Dolly Dress Discussion: PZAS Toys summer wardrobe

I'm currently on my final day of quarantine and feeling 99%.  My mother is now laid up with whatever it was that I had, but she too is on the mend.  Mind y'all, my coronavirus test did come back positive, but I've started hearing about a lot of false positives coming out of that hospital.  Either way I'm better, and Mama is taking it easy until she feels 100%.  Thanks for asking...I guess.  The comment section has been about as exciting as high school algebra class lately.  However, I know readers are still coming by and for that, I thank y'all.  This post is for you.  Before I got sick I ordered this five-pack of American Girl-sized clothes off of eBay.  I did this for two reasons:

A:  To test the quality
B:  One of the dresses is rainbow.

Everyone ought to love rainbows!  I don't care which way you swing sexually; everyone ought to love rainbows!  Anywho, let's take a closer look at these.  As I noted above there are five outfits, and they are all accompanied by at least one accessory.  Here's what the front of the box says, and my first surprise.  I didn't know the outfits would come in a box.

The back has smaller pictures and a brief description of the accessories. 

"Summer on the go has never been this fun!" the box proclaims, trippy capitalizing and all.  I wouldn't know how much fun summer on the go was, because my family used summer as a time to relax after a busy school year.  Oh sure, we had fun, but it was nice, relaxing fun, not extravagant vacations to Timbuktu and God knows where.  I admit that going to a beach would've been nice, but I can't swim and there's no beaches close to here anyway.  So let's start dressing my dolls up.

FIRST OUTFIT:  CASUAL SET

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  Your basic blue tank top and yellow and white capris.  Accessories are sunglasses, a pink milkshake, and a pair of cupcakes.  Notice that I didn't say shoes.

MODEL:  Sadie Gray-Fisher, an Our Generation doll 

HOW IT FITS HER:  Pretty good.  I was afraid the top would be too small, but I needn't have worried.

NITTY-GRITTIES:  I don't care much for those sunglasses.  They throw back too much glare and make Sadie look like my daddy's creep brother-in-law.  

Ah, much better!  This top isn't exactly as pictured; the pictures make it look like a spaghetti-strapped tank top, but in reality it's a halter top with the straps both joined at the center of the neckline.  By mistake I tied the straps too tight, and now the top rides up in front in an unflattering manner.

The whole bodice is ruched, and when it's off the doll it looks more Wellie Wisher-sized, but there's ample elastic here to allow for ample stretch.  Nice and comfy, in other words.  I'd have worn this at one point in my life.

Sadie's capris are made of soft knitted fabric that has a little stretch, though not as much as the top does.  From a distance these look all yellow, but they actually have wavy yellow and white stripes.  I wonder if they'll glow under my blue porch light?

The top and the capris don't match each other in any way, shape, or form.  If I'd been designing this outfit I'd have put some yellow motif on the blouse or finished the capris with blue thread, something to tie it all together.  But that's just me.

The accessories, two cupcakes and a milkshake, are glorified erasers.  They're made of that soft, slightly flexible rubber that novelty erasers are made of.  There's nothing wrong with using novelty erasers as doll props, but I'm surprised that a toy company would do this.  The molded swirls on the cupcake icing came out well, though. 

To my great surprise, all three of these items come apart in multiple places.  These accessories should thus be kept miles away from pets and small children.

On the plus side, the cake parts make passable doughnuts!  Sadie could even hold it if she wanted!

Just for the heckuvit, here's a close-up of the milkshake.  Looks like plain old vanilla for Sadie.

Oh well, plain old vanilla is wonderfully refreshing on a hot day.  I know from personal experience!

Oh yes, the glasses.  They have a cute shape and fit Sadie well, but they feel a little fragile, kinda like the plastic glasses that Zoe and Z wear.  Molly and Amanda wear the old metal type, the kind that takes a heavy hand to break.  So these glass feel fragile, and the lenses throw back a lot of glare, neither of which are good. Further, I wish these lenses were tinted, as tinted glasses would make sense for a summer-themed outfit.

