Out of the Box: Sascha (Double Dutch Dolls)

Double Dutch Dolls "Sascha"

Before I talk about this doll, can I just mention how many times I (as a Sasha Doll fan) typed "Sasha" instead of "Sascha" while writing this?  It was certainly more of a challenge than I expected.  Anyway, on to the new doll!

A few months ago I started reading reviews of the first two dolls released from the new Double Dutch Dolls line - a line of dolls and books that were created with the goal of "celebrating the beauty, experiences, and diversity of multi-cultural children".  The creators had a Kickstarter campaign going to fund the rest of the line.  I was fairly impressed with what had been released so far, and made enough of a contribution to receive one of the new dolls once they were released - and today that doll arrived.

The dolls in the line are 18" slim dolls, similar in height to American Girl dolls, but slimmer and with slightly more mature features and bodies.  They have 11 points of articulation (knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders, neck), inset acrylic eyes, and wigged hair.


The dolls ship out in a pink striped cardboard box . The boxes front window allows for nearly a full view of the doll inside.

In the box.

Removed from the box, the doll is secured to the inner shell via two tie-downs at the dolls neck and ankles.

The inner shell.

Out of the box and out of her pink jacket.

Sascha is outfitted in a pink jacked, white tunic-length t-shirt, patterned leggings, black socks and faux-patent ankle boots.  Having heard stories of the first two dolls having stains from their socks, one of the first things I did after removing this doll from her packaging was to take off her shoes and socks and check: I'm happy to report that there was no staining, so hopefully that issue has been resolved.

Stain free and showing off her jointing.

The outfit is decent quality, although the soles of the shoes are a bit of a flimsy foam-like material, which surprised me given the construction of the rest of the shoe.  That aside, the t-shirt is decent (if simple) and the leggings and jacket are nicely made (and I love the pattern on the leggings).

The real outstanding part of this doll is her hair - I don't think I've ever seen a doll with such a thick wig.  My mother is visiting this week for the holidays, and spent about 10 minutes commenting on how much hair this doll has - when I started taking the single hairpin out, my mum's response was "Don't do it!  You'll never be able to see her face again!"

My mother was not wrong: The hair does tend to
cover Sascha's face when it's not pinned back. 

I think the biggest challenge people may have with this doll will be related to clothes-sharing - she's too small to share with American Girl/Our Generation/18" Madame Alexander/Maplelea dolls, and too large to share with Hearts for Hearts type dolls.  That said, I've heard that there may be some sharing potential with BFC INK or Carpatina dolls, but I can't confirm that since I don't have either (although I may be receiving a Carpatina doll as part of a New Year's gift exchange, so I may have the chance to make some additional comparisons in the future).

Compared to American Girl

Compared to a Hearts for Hearts doll.

Aside from size, I think the other thing that distinguishes these dolls from others in this size range is the less-round face, which gives the doll a more mature look - which makes sense, as the characters in the tie-in books are apparently 14 versus the 9- and 10-year-olds who appear in most of the AG tie-in stories.

Overall, I'm always eager to see new dolls from new doll lines, and this doll is a solid realization of the creator's 2D vision.  I'm hopeful that this line will continue to expand as I'm looking forward to seeing how the final 3 planned dolls turn out.