Surf's Up in Surf City

     Every year, Mattel puts out a line of beach dolls. Some have been pretty good and others, especially recently, not so good. One of my favorites in these lines, and I have a few, is the 2000 Surf City line. 
     I really like these dolls because they are just so darned cute! The colors just pop, the faces have little make up and the hairstyles are adorable! These were also the first dolls in the beach line to have the new "belly button" body, which has the larger hips, smaller bust and no turning waist. Because of this, each doll is wearing a two piece bathing suit to show off her middle. 
     There were seven dolls in this series: Barbie, Midge, Teresa, Christie, Kira, Ken and Steven. Each doll came with a paper surfboard which matched their bathing suits. I also believe this to be the first time Midge was featured in a swimsuit line, unless you count California Dream Barbie. 
      While the girls had the belly button body, the boys had the "palms to the rear" bodies, which aren't my favorite. Also, Steven's legs have started to break down, with sticky moisture oozing from them. I washed them and put powder on them, but I don't know if that's a permanent solution or not. Only time will tell.

Barbie - signature pink with purple and green

Teresa - pink, yellow and green. I love the "braid" the elastic makes in her hair. 

Christie - yellow, blue and pink. Her hairstyle is just too cute!

Kira - blue, green and orange. Her pigtails are adorable!

Midge - light blue, dark blue and orange. The only one without colorful elastics in her hair.

Ken - Blue, yellow and green. 

Steven - orange, blue and yellow.

     All in all, I'm pretty happy with this line. The dolls are gorgeous and they are just all around fun. I hope you all agree. 

Barbie Goes Beyond Pink

     Barbie has been in more than one band since she was introduced to the world in 1959. Barbie and the Rockers springs to mind (they will be featured in a future post), but in 1998, at the height of Spice Girls mania, Barbie was featured in a new band, Beyond Pink. The band was made up of her, Christie and Teresa. 
     They didn't come with much, by way of extra fashions or playsets, but they were still some of my favorite dolls. Each doll came with a tape featuring the main song from their CD (sold separately and yes, I have one) an instrument and a stand. These stands, as far as I can tell, are unique to this set of dolls. Their shoes are also seemingly unique as these are what allow the dolls to stand within their stands. 
      The dolls themselves are GORGEOUS! Each doll has silvery strands in their hair and their instruments and clothing have glow-in-the-dark effects. Barbie has the popular Mackie face. Christie has the Shani Asha face. Teresa has her own lovely face. 
      The CD came with ten songs, sung by Barbie, Christie and Teresa. The cover was sparkly and it was fun to listen to. I just recently found it on YouTube and have been listening to it again. It's still as cute as I remembered.
      

The CD cover showing the silhouettes of the dolls

Barbie - the yellow stripes on her dress glow in the dark as does her guitar. I think her hair does as well.

Information on Barbie from the back of the box

Christie - the yellow stripe on her shirt glows in the dark as does her keyboard. I'm pretty sure the stripes on her hair do as well.

Information about Christie from the back of the box

Teresa - her shirt is actually two shirts, the orange top, then the gray shiny tank top. The yellow stripes on the tank top glow in the dark as does her guitar. I believe the stripes in her hair do as well. 

Beyond Pink 

     While I wish the dolls had come with extra outfits, they didn't. However, there were some Fashion Avenue outfits that came in groups of three, so I've used some of those as Beyond Pink off-stage/music video outfits. I might have to have a photo shoot with those as well! Will Beyond Pink be featured again? Stay tuned to find out!

Springfield High School's Very Own Starr!

