts from a friend, and both have the Steffie face that I'm so fond of.  They suffer from a problem similar to Cinderella's:  my room is too crowded for them!  They have no place to stand, so they lie on top of another doll's box.  This is no way to treat dolls, especially dolls that were gifts, so they will probably come with me.

Alice in Wonderland (Madame Alexander)

This Madame Alexander #1551 Alice was a very recent gift from my mother, so perfect that she even has her hangtag on her wrist.  She resides in the box that Melody and Miss September lie on top of.  I consider her too pretty to hide away in a box, so she will be coming with me as well.

Lucy Ricardo (Mattel)

You may remember Lucy from this blog entry.  She is one of five dolls that I had up on a very high shelf in the front room.  I don't know how, but one of my cats got up on that shelf and knocked all the dolls over.  No serious damage was done, which I consider lucky since Lucy has small parts that are easily lost (the bottle, the spoon, and her shoes).  Now Lucy and her shelfmates have to sit in a curio cabinet.  This would be fine, except that the shelves are not tall enough for the dolls to stand up straight.  That won't do.

Katniss Everdeen (Mattel)

Katniss is another doll that I have reviewed, and was another of the dolls up on the shelf.  She has three arrows that could have been lost had she been knocked to the floor.

Life in the Dreamhouse Midge (Midge doll)

Midge is the third victimized shelf doll.  I have very recently reviewed her.  Her poseability and all-around cuteness make her a must-have.

Miranda and Mary (Barbie dolls)

Miranda (left) is a Pioneer Shopkeeper Barbie, and Mary is a Barbie had a Little Lamb.  They also were shelf dolls, and Miranda got the worst of it.  She did get knocked off the shelf, and one of her shoes got lost.  I have the other shoe tucked away in my pocket, but I'm still looking for the mate.  I'm not going to cry too loudly if I don't find the shoe (a lot of pioneers went barefoot anyway) but it's the principle of the thing!  I've had Miranda ever since I was eleven, and she was the first really special doll I'd received so I kept her nice.  She was perfect, nothing missing...and now those shoes are gone.  I was ready to strangle the cat, I was so ticked.  Mary's lamb also got knocked off, and I consider myself lucky that one of the dogs didn't find it and chew on it.

Heather (Seymour Mann)

She's just a tad creepy...and difficult to photograph.

Heather is a large porcelain ballerina made by the Seymour Mann company (one of my favorite companies).  She is one of the items I got during my most recent antique mall hop; we originally went in the hopes that I could walk off my kidney stone, and my mother insisted on spoiling me a little while we were there.  I ended up coming away with four dolls, and Heather is one of them.  She, like Cinderella and most of the other dolls on this list, has no place to stand and look pretty, so she'll end up coming with me as well.  I do need to get her a proper doll stand, and then she's good to go.

Sophie (Midge doll)

Sophie is my booty call.  Whenever I need a doll to photograph or model a new outfit, I get her out.  Sophie is very special to me because she has red hair and a Steffie face, and she was one of the first Steffie-faced dolls I bought.  I've also done some cosmetic work on her and photographed her in some unorthodox places.  Based on that history her presence in my apartment is not really an option.  She HAS to come.

That brings the count to thirteen dolls.  Two porcelain, one vinyl, and ten Barbie dolls.  Diverse enough to be interesting, small enough to be controllable.  Of course, I can't guarantee that I won't gather some more newcomers while I'm at Mountain Home; I did that when I was away at SEMO and I probably will again.  When I do, you can guarantee a new review.  Until then, cheers!

Yours Truly,
RagingMoon1987

"Lucy Does a TV Commercial" dolly review

Well, I certainly have been dragging my feet with reviews.  Here it is February, Winter Storm Q is upon us, and I'm only now getting around to completing these.  I got both the doll highlighted in this review and the one in the next review on Christmas Day.  Talk about being lazy!  Sloth is definitely my deadly sin.  Anyway, this is "Lucy Does a TV Commercial," from Mattel's Barbie Loves Lucy line.  WARNING:  some dolly nudity will be present.

The Barbie Loves Lucy line grew to be quite large; I was in high school when I saw the last one in collector catalogs.  "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" was the very first one, released in early 1998.  I was ten years old.  I took one look at Lucy, remembered my mother's hysterical laughter at the Vitameatavegamin episode that the doll is based on, and said "I want her!"  My intention was to share her with my mother, but my father said no.  "She's too expensive," he said (she was $39).  I was upset but soon got over my disappointment.  Life went on, and new dolls came and went, some of which I got and some of which I didn't.  Now, fifteen years later...I finally have my Lucy!  My mother found her on Ebay for what must've been a good price (I haven't asked what she paid).

