So big news from the RH world that I can actually post about, because for once, the pictures aren't leaked.
These listings appeared on Target.com with a release date of September 20th!
Presenting: Target's overpriced Rockstar RH line.
I'm not thrilled with this. I was very vocally against Target overpricing Kia and getting away with it, because I knew this crap was just going to keep happening. And now instead of paying around $40 for these, which is about what they're worth, we're stuck paying $50 apiece, thanks to Kia. And thanks to people's bizarre addiction to these dolls and willingness to pay literally anything for them whether it makes sense or not. And thanks to Target's greed. Don't get me wrong, I love Target, but there's no denying this is pretty greedy when Walmart keeps their prices low.
Anyway, let's meet Vanessa Tempo...again.
https://www.target.com/p/rainbow-high-rockstar-vanessa-tempo-doll/-/A-82545228
Yep, it's rainbow braids girl.
I'll just say it right here: I'm not impressed with these in the least. Vanessa is the only doll with anything new in terms of hair. The other two just have the usual RH styles of "vaguely wavy" and "straight." The clothing is okay. Nice details but just okay. There's nothing innovative here. Nothing pushing any boundaries. Nothing related to any of the several genres of music that actually have subcultures that accompany them and would have been far more interesting. This is Generock. It's playing it safe, which is sadly what RH is best at since OMG seems to have all the guts in the MGAE family.
I hate the outfit she comes with. It looks cheap and ugly. Putting giant holes over the knees only serve to highlight RH's ugly knee joints. Knee joints are never pretty, but your eyes just go right there and bleh. I don't hate the boots or the olive green jacket. Those are kinda neat. The dress is cool. I'd probably pair the dress with the jacket and boots, throw in some fishnets, and she really needed some sort of hat. That might work. The jewelry is incredible basic as are the second shoes. The drums are okay. Nothing special.
Moving on.
https://www.target.com/p/rainbow-high-rockstar-carmen-major-doll/-/A-82545218
It should be apparently already that the dolls are the highlight of this line. Everything else could have been better, but I do love all three dolls, even though I think they need to stop being so repetitive with the hair. They did come through with great color choices for said hair though. Carmen here is absolutely stunning. Love those hair colors!
Outfit-wise, the one she's wearing isn't great. Love the boots. The rest is either meh or I can't see it well enough. But her second outfit I love. The studded skirt, fishnet top and mock MTV tee are fabulous. The short boots are nice, too. The guitar is simple but the highlight is that it comes with a case. Love that.
https://www.target.com/p/rainbow-high-rockstar-lyric-lucas-doll/-/A-82545220
Could we get this girl some dark lipstick, please? Why are they so afraid of it? I don't get it. Maybe because they felt it would overpower her eyeshadow, which is actually pretty spectacular. Something about Lyric reminds me of Roxxi from Bratz Rock Angels. I'm looking forward to seeing what colors her hair actually is, because I can't tell, but it looks promising. I don't like most of her clothing pieces, but THOSE LEATHER PANTS. Gods, they probably will not stand the test of time, but they are stunning. Best single piece in the line. The black skirt isn't bad either.
So overall: These are overpriced, but the dolls are pretty enough that I will likely cave and get all three. I hate supporting Target's overpricing, but the RH clique is so hungry for anything that there's no way one person refusing to overpay is going to change the world, so why bother to try? At least I get 5% off. I'm not wowed by the concept or execution. They need to borrow some guts from LOL OMG. Badly need to. Stop playing it safe, RH. It's getting old. Although again, I'm in the vast minority here, so I'm sure we're in for several more years of vaguely wavy hair and locked inside the box lipstick. Beautiful dolls done too safely, but I'll get them anyway.
Lyric is giving me major Akali from KDA vibes
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I kind of get why they're not more like the OMGs since those are adults and these are teenagers but at the same time I was pretty disappointed by the lack of edge in these designs. Like, the pieces look nice, but most of them don't exactly scream "rock" to me. Tbh Vanessa reminds me of hip-hop, Carmen is giving glam metal to me, and Lyric looks kind of like a rapper? I dunno. For the ridiculous price, they'd have to be really special for me to collect them. I do like Vanessa though, and I was thinking of putting her in the same thing you described.
ReplyDeleteI really have a love/hate thing going with RH. The new dolls...I love the faces and hair but utterly hate the clothes. Even if I like the designs of the clothes in general, like I would normally adore Vanessa's Army coat, I cannot STAND all the crap text plastered all over it.
ReplyDeleteI hate, HATE all the added text on the clothes. It ruins it all for me.
The clothes are all SO(if you get lucky) but all those textual "designs" just make them look cheap.
And, individual -
Vanessa...Hate the jeans. They make her look dumpy, way too horribly 90's.
LOATHE the bustier over the tshirt. Who tf though that was a good idea? I might, MIGHT have worked if it was a contrasting color.
The rope belt...WHY? Having a rope belt is a punchline to a joke, not a fashion statement!!
The other two have pretty faces and hair, but are just "meh" fashion wise.
RH's thing is definitely imitating designer clothes, though I don't know most of them. Fashion on that level is so not to my liking. But slapping the logo, initials, words, etc. all over everything gets tiresome. I said the other day in the RH Facebook group I'm in that they look like racecars sometimes. Also, again I'm not up on this knowledge, but do most aspiring designers use their bodies as billboards for other designers? Because that's what they do in Rainbow High apparently.
DeleteI hate the rope belt more than anything else on Vanessa. I don't get it at all. Nor do I want to. If that is a thing, I will be content to remain in the dark about it. I'm tired of bustiers over other shirts and socks under high heels. And I definitely agree about the jeans.
I wanted to love this line and admittedly, I will likely end up with all 3 because the dolls are beautiful, but they're definitely getting their outfits switched all around.
This part should have said -> The clothes are all SO well made
ReplyDelete...but I messed up! Sorry!!!
Don't worry about it! I'm not an English prof.
DeleteThese are way overpriced, but if they run true to form they will be selling for half the original MSRP a few months after release (Karma Nichols was recently going for $11 at Walmart and Amazon!), so I'll nope out until then.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could think this would be true, but Kia (the other Target exclusive) has only very rarely gone on sale and not drastically. I'm not sure we can count on anything. I hope so though!
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