     When I was a little girl, I moved from Michigan to Ohio and around that same time, Mattel released a doll named Starr. She had two female friends named Tracy and Kelley and a boyfriend named Shaun. They all went to Springfield High. I absolutely LOVED these dolls! I was only able to buy Tracy and Starr before they were out of stores since they didn't last very long, but I played with them all of the time. So much so, one of Tracy's hands fell off, though I kept it until the day I sold her and Starr on Ebay. 
      Yes, you read that right. I sold my original Starr and Tracy on Ebay. Why? you may ask, since I loved them so much. Because, I tell you, I was able to buy the whole set! So, after so many years of just having Starr and Tracy, I had Kelley and Shaun too, as well as all of their accessories! I just loved the boxes on these dolls! They were so descriptive and the artwork was adorable! 
        Next, I had to buy their outfits. Yes, they came with separate outfits, which was a good thing since their bodies were slimmer and less busty than Barbie, so her clothes didn't fit right. I've been able to collect almost all of the outfits with the exception of one, which I am on the hunt for at this time. 
        Also, since there were three versions of Starr, regular, with a child-sized silver star disco purse just like Starr's and one with a 45 disc single of their band, I have to get all three. Currently, I just need the one with the single and I will have them all. 
        Finally, I will need to get the Starr buggy, which is the only "accessory" for the dolls, besides the doll case, which I have. I debated on this item since it is a car, but then I'd feel the collection is incomplete without it, so I'll get it. 
        Three sets of paper dolls as well as a coloring book were also published about Starr. At least as far as I know. I do have all of them, two I'd bought when they were available in the stores. The first set is a basic booklet with all four characters, the second set is a boxed Starr and Shaun set and the third set features a double sided playset! One side is a school setting and the other is a dance with a runway and a table and chairs. All four characters are included in this set as well. 

        For now though, let me show you what I've got!

Springfield High's own Starr

Back of Starr's box

Tracy - Starr's zany friend

Back of Tracy's box

Kelley - the brainy one. As you can see, her History book has fallen out of her hands

Back of Kelley's box

Shaun - Starr's boyfriend, who's got it all!

Back of Shaun's box

Starr with free Disco Purse. The back of her box is the same is the regular doll's.

The sides of the boxes showing the dolls studying

     One of the things I loved the most about these dolls was the details! Each doll had her own personality. Starr was the popular one, the leader of their group. Shaun was her hunky jock boyfriend. Tracy was the funny one and Kelley was the brainy one. 
      Each doll came with a multitude of accessories as well! Each had a musical instrument. Starr had a microphone and a tambourine. Tracy had bongos and a harmonica. Shaun had a guitar and Kelley had a banjo. I'm really curious how their band sounded based off of those instruments! They also had a snack for downtime. Starr had a frothy milkshake, Tracy a soda bottle, Kelley a yogurt and spoon and Shaun a burger. They each came with phones as everyone knows teens LOVE to talk on the phone to their friends! Each girl had bendable feet, which allowed them to switch from flats to heels, so each came with two pairs of shoes/skates/boots and a pair of heels. Shaun came with a football and a radio. For me, one of the coolest things was their school books. The main books were bound books which could open, though the pages were blank. The two flaps on the top of the boxes also contained two extra books for the dolls as well. I loved that idea! They also came with a "yearbook" which was actually a catalog of all of the dolls and their fashions, but it also told more about the dolls themselves. 
      Even though it was a rough time for Mattel and the materials of the fashions were thin, they were still cute. There were a total of 15 fashions, six of which were basic outfits with no shoes while the others were deluxe and came with shoes and other accessories. 

After School Date - I love the Math book included! This is also a second year fashion.

Casual Living

50's Dance

Beach Party - this was a second year fashion

Keepin' Fit - this was a second year fashion, which matched the Starr fashion of the same name

School Days

Cheerleader Captain - Love those yarn pom poms!

Disco Dancing 

Fancy Frills - this is a second year fashion

Keepin' Fit - this is a second year fashion, which matches the Shaun fashion of the same name

Prom Night - notice the sheer fabric used

Roller Disco Queen - this just screams late 70s!

Slumber Number - this is a second year fashion

Homecoming Queen

     And finally, one of the two accessories for this doll line, the case, which will hold one doll and however many outfits and accessories you have. The picture on the front is showing Tracy holding Starr's frothy drink, which makes me wonder if Starr said, "Hold this while the picture is taken!" or if Tracy borrowed it to take a sip. Starr is also wearing the "Cheerleader Captain" fashion while Shaun strums his guitar and Kelley holds up her History book, reminding everyone they have homework. At least, that's my interpretation of it!
 

