anyone still buy barbie dolls?

I specifically get the "Made to Move" Barbies. I have gotten rid of a lot of my childhood Barbies and have only kept a few that I am particularly fond of. For some of my older Barbies I have even upgraded them to the Made to Move bodies. The newer Made to Move Barbies I have I get customized with new faceup and hair.

 

i bought Barbie outfits for my first Anime doll, nearly 20 years ago,
including a wedding dress i found at a thrift shop;

 

I want to buy all of the newly released 'Barbie Looks' collection. Those dolls are fabulous. They're all on MtM bodies, which I love. I'd, in a perfect world, try to get them repainted by Olga Kamenetskaya because I love their sculpts and think they'd be gorgeous dolls with her touch, but that will likely not happen.

I used to collect Monster High, but I sold all but one recently (I kept my wave 1 ghoulia doll as she was my favorite, but since they became strangely valuable I sold the rest-- I sold one unboxed doll for $250!) as I needed tuition money and own no other valuable dolls. I like them better than any barbie released in the past 20 years pretty much, but although that cartoony-gothic style will always have a very special place in my heart and collection, I've began to appreciate realism more-- hence my draw to these new looks dolls.

 

I still have most of my childhood barbies but nowadays barbie are very meh compared to other playline dolls available. I don't think I've bought a new barbie since the original bratz release.

 

My grandparents gave my childhood barbies to other relatives. I agreed and wanted to keep a favorite one. But they kept the wrong one! So I have none of them now.

 

Supposedly - per Mattel and Amazon, more Barbie Looks dolls will be released in early August.

I have two - the Curvy doll and the tall Platinum blonde one. Their face sculpts are considerably more detailed - I particularly love the new noses.

My Barbie buying has also slowed down to a near halt. I'm still keeping an eye on the Barbie Style dolls (although I'm not very interested in the leaked #2), and gotta have Naomi Osaka, but ...

I'm starting to realize that I like having a few of a couple different types of dolls. I'm going to try to weed out a few this weekend and try to sell them.

Honestly - I think I'm about done with purchasing BJDs, too, now that I think about it. By the time I receive everything, I'll have six BJDs in various sizes, and that's just about how many of each "type" of doll I want to have in my collection. I'm going to focus on making stuff instead. And vinyl!

 

I have a few silkstone that I love.

 

I have a few still! Mostly the dolls I have kept have been dolls like Novi stars or Bratz!

I dont think these girls ever got enough love, for how creative and beautiful they were.

Anyway, I've kept MTM (made to move) barbies, switching around heads from other barbies onto them. Im also tempted by the long haired dude ones!

 

I started my doll collection with Barbie and kept about half of it after major purge. I like the new Look dolls but I'm disappointed about the quality decline and lacking designs recently. I occasionally still buy Barbie but I tend to be very picky now or buy older dolls.

 

I honestly dislike Barbie dolls themselves. The faces bug me so much. But their clothes I hoard for my tinies now that the new fashion packs are made to fit all their bodies offered. Half my yosd wardrobe is Barbie.

 

I started off as the Barbie collector. I've sold all the boxed collector dolls (almost 400 of them!) but I still have several "display" dolls that I rotate outfits on. I love the My Scene dolls and every so often add another nude doll off ebay to model more clothes. There have been 1 or 2 of the newer fashionista dolls but I find myself mostly looking at older (late 90s early 2000s) sculpts to buy for clothing models. I loved the silkstone dolls but only kept 1 of those as well but I love the more vintage look to them. The MTM bodies are great but haven't actually found any face sculpt on them that I like so mostly just buy the nude bodies to swap out with older dolls. But I don't pass up looking at Barbie whenever I'm at Walmart, Target, Meijer etc.

 

The clothes were really nice in the 90s. They're so disappointing now. I recently bought a bunch of the Fashionistas, because some of them have wonderful face sculpts and hair (which I would have loved back in the 90s), but I will probably sell or donate them all.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

The signature barbies have beautifully made clothes! I've bought some of their stuff for my Momonita. One of the best finds was the Twilight Breaking Dawn doll.

 

I haven't really been a Barbie fan since I was a munchkin, but I do have several that were given to me as gifts over the years... I have the Lord of the Rings dolls, Merlin and Morgana and a couple of the International dolls.... Japan and India.

