MONTH IN REVIEW: July 2016

Thronzil, Theuz, Amose and Weedlet

It's that time again. 

July began with Thronzil's arrival on the 2nd. I initially wanted one of The Beast Peddler's mandrakes, but fell for a mothman she did awhile back. I've been waiting patiently, and acquired two roots and one mini root in the time being, and she opened up awesome custom slots for mandrakes, mothmen, teacup demons, etc. I was at work when the slots opened, so I figured they'd all be gone by the time I got home. Well, I was wrong! I placed an order for a custom mothman after work and Thronzil arrived not too long after. Right away, I realized she's not a mothMAN, she's a mothMISS. She's my favorite of the beasts. (Don't tell the roots.)

Charlie Bears Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie arrived on the same day and she is just the prettiest, cutest thing. Her fur is so soft and the colors are amazing. I would recommend her to anyone who's interested in getting into these bears, but wants to start small. This month, I also picked up Chocoholic on special and one of my pre-orders came in: Hide the ferret. I haven't taken pics of them, due to all the craziness, but they'll be in Flickr eventually. 

Dora the Explorer's Naiya

The next new arrival was Naiya. I'd seen her several times when this line was in more stores, but I never got around to getting her. I had the original Naiya and Kate from the much larger Dora line, but they got donated pre-move. I always meant to pick up this Naiya, but didn't and then they started turning up in Dollar Generals and I kept an eye out for her, but always saw other characters (Dora's usually in stock, but one nearby has Emma and Alana, too). I finally got lucky and found Naiya in a different DG that I don't often visit, so she came home with me and she's been on my coffee table ever since. She also went to the hotel with me when we had to leave the apartment for those few days. 

Descendants Neon Lights Ball Jane  

 

July was a good month for Disney in my house. I ordered the four standard Descendants Neon Lights Ball dolls from Amazon and they did not disappoint. I've been waiting for a new Jane since the original set and she's just so goofy cute. Now I just need a new Lonnie, Hasbro. Come on. All four girls are lovely, though Jane is probably my favorite. Then Ally. Freddie is nice, but I think I like her other dolls better, and Jordan's got a way better outfit this time, but she's still just kind of an odd-looking doll. I have seen the deluxe Mal and Evie at Walmart and will likely get them eventually, but definitely not for $30 each! 

Gaston!

Then came the plush. Gaston HAD to be first, along with Elliott from Pete's Dragon and a clearanced Arlo from The Good Dinosaur. Then Lumiere, Fifi (or Babette) and Beast followed shortly. Those latter three are ones I still need to photograph one of these days. Maybe Monday I'll catch up. 

Shoppies Pam Cake

On the 9th, I was surprised to find Pam Cake from the Shoppies line in my Target. I had no idea she was even out yet! She's adorable and my second fave after Sara Sushi. 

Then we started having problems. I ordered the First Day of School (AKA: How Do You Boo?) MH dolls off Amazon. I got Draculaura, Frankie and Ari, along with a book, all set for Sunday delivery. And they were STOLEN. They were either stolen off my doorstep or misdelivered and that person kept them. I was (and still am really) furious. Amazon replaced them, but it took a little while for Ari to come back in stock. Finally, though, all of them made it here and I still have a leftover Ari that I'll return eventually. 

Now this is Draculaura!

Draculaura is really well-favored by her new face. This is how she should have looked from the get go. It perfectly captures her sweet character. I still love the old Lauras, but they were decidedly sultry and that is so not Laura. Frankie unfortunately comes across as a little blank. I don't really like her changes. Ari was a nice surprise though. I think she's actually more beautiful than Spectra and her hair colors are lovely. I have both the articulated and the basic ones.

More MH followed later in the month, as my stores finally began to restock. Toys R Us has a ton of the new stuff now, and Target is almost to that aisle with their reset. 

Dayna, the sleeper hit

I bought Dance the Fright Away Cleo and Shriekwrecked Rochelle and Dayna in TRU on the 22nd. Rochelle is over the top excellent and anyone who says the reboot waters down MH dolls needs to look at her, because she is really, really out there. Dayna was a surprise hit. She's got a nice sassy face and her body has constellations molded into it that are a surprise detail that's fabulous. Cleo as always is stellar.

Always stunning. Always. 

To finish out the month's MH purchases, I just got the Nefera/Amanita 2-pack tonight. 

