Bratz Infestation

I didn't like them ten years ago when they first debuted, and I can't say I like them any better now, so why do I have so many? Though Bratz are a tiny fraction of my fashion doll collection, there are still to many considering my dislike of them. I bought one maybe eight years ago out of curiosity. I kind of liked their brassiness, but the out of proportion bodies and amputee feet were just too odd for me to take seriously. They did however, have some really cool accessories and playsets which I loved! I am still kicking myself for not buying the sushi bar when it was still available at a reasonable price. I did get the coffee bar and phone booth for my "real" fashion dolls, but the phone booth is a bit too short for the 11 - 12 inch gang to fit, so they just pose around it.

I still have no answer as to why no fewer than a dozen of these girls have taken up residence here. My best guess is because they were cheap! All of the dolls pictured were purchased for less than $10 and all were purchased in the last 6 months. I bought them for either their accessories, or because I want to steal their clothes for my Monster High dolls.

So how do you feel about Bratz? Do you like them? If you are like me and don't; do you have any? How many and why?

What happened to Esme?

Esme is/was Tyler Wentworth's African American friend, but I am starting to wonder what happened to her! Granted, I am not an avid collector of 16" fashion dolls, since they require too much room to display - way more than 11-12" Barbie types. A few of them however, have found their way to my house. I purchased my first Esme about 9 years ago and she was a lovely brown-eyed beauty with a chocolate complexion. Although she was quite pretty, she had limited posability - her knees would bend, but not her elbows or wrists. I wanted one with more articulation, but kept putting off the purchase in favor of other dolls.

A couple of weeks ago, Tonner Doll Co. had an incredible sale and I thought it time I bought an articulated Esme - this one had wigs too - woo-hoo! Upon her arrival, I opened the box with great anticipation, but was soon taken aback! I had to check the packing slip as will as the box label to make sure I had ordered the right doll! Gone were the pretty brown eyes, and in their place were grey ones! Even more perplexing was the skin tone - now a medium tan, instead of chocolate brown. What happened? Don't get me wrong, the doll is still quite pretty, but she looks nothing like her "old" self. In fact, it looks to me like the face mold is even different.

I have attempted to blacken her up a bit by allowing her to wear the Moxie Teenz afro wig. I think it looks great on her, but she looks biracial at best. What do you think?

I Need a Name!

This diorama is a work in progress. Eventually, I hope to showcase my original fashions for Barbie, Silkstone, and Integrity/Fashion Royalty, Liv, Moxie Teenz, Monster High, and other fashion dolls.

Right now, it is just stocked with random pieces to make it look like the girls are shopping. The challenge I am now faced with is an appropriate name for the boutique.


Since my name is Denyse and I am known online as Squarepeg78, I considered naming the boutique "D Squared" but I believe there are fashion designers for humans (twins) who go by that name. I don't want to be accused of copyright infringement, so I am asking for your help. Please leave a comment with your suggestion. When enough suggestions have been received, I will set up a poll. There will be a prize (don't quit your job) for the person who submits the winning name - fashion doll related.

UPDATE: What I meant by the previous sentence was that the prize would be "fashion doll related". The name of the boutique doesn't necessarily have to be. I really want the name to reflect quirky haute couture, with a chic, Bohemian twist - if there is such a thing. Also, I am revising the "fashion doll related" prize since some of you are out of the country and shipping may make sending the prize a bit costly. Soooo....the person who submits the winning name, will receive an Amazon gift card instead. Now keep those suggestions coming......please!

The Beauty of Scars......

As I was out and about today, I saw a woman whose face and upper body had been badly burned. The scars on her face could not be hidden by any amount of makeup, but the scars on her chest and shoulder could have been easily covered by clothing had she chosen to do so. However, it was a warm, Indian summer day and like myself, she chose to wear something to keep her cool - a tank top. I could not help but stare in awe at this woman. Not because she was scarred, but because I thought she was beautiful! You see, what made me notice her was her laugh. I was not privy to the conversation between her and her companion, but her laugh reverberated throughout the building. It was a hearty, unrestrained, and contagious laugh at that.