 

I only purchase barbies for their made to move bodies so I could place my Pullip’s heads on them I find them a little too boring, especially when I compare them to the ones released in the late 90s and early 2000s. The current sculpts are unique, but the faceups are too plain and the outfits don’t really represent the current fashion trends. I wish they’d bring back Myscene or monster high instead

 

apparently the looks dolls manage to evade a lot of the recent quality issues! that's a big reason I'm hoping to get them.

 

I grew up on Barbie and kept all the ones I got as a baby, then as a young-child up to my own hard-earned-money purchased ones in my mid twenties, around when I found the brand was going stale. Though, I now feel like maybe the heads were just getting too big for my taste. I still love Barbie to this day, still own all my dolls, most still in sealed boxes. I hoarded Fashionistas for a while like nobody's business, but I feel I have to stop while I am a head (not really "head," it's gotten a bit much). I sadly missed out on the pre-order for the Looks line, so I have to wait like a dumb-nut for any retailer to have them in-stock. I had two of the blond Ken in my cart at one point, and apparently was too slow, because I wasn't able to check out before they said he was out of stock once again. Now I can't even add him to my notifications, because a reseller has him for over $50, and they don't allow you to request in-stock notifications, if a reseller has him in-stock... pretty frustrating. I want all except for the Ken with long braids, because I am sure mine will arrive with heavy eye-wonk. I wasn't planning on getting him, originally, but then I saw he looks much nicer in owner photos than in promos, but also saw he's the one that mostly comes with heavily messed eye screenings, so I rather not risk it, if I can't find him in stores to see the eyes in person. I highly doubt I'll ever see them in person, my local stores never have "adult" collector Barbie in-stock (that's how I missed on the Toki Doki and Helly Kitty ones). I also wish I could get some of the Extra, but I haven't seen any locally yet, I dread getting them online, also due to eye-wonk. I don't remove my fashion dolls from their boxes unless I get two, so quality of hair, clothes, shoes, etc., doesn't bother me as long as the face is as close to perfect as mass-produced-child-toy can get.

I know that the Looks line is supposedly targetted towards "adult" toy/doll collectors, but if you read/see reviews for them on most any retailer, most are parents saying how their young child did or didn't find the dolls fun to play with. I don't think most adult people really care if they are meant for grown people or not, they just see a toy and want to give it to their child. That's why the quality dwindles, Mattel stays afloat thanks to all the parents buying toys for their kids, even if they are meant for the adult-collector, they'll all end up in land-fills, and if we are lucky in second-hand stores. DX [font]

 

That's promising! I'll keep an eye out for restocks, they are really hard to get a hold of! I like the poseability of MTM body and the new sculpts so fingers crossed I can find at least the platinum blonde

Monster high is supposedly making a comeback as collector dolls but I bet they will be a lot pricer than the regular line used to be.

 

Those girls are AWESOME! I've always liked the Novi Stars, just never got any because people complained about bad quality when they were released, but I love these particular two

As for Barbie, I had a few Barbies as a kid, I adored my Tropical Barbie, but they all ended up with their heads snapping off and/or their hair a mess as you get... Then for the longest time I didn't care about them, until recently thanks to Hextian on Youtube I started to look more closely at the Barbies available now and realized just how many great (and not so great) facesculpts are available. I also like the inclusiveness of the Fashionistas line with multiple body types, ethnicities and even some disabilities represented. None of them really spoke to me though, until a few weeks ago I happened across a Barbie Extra, the one with pastel outfit, pink and lilac hair and yellow beanie. I have been on a pastel kick for months now and since she was also jointed (not MtM though, curvy fashionista jointed body) and I loved her face (her pastel makeup in particular) I just got her. I am planning to tun her into more of a pastel unicon/lolita girl, but with all the tons of Barbie clothes available out there it's proving really hard to find something in the style I want that also fits the curvy body>.<. Not to mention if I do find something online it's going to cost a ton of shipping and customs tax to get it here=_=.

 

I recently bought an old Pretty in Plaid Barbie, I don't even know why))
I should have made her a dress and straightened her hair.