Earlier in the month, I picked up the basic Batgirl at Walmart. It's been nice seeing other stores finally get the DCSGs in. 

My Funkos. Merida is on the way!

I also got into the Funko mystery mini Disney princesses and have accumulated a good little collection. I have Merida on the way, and hope to get Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan soon. I'll pick up Belle and Anna eventually, too. 

It's been a decent month, although stress-filled in other ways. I did finally cave and order Jillian Beanstalk from Toot's, because I'm that tired of waiting for her! Plus, she's only one per case and I'd have to have precision timing to be the one to take her home when my Target finally puts them out. 

I've got a bunch of cool stuff coming that arrives on August 1st and 2nd, so it will be part of next month's roundup. 

FRIDOLL FIVE #9

Well, I'm back at home. We made it back here Wednesday afternoon. I don't have any entries planned though, because I'm still wiped out from all the nonsense, on top of being really annoyed with playline dolls right now, because Ever After High is making me very angry.

Anyway, I've got enough energy for a Fridoll Five.

#9: Accessoreez

1. Do your dolls wear jewelry (earrings, necklaces, bracelets, handcuffs, etc)? If so, are they store-bought or hand-made? If not, is there any particular reason that they don't wear jewelry?

My dolls have both. The majority of the ones with jewelry wear their own, but I also have a stash of custom handmade jewelry for my BJDs and 16" dolls.


2. Have you ever bought a doll just for its accessories? (jewelry, food, outfit, handbags, shoes... basically, anything other than the doll itself)

I know I bought that old Moxie Girlz doll just for the mini Lalaloopsy figure. This sounds like something I would have done many years ago, but no longer do now, although I am tempted sometimes.


3. What's the most expensive accessory you've ever bought for your doll? (Playsets and vehicles may be included in this category.)

A custom doll bed, though I can't remember what it cost.

4. What's the least expensive accessory you've bought for your doll?

I have no idea honestly. Probably something from a craft store.


5. What is your favorite doll accessory?

One of my BEGoths has a tiny flask that I've always loved and another has a cigarette holder. I don't smoke, but I've always thought that was a pretty neat accessory, because it's unusual. Anything from Cleo de Nile is automatically awesome because Egypt. I have a metal ace of spades pendant on a tiny chain that's probably my favorite doll necklace. And the BJDs have some lovely custom pieces.

BRIEF HIATUS

Well, yesterday, not only did my favorite guinea pig pass on, but around 1am, my mom and I noticed our floor was leaking again. A year and a half ago, we lived in a hotel for over a week while they tore apart our floor. This time, thankfully, it's more in the kitchen, so my room is unaffected, but I'm in a hotel for the time being, so I won't be doing any of the posts I had planned. I wanted to do some over the weekend, but then Sebastian got sick and yesterday was just awful. So I figured I'd explain why I'm doing a little break.

I might be back for one SDCC roundup post tomorrow, but honestly, there's really not that much to talk about. We'll see!

FRIDOLL FIVE #8

I've had a busy week working on a short story every night after work, but I finally finished it earlier, so I'm hoping to get some new posts up here tomorrow. Er...later today. But first!

#8: Culture and Ethnicity

1. How would you describe your own cultural identity/background? (If you don't feel like answering this one, please feel free to make up your own question.)

I'm mostly German (and some Alsatian) with about a quarter Polish.


2. Have you ever given a doll a name from another culture? What names did you choose, and why?

(e.g. a name that has a meaning in a language that you don't normally speak, a name typically associated with a culture other than yours)

Sure. I'm not going to list everything off, but a lot of my Pullips and Bratz got Japanese names. Some were from my favorite Battle Royale characters. I use names from mythology a lot. I used to be fond of place names, too. These days, I mostly buy dolls that already have names, so I usually stick with those.

3. Do you have any dolls who are a specific nationality/cultural background?

Karito Kids, American Girl, Hearts For Hearts Girls, Global Friends, Monster High. That's just the tip of the iceberg.


4. Do you have any ethnic folkwear for your dolls? If so, what countries/cultures?

My Dolls of the World, Global Friends and some Hearts For Hearts Girls have that, along with some of my other world-type dolls. I have some Discover the World with Barbie fashions, Mulan fashions, probably a kimono or two.