That being said, let's look at my lovely Lucy.  First of note is the face.  When it comes to celebrity faces, Mattel is very hit-and-miss.  Sometimes the celebrity dolls Mattel makes look like the people they are supposed to emulate; Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor are good examples.  Sometimes they don't; this Marilyn Monroe comes to mind, though subsequent Marilyn dolls were much better.  So...where does Lucy fall?  You tell me.

You may think differently, but I personally think the doll is a spitting image of Lucille Ball.  So let's start at the top:  Lucy's hair.  Lucy's gorgeous red hair.  I love redheads, and I partially credit Lucille Ball with my affection with the color.

Lucy's hair is curly and tied up in a simple ponytail.  The style looks like a bun since the hair is so curly, but it's just a ponytail, fastened by your standard clear rubber band.

Sewn to Lucy's head is this cute little hat.

It is made of fuzzy black material (not velvet, but still fuzzy), and black lace.  The front part has a veil hanging down over Lucy's bangs.  It feels substantial, but I'm always a little leery of netting.  Sometimes it rots with time.  This, however, looks like it should hold up.

Now let's look closer at Lucy's face.  The doll, not the real person, haha.  Lucy has large, round, blue eyes.

It's hard to tell from that image, but Lucy has rooted upper eyelashes; she's only the third doll I've owned with that feature (my Swan Lake ballerina and my Stardoll are the first two).  In addition to the rooted lashes Lucy has painted upper and lower lashes; these are quite long.  Her eyebrows are dark reddish-brown; they match her hair color better than some of the other dolls I've got.

Lucy's lips are painted bright red.  It's not a garish red (unlike the crap I wore during high school), but it is eye-catching.

This is my favorite part of Lucy's facial sculpt, by the way.  Mattel went to great lengths to make it look like Lucille's mouth, and the results are stunning.  My particular Lucy wears no other makeup besides this lipstick, by the way.  Her eyes and cheeks are completely natural.  There are no paint flaws.

Regarding clothes, Lucy is wearing an asymetrical black-and-white houndstooth suit.  This whole outfit is seamed and hemmed nicely, and the skirt is lined inside, but it's too narrow to get a good picture of the interior.

The dress is one piece, with a line of black "buttons" down the front.

It has a belt:

White cuffs at the sleeves:

And a matching white collar.

The left half of the skirt has a peplum that is sewn in place.

The back opens and closes with snaps, which is a huge relief.

Snaps on a Mattel product suggest to me a higher quality product.  In the case of this doll they are also a vast improvement over the alternative (Velcro), because Lucy has these under her dress!

Seamed stockings!!!  I absolutely LOVE this touch.  I won't be removing them, though; part of the hose appear to have melted to Lucy's hip.  Bummer.

Simple black high heeled pumps complete the look.

These don't stay on very well, by the way.  They were held on with clear rubber bands, but Miss Genius took them off.

Topping off the look are "pearl" earrings and a matching necklace.

Regarding the body, Lucy has the pre-redesign Barbie body, the one with the huge breasts and the hourglass waist.  I'm not sure whether the body is the old TNT or the Shani body, which is slightly slimmer.  Either way, it's an older model with a twisty waist, a body which I took for granted during my childhood, but have since grown to miss.  The arms are bent at the elbow and have the shoulder joint typical of 99% of the Barbies in the world.  One hand has a hole for a ring, but there is no ring.

The legs are jointed at the hip (back and forth motion only) and have the click knee joints.  The narrow skirt restricts hip movement.

It's a relief to see this old body on a doll, because it reminds me of the dolls I had when I was a kid...back when folks had some common sense and building up a child's self esteem was the job of Mom and Dad, and not TV or toys (Barbie's body measurements were scaled back a bit because they were "too unrealistic").  I could go off on a tangent about how I feel about the size of the new bodies and about dolly realism in general, but that's not the point of this blog post.

Back on topic, Lucy has three accessories:  a spoon, a bottle of Vitameatavegamin, and a two-piece stand.  The stand is your basic stand.  It's made of black plastic and has the episode name on the front.

It doesn't fit Lucy too well.  Her feet can't rest on the platform.

The medicine bottle has a tiny label on it with "information" about the contents.  ;-)

"It's so tasty, too!  Just like candy!"  The bottle also has a peg on the back; this fits into the hole in Lucy's right hand, enabling her to hold it on her own.

The spoon is silver plastic.  It has grippy bits on the handle that fit on Lucy's left hand, but this connection is not solid.  The spoon is best left rubberbanded to Lucy's hand.