 

Ah I remember people would compare them to monster high. Having as many of them as I do, the quality thing i just don't see. There's so much gone into each specific doll. I think mattel havers of the time just wanted one alternative brand and everything else was 'copying'.
(I think some bitter mattel vs mga was still there?)

I remember the long long internet rants back then. Why not both ??

 

I look at them, and have bought a couple for my kids. I want to get one just to be able to sew clothes for Barbies, but I'm not super into them.

My mom though, she's collected them for years, she has a huge collection! She's actually thinking about getting rid of some, so I might get to raid her collection (all new in box, so I'd make sure whatever I kept isn't worth much haha)

 

I have to send back my Super Star Christie and I got pics on how she was shipped to me! The NERVE of Mattel sending out a collectible in the condition I received! I have been waiting for this doll and I am beyond upset! At least Integrity Toys does not send my FR dolls to me like that. Box all jacked up like some wild animals stomped on it then more clear tape to keep it together.

 

Mattel keeps outdoing themselves with how to disappoint their collectors. It’s like they’ve given up making quality products. They keep sabotaging every line that starts to get popular and outdoes Barbie, but then don’t spend that money on making sure their service and quality for their Barbie brand is maintained. The amount of dolls I’ve gotten that had smudged or misaligned faces is a testament to that I hope they at least gave you a refund!

 

I will keep everyone posted on this, I decided to order this same doll with Amazon, at least they have not sent me any doll with a messed up box. Mattel is a child toy company and they stopped caring about their adult collectors a long time ago. I will keep my money with my BJD's and Integrity Toys only. I filled out the Request Refund/ Return Form out and printed out the return label. They sent their new Basic Look doll with tissue wrap in a better box than Christie, smh.

 

I have a number of Barbie dolls, some older, some newer, and some hybrids too, as well as a variety of other fashion dolls and action figures - I bought the ones that looked interesting and pretty. I like that my collection consists of different dolls rather than one particular brand.
I don't get it when people write off barbies completely. If you are interested and spend some time looking around, you will find barbies that would make a great addition to the collection. It is a sad truth though the quality of recent barbies went down. Compared to say, those that were made in 80s/90s, today's ones are really cheaply made.

 

Cuz she's gorgeous?

I've been chatting with someone who really knows their Barbie history, and the reality is, Barbie was never priced to turn a profit. The doll was either underpriced (causing the company to lose cash), OR it was subsidized by other dolls lines, especially Disney. Mattel admitted in its 2015 or 2016 investor call that they completely took advantage of the annual licensing fees they received from Disney (approximately $500 million USD per year, if I recall correctly), and when Disney dropped them, well... now you're starting to see what Barbies really cost.

Mattel isn't the only company doing this, I should point out. It seems like the first cost that just about every playline doll company is targeting is quality control (QC). Look at all the issues with Rainbow High and LOL dolls. You almost have to purchase in store so you can inspect every doll, to make sure you get one free of defects. Well, assuming you want a collector-quality doll, that is. I'm over here scoping out the clearance section of rejected dolls, scooping them up at bottom dollar prices, so...

Another issue that I have a little soapbox around is the unrealistic expectations of customers. Parents buying dolls for their kids are around my age. They remember Barbie at 1980s prices. Please tell me what else you can buy at 1980s prices. Anything. I'll wait.

Add to that the increasing cost of international shipping (nothing that any of us are familiar with. No, sir...), and yeah. Doll margins are super thin. Customers want Integrity Toy quality, but they balk at paying Integrity Toy prices. Mind you, Mattel does have the benefit of economies of scale - but it's not that good of a benefit (50% price discount).

Basically - we're finally getting what we are paying for, and we don't like it.

 

This this this!! Exactly why I'm always irritated by those who want high-quality clothing off a $15-$20 dollar doll. Some of my old Monster High dolls and some of the new Rainbow High dolls do have exceptional quality clothes for their price-- and this is why. If a company lacks that financial 'cushion', then, well, you can't expect dolls of that quality. And, my main issue: if you want collector-level dolls, why are you buying playline anyway??? Seriously, if you want a Tonner or IT-like product, expect to pay those prices bc that's the collector price for a collector product.