5. Essay question: Imagine that you've been given complete creative control over one of the major doll companies (Mattel, Takara, Volks, Integrity, Tonner, Madame Alexander, any other company of your choice)... but you are only allowed to create *one* new line of dolls. What would your line be like?

This question has always bugged me a bit, since it was like the authors of these couldn't come up with a fifth "ethnic" question.

Anyway, my answer to this is easy: Goddess Girls. I want the Goddess Girls (and godboys) from the book series as dolls. I'd probably go with Mattel to produce them, because their quality, while occasionally problematic, is still the best on the whole, and these would need a lot of detail. Tiny GG necklaces, shimmering bodies (kinda like the Star Darlings), and lots and lots of pleated chitons. I have the Goddesses of Wisdom, Spring and Beauty, so I know Mattel can make pleats. 

FRIDOLL FIVE #7

Someday, I will do one of these on time.

#7: Furnishings

(If you don't have doll furniture, please feel free to play along and talk about what you'd like to get, if you had unlimited space and finances.)

1. Do you have any furniture for your dolls? 1/6 scale or SD scale or other?

My main pieces are a custom-made 1/6 scale bed that first was used by Evelyn, my fave Bratz doll, and now it's been taken over by the Dead Tired Monster High gang; Stardust Classics Alissa's bed, which is being used by my 3 Rosette School girls and Nothing; an antique doll chair, which 2 of my larger BJDs are sitting on; MH Cleo's vanity and EAH Ginger's kitchen set. I have some smaller pieces like Zelf chairs and little bits like that.


2. Where do you keep your doll furniture? In a doll-room, on a shelf, in a display case, etc...

The two beds are so big that they're both on the floor. So is the antique chair. Cleo's vanity is on top of one of my bookcases.


3. Do you have any:

- plastic doll furniture (e.g. Barbie, Gloria)

- wood/upholstered doll furniture

- fabric furniture (beanbag chairs, etc) 

- store-bought furniture

- custom-made furniture

- home-made or customized/repainted/reupholstered furniture

- some other kind of furniture not listed here

Yes.
Yes.
I'm sure I do somewhere.
Yes.
Yes.
No.
I think I only have the above.


4. Of the above categories, what's your favorite type or style of furniture?

If I had the space, I would get more custom beds like the 1/6 scale one. It's gorgeous. I would also get both Kat and Laurel's beds from Stardust Classics and probably some other larger scale ones.


5. Let's say you're given an unlimited budget to decorate a doll-room. What kind of furniture would you buy? Who would live there?

A single room for a single doll? Hm. I don't even know which one I would gift with that. Maybe Roslin, my fave American Girl. She'd have a simple bed with a purple/black/silver bedspread, all sorts of monster figurines and posters, action figures, a dark rug, a large TV, and bookshelves.  

OVERVIEW: Disney Attractionistas

Gracey boxed

August 2015 gave us the first four Disney Attractionistas dolls. These dolls are girls who really wanted to be part of the Disney attractions and now they each represent their favorite. 

Each doll is 12" tall and has basic articulation. They come with a nicely-detailed outfit that represents their attraction and a cute pet friend. 

I bought Gracey first, because of obvious reasons. I actually got her from a personal shopper because when these first came out, they were only sold at Disney itself. Well, I have the patience of a gnat, especially when it comes to goth dolls, so I dug up the personal shopper thanks to Google and Gracey arrived on August 5th. 

Gracey and Celeste

Gracey is an amazing doll. She had gelled hair, but I washed it out of the back part of her bob and left it in her bangs, because I like the way they look. Her colors are great and I love her entire outfit. Her bat friend Grimmis awesome, too, my fave of the pets. Oh, and she's the Haunted Mansion. Obviously. 

Six days after Gracey arrived, the Attractionistas were added to the Disney Store site, so I bought the other three that were out. 

Celeste is Space Mountain. She's not as amazingly detailed as Gracey, but she's still my second fave of the first four. I love her dog and you don't often see gray-skinned dolls out there. 

Celeste's full outfit

Maddie is the Mad Tea Party doll. I remember how the Ever After High fans complained when she was first shown, because she looked too much like Madeline Hatter, but really, it's all superficial. Her colors come from the ride and her name is pretty obvious. Maddie is such a common name now that you can't say it's a ripoff of anything and Alice in Wonderland has been told and retold in a zillion different ways. I love the Maddie doll way more than I thought I would, mostly because of her spectacular profile. 

