Cool Blue, Perfect Pink, Purple Panic and Extreme Green

      One of the changes Mattel made to Barbie in the late 90s was a new face and a new body. This line of dolls showcases those features and, for some reason, I really, really like this line! I don't know exactly why since they are very simple dolls, but they are just so cute!
      There is no set name for this line as each doll as their own name, but they all tie together with corduroy overalls, hightop sneakers and backpacks. 
      First, there's Barbie with her new, non-smiley face. She has pale blonde hair with bangs. Surprisingly, her color is not pink. She's Cool Blue Barbie and her outfit is blue as is her nail polish. 
       The color pink is given to Teresa, who is the only doll in the line to not have a hat. She also doesn't have a bib on her overalls. She is Perfect Pink Teresa. 
       Barbie's teen sister, Skipper, is also in the line (more about her in another blog). She has pale blonde hair and unlike the other dolls, she has her normal body with unbendable arms. She is Extreme Green Teen Skipper.
       In my opinion, the loveliest doll in this line is Christie. She has her hair pulled up in a high ponytail and is wearing a overall skirt. She is Purple Panic Christie. 
       Each doll has nails which match their outfits. They also have a silver bracelet, ring and a painted on thumb ring. All of the dolls except Skipper are the slim, smaller body types with jointed arms and legs with flat feet. 

Cool Blue Barbie

Barbie's blue nails. Her thumb ring is fading.

Cool Blue Barbie's backpack

Perfect Pink Teresa - you can see her brown sneaker peeking out

Teresa's pale pink nails

Teresa's backpack

Extreme Green Teen Skipper

Skipper's green nail polish

Skipper's backpack

Purple Panic Christie

Christie's purple nails - her thumb ring is fading

Christie's backpack

     While the second Wheelchair Becky is not officially part of the line, the dolls are included on her box, so I've included her in this line as well. I really like this doll better than the first one because she's more real life than the Share-A-Smile version. This Becky is the school photographer and comes with a yearbook, which is a fabulous accessory in itself. It is accordion style and looks how you'd think a school yearbook should look. She also has a camera around her neck, a pair of sunglasses and a brown satchel which hangs off the back of her wheelchair. 

     Luckily, Mattel put out fashions and shoes for dolls with flat feet, so Becky doesn't have to just wear what she came with. I found a fashion pack (at least I think it was fashion pack) with five fashions and matching shoes, which I've given to Becky.

Becky with her yearbook

Front shot of Becky in her wheelchair

Becky's wheelchair

Back of Becky's wheelchair with her satchel

First pages of Becky's yearbook - she has a lot of friends who signed it!

Second pages - faculty and students

Last pages - still more friends who signed it!

The fashions I found for Becky

Jam n Glam!

     In 2000, Mattel created a Barbie with a flexible waist called Jewel Girl Barbie (more on her in another post). The feature was called the Ever-Flex waist. They released more dolls with this feature in subsequent years, one of which is the Jam n Glam series. 
     Now, I don't believe I've mentioned this in previous posts, but I love dolls with a music theme, like Barbie and the Rockers, Barbie and the Beat, Barbie and the Sensations, Jem, etc, so when this line was released, I was thrilled! 
     First, they are a girl group, which I love. Second, they each had different outfits, but were also tied together in a theme. Third (and best), they had twist and turn hair! I hadn't seen this feature in quite some time and it was awesome!
     The twist and turn hair was blonde/purple on Barbie, black/blue on Christie and brown/pink on Teresa. With one twist of their scalps (which sounds creepy when I put it that way), you can go from daytime to rockin' out in the night!
     The outfits were also cool. They each had halter tops, which could be worn "upside down" or reversible for a daytime/nighttime look. Their faux fur "coats" were actually shrugs with removable sleeves. All together, you had numerous ways to change their looks. Here they are with just the top and pants/skirt.
      

Barbie

Christie

Teresa - I had her hair in pigtails

     Add the fur jacket and sunglasses for a glamorous look.

Barbie

Christie - I pulled her hair back in a ponytail

Teresa

     Then, twist their scalps (I know, creepy), add the microphone headsets, reverse the tops and remove the sleeves from the jackets for the big concert! Jam, baby, jam!

Barbie

Christie

Teresa

    One of the things I also loved about this series, each girl came with three different colored hair extensions, a CD case with two CDs, a "signed" poster and two magazines (at least, that's what I think they are). Notice how the colored part matches the doll's hair color!