Overall Sadie's outfit is okay.  Nothing fancy, just like the label says.  Next time I have her wear this I won't tie the top so tight.  And by the way, this outfit didn't come with shoes.  None of these outfits do.  For a casual outfit that's fine, but for a dressier outfit no shoes are a problem. 

SECOND OUTFIT:  PARTY DRESS SET

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  Short black dress with rainbow sequins.  Accessories are a necklace, an eyeshadow palette, and some lipstick.

MODEL:  Luciana Vega, Girl of the Year 2018

HOW IT FITS HER:  A little tight.  I had some trouble getting the Velcro to close, but luckily this dress has some give.

NITTY-GRITTIES:  I have my doubts about that makeup for Luciana the space lover, but then again, she does love to sparkle.  Just don't overdo it like I did, girlie.  Anyway, this dress is your basic little black dress with the addition of copious sequins that are painted in a Lisa Frank-esque leopard print.

I've already found one sequin on my bed, so I have my doubts about how well these are attached.  Add to that the fact that the underlying fabric is Lycra or Spandex or something of that stripe, and will thus snag if caught in Velcro.  Guess what this dress fastens with?  Yeah...that Velcro snagged Luciana's cute pink panties badly, so it might be best to remove your doll's skivvies before putting this dress on her.

Regarding the accessories, Luciana's necklace is the best accessory in this whole five-outfit set.  It's made out metal chain links and has a simple, versatile design.

Luciana's other accessories are more glorified erasers, but they're nicer than Sadie's.  She's got a blush compact and a thing of lipstick. 

Hmmm, lipstick already, Astro-Luci?  Are you hoping to kiss David Tennant?  LOL, the tube opens and has "real" lipstick inside (this item also comes apart in other places like the cupcakes do).

It's big enuff to be a believable too, though Luciana can't hold it up to her lips.  I have to do that. 

The rest of Luciana's makeup is supposed to be blush, but ye gods, who'd wear MINT blush???

Okay, I admit that I would've at one time, but for Luciana's sanity let's pretend that this is eyeshadow.  It even has a little brush that comes out.

It's not really a brush, of course!  As for shoes, I had to dip into my Etsy stash for these shoes.  Mama got them for me, as she often does.

Now, Luci, just because the Tenth Doctor wore Converse everywhere doesn't mean you have to!  LOL, anyway, I like how this outfit presents visually, and I much prefer these accessories to Sadie's, but I worry for the long-term structural integrity of that dress.  Pairing Velcro with thin, snaggy material and sequins seems like a bad idea.  I'll have to remember that when I use this dress again. 

THIRD OUTFIT:  HOLIDAY SET

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  Blue argyle dress with white faux-fur capelet.  Accessories are a hair bow, a necklace and bracelet, another tube of lipstick, and a little jewelry bag.

MODEL:  Zoe Barber, Just Like You #26

HOW IT FITS HER:  A little tight, just like Luciana's dress.  This one has much less stretch so fitting it onto Zoe was kind of a pain in the posterior. 

NITTY-GRITTIES:  Zoe loves to play dress-up, and this is...well, it's an original outfit!  I thought this print was argyle, but it's actually this lacy diamond pattern over blue sateen.  This gives the dress a nice sparkle, but also makes it easy to snag (this dress also has Velcro).

Poor Zoe.  Despite my best efforts her curls are starting to look pretty tormented.  I can probably fix this mess, but it would take more time than I've got now.  Anyway, Zoe's less-than-summery coverup is a faux-fur capelet, which I like even though it doesn't really jive with the rest of the outfit.  This too is closed with a small strip of Velcro.

I apologize for the poor quality of this next picture, but considering the quality of this necklace, I think the blurriness is fitting.  Luciana got a sturdy, versatile metal necklace,  and Zoe got this flimsy plastic piece of crap.