Maddie's gorgeous nose

Although her hat is far too heavy for her to actually wear and her shoes are so small, they can't hold her up while she has it on her head. Literally, her ankles bow. So not the best design of the line, but dangit, that profile is gorgeous. 

Pearl is the Pirates of the Caribbean girl. She has the second most detailed outfit after Gracey, but the materials aren't the best quality, and her hat doesn't like to stay on at all. 

Pearl

After these four were released, there was a lot of speculation about the next two. I mean, there are only so many Disney rides, right? Thankfully, Disney didn't leave us wondering for too long. Carrie and Nellie became available in November. 

Carrie

Carrie represents the Fantasyland Carousel. She looks like a human Abbey from Monster High, which I love. She has an enormous Minx-of-the-Stingers-level-huge hat that I don't have in this photograph. I had to choose between the hat close up and the full outfit shot and her outfit is beautiful, so I went with that. Carrie is really awesome and I think she's very underappreciated. 

Nellie

Nellie is the Jungle Cruise and boy, she looks it. She's oddly green, but I'm not complaining, because she looks great. 

I think these girls are sadly underrated as a whole, likely because they don't have articulation and blah blah I can't take a photo without a bending elbow whatever. I think they're very creative and a bit outside the box for Disney. The sculpts are lovely and I wish they'd find a way to use them again. 

If you want to add some Attractionistas to your collection, the Disney Store still has Gracey, Pearl, Maddie and Carrie. But if you look on ebay, you can get them Prime-shipped for even cheaper. 

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine. 

OVERVIEW: Arabian Friends

Muna

The Arabian Friends are a small doll line made by New Boy. The four different characters come in both basic and deluxe versions.

The basic dolls come in one complete outfit, including a purse and matching hijab. The deluxe dolls come with three outfits, two purses and two pairs of shoes.

The back of the basic box

The dolls remind me very much of the Giochi Preziosi Winx Club, W.I.T.C.H. and Angel's Friends dolls. They have a simple Barbie-type body with basic articulation and they have larger heads with oversized features.

I found the basic Amal on ebay and the same seller found basic Muna for me in her office, which was nice, so I got them both for great prices. Amal has blonde/light brown hair in pigtails and lovely olive green eyes. She's quite reminiscent of Winx Club's Flora. She's the pink-wearing character, too, just like Flora.

I thought Muna was going to be my least favorite, but she's actually so pretty that she ended up my fave. Her skirt is amazing and I love her whole outfit. Her eyes are a darker green than Amal's and her hair is a warm brown with red highlights.

Dunya, Ahlam, Muna and Amal

For Dunya and Ahlam, I bought the deluxe sets from a site I'll mention at the end of this article. Ahlam is the gorgeous one in blue. Her hair has so much blue mixed with the black that it looks navy overall. She has absolutely lovely clothes. And she's got blue eyes, so she really is blue from head to toe. Dunya is the brown-eyed brunette in green. Sadly, her clothing pieces from the deluxe set weren't nearly as nice on as they looked in the box.

The girls use some familiar-looking pieces. The boots were from a My Scene mold and the fabric for Amal's skirt was definitely used for some Hottiez fashion pieces. They also reused a certain pair of high-heeled platform sandals that international doll makers seem to love to borrow from Barbie. I've seen them with both Winx and W.I.T.C.H. dolls as well as these.

Amal

The Arabian Friends are really cute dolls and add something I needed for my collection. I'm always happy for more diversity and these girls, while resembling other dolls from different lines, are still singularly beautiful and unique. (I actually think they're much prettier than any of the Giochi lines that they remind me of.)

I definitely recommend grabbing some for your collection. Unfortunately, it's not exactly cheap to do so. That's the whole reason I never went back and bought the other two basics and other two deluxe dolls to have the complete set. They simply cost too much!

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.




RECOMMENDED SITES:

http://muslimtoysanddolls.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9_37
This is where I bought my deluxe sets and the only place I see online now that carries these dolls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXx8ZLTK8gk
Cute commercial I just saw for the first time tonight! I love the animation.