Barbie's insert

Christie's insert

Teresa's insert

     While this series did not come with any additional outfits (insert sad face here), it at least had an awesome playset, which also transformed into a daytime/nighttime theme. I present to you, the Jam n Glam Tour Bus!

Jam n Glam Tour Bus

The club - It has a upper dance floor behind the disco ball

The bedroom area

The vanity

The speakers fold down to store the little accessories

The accessories - munchies, sodas, hangers, passes for the club, two guitars, vanity items

    All in all, I thought this was a very fun doll line. It was colorful, shiny and the tour bus club is one of my favorite playsets. Keep on Jammin while you're Glamming!

      

Faraway Forest Collection - The Water Sprite

     I was finally able to get the next doll in the Faraway Forest collection and boy, is she a beaut! The outside box is white, just as The Lady of the White Woods had and the back has a description on it. 

     "The Magical Lagoon is a fortnight's journey from the Elf Village as the crow flies. As our intrepid elf guide traverses through meadows, mountains and the foreboding Dark Forest, the winding path finally yields to a resplendent blue lagoon. It's a destination that often delights our guide. From the lush foliage that surrounds the lagoon to the sunlight glinting off the azure pool, it's the gleaming gem of the Faraway Forest. 

As is customary when visiting this distant land, our lovely elf princess sits by the water's edge and waits patiently. She's careful not to gaze into the water, for seeing her own beautiful reflection may cross she who enchants these waters: The Faraway Forest Sprite. Slowly, she emerges from the lagoon, her luminous skin the hue of the sea. She is a radiant beauty, protector and friend to the creatures that reside in and around her aqueous realm."

      I love the little story on the back and how it gives little clues as to who these dolls are. I hope to read all of the story when the line is over. I'll be sad to see it go, but will be glad to have the whole set. 

      The doll itself is gorgeous! She has light blue skin, long shimmery blue hair and a GORGEOUS dress! The skirt of the dress has a scale-like pattern with two shimmery blue ruffles on the side. Her jewelry consists of two bracelets with fins, an iridescent necklace which goes from purple to blue and a crown made of shells. Her shoes are see through booties. She also comes with a trident as her weapon in case she needs to defend her lagoon. 

Water Sprite

Close up of her shoes

I have yet to take these dolls out of their boxes as I don't have a good place to display them. I can't wait to do so though! I have loved all of the dolls in this series so far and cannot wait to see what comes next!

Halloween Barbie 2016

     It's getting to be that time of year again! My favorite time of year! Halloween! And with that, comes the Halloween Barbie dolls! In the past, this has meant two Barbie dolls and anywhere from three to six Kelly/Chelsea dolls. Unfortunately, this year, it looks like there will be only one Barbie doll! 
     I first saw the doll online when I was doing a search to see what this year's dolls would be dressed up as. I saw she was a witch, which is par for the course these days. Then, I saw the same doll was available on the Barbie collector website, which I don't remember happening previously. Finally, I went to Target and saw the same doll available for purchase there! I grabbed her up, because, after all, she's Halloween so I must have her! I noticed the box didn't have the "Target exclusive" tag on it, so I'm thinking Target isn't putting out a Halloween doll this year. I also saw they had the same Chelsea dolls as last year, so no new Chelsea dolls either! 
     So without further ado, here's this year's one and only Halloween Barbie doll!

Halloween Party Barbie 2016

     I like the necklace on the doll. Very spooky! The dress and boots are cute and I like the cardboard broom as well. I also like the pink streaks in her hair, but then again, I'm a sucker for differently colored hair! 
      All in all, a nice addition to my collection, but sad to see no more will be coming out, unless I've missed something. If anyone does see anything different, please, please, PLEASE let me know! Collecting the Halloween Barbies has been such a fun tradition for me and I don't want to see it coming to an end anytime soon, but I fear with the release of just one doll this year, I may be seeing the end. 

America's Next Top Model

     In 2003, UPN (remember that station??) aired a reality competition show called "America's Next Top Model". While I never watched one episode of the show, when MGA released a series of dolls from the show, I was intrigued. Especially when they came with additional outfits, which as you may remember from previous posts, I LOVE when dolls come with additional outfits. 
     On the back of the boxes, it shows four dolls, but I was only able to find three of them. I'm not even sure the fourth doll was made, even though an extra packaged outfit was made for her, as I've not found anything about her online. 
     The series included two each of four different dolls, one a more basic doll wearing a swimsuit, which came with an extra T-shirt, and the other doll in a dress with a more casual outfit included. A separate dress for each doll was also released. 
     The dolls themselves were well made with bending knees, a joint at the torso, split fingers and the big toe separated from the rest, so as to fit into shoes with a strap between the toes. 
     The first doll I'll show is Sidney. According to the box, she is 19 from Miami, FL. Her favorite part of modeling is being able to see new places. She loves traveling and hopes, one day, to be a professional pilot and fly all over the world. 