The doll case

Double Love

     Any girl growing up in the 80s had to have read at least one of the Sweet Valley High books. The adventures of the Wakefield twins and their friends were in the hands of almost any tweenage girl. I had collected almost the entire series before selling them off.      In 1994, Saban Entertainment (Go, Go Power Rangers!) produced a live action half hour show based on the books, which lasted for four seasons, though only one is available on DVD at this time. Along with the show, two sets of dolls of the twins, Jessica and Elizabeth, were produced. The twins were sold separately as well as together in a set, and (supposedly) seven sets of outfits were made. I say supposedly for the outfits as I have never been able to find one of the sets, so I'm thinking it was never made. As such, I'm considering my collection to be complete. 
     While I'm happy the dolls were actually made, I'm disappointed in the quality of the items. The dolls themselves seem like the knockoff Barbie types with heavy bodies and cheap plastic arms. The only thing that really stuck out to me about them was that Elizabeth has a small mole on her left shoulder, which any fan of the series knows is the only way to really tell the twins apart unless you are a close friend or family. I liked they added that little detail. Otherwise, the Jessica doll has a smile while the Elizabeth doll has a serious look, but the hair was the same. 
     The dolls also came with a send away offer to buy the matching lavaliers which were mentioned in just about every book, as well as a map of Sweet Valley High. Being a fan, of course I sent away for it. I just can't find the map to show you what it looked like! The dolls and outfits also came with "bookmarks" which had stickers showing the outfits which could be placed on the map. 
       The dolls sold separately were the Campus Cool dolls. Jessica wore a more daring lime green, purple and black outfit, while Elizabeth was more sweet and sedate in white with an oversized school jacket (Todd's perhaps?) and a pink hat with a blue flower. The sneakers for this and the rest of the outfits don't fit the dolls while they are wearing socks as they are way too small. 
     

Campus Cool Jessica and Elizabeth

      
     The Perfect Prom dolls are the same as the Campus Cools dolls, but in prom dresses. Both of the Campus Cool dolls came with short stories featuring the girls and the Perfect Prom dolls came with one story. You can see the bookmark and mailaway offer behind the Jessica doll. 

Perfect Prom

     The back of the box was the same for all of the products, showing the dolls and the outfits. The only outfit I've not been able to locate is the Winter Dazzle set, which is a shame because I like this set!

Back of the box

     The Rockin' Rags set is adorable, but it does have some flaws. The pink jumpsuit Elizabeth wears is too short for her, so it is hard to put it on the doll. Thank goodness she is wearing a mesh shirt and jacket over it or else she'd be exposing herself to everyone and that is just not the Elizabeth we all know and love. The fabric of Jessica's jacket has melted or something because it gets EVERYWHERE! Chances are good that I will never put it back on the doll again due to the mess it made. It was almost like I'd drawn on everything with a black crayon. 

Rockin' Rags

     California Sizzle was a cute set, but for some reason, I thought the outfits went on the opposite twin until I actually looked at the picture. Somehow I figured Jessica would be the one skating along the boardwalk while Elizabeth had the visor. Turns out, I was wrong. One of the things I liked about this set was the bathing suits underneath the outfits. It makes sense to have these dolls having bathing suits when they live so close to the beach. Plus there were no socks, so the sneakers actually fit on the doll.

California Sizzle

California Sizzle - bathing suits

     Let's Dance is an interesting set. I never pictured the twins taking dance lessons, but hey, why not? The ballet slippers on Elizabeth won't fit over her tights and of course, the sneakers won't fit on Jessica. 

Let's Dance

      Denim Duet is a cute set as well. I really like the brocade vest Jessica is wearing and her teal sandals match it. Of course, Elizabeth's sneakers don't fit over her socks. 

Denim Duet

     Born to Shop is also a nice set. The only issues I have with it is that Elizabeth's dress doesn't have an opening in the back, so it's a bit difficult to put it on her and of course, her sneakers don't fit over her socks. Jessica's outfit does come with a black, over the body purse, but I couldn't find it at the time of the picture (I have since found it). Her shoes also remind me of some vintage doll shoes I had growing up. 

Born to Shop 

     And to finish the outfits, Pillow Party, a really cute sleepwear set. I love that each girl has their own personalized pillow. Elizabeth's PJs look really comfy too. 

Pillow Party

     Here are the pictures of the bookmarks and the mailaway offer as well. 

Bookmarks

Mailaway offer

    All in all, I was a bit disappointed in this set, but they are still one of my favorites due to the nostalgia factor of my youth.