OVERVIEW: Les Mistinguettes

Lucette

This is a topic I've been sitting on since early June. I discovered Les Mistinguettes when Lucette popped up during one of my ebay rag doll searches. I thought she was cute and looked the line up. Unfortunately, they're a mostly European line, so finding deals here in the US and then saving up to import what I couldn't find took a bit of time.

Les Mistinguettes are a line of 10 ragdoll characters from France. Each one has a name ending in "ette." They're about 14" tall, but that can vary depending on their hairstyle.

Everyone but Louisette.

From what I can tell on Google, the original five dolls were Colette, Lucette, Odette, Francette and Paulette. Francette is the line's only redhead. Colette, the original blonde, is not part of my collection. I haven't decided if I want her or not. Odette has black hair and Lucette has dark brown. Paulette is the black girl. Naturally, adorable Paulette was not on Amazon, despite all four of the others being there, plus Jeannette.

Francette

I saw some excellent deals, so I grabbed Lucette, Odette and Francette from Amazon, and made an offer on the one Henriette on ebay. That was accepted. Once the trio from Amazon arrived, I knew I loved them, so I bought Jeannette, too. She actually made it here before Henriette.

I'm not positive of the release order for the second five girls. I have seen a photo of the original five plus Jeannette and Suzette, so perhaps they were next, followed by Henriette and Antoinette. Louisette seems likely last because she's the only one not included in the group image here.

Odette

These dolls have cute simple outfits. Their mary janes and hair are a fun corduroy material. Each one has some sort of eye decoration. Most of them have a full circle around one eye. Paulette and Francette have a blue crescent around one eye instead. Louisette has what looks like stylized winged eyeliner. Cheek decorations vary as do their lip colors. A lot of the girls wear a single striped sock, while some have one short sock or no socks. Jeannette is the only one to wear two socks. They have no undergarments on and "Les Mistinguettes" is rather amusingly written on their seats.

Henriette

Each girl comes packaged in her own decorative cardboard box. I adore the art on these and am sad that I don't have Henriette's since she was an ebay purchase and didn't come with hers. The doll is tied to a cardboard liner and you just clip the bit holding her down and she's free to go. Then you can keep the box for storage purposes. I've got a nice stack of them in my closet.

Jeannette

Collecting Les Mistinguettes might be a bit frustrating for non-Europeans. I'm not sure of their distribution over there, but I know Amazon UK has a far better selection, as do a lot of French language websites. If you go on Amazon right now, you can scoop up Odette and Lucette for good prices. Colette, Jeannette and Francette are still there, but for more. I got Paulette and Suzette from a Canadian site that charged only $14.95 for UPS shipping. I'll link to that at the bottom of this article. I had to get Suzette from Amazon UK, though she is also on ebay, but from UK sellers. Antoinette, however, I cannot find. I thought I bought her from Amazon UK, only to be told it was an error, so I picked Suzette instead. She seems to only be available from European websites where the shipping costs more than the doll. One even has shipping listed as FIFTY Euros!

Louisette, Paulette and Suzette

I think the line is adorable and worth checking out if you like ragdolls like I do.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine, except the group image. That's a promo image I had saved from one of the sales sites.











RECOMMENDED SITES:
http://www.qhousekids.com/our-brands/deglingos/mistinguette.html
This is the Canadian site where I bought Paulette and Louisette. They have those two plus Henriette. They also have Lucette and Odette, but get those on Amazon. They're much cheaper there!

http://www.globetrotoys.com/en/#home_mistinguettes
Official site.

OVERVIEW: Stardust Classics

Kat in her stock dress

In February 2009, I got into a new 18.5" doll line called Stardust Classics. I had just about finished collecting Karitos, so I needed something else to buy alongside the occasional American Girl. Well, Stardust Classics were totally perfect for me.

There are only three dolls in this line. Each one has a set of four books. The books are lavishly illustrated and really great stories. Each girl has a different fantasy theme. Laurel is a woodfairy. Alissa is a princess. Kat is a freakin' TIME TRAVELLER. I normally don't care for time travel as a story basis, but when it's in a doll line for girls, I'm in.