As easy as it is to find cheap metal chains and cheap heart pendants, this company could've made a better necklace.  The necklace is made even more glaring by Zoe's bracelet.  It's metal, and because it has two tiers it looks like two bracelets.  I'd have worn something like this once upon a time.  Heck, I still would!

All of my dolls with side parts wear hair bows or clips of some type (except for Luciana, go figure).  In Zoe's case this dress just happens to have a nice hair bow, made of cream-colored sateen glued to a small alligator clip.

Zoe's other accessories consist of one of those cheap gauzy bags that I use to hold doll jewelry, and another eraser tube of lipstick.

Zoe can "carry" this bag if I hang it over her bracelet.  Hey, whatever works. 

This outfit is the other one in this set that requires shoes, and I have another rhinestone pair.  They're not a perfect match, but they're close enuff.

Of the five outfits I received today, I like this one the least.  The fur wrap is out of place with the summer theme, and the necklace and purse are cheap.  As with the sequined dress, I also worry about how well this dress will age, though if I'm careful that shouldn't be an issue.  I should probably also note that both Zoe's dress and Luciana's are lined, which is good.  But for now I'm getting Zoe out of that chilly thing and tossing her into a new outfit that Mama got.

Ah, off to snowshoe, are you, Zoe?  Too bad most of the snow is gone now.

FOURTH OUTFIT:  BEACH SET

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  The aforementioned rainbow dress.  It's accompanied by sunglasses, a bag, and a headband.

MODEL:  Lark Anderson, customized Just Like You doll

HOW IT FITS HER:  Darn-near perfect.  This is a soft material with a fair amount of stretch, so putting it on was easy.

NITTY-GRITTIES:  This dress is so simple that I barely need to say anything.  It's a soft, brightly-colored tube with a slit on one leg and a neck that ties.  Perfect for the beach, in other words.  Like Sadie, Lark came with sunglasses, but her wig is so thick that there was no place for the earpieces.  So as with Sadie, I hung them on the front of Lark's dress.  The frames feel fragile, but the bright colors (pink and yellow) are better than Sadie's clear frames.  The dark lenses make sense too, especially with the beach theme.

Lark has so much hair that a headband like this is greatly appreciated.  It's made of the same fabric as the dress, with the addition of some elastic to make the fit more snug.

Lark's bag is a pink backpack-style bag with a flower on it.  It's big enuff to carry some small foodstuffs or a towel (or both), but right now she has none of those things.

I wore a backpack-style purse like this all over Fort Massac one fall.  It was handy knowing I had my purse but could still use both hands.  On the other hand, if one doesn't have a way to close a bag like this, then one is a prime target for pickpocketers.  I never fell victim to any thieves, but I kept a lookout just the same.  Hopefully Lark will too.  Right now this outfit is still my favorite due to its simplicity and bright colors, but I've still got one more set to discuss. 

FIFTH OUTFIT:  SWIM SET

BRIEF DESCRIPTION:  Pink swimsuit and matching cap with striped coverup dress.  This set includes a beach bag, sunglasses, and two different ice cream treats.

MODEL:  Kailey Hopkins, Girl of the Year 2003 (yep, that's Kailey under all that!)

HOW IT FITS HER:  Being a swim set, the actual swimsuit is tight, though not impossibly so.  The rest fits fine, though the bathing cap is tricky to put on.

NITTY-GRITTIES:  While Zoe and Luciana attend a fancy dress party and Sadie and Lark build sand castles, Kailey is hitting the water.  The colors of this set are more like something Maryellen might wear, but that matters naught to Kailey.  What matters most to her (me, LOL) is the unfinished bottom hem of the coverup. 

That could potentially become a problem in the wrong hands, but if I'm careful it shouldn't be an issue.  The swimsuit itself is stretchy bubblegum pink fabric with a halter tie at the neck.  The fabric has an acid wash pattern on it...