Sidney's ready for her photoshoot in her swimsuit and sunglasses

Sidney looks rockin' in her T shirt 

   

Sidney's a golden girl in her gold dress

Sidney looking casual in her shorts and striped top

Sidney's extra dress makes me think of flowers

 
      Next up, we have Paisley. She is 20 and hails from Santa Monica, CA. As a little girl, Paisley's mother took her with her to volunteer at an animal rescue center. By the end of the day, Paisley had adopted a golden retriever and she hasn't stopped since. When she is done with modeling, she hopes to open a rescue center of her own. 

Paisley looking good in her swimsuit and sunglasses

Paisley in her T-shirt

Paisley styles it in light blue and silver

Paisley keeping it cool in casual

Paisley in pink

      Then, there's Sienna. She is 18 from Topeka, Kansas. She grew up with 5 brothers and sisters. After all that time she learned one thing - she's really good at arguing. Now that she's finished with high school, she's planning a career in law.

Sienna in a cutout one piece swimsuit

Sienna in her T-shirt over her one-piece swimsuit

Sienna sparkles in strapless pink and gold

Sienna looking fierce in her pink halter top and shorts

Sienna stylin' in stripes

     Finally, the mystery girl, Tascha. Nothing is known about her as I cannot find a doll for her! The pictures from the packages look as if she was produced, but I could never find her. 

The swimsuit from the back of that box

The cute lavender dress from the back of the box

The top for her casual secondary outfit

The extra outfit, which is the only thing I was able to find actually produced

     I like how the dolls have a bit of a biography for them, so it gives them a bit of a personality. The dolls themselves were well made and their outfits were cute! If anyone does know of Tascha actually being produced, please let me know! I love a good hunt for rare items!

Best Model Collection - On Location

     Robert Best may be best known as the designer of the Silkstone Barbies, but before that, he designed the On Location Model Collection. This collection started with three dolls in 2006, then one more was added in 2007. These dolls came wearing a swimsuit and had two additional outfits with them, one casual and the other dressy. Anyone familiar with my blog knows if a doll comes with additional outfits, I'm sold!
     I enjoyed this collection as it was the first dolls I'd bought with the Model Muse body type. I really liked the additional outfits as well since they added a new level to the dolls personalities. 
     My favorite out of the collection was the Monte Carlo. She is a dark haired beauty wearing a black bathing suit and heels with straps which tied up over her ankles. She also had a red bag to go with her swimsuit. One of her additional outfits was a blue short sleeved blouse, gray skirt, an adorable package of black nylons, red clutch purse and red heels. She also had a metal powder compact and necklace for this outfit. Her second outfit was a dark gray pantsuit with a black top, scarf, black boots and a black bag. 

Monte Carlo 

      My next favorite was the South Beach. She was blonde and wearing a white bathing suit, white heels with ankle straps and an orange scarf tied around her head. She also had a pair of sunglasses. Her casual outfit was an orange top with turquoise and gold trim, jeans, orange booties and a tan bag. Her dressy outfit was a pale blue dress with a matching bag and blue heels. She also had a metal powder compact. 

South Beach

     The final doll for the first year was Milan. She was a dark skinned beauty wearing a silver two piece bathing suit and white strappy heels. Her daytime outfit was a gold blouse, gray full skirt, black sweater, another package of the nylons, black heels and a brown purse. Her nighttime outfit was a white pantsuit with a black top, purse and heels. These were not my favorite outfits, but the doll was gorgeous!
    

Milan

     The next year, only one doll was produced. She was blonde with a gray swimsuit, heels and sunglasses. Her casual outfit was a pale gold blouse, jeans, gray jacket and white heels. Her dressy outfit was a pink floral dress, pink heels, pink bag and white and pink sunglasses. 

Barcelona

     I was sad to see this line end, but I love the line as it is. The dolls were beautiful and most of the outfits were pretty! I love the idea of dressing and redressing your dolls and this fit right in with that idea!