Saturday, January 18, 2014

Barbie Style Review

I took a trip to ToysRUs a few days ago, armed with a 15% off coupon.  I was looking for the Keisha doll, Kenya's little sister.  Unfortunately, there weren't any Kenya dolls to be had.  I didn't want to leave the store with that coupon, so I decided to buy one of the new Barbie Style dolls, mainly for research purchases.  Ha!

TRU had three of the four dolls.  Of the three, I had to go with this cute outfit.

Here are three of the original fashions.  There is a fourth outfit that has the white fur collared jacket, green army pants, and a horizontal striped top.

Inside the package, they show the four different outfits, mixed and matched.  From this picture it looks like the red vest is separate from the black shirt.  The handbag shown here comes with the Racquel doll.

I saw the fringe bag in person.  It's really nice, but I didn't like the original outfit as much as I liked the others.  The next one I plan to get is the Racquel doll.  I really like her outfit, too.


There's a black bracelet with the doll that isn't shown here.

I love the articulation of this doll.  It's better than the articulation for the DreamHouse Barbies.

She can bend at the upper torso.

She can do an awesome back flip.

Now she's just showing off.

She can even do a full split.

Her torso.

She has the nice bendable knees.  I know some don't like these knees, but they are a godsend to people who do dios.

These dolls retail for $19.99 at TRU.  This probably means they will be $2 cheaper at Walmart and Target.  I think it's well worth the price.  We were paying about $12 for an articulated body with a crappy outfit.  Then we were paying $6 - $8 for the Barbie and Ken individual clothes packs, that were still not that stylish.  That puts us at $18 - $20.  These dolls, even at $20 are worth it to get individual pieces that we can mix and match with other outfits.  The Dreamhouse dolls retail for $17+.  They have decent outfits, but the articulation is a little funky.

37 comments:

  1. I got the Barbie with the green army pants. I found her at K-Mart the other day for $19.99. Like you, I love the outfit and the articulation! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindi - You still have Kmarts in your area? lol. Now that I think about it, there is one that I know of within a 20 min drive. I would love for them to start selling the outfits separately for $7.99 or less.

      Delete
  2. Improved articulation, AND a actually stylish better quality outfit!? I guess what my next body donor will be!

    ReplyDelete
  3. From the pictures the articulation looks about the same as the Dreamhouse dolls, but I may be missing something. Still, it's great news they're not getting rid of it! I don't understand why some people prefer the old hinged knees, since the range of motion is so limited.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anderson - It's not the range of articulation that is different, it is the quality and sturdiness of the new body versus the Dreamhouse dolls. I think some people like the hinged knees because the dolls can stand on their own sometimes, versus these knees that can get loose at times.

      Delete
  4. These look like good dolls that would be agreat donor body for my star doll I've been wanting to bodyswap, but couldn't find the right skin tone- all the fashionistas are tan.I love her articulation, thank you for doing this Vanessa- well worth the price with those outfits!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice but Vanessa. Surprisingly, the swivel knees are growing on me since I learned a trick from a flick friend. If joints get too loose, just drop a tiny bit of super glue (nail glue works too) in the joint and continue working it until it's no longer wet. I have a female and male Fashionistas I did this too and it worked really well.

    I really hope they include Nikki. Love the outfit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice " buy". I hate autocorrect!

      Delete
    2. Tracy - lol. I was wondering what the 'but' meant. You will really appreciate those swivel knees when you start doing your stories again. The dolls can just sit so much better in the scenes. I would love to see outfits like this sold separately. Thanks for sharing the tip about the glue. I haven't had any problems with any of my knees, but it's nice to have a trick in my bag when needed.

      P.S. You should be able to turn off you autocorrect.

      Delete
  6. I have been debating on getting one these . The fashions are nice. Thanks for sharing Vanessa!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hola, que buena compra, por aca no han llegado, la ropa es muy bonita, espero conseguir una, hasta pronto.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lindaivette - Espero que vengan a su área pronto. Tal vez están esperando a ver cómo van a vender aquí.

      Delete
  8. What a great buy. I love the articulation and the fashions. I hope they make it to Australia but seeing as we haven't got the Dreamhouse series here yet, I guess I'll be waiting a while.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello from Spain: I bought this Barbie two days ago. Today one of my Barbies wearing the same styling. I love the whole collection but in my country is not for sale Raquel. Your you see for sale in shops in your city? . Keep in touch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marta - Great minds think alike. I did see this same outfit on your post. That is so funny.

      Delete
  10. Beautiful Lady! I love the first picture You've taken her out of the box, sitting on the table! My favorite clothes is the pink undershirt, so lovely!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I didn't even know these existed!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heather - I just found out about them a few weeks ago. I am very pleased with the quality. I would love to see Nikki and a couple of boys included in this line.

      Delete
  12. These are really cute fashions, and I love the articulation! Thanks for sharing this, Vanessa.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Verona - I don't think you will be disappointed.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lisa - I hope you are able to find a good body match. I think you will enjoy this family of dolls.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Georgia Girl - I would say if you need a body swap, this family of dolls is the one to buy. If you don't need any bodies, then it's probably not worth it just for the outfit. You could spend that $20 and get an even better outfit on ebay or etsy.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Carrickters - Seems like Mattel is trying to address some of our requests for better fashions. I'm pleased with the steps they are taking. I'm also looking forward to what other fashions will be coming out as part of this line. I'm a little surprised the Dreamhouse dolls didn't get there yet. Maybe they are going to pass right over them and ship these instead. In my opinion, this doll is the better buy out of the two lines.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rosemary - She is quite flexible. This body can allow for yoga, gymnastics, karate, and many other sports.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Roxanne - You're welcome. The clothes are well done. I'm looking forward to seeing more fashions from this line.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hello Vanessa, I saw this Barbie yesterday at Target and I hesitated to buy it. But thank you for sharing with us the details of this new Barbie!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I actually saw these at KMart today for $20. They didn't have the one with the red and black shirt/vest combo, or I would have been tempted to get her. I haven't bought an actual new in package *Barbie* in ages!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Congrats on your new doll, Vanessa!

    Thanks for sharing the articulation of this doll. That's good to know when deciding which doll to buy next ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I will wait and see if they release boys for this line but for now I'm keeping my money.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I see yoga classes coming soon with this doll! Loving the boots, shoes and purses on the other dolls.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to buying these dolls, but they aren't sold in the zone I live. Acerico and I are waiting for them because we just love their outfits!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love her style, she´s very nice, congratulations for your new girl!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thank you for this review. I ordered 2.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love the clothes!! They are so cute. YI think they will be worth the investment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mrscarissa - It really would be nice if they offered the clothes separately as well. I love how they mix and matched all the outfits. I only have one doll so far, but I really want the new Racquelle. She comes in the red vest with the black shirt and jeans.

      Delete
  28. I don't really like the eye color or the lip color, but the articulation is FABULOUS!!! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maja - I agree about the eye color. I wasn't planning to use her head, so I didn't even notice what her face looked like. I will use her body for one of my other dolls.

      Delete

I love receiving your comments. Posts older than 5 days will require moderation until I can get the scammers under control. Thanks for your understanding.