...and I think the bathing cap is supposed to match, but it looks more tie-dyed.

I was able to cram all of Kailey's hair under there, by the way.  I usually can't get that done, and I wouldn't have attempted it with a doll with a ton of hair, like Lark.  Kailey also comes with white plastic sunglasses that give her a bit of an Elton John vibe.  These actually do fit over her ears (remember that Lark's couldn't).

Kailey has a large white bag with pink rope handles.  It too is big enuff to hold food or sandals or a change of clothes, and like Lark's bag there's no way to fasten it closed.

Unlike Lark, Kailey does have some food to carry in her bag, though both items are ice cream and would make a tremendous mess.  Oh, and these are more glorified erasers that can come apart in places.

I've gotta admit that that swimsuit is a cute one!  Swimsuits are always dodgy clothing items for American Girls, but this one covers Kailey's whole body.  However, for me the rainbow dress is still the winner for me.  A few accessories in that bag and Lark is good to go.  The blue party dress is the loser, mainly for the accessories, not for the dress itself.  If Zoe replaces her cape with a gauzy wrap and loses that tacky necklace altogether then she'll be good to go...and that may very well be what I do.  Overall these outfits are average to good, not as good as brand-name AG crap, but better than some other mail-order outfits.  The fabrics do require a somewhat gentle hand when being put on a doll, and keep those accessories away from small children and pets, lest they become choking hazards.  Otherwise they're a nice way to fill out a doll's wardrobe.  Just make sure you provide your own shoes.

I obtained this set on eBay from collar-stay for $22.95.  Sheesh, that's what ONE brand-name outfit costs!

Much love,
RagingMoon1987 

It finally happened!

I tested positive for coronavirus, ladies and germs!  Thank God I got the shot or I might be sicker.  As it is I've got a low fever, a slight cough, and general malaise.  I'm officially on quarantine for five days, so that means no work for five days...meaning that I'm gonna miss a whole friggin' week.  So I'm laying low and keeping myself hydrated and occupied.  When I get bursts of energy I sweep or piddle with my dolls or what have you.  And it just so happens that I have someone new.  Meet Justin Latowski, my newest My Twinn, and the older brother of Doremi and Camille.

Some of y'all may or may not remember that I'm a Moody Blues fan, and this doll's eBay seller had this doll labeled as a Justin Hayward lookalike.  The eBay seller says that this doll originally had stubby black eyelashes and an unflattering wig, so she changed them both.  The eyes are original; the seller calls them "ice blue," and I think the My Twinn catalogs numbered them "A05" or "A10."

For the record, Justin Hayward does have blue eyes, but his eyes are a lot darker than my doll's eyes are.  My Twinn did have dark blue eyes, but none of my dolls have them...yet.  Anyway, my little Justin is a new face in my collection in more ways than one.  My other three Twinns all have the Ariel head (My Twinn's name for this head was "Judy")...

...but Justin does not.  According to the seller Justin has an Allison head, but his eyes are awfully big (and wonky).

I thought the Allison head had squintier eyes than this, but the smile is right.  And now that I look close, one of the eye sockets is squinted more than the other.  Only the Allison head has that.  One thing's for sure:  Justin is no Ariel!  He's also pretty orange compared to Salome.

Researching My Twinn head molds can get a little infuriating since the heads have both a collector's name and a name that My Twinn stamped on the heads.  The Ariel head is the worst of these since it has so many variants, but the name I see stamped on their scalps is almost always "Judy," so there's that out of the way.  The Allison mold is not without its own confusion, as it is marked "HE," for "Helen."  If I were to take Justin's hair of y'all could see that...but Justin isn't too keen to be scalped.

"NO, I'M NOT!!!  I've already had one wig pulled off!"

