The Girl Takes After Me

She cannot be the opposite of Barbie. She wants to be Barbie and thinks she can be better at it. It's like those collector-turned-doll-critics (like me) who think they can do a better job than those who work at Mattel. More than the love-hate relationship with Barbie, Raquelle takes a lot more after me.

That is why of all the cast of Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, I relate best with Rrrraquelle. I like her even before the series, as a Fashionista. She wears less pink, for starters.

I may react the same way if I lived in a world where people blindly follow Barbie just because she is Barbie. Remember that "trashy" fashion people there starting copying? I will do my darnest to expose why Barbie shouldn't have that authority. Just look at how she can't hold a job for too long, 136 jobs in 55 years!

Enough about trash talking Barbie. A lot of people have written books on it, anyways. Let's talk about Raquelle.

She's pretty. Usually, she's the prettiest in the doll line she belongs to. I like her character. She is no goody two shoe. I like her style. I like that although she is not specified to be of Asian descent, she can be made to look like one. I was wondering how she would look with a close mouth. I was surprise that they released her with one and an uneven smile for added character.

That smile perfectly conveys how I feel about a lot of things.

As much as I like Raquelle, I cannot take her big head and big eyes. I have to shrink her head and repaint her eyes to enjoy her. The series Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse may not be "The MostPopular Girls in School", but it is funny in their own way. It gave the doll I love more character than what I usually come up with and now I love her more.

Bombers

Both bomber jackets were done by me

Kira's Comeback Care of Carlyle

One item from this year's National Barbie Convention piqued my interest. It was not a doll but a sketch for the 3rd Global Glamour Barbie. I first saw it from this site.

The dress on the sketch has an undeniably Filipino flavor, specifically the sleeves of the Philippine terno. When I zoomed in, I read the word "Philippines". (I can't read the other words above it.) Now, that is the dress the first DOTW Philippines should have had!

More details on the doll was provided by a Mattel employee, Carlyle, in Flickr. Below is a portion of the screen shot from that site. It looks like it is his design. Good job!

The Kira face sculpt will be used for Mutya, the third Global Glamour Barbie! When I said that Mattel is deaf to our feedback, of course I was exaggerating. Somehow, the ideas on my old blog entry made its way to Mattel.

 OOAK Kira I did

It's too early for me to be excited over a sketch. There are a lot of factors I'd like to consider before buying a doll. Two of them have been satisfied by the sketch but there are more.

• Dress (check)
• Face sculpt (check)
• Facial screening (uggh!)
• Skin tone (check)
• Articulation (meh)
• Price tag (naah)

___________

24Nov2014 Update:
I've made up my mind. I'm not getting the Mutya Barbie.

27Jan2015 Update:
This is my first impression from the publicity photos.
 

Mattel: A Slow Learner

Once again, Mattel sales fall by 9% for the second quarter of 2014. One would think that they have learned enough from the last quarter. The decrease is partly due to the sales performance of Barbie products which is down by 15% compared to last year. This is the biggest decline for Barbie since mid-2009 according to this article.

Even though Mattel tried to improve the sales by giving discounts every now and then, buyers were a lot more wiser! I don't know how buyers feel that the dolls were being offered a certain price and then be offered a lower price after a month or so. If I were the buyer, I would feel like a fool! Why can't they offer the dolls at the lower price right away?

Even at a lower price, the sales did not improve. It is safe to say that the increase in price alone is not the issue. Buyers want certain innovations and a level of quality before they will buy at a given price. The doll community has been filled with a lot of whining regarding the degrading quality of the newer Barbie dolls. A lot has been too tired of whining since the toy company is not really showing any sign that they are attuned to the demands of the adult consumers.

As much as I want to echo the bright ideas the whiny collectors (like me) have been voicing out, I still think it is futile. The ideas have been posted out there. It's not my job to sum it all up for Mattel. Plus, what's in it for me?

What else? A higher price tag for the dolls I want to buy.

Jean

Barbie doll (Generation Girl face mold) inspired by X-men Jean Grey wearing her classic color.

I like her pale lips and light gray eye shadow which is really shimmery in person.