I marveled at her ability to laugh like that when she had obviously endured so much pain. It then occurred to me how truly beautiful scars can be. Scars don't form on dead flesh, so if you have a scar, it means that you survived whatever it was that caused it - that's beauty!

Avon Rose Splendor Barbie

When I first saw online pictures of this doll, I thought she was gorgeous! In the picture, the doll looked dark - almost espresso color and I was excited! I love dolls with really dark complexions, so I immediately emailed my daughter at work. She has a coworker who is an Avon rep, and I wanted to make sure I got one! The doll was ordered and I received her last week.

I was a bit disappointed because the doll is not nearly as dark as I had hoped. I'm thinking the other photographer had the same issue I did - not wanting to debox the doll for the photo. She had a plastic covering (removable) that I removed for the photo, but because she was still essentially in a box, the light did not surround and project a true color representation. She does have the Mbili face sculpt which I love, and her dress is more peachy than pink (another good thing). Oh, and she does have the model muse body.

All in all, she is a pretty doll, but had I seen her in person, I doubt I would have paid $40 for her.

Generation of Dreams Barbie

This doll is such an anomaly for me. I don't usually purchase duplicate dolls, but I have triplets of this girl - and today I decide that I don't even like her that much! I was drawn to her because of her dark skin tone and model muse body - I still like those things about her, but I think they distracted me from something much more important. SHE HAS TEETH!

Did I ever mention that I do not like dolls with teeth? Well, I don't. If a doll is otherwise beautiful or fierce, I can turn a blind eye to a bit of white between the lips, but I prefer my dolls with closed mouths. If they must smile, let it be like Mona Lisa.

But I digress. I bought the first of these dolls around this time last year as a Christmas gift for my daughter. Months later, I find her at Big Lots, only with a lovely cloisonne pendant! The doll was priced at less than half of what I paid for my daughter's doll, plus I wanted that pendant, so I purchased the second. The third dolls was purchased simply because I was giddy! During the Barbie Dream sale, she was marked down to a song and a dance. Since I love the model muse bodies for modeling my one of a kind fashions, and she was almost espresso in color, I could not pass up the opportunity to buy yet another.

So......since I now owned 2, I could de-box guilt free - which is what I did this morning. The first thing I noticed after liberating her was those Gawd awful pink lips! I have nothing against pink lips in general, but against a dark skin tone........its just icky! To add insult to injury, there was way too much white in between those pink lips!

Before tossing her into the heap of other "I-don't-want-to-be-bothered-with" dolls, I considered that maybe if she wasn't wearing the pouffy ball gown, I might like her better. I grabbed an outfit from my boutique diorama (still under construction) to see if she looked better more casually dressed. I don't know if she looks better or not! All I can see is pink lips and big ole teeth!

What do you think?

What's the Big Freakin' Deal?

For several weeks many of the fashion doll forums have been abuzz with folks tittering about Bratz' comeback. Many were excited about the dolls returning to their favorite toy aisle, but most were disappointed once they purchased the dolls. Complaints of everything from bad hair, horrific make-up, and boring fashions are more than plentiful. By contrast, there are some (mostly kids) who love them!

I confess that I am not a Bratz collector, or even a fan. A few of them have snuck (sneaked?) into my house over the years, but I took the stance of; "maybe if I ignore them, they'll go away." They didn't!

But any ole way, the past few days have been particularly stressful , and usually when I am stressed, i go trolling for sex ....oops, I meant dolls (really I did!) So I am at Target today strolling through the toy aisles (I told you it was dolls I was trolling for!), looking for nothing in particular. I suddenly see the dolls that are the subject of so much yammering. Supposedly 10-10-10 was the release date of 10 new characters, but Target only had 3. Lydia caught my eye, but she looked just like a Sasha who had been back-handed in the mouth! Sure, all Bratz have bee-stung lips, but this one looked like ....well just look at the freakin' picture! I saw nothing particularly wrong with her make-up, but what is up with the knee length hair? If she ever does get any attention from me, it will be with scissors in hand.

In conclusion, the new Bratz don't move or excite me any more than the old ones did. I really wish I could like them - the $10 I paid for her was a pretty cheap doll fix, except this one came without the new-doll high.........