Let The Games Begin

I just got back from vacation in Charleston.  With my mother's illness and getting behind in school, I've neglected to finish unpacking from my move after our marriage last June.   There are doll boxes, bodies, clothing, etc., etc.  

I have been very good about keeping my doll numbers manageable this year.   So far, more dolls have left then have come in.  I know that is about to change with the shipping of the new Integrity girls.   (Woe is me!)

One of my projects this summer is to organize my collection.   I decided to start with my "playline" dolls.   They consist of my Mattel dolls. 

The first doll is my only Barbie I still have from my childhood.  I had three sisters, so all of our dolls got "pooled" together and wound up in different places and experiences.  One of my sisters decided she was going to become a hairdresser and cut off most of our dolls' hair.  I can remember Momma meeting us as we got off the bus one afternoon with, "Don't get upset, but Wendy ..."  My favorite of the Barbies was Malibu, and I somehow managed to hide her from my sisters and keep her in the condition you see below. 

After I grew up, finished college, got married, started a career ... I found my way back to Barbie.  This was in the 1990's when everything started being overproduced.  I purchased a number of "collector" editions and jumped on the Silkstone bandwagon the very first year.   In 2005, I found the following Playline Doll.   She is a Fashion Fever Makeup Chic AA doll.

For some reason this doll reminds me of Brook Burke.   So, naturally her name is Brooke.  When the fashionista articulated dolls came out, she was put on a new body.

I went to doll shows regulary because I was collecting Vogue Ginny dolls from the 1960s and antique dolls.  Other than the Silkstone and Fashion Royalty dolls, I didn't have very many playline girls.  When I was leaving a doll show, I saw a seller who had a group of the Model of The Moment Marissa dolls.  They were $5.  I decided to buy one for the outfit.  When I got home, I started playing around and decided to try this girl on an articulated body.  What a difference.  That's when "Lara" was born.

I really do enjoy Lara.  She is casual and fun.  My best doll friend has adopted one as well, since seeing mine on the articulated body.  Lara became my "travel companion".   She went with me to my next show.   At this show, I found a vintage doll that needed some love.  I forget which doll she is, but she had received a haircut and been placed on a twist n turn body.  She looked like she needed to be loved and be in someone's collection.

She is wearing Caribbean Cruise.  I named her Diane after my closest cousin.  Diane was older than me and introduced me to Barbies.  I used to go to her house and we would play Barbies for hours.  So, I now have a Diane in my collection.

A couple years ago, Barbie released their "Basics" line in the black dresses.  I was really impressed with these dolls, but it wasn't until they came out with the 1.5 girls exclusive to Target that I caved!  Here is my very favorite "playline doll", Chaundra. 

Chaundra is the mascot around here.   She keeps the other girls in line.  She gets to this since she has more attitude than all the other girls combined.   The biggest mistake I made when I got Chaundra was that I wanted a body with a perfect match.  Integrity was having a massive sale on their Dynamite Girls, so I ordered a few to use as body donors.   Chaundra is using a Dayle body.   The search for Chaundra's body led me to collecting DG's, which will be focus of a future blog.

When I started experimenting with heads and different bodies, it didn't take me long to find that some Mattel heads actually looked good on FR bodies.  Here is Nikki on a Josephine Baker body.  I love her like this.  I've been asked by several collector friends how I "tamed" her hair.  All I did was slowly push the rubber band backwards until it was where I wanted it.  Voila!  No trick! 

I fell in love with all of the Barbie Basic 2.0 jeans girls.  However, only three have made it into permanent spots in my collection.  They all have received articulation.   The first is Carli.  Carli is my socialite and bain of Chaundra's existence.  The mere sound of Carli's name and Chaundra grimaces.

The most popular doll from this collection was the Louboutin mold #14.  She is called Anjila in my house.  She is on a DG body also.  Her skintone is hard to match.

And the final playline doll currently in my collection is Chaundra's best friend.  Her name is Arizona.

So, there is a grand total of 9 playline dolls in my "permanent" collection.   They have names and personalties. There are a few "visitors" but these are staying.

Therapeutic Shopping ...

I have been really bummed recently.  So has my best doll friend.  We had originally intended to go the Fashion Royalty Convention this year.  It would have been the first time for both of us.

Unfortunately, the experts at Integrity Toys didn't take into consideration that Monday, October 10 was Columbus Day (nor did they consider that Saturday October 8 was Yom Kippur).   I teach school and our system has a rule:  If you take the day off before or after a holiday, you do not get paid for the holiday or the day you take off.   You must take the days without pay.  It's a terrible rule.  BUT ... had I gone to Convention, I would have lost three whole days' pay ... over $450 in addition to the $350 registration, $250 plane cost, $400+ hotel expenses, $900+ dollie expenses.  Add to this the fact that you don't even know what the dolls look like and that "pig in a poke" gets pretty darned expensive.

So, we passed.  Then everyone on the WClub starts celebrating all of the news about the convention.  I am very happy for them.  But it really depressed me.  What can I say, I guess I am a pretty selfish doll collector.

Today I went with my husband to the Chiropractor.  He asked if there were anywhere I wanted to stop on the the way home.  Naturally, I felt that a little therapeutic shopping was called for!  I asked if we could stop at Tuesday Morning.   I had seen the "Discover the World Barbie Fashions" on the doll boards recently.  I hoped to find some.

They had one that really interested me.  It was from Turkey and was all of $2.99.  (I also found a Hestia doll at Tuesday Morning but she and her outfit will be the subject of a different blog.)    So, I decided that I needed a new character in my collection.  The daughter of a wealthy Turkish importer.  

It is a lovely yellow chiffon outfit.  It has harem pants gathered at the ankles and a waist embellishment.  The long coat has puffed sleeves and a band of gold embroidery down the front.  It is fastened with a gold button.  The veil is very long and hangs from the headband with a huge jewel.  The outfit did not have any jewelry or shoes; however, it came with a little travel book with A LOT of details about Turkey.  It seems there are 20 or so of these packets produced.  They were done in 2002 and sold in England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.   I don't understand why these weren't available in the U.S.  Do the little girls in the U.S. not appreciate Social Studies?  They also had one from California, Greece, and Canada.  I only purchased the one from Turkey.

So ... who is this mysterious girl?

Now that I had a really cool outfit and character in mind, I needed a doll.   I stopped at Toys R Us and found the So In Style Grace for less than $5.  I got her home and put her on a Dynamite Girls body.  So ... the Turkish heiress quickly changes clothes to conceal her true identity and do some exploring in America. 

We'll see where her adventures take her and maybe find out her name in a future blog.