So, does Lucy deliver?  Well...I waited fifteen years to get my hands on this doll, and yes, she delivers!  She looks like the person she is supposed to portray, and her outfit and accessories are authentic to the episode in question.  I really don't have much negative to say about her; besides the melting hose the only real gripe I might have about my Lucy would be the fact that she's one of the plainer Lucy dolls.  Later additions like "Be a Pal" and "Lucy Gets In Pictures" are very elaborate and colorful, and I like them.  But those two weren't the ones that got away.  And it wasn't those two episodes that left my mother in stitches.  When it comes to Lucy dolls, only this one would've done...and she does do!  LOL

The roads are slick, the trees are icy, and I'm not going to be going anywhere, so stick around for my other Christmas doll!

Yours truly,
RagingMoon1987

Dollies for Christmas

Merry Christmas to y'all!  I don't know about you, but I personally had a very good one.  We opened our gifts and ate, and visited relatives and ate some more.  My mother loved her present (some much-needed gloves), and my sister appreciated her gifts.  As for me...well, let's just say that I'm pleased as well.  I got some pajamas and a sparkly sweater, a very humorous book on odd things that happen to morticians, and...hmmm, what am I forgetting?  Oh yes...I got DOLLIES!!!  Four dolls, two porcelain and two Barbie dolls.

I'm going to start with the porcelain dolls.  My sister's boyfriend's mother (referred to hereafter as "Mrs. A") has porcelain dolls that she apparently wants to relocate, because she gave up two of hers to give to me.  This one is Beatrice.

She's your run-of-the-mill porcelain doll, about sixteen inches tall with blue eyes and springy blonde curls.  These curls bounce like mad; I love bobbing Beatrice up and down and watching that hair bounce and swing.

Her dress is blue with creamy yellow trim.  The trim at the waist has tiny pink flowers.

The hem has rosettes and this drapey stuff hanging from the hem in swags.

Part of the drapey stuff has become detached...and wouldn't you know, the detached part is right up front.

Nothing I can't fix.

The hat is a separate piece.  It has a gold bow and a huge orange rosette on top.

This also gives you an idea of what Beatrice's face looks like.  She is slightly reminiscent of the antique porcelain dolls that Germany and France produced during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Beatrice has a blue bunny tied to her arm.

Completing the blue theme are these cute blue shoes with pearl "buttons."

The other porcelain doll that Mrs. A gave me looks like this.  I named her Clarissa.

Clarissa is eight inches tall, give or take.  She too has a rabbit to hold; it is jointed and sewn directly to her dress.  Her dominant color is green (as opposed to Beatrice's blue).  Clarissa's dress appears to be two pieces, but it is only one piece.  The blouse-looking piece is green with flowers and leaves printed on, and the pinafore-looking piece is made of a loosely-woven fabric that looks like cheesecloth.

The skirt of the pinafore has these cute embroidered stars on it.

Underneath the skirt, Clarissa is wearing these adorable little bloomers.  They match the the sleeves of her dress.  She also has cream-colored shoes with snaps that actually work.

Clarissa's face looks like this.

She has green eyes and blonde hair, and the cutest little pouty lips.  I love this doll's expression!  I also love her hair; it's very smooth and soft, unlike the hair of most porcelain dolls I run into.

It's also shiny!

That pretty much covers the porcelain dolls, so on to the Barbie dolls.

The doll on the left is obviously Lucille Ball, playing Lucy Ricardo in the episode "Lucy Does a TV Commercial."  This episode, for those of you who are unfamiliar with "I Love Lucy," this is the episode where Lucy hawks Vitameatavegamin and gets drunker than a skunk (the tonic is 23% alcohol).  The doll on the right is Asian President Barbie from the "I Can Be..." series.  Since these dolls are not as cut-and-dried as the porcelain dolls are, they will each get their own review.  President Barbie's review will be of particular interest since this doll is currently available in stores (Lucy is not).  

Once again I must cut this post short due to bad weather (the wind is fooling around with the power lines).  Southeast Missouri is in the path of Winter Storm Euclid, and my area is predicted to get anywhere from six inches to a full foot of snow tonight.  Down south there have been tornadoes; Mobile, Alabama has been hit by a large wedge tornado.  According to the Weather Channel there have already been injuries and damage, so I'm praying that there will be no deaths there.  I'll probably spend the night keeping warm and taking pictures for the next couple of reviews.  Until then, stay safe, keep warm, and have a very merry Christmas.

Yours truly,

RagingMoon1987