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Sunday, September 13, 2015

Rururkos, Momokos, Fashionistas, Fashion Royalty - Oh My!

It has been a while since I have posted or even taken doll pictures. There has been a lot going on dealing with my health issues and depression. I never could have imagined how difficult it would be dealing with insurance companies! I am not going to go into here, but suffice it to say their main goal is not to help you, but to do their best not to pay you! Enough on that -- it just depresses me more! I have been trying to get out of this funk I have been in by purchasing some much coveted new dolls.

Over the past several months, I have been a "bad" girl and after a short moratorium on buying dolls, I went whole hog and really have expanded my collection. Let's start with Ruruko and Momoko dolls. I signed up with Petworks to get advance notice on these lovely ladies. First, the Ruruko dolls. I now have 5 of these little sweeties! Here we go!


From L to R: Tutu Ruruko, CCS Girl 15AN Ruruko, Ruruko Dreaming, Cotton Candy Ruruko, CCS 15SS Ruruko
I purchased Ruruko Dreaming and Cotton Candy from eBay sellers for very reasonable prices and I purchased the other 3 directly from Petworks. These little ladies command very high prices on eBay and other secondary market sellers, so I felt very lucky to get Dreaming and Cotton Candy for about the same prices as they sell for at Petworks. 

Many collectors of the Ruruko dolls feel a need to provide big sisters from the Momoko line for their Ruruko kids. I already had some that fit the bill and I also bought a few new ones from Petworks and from Miniwoo. I even re-styled one Momoko into a big brother!


CCS 15SS Momoko on Slim Male Obitsu Body, Sekiguchi Momoko Preppy Girl with CCS 15SS dress, Deep Purple Momoko, Merry-Go-Round Momoko, Sekiguchi Momoko Dancing with Kittens


Then came the task of matching each Ruruko up with a sibling. This was not as easy as you might think! For some it was a no brainer as I had the corresponding Momoko for some of the Rurukos. For some I am still weighing a couple of options. Here goes!

I matched Tutu Ruruko with Sekiguchi Momoko Dancing with Kittens


Ruruko Dreaming with Merry-Go-Round Momoko

CCS 15SS Ruruko with Male Hybrid Momoko and Preppy Girl Momoko


Because I missed out on the corresponding Momoko for this girl, I matched this J-doll with CCS 15AN Ruruko

Next, I have a choice to make -- which doll do you think would be the better big sister for this Cotton Candy Ruruko?
Left: Fashionista Redhead Skipper with Cotton Candy Ruruko
 or
Right: Deep Purple Momoko with Cotton Candy Ruruko

The 2014 and 2015 line of Fashionistas and Style dolls has been nothing if not stellar. At least for the facemolds. I think Mattel missed the mark when they did not give these dolls full body articulation.  However, these new facemolds have launched a renewed interest by adult collectors for the Barbie line. You have seen some of the earlier dolls I purchased, but I have managed to find a few more (imagine that!) after searching online daily for these ladies from various resources. Here is what I have added to my ever expanding collection from these lines in the past few weeks.


The Lea facemolds. Left is the 2015 Fashionista on a pale Momoko body. Glam Night Style Lea. She had arm articulation, so I swapped legs with a Director Barbie.  I got these both at Walmart.com.
Here is a close up of their facemolds:







The Asha and Goddess molds: On the left is the Fashionista with the Asha facemold. She comes with an updo, but I restyled her hair. She has been rebodied on a Style Theresa body.  On the right is the Fashionisa with the Goddess facemold. She has been redressed and is on a Style Nikki body. I got both of these at Walmart.com.
Closeups:





On the left we have a Fashionista with a Skipper facemold and red hair. She has been redressed. Originally, she had and outfit with a donut T-shirt. She has a hybrid body with the body and arms  of a Glam Night Friend and the legs of a Film Director Barbie. On the right is a Glam Night Style friend with a new facemold. She got a Style Theresa body and I am calling her Anna. I redressed her in this cute outfit I found on Amazon. I got Skipper on Amazon and Anna from Walmart.com.
They are ready for their closeups:



