A Little Piece of Leather

 

One reason I haven’t posted in a while is there haven’t been any dolls on the market I could get excited about.  The evolution of Barbie to include tall, curvy, and petite body types is an encouraging new development. 

Since I am somewhat vertically challenged myself, perhaps it is fitting that this dark and lovely lady was the first to arrive. If she could stand flat-footed, Fashionista #25 would measure about 5’3” tall like me. In the past I used a 10” Flavas body to create a “pocket venus.”  

Keisha borrowed the “Blue Brocade” fashion and found it fit well.  Too bad #25 can’t borrow some of the Flava’s articulation.  

Her body is made of quality plastic and all the joints feel sturdy.  

Her arms swing back and forth and open out to the side but her knees don’t bend at all.  Still her head tilts at a wide range of angles so at least she can project a variety of expressions.  

Fashionista #25 has the same lovely face mold and skin tone as So in Style Chandra.  I also appreciate her curly hair even though it is full of styling gel.  While her hips are very close to standard Barbie size, her legs and torso are shorter and her bosom is not as voluptuous. 

Barbie’s feet were always ridiculously small so this petite miss looks just fine with standard sized Barbie feet.  She can wear all standard Barbie shoes and her full-size sisters can wear her shoes too.  Finding other clothing to fit poses more of a challenge.

New Sparkle Girlz fashions are beginning to trickle onto the shelves at Walmart so Miss Blue Brocade decided to try out that line first.  

The Sparkle Girlz clothes tend to run a little small but they are mostly made of knit fabrics so they fit a variety of fashion dolls.  This ensemble was a smash hit.

Most fashion doll skirts will probably fit petite Barbies.  Finding pants that fit their shorter legs will most likely be the greatest challenge.  Looking through the catalogue of the New 2016 Fashionistas Line that was included in the box with my order from Mattel.com, I noticed that out of 13 possible outfits for the curvy, tall, and petite dolls, there is only one pair of pants available in each size. 

Fortunately I had an Ever Girl outfit on hand so at least my shorty girl can kick back in a comfy pair of jeans. 

While there are a number of 10” doll lines on the market at the moment, Monster High and Everafter High dolls are much thinner than petite Barbie so I didn’t even try any of their clothes on her.  The Project MC2 dolls ensembles fit but my lady refused to model them because she didn’t want to be mistaken for a junior high school kid.  

She did consent to try Disney Descendant Lonnie’s kimono wrap dress and accessories.

Star Dolls had mile-long legs but their torsos were shorter and slimmer than Barbie so some of their ensembles give petit Barbie more sophisticated wardrobe choices.  #25 attracted a lot of admiring attention in this flaming orange mini dress.  

Then an invitation to a formal affair threw her into a panic until I remembered that Disney’s Rapunzel is shorter and slimmer than the other princesses.   

            All in all petite Barbie is a little piece of leather that is well put together!

A Bientôt!