Ease up, buddy, I won't take the wig off.  Regardless, My Twinn calls this head "Helen" and the collectors call it "Allison."  The problem lies in the head that the collectors call "Helen" (My Twinn calls that one "Tina").  Luckily, Allison/Helen is easy to distinguish from Helen/Tina, as the latter is square-shaped and has teeny-weeny eyes.  I'm not a huge fan of the Helen/Tina head, by the way.  It makes a cute doll when painted right, but the head is too angular for my taste.  The name "Allison" is also My Twinn's name for the Kelsey head, but Kelsey is pretty rare so that shouldn't be a problem.  LOL, like cats, the naming of dolls is a difficult matter!

Regarding other nitty-gritties, Justin's tag says "2002," meaning that he dates from the very end of the Denver era...I think.  Don't quote me on that.  Anyway, Justin's joints hold a pose and do not squeak, and the cloth on his body has very little damage.  His ankles hold a pose, though I'd expected that since he's not a white-body Twinn.  White-body Twinns have elastic ankles that loosen up with time, and while the loose ankles can be fixed it requires more doll dissecting than I'm willing to do.  I have a rudimentary personality hashed out, but I'm still working on that bit.

So that's my new dolly doppelganger, to keep me company while I hack my lungs up.  LOL, just kidding!  I actually am not as sick as some of my friends and family have been, so that's good.  I'm just going to self-quarantine like a good girl, with my animals and my dolls for company.  Thank God I took the shot, or this could've been bad.

Much love and health to all,
RagingMoon1987 

Throwback Thursday review: Teeny Tiny Tumbles Surprise

Happy New Year, ladies and germs!  Granted the new year is already a week old, but oh well.  I owe a debt of gratitude to Treesa for alerting me to this line of simple, cute dolls.  Teeny Tiny Tumbles Surprise dolls are little dolls that...well, tumble!  They're easy to find in lots or singly on eBay, so that's what I did.

These remind me a little of Finger Dings with their big heads and floppy legs (one of Tam's Dings is a member of the Monkees, LOL).  Unlike the Finger Dings Teeny Tiny Tumbles Surprise are not finger puppets, but like the Finger Dings their gimmick is very simple and kid-friendly:  they tumble, no batteries required.  Sorry, Jordyn.

Sorry, kiddo, but you're kinda hard to play with without batteries!  Anyway, Toy Biz made these during the nineties, and they definitely have what I like to call the "90's cheap toy" look.  I don't mean that to hate on cheap 90's toys, by the way, as a lot of cheap 90's toys were ah-maz-ing.  I was obsessed with Magic Trolls and Li'l Secrets back then, for example.  The expressions on the Tumbles vary a fair amount, with my two looking a little like my Licca-chan dolls.

The fun thing about these "90's cheap toys" is that they actually offered a lot of bang for their buck.  Magic Trolls came with a dissolving pouch that had little goodies inside, while Li'l Secrets concealed similar bags of novelties in their hair.  The Tumbles tumbled, as I mentioned twice above, and while that may not sound as exciting as the surprise items, it probably kept many a child occupied on a slow morning when it was raining outside, Mom was at work, Dad was sleeping in, Muppet Babies and Tom and Jerry Kids were reruns.  Yeah, I speak from personal experience, LOL.  Now let's get this show on the road.  The Tumbles are small dolls, close to a mini-AG doll in height.  I also threw in Camilla and a random Chelsea doll into the mix.  Camilla is closest to the Tumbles in size, but her measurements are quite different.  Marie-Grace and Chelsea are quite obviously bigger.

These dolls can have a number of hair colors (Tam's doll is a little redhead), but as is often the case with me I got two little blondes.

Hey, if Roger Daltrey and Justin Hayward can rock blonde hair, then so can my dolls.  LOL, while hair color varied among these dolls, style did not...not much.  They all have two high-slung little pigtails, and it turns out that there's a good reason for that.  There's actually a larger version of this doll, and she has little pigtails!  The pigtails are rooted and the rest of the hair is painted, meaning that the larger Tumbles can only have one hairstyle.  So it would make sense that the small dolls would all have pigtails too.  There's a little bit of variation in placement, though; Lavender's pigtails are on the sides of her head, while Pinkie's pigtails are pushed back a little.