Alissa's stock dress

I'll begin with Alissa, since I got her first. Both she and Laurel were produced in two versions: one with sleep eyes and one with fixed eyes. I don't care for the fixed eye ones, so all of mine have sleep eyes. Kat was only made with sleep eyes. Anyway, Alissa is the princess character and she's pretty neat, because she's not your typical blue-eyed blonde. (Kat is, but Kat is a time traveller, so that makes up for it. Heh. Also, I tend to favor princessy girls when they're not blue-eyed blondes. See also: Ashlyn from Wellie Wishers.) Alissa's books were fun and illustrated by the same person as American Girl Molly's books, so that was a bonus.

One of Alissa's catalog pages

Alissa is a cute doll, but that lovely dress did stain her. No real matter, since she always wears full-coverage clothes, but I still need to note it.

Alissa's Forest Adventure dress

I managed to accumulate quite a bit of Alissa's collection. I had the cape, tiara and scepter, the nightgown, all the refreshments, the Forest Adventure dress, the tournament dress, the crown set, and even her bed! Yes, I bought a huge doll bed when I was still at NYU and would eventually need to drag the thing home. Thankfully, it dismantles easily. That bed has been a prominent display piece ever since. My Rosette School BJDs live there, along with my first BJD, Nothing. Before we moved, a lot of the smaller pieces got donated, and I ended up selling quite a bit of my Stardust stuff a couple years ago, but I still have the bed and Alissa in her Forest Adventure dress. I might have her stock dress. I don't recall offhand though.

One of Kat's catalog pages

Kat and Alissa arrived about the same time, but I was definitely most smitten by Kat. I still am. Odd that the blonde is my fave, but she's amazing. I am very, very lucky that I managed to get her Plum Travelling Suit very early on in my collecting. She's worn that almost the entire time I've owned her.

Kat's Plum Travelling Suit

From Kat's collection, I used to own her extras, the Plum Travelling Suit obviously, the Egyptian jewelry (though I never got the dress), the Egyptian treasures, the Mongolian blue dress, red jacket and cap, the horse statue, the Mongolian winter outfit, the oriental treasures, the vanity accessories, her nightgown, the satin gown and accessories, and the Florentine treasures. What I have left is the travelling suit, which Kat wears, her stock, her nightgown, the Egyptian treasures and I think I have her extras. I  did love that blue satin gown, but I'm pretty sure I sold it, since nothing can hold a candle to the suit.

Kat's vanity accessories

The detailing on Kat's stuff in particular is just amazing. A lot of the pieces are pretty fragile, like that quill over there, but the detail, man, the detail.

I really do wish I hadn't given away a bunch of this stuff and sold the rest. If I collected less, I would absolutely have every item from this collection, but I'm lucky I have space enough for one doll bed!

Laurel in her stock with Carpatina Emma in the Gold Sparkle Dress

I bought a bunch of the outfits and accessories before getting Laurel the woodfairy. I actually even got the red-haired Carpatina Emma doll shown to the right here before I got Laurel. But in May, she finally rolled in.

If you are looking for dolls with hair to style and brush, don't get these girls. Alissa would work okay, but the other two have hair that should not be touched by a brush ever.

Laurel is very cute and freckled. From her collection, I got her extras, the gold sparkle dress, the snack set, the pixie adventure outfit, her nightgown, the celebration gown, and the celebration accessories. I had the least for her. I still have her stock, her nightgown, and she's been wearing the celebration outfit since I got it. Emma got donated, I think. Man, one of my biggest life regrets is all the stuff I had to donate and then it turned out we had plenty of room in the moving truck after all. Plan your moves well, people, plan your moves well.

Carpatina Veronika

Stardust Classics is really an incredible, well-made, extremely detailed collection that's very unique compared to other similar-sized doll lines. I mean, a time traveller? I still can't get over that. Maybe someday I'll increase my collection again, but probably not.

I did however add one related doll to my collection. I bought Carpatina Veronika in January 2013.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.









RECOMMENDED SITE:
http://www.justmagicdolls.com/meet/jp/StardustClassics/StardustClassics.htm

OVERVIEW: Karito Kids

My first sighting of the Karito Kids.

I learned about the Karito Kids from photos taken at some larger doll convention (possibly IDEX), but August 15, 2007 is the day I first saw them in person. They were in the window of a small toy store I occasionally visited when I still lived near Buffalo. And they were gorgeous! It took me awhile to get into them though. Back then, my only larger dolls were my BJDs and Ellowynes, then I got into AG once I moved and saw them in person.

