Mood:
celebratoryNow Playing: "Shrek" - again, At least it's not 'Stuart Little'...
Got to do a bit of 'me' shopping today. I'm still trying to find shoes that fit Aylene, a Susie doll, so I gave closer attention to some Fashion Fever sets from Mattel. I do have to say it, Mattel's doing clothes in the FF line pretty well. Shirts and skirts are available for just a buck, dresses (without shoes and accessories) for $2., and more pulled together ensembles for $5. and sets of coordinates for $10. There's a nice variety - princess gowns are still out there, but so are cute skirts and tops. Many have a sort of almost-too-short kind of vibe going on, but at least it's not out-and-out (coughBratz) ho-wear.
Some of the other lines, like My Scene, do feature clothes that, frankly, I wouldn't put on my dolls because I don't have slutty ones. Yeah, I still think of 'Bling Bling' when I think of Barbie ho-wear, hope you don't mind. That 'scarf + elastic = blouse' formula really barked my shins. But if you're looking for something new, check out the Fashion Fever stuff. I was pleasantly surprised. Some are 'punk/disco' glam, with lots of glitter and silver, others are soft pastels, others are bold colors of wardrobe basics. Lots of variety, and that's always a treat to see.
I bought this set, called the Sweet Fashion Set (turquoise), mostly for the shoes. Aylene's feet are flat, but they can be angled, so if a doll shoe's kinda flat inside, I can use it. Or if it's really flexible. As it turned out, Aylene could wear all three pairs that came with it ! While the image linked above shows blue sandals, mine were brown. Here, she's wearing the pink pair of shoes...completely unsupported. Yup. She's not leaning on anything, braced against anything, or propped up. She's actually standing, unassisted, in these Barbie shoes.
The set itself is quite nice. There's some bobbles - seams that don't quite match, stripes that aren't straight, loose threads, raw edges - that make me think the quality issues are still alive and well. But the one 'disco' blouse is fully lined, and the 'bubble' skirt shown here is very well made, so I'm not sure. Also a purse pictured on the backs of several sets isn't in any of 'em, which is always kinda fun to see.
Blouses and dresses fit Aylene quite well, but pants seem a bit short in the crotch and big in the waist on her. Well, maybe the pants are supposed to be 'low riders'. Skirts tend to ride low on her hips. Nothing I can't fix with an extra bit of Velcro, so clothes can fit both doll styles, but I thought you should know. Hmm. I really should try some of this stuff on a standard-body Barbie, too. I never did satisfy that 'does it fit older dolls or not ?' question, did I ?
Anyway. The set's well worth the $10. it retails for at Mal-Wart, the clothes are nice and well-made for the most part. Tacky plastic purses can always be ditched or donated...but it's often the shoes which sell a set or not. And that's kind of where I don't know whether to roll my eyes or praise Mattel.
While most of the FF sets come with spike-heel boots, at least two come with lower, more casual shoes. I'll probably buy the other set later this week. I'm so enthused that other dolls can wear Barbie shoes that I wonder if it's part of their marketing plan. I even looked at FF doll feet - they're not like the rather sharp-angled Barbie feet I'm familiar with. But they're not the undefined flippers that Skipper has, either. There's some definition, it's just not as...demanding ? as before.
So, I'm wondering. Did Mattel look at the competition in sixth-scale and work with it, instead of against it like they usually do ? I mean, sure, what if Mrs. Gaidley only buys Fashion Royalty dolls ? If she finds out that some cute new styles of Barbie shoes can fit her dolls, there's a good chance she'll buy some doll clothes to get 'em ! They don't get the doll sale - but at least they sold clothes. And maybe Mrs. G hasn't been in the Pink Aisle in a while. Who knows what she might find if she's there to pick out $5. worth of shoes for her $159. doll ?
Or it could be just luck. Since I'm not into FR dolls, I honestly don't know if they fit these new shoes or not. And we won't get into my thoughts on those Sybarite dolls - heck, I don't even know what scale they are, they put me off so much ! I just don't know whether or not to claim Mattel's genius is coming back, or if it's a fluke.
What I do know is this - I'm looking to spend $20. in Mattel doll clothes. In one week. This is unprecedented. Even when I was in the earliest of my doll years. I'd rather yard-sale or make stuff, even then. And yeah, I didn't really buy the clothes, I bought the shoes that happened to come with clothes. But it's more than I've spent with Mattel in three years. Total. So I really want to credit them with greatness.
And Aylene looks sooo darn cute !