Brand New facemolds: On the left is the LA Girl Fashionista rebodied on a Divergent Tris body. She was very hard to find and finally was available on BarbieCollector.com, but only for a short period of time. Her hairdo reminds me of Demi Lovato, so I am calling her Demi.  On the right is a new Fashionista -- AA with red highlighted hair. Her skin tone matched Nikki, so she got a LITDH Nikki body. I got her online from Amazon before the prices sky rocketed. She is now available on Barbie Collector.com.
Their Closeups:


Here is a group shot of my 2014 and 2015 Fashionistas and Style dolls. I might be missing a few here, but the last year has been good for getting some great new faces from Mattel. I just wish somebody would tell them to articulate! LOL! I apologize in advance for the blurry photo. It was really hard to get them all in focus.




I also ordered a Glam Style doll from a seller in Japan from Amazon. I found this very interesting. She has full articulation. Her outfit is one that is very different from what you see here. Looking at the back of the box, you see other dolls in this release, with outfits that are unique to Japan. Since the head was a Barbie that I have, I decided to use her body for my blonde 2015 Barbie Look doll.  Her are the photos:


Only one of these dolls is the exact same as in the US




Finally, my recent Fashion Royalty purchases. One thing about being in the W-Club is you get an opportunity to pre-order dolls that may come much later in the year. What I have to be careful of is forgetting that I have one coming and not planning for making the final payments later. What I do like is that I have been able to acquire dolls that I never would have been able to afford in the secondary market. Here are my latest additions.


Here are Mood Changers Poppy Parker. I also ordered some of the extra bodies from IT so have all the heads on their own body. I also boil washed and conditioned their hair and redressed them in more casual clothes. I absolutely love the redhead!

Nigel North arrived! I don't even know what to say about him. He has some nice accessorie, but this outfit??!! And his hair! Looks like he is having a bad hair day!


Nigel got a boil wash and a new wardrobe. Personally, I think it is a great improvement!



Lastly, I added Style Notes Isha to my collection. Sheer perfection!



That is all for now. I also purchased some items to do a blog anniversary give-a-way. Even though my anniversary was a while ago now, I don't think is it ever too late to celebrate. I will do a post soon with what I am giving away and what the criteria will be to enter in the drawing for prizes. Stay tuned for more!

36 comments:

  1. Phyllis, so great to have you back with us again. I learned from my mother that when things in life go bad, the bad go shopping!! There's nothing like the adorable (or the drop dead gorgeous) face of a doll to cheer a collector (or a child) up!!! I first saw the Ruruko dolls on "For the Love of Dolls" blog. They are so precious. You've also made some really nice choices where the other dolls are concerned as well. And thank you for the insight about the W club. At some point I may consider this.

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    1. So true about how the face of a doll can go a long way to cheer you up. With both physical issues and depression (one kind of feeds the other!), it is sometimes very overwhelming and it doesn't help to have to deal with those insurance companies. They have even made my Drs. angry.

      I am very glad that I joined the W Club as the prices are much better than on the secondary market and the team at IT is always great to work with if you have any quality issues.

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  2. There you are! So glad to see you.

    Nigel's hair definitely benefited from boilwashing away the tight curls. He now looks more Fabio and less Betty White.

    With Cotton Candy Ruroko, I change my mind about the matching big sister every time I look at the photos! I think I'm leaning a little toward the Momoko choice, though I may just be carried away by how pretty she is.

    All the Rurokos are adorable, and I particularly like the one in the library dress.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I could not believe the difference the boil wash gave Nigel's hair! He looks so much better now! I do so love the Rurukos. They are just too darn cute.

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  3. So sorry to hear you are struggling. I'm sending many hugs to you. Retail therapy is also a great option. I love, love, love your Rururkos and your Momokos. I like the pairing up you did. For your last option, I'm leaning towards the Barbie, but only because of the hair color. Congrats on all your other purchases, particularly the Poppys and the Isha. I hope you feel better real soon.