And one more thing in defense of Mattel- consistently, Mattel puts out unique face sculpts for each doll for most of their lines and are constantly introducing new sculpts. This is something MGA rarely does. Paying sculptors and producing unique sculpts is extremely expensive- so by not doing this, MGA saves a TON of money that can then go towards clothing/etc. Personally, I value unique face sculpts above all else (and mtm level articulation) so the fact Mattel spends their money on those things makes the low-quality paint and clothing 100% worth it. Sure, Rainbow High dolls have cute, high-quality clothes. But I hate the dolls, so that doesn't matter to me as a collector.

 

I get an eye-twitch whenever I come across adults complaining about Barbie's declining quality -- as it is mostly ignored that they are not a brand really aiming for adult-doll-collectors money, even if the doll-boxes or certificates say other wise. However, if you mention any actual adult-collector line to grown up Barbie haters, like Integrity, Fashion Royalty, or Japanese brands, they just roll their eyes. Like you were trying to insult them, instead of trying to guide them towards actual dolls targeted to adults. Lol! Not like Mattel is going to listen anyway, I'm sure their marketing research is enough to let them know, adult-doll collectors are not where they are getting their money from.

That's also another thing I find an issue with MGA-lovers, they keep insisting their clothes are such high-quality, even better than Japanese fashion dolls, but I have never seen an actual functional-scaled-zipper on any of the MGA clothes -- they always use Velcro instead of actual snaps or buttons. While brands like Azone, have scaled-functional-zippers on their clothes, and actual fabric shoes, for even their 1:12 doll lines? How can MGA be better than all Japanese fashion doll lines? Unless they are comparing them to Takara Licca-chan alone, but then why not say compared to Licca-chan, instead of just broadly including all Japanese fashion doll brands. DX Also agree with the sculpts thing, they don't really have any variety at all. Mattel might have cheap fabrics, hair and clothes, but their lines reflect that most of the time in their prices -- even then they have a million different head sculpts and diverse face sculpts to choose from. I rather own a million different head sculpts, than "high-quality" clothes with Velcro for closures. I don't unbox my dolls anyway, so I am really just purchasing for the sculpts. Giant heads are not really my thing either, but I do like their OMG dolls -- so I don't hate MGA by any means, I own a few dolls from their older lines as well (a gazillion of their Lalaloopsy minis, and all of the Novi Stars that were available in the USA). I just wish people hating on Mattel were doing it more fairly and not spreading bs, just because they don't like Barbie, or Mattel. (:

 

I think what Barbie has become is pretty great. Lots of face molds, skin colors, Made to Move… all things I would have adored as a kid. My sister was the one into Barbie doll. As an adult, I’m more into Pullip, BJD and Tonner. But I’ve bought my niece lots of Barbie dolls and one or two for myself so we could play together. I do wish they’d bring back the old horse molds. Loved those.

 

So I have a few LOL OMG dolls, and while the clothing is certainly very intricate, it is not very good quality. You may notice a pattern if you ever try to purchase these dolls used - they are almost universally sold nude. There is a very good reason for this. Lol OMG clothing is meant to be put on the doll only once, and then never removed again. If you try to mix and match outfits, things immediately begin to fall apart. Chains fall off. Glued on buttons pop off. Seams break. Clothing tears in your hands, no matter how carefully you try to remove it.

This isn't really a knock on the dolls, though. That sort of fragility is a function of the price of the doll. If the clothing was collector quality, those dolls would have cost $150 each easily. As it is, I still think the dolls were underpriced for what they offer (the packaging as a playset is just brilliant, IMHO), and I continue to be astonished when people complain about the price of those dolls. Of course, those same people complain about the poor quality of Barbie, and I have to wonder if they have any sense that things - well, things cost money.

Edited to add: guys. I edited the collection of Barbie dolls in my display cabinets. The pile of discarded dolls - OOF. So many dolls. Some of them I'm setting aside for customizations. The rest? Sigh. Probably going to sell them all off at a huge loss on Mercari. Every single one is a hybrid of a Fashionista and a MTM body.

Painful, I tell you. PAINFUL.