After passing by the display of them in FAO for ages, I became smitten in summer 2008, when they updated the display with some dolls out that could actually be handled. I found the quality impressive and picked up the book set, only to put it right back because it cost $50. I came home and bought the set of books on ebay for $25. 

Gia, first and still favorite

I read through the books and enjoyed them a lot. It's about time for a reread actually! So when I got some extra money, I decided to head right out to FAO and bring my first girl home. I saw all five dolls on diplay waiting to be held, so I picked each up and gave her a thorough examination. I ruled out Zoe immediately. She may be from Manhattan, but a blonde from America was not going to be my first, despite me living in that city at the time. I ruled out Ling, too. She's pretty, but not who I wanted first. Ditto Lulu. She has a very foxy face. Not foxy as in hot, but as in pointy. She's gorgeous, but in an unusual way. I wanted someone a little more sweet and soft looking. (Which is unusual for me.) So I held up Pita and Gia. I liked Gia's outfit better and her face-framing hairstyle, so I set Pita down and gave Gia a really serious look. Yep. She was the one. 

Ling and Gia

Problem though. There were no boxed Gias. I saw the other four girls, but not her. I gently moved items aside and poked around. No dice. I eyed Pita, but was set on Gia. A very exuberant employee walked past and asked if I needed anything. I held up Gia and he did a quick box check, chatting the whole time. He asked if I knew about the two new girls coming out and we talked about them. He was right about one, but sadly, she was to be the last full-size Karito. 

Gia and Pita, the only 2 face twins

Anyways, he headed to the back to look for Gia for me. Meanwhile, I examined Pita and compared her to first Lulu and then Ling. (Poor Zoe wasn't even remotely being considered.) Then I picked up Gia and hugged her, like oodles of little girls probably have. I am so five. A few minutes later he returned, cradling a box. (This was the best FAO employee EVER.) I thanked him profusely and trotted off, only to realize I had no place to set her down and I needed to use the bathroom before getting back on the subway. I was NOT leaving her unguarded after all the trouble he went to finding her for me. So I paid for her at the Harry Potter alcove and asked the guy there, who was also very nice and friendly, to watch her for me while I hit the ladies. Then I headed back home, mission accomplished.

One of my only good pics of Zoe

So that story's a little long, but I have lots of pics to share and I love that story anyway. Gia will always be very special to me. 

Four days after Gia, I ended up making some more money than expected off ebay sales, so I was already shopping for my next girl. I ended up choosing Ling. Zoe I believe was an online deal I found and Pita I think I went to FAO for. They both arrived almost together, if I recall. I don't have LJ entries to document this, unlike Gia's story, and this was before the days of my Flickr account, so no help there either. 

The stunning Piper

Piper was my next girl. My mom came to visit me over the summer and bought her for me for an early birthday gift. Piper went through the most outfit changes, since her surfer girl look wasn't my thing. She got a pair of sneakers from some random doll and some AG jeans, I think. Eventually, she got an official Karito fashion pack when I found them at Tuesday Morning. Well, she wore most of it, but not the shirt. It was this long flowery thing. The bag from that outfit went to Pita.

Lulu was finally purchased in February 2009. She got a fashion pack, too.

Lulu and Piper's new fashions

So now I had everyone and I eagerly awaited news of more dolls. What I got instead was the Travel Charmers line. 

First edition Travel Charmers

 

The Travel Charmers were smaller soft dolls depicting each of the girls wearing an outfit she got while travelling abroad. Gia went to France, Pita to Brazil, Ling to Japan, Lulu to Madagascar, and Zoe to Canada. Zoe lost her curls and had straight blonde hair. Lulu's curls were done in an updo. Ling got three little mini ponytails on top of the rest of her loose hair. Both Lulu and Ling would keep these hairstyles for the second set of Travel Charmers as well. I found the Charmers in FAO and I believe I was able to get Ling, Pita and Gia right away. I don't think they had the other two. I remember going back a couple times and picking up Lulu, then Zoe. Maybe. I could be wrong about the order there. 

Piper's Travel Charmer

The first set of Charmers came out late 2008, I think. Then the second set was in late 2009. This time Piper was included, off to Ireland. Zoe went to England, Pita to Argentina, Lulu to Egypt, Ling to Russia, and Gia to Greece. I think the second set of Charmers is better than the first. Zoe's got her curls back and her England doll is one of my faves. Gia is the only one that I liked better in the first set. 