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    1. Thanks for the hugs, Vanessa! I know you haven't been feeling well either, so am sending some back to you too. I am leaning towards matching the Cotton Candy Ruruko with the Skipper because of the closer hair color match. I have a Licca Tommy on a Pure Neemo XS boy body that suits the Deep Purple Momoko quite well, so I think they will be brother and sister.

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  4. Like I said on Flickr i like the redhead Ruruko to go with the brunette Momoko cuz my bf has similar brown hair to the Momoko while his sister has bright red curly hair. I love all your fashionista hybrids and im completely envious of your collection
    I suffer depression too and dealing with companies/people who simply don't want help you can just make a huge cycle of depression and stress and i completely understand. At the very least those feelings can be channelled into dolls lol.

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    1. Jawn, thanks for stopping by here and my Flickr. You know I have learned a lot from you about "Frankendollying"! It makes my so happy to hear that you like my collection! With all of the body swapping I have done, I have a lot of extra heads, so I am going to try my hand at re-rooting. I just got some hair and tools from Restore Doll. It is nice to have this hobby to focus on.

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  5. So sorry you are having such problems, hope you work things out with the insurance company.

    Wow, you really did add quite a few dolls. I have never heard of the Ruruko or Momoko dolls, but they are very cute.

    Nigel definitely benefitted from his makeover. His original outfit looks like something my Mod Ken would wear,LOL.

    They are all nice additions to your collection.

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    1. Thank you, Chris! I discovered Ruruko a couple of years ago, but always found them way too expensive on eBay. After joining Petworks, it made it much more possible to buy both the Ruruko and Momoko dolls, but you do have to snap them up fast as they sell very quickly. I know what you mean about poor Nigel's hair. He was very happy with him makeover too!

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  6. Wow! A lot of good purchases. I vote for the following pairing: Left: Fashionista Redhead Skipper with Cotton Candy Ruruko. I think the red hair seals the deal.

    Sorry to hear about the insurance company issues. They can be ridiculous.

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    1. Thanks for your vote! I have decided to pair up the Redhead Skipper with the Cotton Candy Ruruko. The Deep Purple Momoko is getting a little brother that is a Licca Tommy/Pure Neemo XS hybrid. So glad you stopped by.

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  7. Hi Phyllis, I can understand how you feel, working with insurance companies every day I have to agree with you. Furthermore I know something about depression as both my parents suffer from it, I've been dealing with the black monster for 20 years now....but I'm happy to see that you're facing all the difficulties....and yes, shopping helps!
    Let me say that your new arrivals are stunning, I really like the Ruruko and Momoko, I don't collect them but they have wonderful faces and clothes. I think that Cotton Candy looks perfect as fashionista Skipper sister.
    Nigel looks a lot better with his new hairdo. This new sculpt has a lot of possibilities but they did an awful job with his hair, do you remember poor Goffredo when he arrived home? but Nigel looks a lot worste.

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    1. Hi Billa! Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I do remember your Goffredo's hair and the great job you did of restyling him. Nigel was so happy with his makeover as it helps him with the ladies around here!

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  8. Hi Phyllis, glad to read you! I understand how you feel, and such issues as insurance troubles do make it worse, I hope everything is solved soon! It's a real treat to see your beautiful dolls, wow, I enjoyed your photos so much! I think both Momoko and Skipper look great with Ruruko, maybe she can have two sisters :-)? Nigel looks very cool now, his hair is much better, very handsome doll!

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    1. Glad you stopped by! The encouragement from others makes me want to do more with my dolls. Nigel thanks you for the vote of confidence on his makeover too!

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  9. Beautiful collection. I don't think I've seen so many of the new Fashionistas in the same hands. Nigel looks like a god with the new hairstyle. Hugs!

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    1. Haha! I was on a mission for sure! I couldn't believe the transformation with Nigel. Look how long his hair really is too? What was IT thinking?