 

Exactly, MGA's clothes might look nice in pacakge, but are they really high quality, and compared to Japanese fashion doll brands? I again, am not sure which brands they were being compared to, but I highly doubt these people were actually knowledgeable on most Japanese brands, because a lot of them use actual to-scale-closures, not just Velcro and a pretend human-sized zipper cut to size, with no pull. I also agree, a lot of people complaining about Barbie quality, are the same who frown upon paying more for actual mature-adult-collector-dolls, such as IT, or others fashion doll brands that have already been mentioned. Those are meant for collectors, but you have to pay the cost of their clothes, which are pretty nice quality doll clothes and not just a bunch of ribbon and chains glued onto the fabrics. I do own four of the OMG dolls myself, and I hope I don't want anymore (just got Cool Lev and Midnight BB), but I have no plans to unbox them -- I don't care how fancy their clothes look in box, just like the overall aesthetic of the dolls, and not really about the quality because I am not going to be playing with them. I just don't find it helpful to anyone, that people spread lies about the quality or compare it to companies that actually have high quality clothing, just because they are hard-core pro-MGA, or just really are out there to drag Mattel down, because neither probably give two ffs about it. Lol! Particularly Mattel, if they did, they wouldn't include their cartoony pets with their Extra line anymore, which most adults seem to hate (I actually find them pretty adorable), but their target market (little kids) seem to love. (:

 

There are some nice items from both MGA and Mattel. But I generally don’t expect it. It’s more of a nice surprise when it happens. Velcro works for me but it can get annoying when it sticks and tears at clothes and hair. But, I would expect to pay more for snaps and buttons.

Anyway, I thought I would post a pic of my Barbies:



The last one in line I thrifted as she looked familiar and I thought I could play dress up with my niece. But she didn’t fit any of the modern clothes (or just barely). The Halloween doll was to make up for that. And the doll in the grey sweater happened because we saw her at Barnes & Nobles and my niece thought she looked like me because I was wearing the same sweater and purse. I mean, it was the only time in my life someone thought I looked like Barbie so….

 

@brightberry - the Barbie is the gray sweater is so valuable now ... drools

 

I looked her up and now I’m kicking myself for unboxing her and misplacing her pencil. I’m sure I can find it but still… At least now she lives on a shelf. And why is she valuable? The other one there seemed to shelf sit for a long time. It seems so very random.

 

Mattel released a series of Barbies that were higher end playline dolls for adults, essentially. There was the Barbie Basics line (which they are sort of bringing back with Barbie Looks), Barbie On Location, and these Barbies, which were part of the Barbie Look series.

The Barbie Basics, On Location, and Look(s) are highly prized for more adult clothing (a little less PINK PINK PINK) and prettier face molds. Some of the Barbie Basics and Barbie Looks dolls also had the elusive articulated Model Muse body (the Jazz Baby bodies). If you ever see a Model Muse (almost all of the Holiday bodies these days), the body is much, much smaller than the traditional Barbie body. The hips are very slim. The articulation kinda sucks - neck, shoulders, and hips - and the hips are permanently stuck in an angled position. The Basics, On Location, and Looks dolls are some of the most sought-after Aughts dolls (Bob Mackie-designed dolls are also very popular).

So if you have one of the prized Barbies above, but you would like your doll to be able to, oh, say, sit in a chair, you had to hunt for those elusive articulated bodies. Mind you - the one you have doesn't have that body. But she is highly prized for her face mold. Mattel restricted that face mold (and a couple others) to the Looks line, and now to much more pricey Collector dolls.

 

@MaleficentMrsofEvil Your knowledge of these dolls is amazing. Thank you very much. I do think she is a very pretty doll. But I didn’t know anything about the rest. I’ll be sure to keep a better eye on the bookstore’s Barbie collection.

 

Right now, I have the Barbie Extra doll with the rainbow braids, and two random fashionistas I picked up recently.

My favorites were the Life In The Dreamhouse dolls. I used to own all of them MIB, but unfortunately lost the majority of my doll collection when I got divorced and couldn’t take it all with me due to living situation and space issues.

I have looked into buying them back now, but they go for big bucks that I’m not willing to spend on them. Ah well.

 

Wow! MaleficentMrsofEvil, this is fascinating information on Barbie. I didn't know any of this. Though I have to admit, I did love the quality of the older dolls. I think that is why older dolls from the 80s & 90s are being gobbled-up, as collectors realize how much nicer the quality of those older dolls were. The prices on old Pink Box playline dolls have certainly gone up.

