Out of the Box: Dhara (Prettie Girls Tween Scene)

Pretty Girls Tween Scene Dhara

Back in November of 2014, I posted about Dahlia from the then-new Prettie Girls fashion doll line. In 2015, thanks to a collaboration with Robert Tonner, the same set of characters were released in the style of Tonner's Little Miss Matched line (although this time around Dahlia has been renamed Dhara - she still has the dual braids and the South Asian designation though).  Although they were released in October 2015, I'm not a huge fan of this particular stylized face sculpt, so I held off on picking one of these up  until a recent price drop (they normally retail for around $30 USD, but are now offered at Wal-Mart for $23 USD).

Unlike the first series which were fairly standard 12" fashion dolls, this line is on a taller 15.5" (almost 40cm) body. Although I don't own a Little Miss Matched doll, from photos I've seen, this body is similar but not identical to that line (the face style on the other hand is very much in the same style).

Because of the size difference, it actually took me an embarrassingly long time to find these dolls in store - due to the large boxes, they turned out to have been shelved with baby dolls rather than fashion dolls. So if you're like me and have been looking in the wrong section, now you know!




 This release has traded the purple packaging of the fashion doll line for a pink and blue colour scheme.

The front of the box

The back of the box describes the line (but not the doll's character, which was what the original line's boxes had):

The pink inner box slides out easily, and since the doll is attached via a few paper ties, the unboxing is nice and simple.

The doll comes dressed in floral leggings, red sculpted vinyl shoes and a grey long-sleeved top. She's accompanied by two accessories: a floral sleeveless top that matches the leggings, and a red sequined backpack (which was shedding sequins whenever I touched it). There's also a poster that's really just advertising for the tie-in outfit packs.

Out of the box.

The backpack and extra top.

Wearing the extra top.
It's a few too many flowers for my tastes...

The poster/advertising sheet.

The vinyl of the body matches that of her head perfectly (aside from the white painted underwear), and she doll has ten points of articulation (neck, shoulders, elbows, chest, hips, knees). The lack of wrist articulation means she can't touch her face, but that's not unusual for dolls in this size range.

Waving and doing the splits.

Most of her limbs have ball joints, but the hips don't, which limits her posing somewhat and also (given the narrow placement of her legs) makes it more challenging than it should be to get her to stand. She does sit solidly though.

Sitting down.

Compared to the original version of the character, this doll is slightly darker skinned, but still has her double braids, green eyes, and while the patterns and colours differ, is still wearing floral leggings.

The two versions.

Two sizes and two names, but one character.

Although basically a fashion doll, the height means that she looks equally at home with play dolls (although her skinnier bodies means clothes-sharing would be out of the question).

Between Hearts for Hearts Surjan & American Girl Cécile

Overall she's a nice enough doll, and while I'm happy to see new body types on the market, I'm just not thrilled with the look (and the weak standing ability).  Still, if you're buying for a child, the clothes and hair seem fairly sturdy (and if you're looking for more diversity than the standard two white/one black doll that a lot of lines offer, that's here too). And if you're more of a fan of this type of stylized face, I think she'd be a great addition to a collection as well.

Dhara stops to smell the flowers.