These dolls were sadly the last Karito items I purchased. After that, the line began changing. It released a couple full-size dolls called the Giving Girls (Lara and Leza), but they were lower quality and not tied to any countries. Some random small soft dolls came out, once again not tied to any characters. Then they rereleased the six main dolls with brand new outfits, but still no new character. Some of the new outfits were cute, but I never bought any for my girls. Most of them were not improvements on their first outfits. Ling's was the only one I really liked, and while Piper's was better than her original outfit, it wasn't a style I would put on mine when I had the cute stock/fashion pack hybrid on her. 

And so Karito Kids came to a quiet end. I'm not sure why the dolls didn't do well. They're absolutely beautifully made and I think higher quality than American Girl. They're certainly more facially-appealing than American Girl. My Karitos are some of the most beautiful dolls on my shelf. Thankfully, Hearts for Hearts Girls stepped in to be the new charity-donating, girls from around the world line.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine. 

OVERVIEW: Girlhood Journeys

Juliet and Shannon

The mid-90s brought us the small Girlhood Journeys line. They're a historical-themed line of 14" dolls that have mostly soft bodies that end in vinyl arms and legs. The soft body goes down to about the bicep and mid-thigh, then turns into the vinyl limb. It makes them floppy and unable to stand on their own, but also pretty huggable.

Ertl produced four dolls for the line and each had a set of 3 books.

Juliet's books take place in 1339-1340 England. She's a lovely doll and probably my favorite character from the line.

Shannon, shown with Juliet in the photo here, is from 1880's San Francisco. I had to use this old picture to get a shot of Shannon in here. She was actually the first doll I got from the line and even though I bought her boxed, her face was all sticky and had odd dark spots on it. I ended up donating her before we moved and have never replaced her. Maybe someday! She's the least attractive of the four dolls though, so maybe not.

Kai

Kai is from Africa in 1440. She's a really awesome doll with great hair.

And Marie is from 1775 France. She's so gorgeous. She's actually my favorite doll from the line, though Juliet is my favorite character. I think. It's actually been a bit since I reread the books!

Marie

There is actually one more book. Isabella is the fifth character, a girl from Peru in 1820. She never got her other two books or her doll produced, sadly. And what's driving me crazy right now is that I know I saw a prototype image of the doll years ago and I can't find it now! I only ever did one LJ entry mentioning these girls, which amusingly says I'd only ever want Juliet. It was written in 2008 and I ended up with all four dolls in 2011. Heh. How my mind changes. But I know I saw that picture and I apparently didn't save it anywhere. Argh.

Anyway, Girlhood Journeys is a pretty low-cost line to collect. You can get the books quite cheap and the dolls usually run $30 or less even boxed.

PHOTO CREDITS: All mine.

OVERVIEW: Magic Attic Club

2004 Alison and 1997 Rose

Magic Attic Club was one of those lines that I really loved the books for, but never got into the dolls. I don't think any of the dolls are really that cute except for Rose.

In March 2010, I got both Alison and Rose from Craiglist. Different sellers, but both purchases worked out fine. I've gotten some great deals from Craiglist, but I don't shop there often. I always have to ask the seller to ship, which I always think some of them won't want to do.

I never really bonded with Alison, and she was eventually sold. Rose, however, stuck around.

Rose in her fancy dress

I even bought her this lovely dress on ebay. She's been in it for years and I sold her stock off ages ago.

Rose is a lovely doll and I adore that one of the characters was Native American. I hated when they decided to erase that and make her Latina later on in the line.

I do love all the dresses in the set this green one comes from, but I've never searched for any others, since I don't plan on buying the other dolls to put them on.

That's about it when it comes to my opinions on MAC. The books are great though! I highly recommend those.

PHOTO CREDITS: Both mine.

RECOMMENDED SITES:

http://www.justmagicdolls.com/meet/mac/magicattic.htm
This is a history of everything the Magic Attic Club line has been through, and believe me, it's A LOT.

https://jackylina2013.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/magic-attic-club-catalogs/
This page has great images from the catalog, so you can see some of the awesome outfits these girls had. It's a shame I don't like the dolls more, because man, these outfits! If you skim down the page, you can also see the quintet of gorgeous formal dresses on the 2000 catalog. That's the set Rose's dress comes from.