I still have a bunch of my old Barbies; she was my gateway doll, and I still have a soft spot for her. I loved the Fashionista line in the mid-2000s when they were all articulated.

The new Fashionistas don't excite me too much, but I am looking forward to the new Signature Looks dolls. I love that they are all on made-to-move bodies, and the fashions are minimalistic and modern looking. Plus, new sculpts and diversity, very cool!

Derilan, Wow! What a bummer! So sorry to hear that your doll arrived jacked-up. (That is not cool Mattel!) I hope you get the matter resolved to your satisfaction.

 

I had the original Barbie and Ken and nothing could beat them in my mind. I can still remember how she smelled and how her hair felt, so soft and fine, natural, not shiny. But I sold all my old, collectible dolls to buy American Girl dolls for my daughters.
Now those dolls and clothes are collectible!
I have bought a few recent Barbies that happened to appeal to me, Mad Men Joan and Roger, The Birds' Tippi Hedren, Frida Kahlo.
Tippi by Nadine, on FlickrYes, she has the unibrow by Nadine, on Flickr

 

D'aww, thanks! I have an obsessive need to collect information. Add that to an obsessive need to collect dolls, and both my house and my hard drive are exploding with stuff.

phanuel that Tippi doll is just gorgeous! Wow!

 

I haven't owned a barbie since I was 7 or 8 I think, but every time I see one of the fancier barbies at the store (the Signature collection ones or ones with better-quality outfits in particular) I can't help but turn my head and admire them.

I don't really like the construction of barbies' bodies, but I sometimes wish I had a mature resin doll in that scale so I could buy the barbies just for their clothes, to be honest!

I remember seeing boxes of this gorgeously-dressed doll around christmas a few years ago in the local Walmart and wanting her dress SO BAD, but I didn't have any dolls that would have fit in it. I actually ended up buying it as a christmas gift for my younger cousin, though.


One of my friends when I was much younger had a lot of vintage barbie clothes from her mom's younger days, and I remember being super jealous of her dolls the older clothes were quite pretty, I would have loved to own some for the dolls I had at the time, though I don't think they would have fit either.

 

Oh Phanuel! I love the Frida Kahlo Barbie doll! I have mine next to the black dress Day of the Dead Barbie. They look great together!

 

@Rabbit-moon , oh, I hadn't seen the Day of the Dead Barbie! They do make a great pair.
@MaleficentMrsofEvil , the Tippi clothes are lovely and the Frida doll has wonderful detail, and yet they were both reasonably priced. The Mad Men dolls are Silkstone and rather pricey.
I also have the Madame Alexander Tippi that includes the "fur" coat.
T... for Tippi Hedren by Nadine, on Flickr

 

LOL! Phanuel, the dolls for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds crack me up! Always with the birds attached. (Love the mint suit, though. It's so 60s. )

Oh, and I misspoke about the Day of the Dead Barbie; she's actually called Dia De Los Muertos Barbie. (I guess I just translated it in my head. ). In any case, she's awesome!

 

@Rabbit-moon , even funnier than the Birds doll is Madame Alexander's Psycho doll...
https://www.amazon.com/Alfred-Hitchcock-Psycho-Madame-Alexander/dp/B000NM8PA2

 

OMG! That's hilarious!

 

Y'all make me laugh so hard it scares my cats.

$400? Worth every penny.

 

For new ones I buy made to move or almost at jointed but usually it’s to hybrid an older doll’s head onto it. Obitsu and Volks spoiled me for joints. I might buy for an outfit or accessories. I did like one of the fashionistas and was over the moon to finally get her a jointed body. If you can get them the four different M2M bodies are fun.
Some of my oldest gals are still in one piece, some dolls I sold myself. When I get moved even more will have to go.
By the way the rooted Ken head does match the skin tone of the wheel chair one. Use heat to make head swapping easier.

