As promised in
my post about Fashionista #133 (the new release with the wheelchair) weekend before last, today I'm unboxing Barbie Fashionista #121.
Fashionista 121 is distinguished from the rest of the line by her prosthetic left leg. Unlike
133, who came on a multi-jointed body, this doll has the standard five points of articulation that most of the Fashionistas have by default, however there is some rotational movement to the hip on the left leg that we don't see in the standard bodies (or on the right leg of this doll). Some dolls in this line are noted by being shorter, taller, or chubbier, but (leg aside) this particular model is on the standard height/size body.
This doll is in a medium skin tone and has long brown hair and green painted eyes. Her accessories include a sleeveless sweatshirt dress, hoop earrings and white flat shoes. Her prosthesis is an above-knee one, and seems to be sculpted to resemble one with a microprocessor-type knee. I'm mildly surprised that they went with an above-knee style, since below-knee amputations are so much more common, but either way it's an interesting design.
Let's take a closer look!
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| In the box. |
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| The back of the box. |
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| Out of the box: front view. |
I have to be honest though, I'm not terribly impressed with the hair and outfit on this one. So many of the Fashionista dolls have come with such interesting clothing, it's a shame that this one's outfit is so bland.
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| Side view. |
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| Rear view. |
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| Side view of the leg. |
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| Rear view of the leg. |
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| Seated & showing off the slight hip rotation of the left leg. |
I have to confess, I love the idea of this doll far more than I love the execution. I'm still glad she exists, but having seen prosthesis wearing amputee character dolls from Monster High (like
Vandala and
Hexiciah) with far more interesting designs, I couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed here. But to be fair, a big part of that might just be how unimpressed I was with her outfit.
In any case, I love that a doll with a prosthetic leg has become part of the Fashionista line and I'm happy to have her in my collection! If you've picked her up, I'd love to hear what you think.
I think it's great that they've included this girl in the collection, I like how people with disabilities are being included in the dolly world. I agree that the dress is a little bit on the boring side, maybe they thought they'd been adventurous enough with the prosthesis so why bother with the outfit!!
ReplyDeleteShe has a very pretty face by the way!
xx
I did wonder if they picked such a short dress just to maximize the buyer's ability to see the prosthesis through the packaging! :)
DeleteThank you for the review. I'm happy Mattel is releasing these sorts of dolls to be honest. Like you, I'm not fussed on her hair or outfit either and while the prosthetic leg looks good, I think it could have been designed a bit better but overall, I think it's great they are bringing out dolls like this.
ReplyDeleteYup, I appreciate that they have this doll in their most affordable collection, but at the same time have a hard time not wishing there was also a higher quality version. But who knows, maybe that'll will be something for a future release! :)
DeleteLove the idea of this doll JS, just don't like the way it's been put together and hate the very obvious seam in the grey leg! And how come she has a pink foot at the end of the prosthetic leg, it looks kinda weird. I think Mattel need to research this better beforehand, if they are going to do it, do it well or not at all.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
X
The obvious seam is annoying. The pick foot is actually pretty realistic though, most foot shells on real prosthetic feet are flesh colour. I wish they'd made this one jointed though!
DeleteI saw that you published this a few days ago, but I didn't find the time to properly read this and comment. Busy life.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with most of what you said, it's a great concept for a doll, but it could have been better. Since they made 2 wheelchair dolls, they could have made also 2 dolls with a prosthetic leg. Also,considering that this is an unique body, they could have made an articulated version. Maybe Mattel just launched this one to test the waters and they will come up with better ones in the future.
I think that, overall, Mattel is moving in the right direction making dolls with different abled bodies. I hope to see more of this type of dolls in the near future. Also, I'd love to see a doll with vitiligo. Great review!
Yes, I'm hoping they'll do additional dolls with the prosthetics in other skin tones and eventually on a jointed body as well.
DeleteThey've done a doll that's meant to look like someone with albinism, so maybe a doll with vitiligo will be on the horizon as well! :)
I think they should've gone all out and gave this girl a MTM body. I saw someone customize her into one on IG and she looked amazing! The prosthetic leg was still straight, but she posed nicely otherwise. I'm excited about the idea of this doll as well and what it symbolizes to the future of dolls. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so hopefully that they'll make more of these (in other skin tones and/or with a jointed body) in the future. And I hope we see new designs representing other disabilities as well. I love that they didn't stop with just the height and size differences when it came to adding body type diversity to the line! :)
DeleteI said this on your previous post, but I didn't know that Barbie was doing this, and honestly love it!! It is perfect and she looks so cute <3
ReplyDeleteI love that they're releasing dolls like this too! :)
DeleteShe is just perfect with the prosthetic leg!
ReplyDelete