Both of them have molded, painted hairbands that "hold" their pigtails in place.  Interestingly, Pinkie's bands are (mostly) painted to match her onesie...

...but Lavender's are not.  They're blue.

Tam noted that since these dolls tumble and thus spend a lot of time on their heads, the paint on their heads is usually scuffed.  My two lucked out, as their paint is pretty decent, albeit a little groady in places.

Both dolls have molded bangs up front, but the paint doesn't cover Pinkie's bangs very well.  The molded hair looks a little strange as a result.

Though the hairstyles on these dolls did not vary much, the faces did.  As I noted above, my two dolls look quite a bit like my Licca Castle dolls, with one caught in a giggle and the other no less happy but a little more sedate.

As far as I can tell there's no molded features in these eye wells, meaning that either of these dolls could've had eyes open or shut.  There are also a few winking Tumbles out there, so that was also an option.  Both of my dolls have light brown, almost yellow eyebrows that would match either red or blonde hair nicely, and Lavender has big teal eyes with three little lashes per eye and some shadowing along the eyelid.

Eye position can vary on these dolls, but Lavender's are centered.  Pinkie's eye paint appears to be a little faded out, and it was already minimalist to begin with, just two lines for eyebrows and two lines for eyes.

Except for shape, the mouths and cheeks of these dolls are pretty much the same.  The paint on the lips is bright pink and looks a hair ridiculous, while the cheeks look a teeny bit more natural.  I thought that Pinkie might have a scuff on her left cheek, but that turned out to be just some more crud that washed off easily. 

Some of these open mouths have painted teeth, but Pinkie doesn't have that.

There's no variation or shading in the pink like there was inside Sachiko's mouth, but Pinkie makes up for that by having a molded tongue.

The heads are tied on with those plastic ties that now hold American Girl heads in place, and the ties are cinched super-tight so Pinkie and Lavender can't turn their heads.  The ties are concealed nicely by the fabric on the dolls' bodies, but the outline is visible. 

These dolls don't really have any joints to speak of, now that I think of it.  Their arms and legs are loosely attached so that they flop, but that's about it.  The bodies are stuffed and are sewn out of this slightly shiny knitted fabric.

Such a fabric can snag if put in the wrong environment, but my dolls are fine.  The colored fabric creates the illusion of the doll wearing a full bodysuit or a onesie, but the only decorations are these ribbons at the dolls' throats.

They're your standard sateen bows, a pink one for Lavender and a yellow one for Pinkie.  The rest of the body is plain, with only a few stitched gussets for hip and shoulder joints, some shaping at the feet, and felt hands.

I would've assumed that this felt would tear off easily, but I pulled pretty hard and they didn't budge.  I guess that if some destructive little brat was flat-out determined to tear these dolls apart they could, but I couldn't.  Anyway, these limbs don't hold a pose of any sort.  They're designed to flop as the doll tumbles, and they do that very well.  Indeed, it is tough to get decent pictures of these two, as they don't want to sit up!  On the other hand, they stand on their heads nicely.

Very simple, very cute, not much to these dolls.  Their gimmick is simple and kid-friendly, and they would've made good stocking stuffers back during the nineties.  I'm not sure how well they'd hold up now since more kids are destructive little sh!ts, but they make good props for the larger dolls if nothing else.  I also like their attached onesies that can double as snowsuits on a snowy day like today!  Yep, tornadoes in December, springlike weather on New Year's Day, snow today.  When I left the house to come to work Pinkie and Lavender were cuddled up with Courtney's stuffed animals, and that's how I plan for them to stay.  

Stay warm,
RagingMoon1987