 

I like the bighead dolls like bratz , rainbow high , monster high , disney etc not so much the "barbie" type of dolls , I certainly have plenty of retro barbies out of nostalgia mostly , and some collector dolls of dolls of the world series , and I like Goddess and Mbilli facemolds (the old bigger ones more) and I also I like putting some of those 5-points of articulation fashionista dolls and display them in a nice-collector like dress mostly historical , but I have a huge deep hatred for modern dressed made to move barbies that are used in stories online and they are everywhere today , don't know why , maybe they remind me the girls that bullied me in highschool ? maybe it's the vibes they give but I just despise those ... like Sid toy story levels despise lol I had some gave them away first chance!! it never worked!! Don't misunderstand me I liked the old barbie collector "dolls of the world" and Bob Mackie and Byron Lars and I like all the variety of colors and body types in modern barbie , and I loved hasbro's Sindy which reminded me a bit of Princess Diana , but as long they stay mint and stattuesque , playline barbie in modern clothes with mobility to play in stories gives me huge creeps and I admit it I want to smash her constantly smiley face. I think it's sure I'm a bratz girl and before that a Sindy and Fleur girl , does anyone remember fleur doll? Well that was a fave!! I need a big head both in girlz and boyz!!

 

These are the ladies of the court, goddesses or muses or something. Barbie wasn't an interest of mine when I was a kid, I was more a Horse Girl. But now as an adult with the chanc to have real skin colors and fun hair and made to move bodies.... I cannot resist a few! So here are Dawn, Amethyst and Skye. Dawn, a Little Mermaid Caspia, is going to get her Made to Move body as soon as I can do the swap. I did it for Amethyst the purple Odile Mermaid and I painted over pixely parts of her face. Skye I got from a customizer on ebay who puts cool heads on MTM bodies and resells them. I think she's a Fashionista or barbie Looks head? I always forget which number.

 

I have about 180 Barbies. I love them. Are we allowed to talk about them?

 

Maybe that's why I don't like modern dressed Barbies they were seemed less of a toy for sale to make a profit by a company and more a tool for whole lifestyle advertising/propaganda and if what you say it's true the sale with loss (less than it cost) while it's the basic toy of Mattel makes it look even worse in my mind. I live in Europe my ideal dolls of childhood were the lovely elgreco and furga dolls, my first fashion dolls were bibibo by elgreco and a brunette Fleur, I liked from child bighead dolls,I wasn't a fan of barbie until I saw dolls princesses of the world especially the Incas, China and South Africa ones , those original headsculpts of goddess and mbili looked like expensive dolls in their aesthetics. I don't think it's about modern production quality my dislike, it's that I don't like most barbie facemolds I find the aesthetics cheap and a bit ugly no matter the quality of production . That's why I could have a Fleur in a tee and shorts and still love it but a barbie has to be dressed in something more fairytale/historic to be in my house . I don't change my mind in those mtm I despise those deeply , I thought the bodies may work when used with Disney store heads but still don't like them so out I sent them.
Very interesting information you shared it might explain a bit their advertising tactics and my dislike as well.

 

You can in this thread! They are Off Topic for the main forum but "Watch" this thread and you can share all about Barbies here!

 

Karolina Zebrowska recently did a video about how Barbie's fashions have gone down hill. I can definitely say the last few new Barbies I bought were for parts to hybrid. The only one I specifically bought for her outfit was the grey furry surprise and had to throw away most of the accessories because they were wet. I only look now because I need a specific face mold in a specific skin tone. And I had to have an Odile mermaid.

 

Oh boy! My people!!!

 

Hello, fellow Barbie addict!
So I pre-ordered the new Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy dolls from Mattel. Then I found out that (in the U.S.) Target is offering a 15 percent off discount on all toys, including the new doll pre-orders. If you have a Target debit card, it's an additional 5 percent off (Target stacks them so that you get a total 20 percent discount).
Oops.

Editing to add dolly tax (pictures):

Some DC, plus some random


Kayla and Barbie


My favorite Barbie

 

@MaleficentMrsofEvil
What beautiful dolls you have! I like those minis a lot too! I like older dolls and rarely to never get the new releases, but your bunch is a beautiful group!! Are you on IG?

Edit:Apologies for the multiple posts. I realize now that I should have added this to my earlier reply, but now I can't delete this comment. I'm a slow learner

 

No Barbie kind of had their time for me in my childhood due to shortcomings on representation. I have bad experiences with mine from ripping the heads off etc. I still buy their clothes since they are affordable and fit some of my 1/6 scale dolls. I did want to buy the carebear collaboration ones but I don’t think I will. Saw the Barbie movie and enjoyed it though.