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  10. Wspaniale rozszerza się Twoja Kolekcja! Dziewczyny są piękne! Lalki IT są cudne! Cieszę się, że udało Ci się kupić kolejne :-)
    Życzę Ci również dużo zdrowia i mało zmartwień!
    Pozdrawiam serdecznie!

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    1. Thank you so much! I am glad that you like my new dolls. I still have a few more IT dolls on order that will come either later this year or early 2016. Now I need to work on my dios so I can play with them more and write some of the stories that are in my head.

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  11. And here I was thinking I'd bought too many dolls in the past couple of months. Your lineup of newbies puts my handful of purchases to shame. I hope to post them soon. I have a few of the Fashionistas above plus three Hommes, a Dynamite girl, and Georgia Girl is delivering my first OOAK at our doll club meeting this Saturday. All are great, but Style Notes Isha is STUNNING!

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    1. Yes, I did go a bit overboard (says Phyllis as she blushes with embarassment). Well, at least I made myself happy and the doll sellers happy too!

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  12. Those Momokos and Rurukos and their clothes and shoes are just too stinking cute!

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    1. Yes, they are! They have definitely stolen my heart and hijacked my pocketbook!

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  13. I like your family pairings - the Momokos and Rurukos are very cute dolls. And it was great fun seeing all your new purchases, some of those new faces are wonderful. I wish their articulation was as good. Depression is one of the most difficult things to deal with, my husband suffers from it too and we are now developing strategies to help him (and us) deal with it. Glad to hear the shopping helped.

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    1. Thank you so much. I am sorry you and your husband have to deal with it too. It can be very dibilitating. I am getting help too, which is so important.

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  14. Phyllis your momokos and Rurukos puts mine to shame. I have only one of those little darlings and two momokos. I adore them but haven't expanded my collection as much as I would like too. They remind me so much of vintage Stacey and Francie, and are so cute.
    On the depression end, I hear you. I went through it and so did my husband with financial issues a few years ago and it was very hard for us to pull ourselves out of it, not due to health but depression can take its toll in other ways. So I know , what you are going through. I think our dolls help us , or our outside interests help pull us out of those black moods. Glad to see you back to blogging again and I just purchased LA Girl too! Your moods girls and Nigel look grreat!

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    1. I am glad that you like my dolls. Sorry to hear that you have had issues with it too. It is so important to get help.

      I was so surprised by the change boil washing Nigel's hair made. What a difference! He went from a dork to a hottie is a few hours!

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  15. Hello from Spain: it is great to see you back. In my country insurance companies work very badly.They never help. All problems. You have a fabulous collection of dolls. Great looks. Keep in touch

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    1. Thanks for your words of support. I am so happy that you enjoyed seeing my dolls. I need to get to work on dioramas and stories as that is what I love to do.

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  16. Hi Phyllis,

    I am so glad you are back.
    I know How it can be difficult to deal with the assurances. It's happen to me the same think 2 years ago. I finally gave up because I started to be more sick.

    Now let's speak about dolls : Congratulation for all your new dolls. Gratefully we have dolls in our life. When I saw all your new dolls I started to regret for not buying some of them : Isha and Nigel are so gorgeous.

    Also, I am so happy that you received the package. Now I can't wait to see your pictures with the fashions.

    See you soon and take care of yourself.

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    1. Thanks for the support. It helps knowing there are people out there that understand.

      I am so glad you like my new dolls. I will be taking pictures soon and sharing them. I need to get a new background for my photos to do those outfits justice. I am so impressed with your sewing and design ability. Both me and my dolls thank you!

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  17. Wow what a great collection! I have Barbies, Dynamite Girls, EAH and MH. O loved this new Fashionistas collection, however I really miss the full articulated bodies...

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    1. Thanks! I am glad that you like my collection. Word has it that Mattel will be introducing some dolls with new articulation more like action figures. Can't wait to see!

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  18. Holy freeoli, now that's a collection! I still have not seen that LA Barbie in my stores or maybe it's selling out before I can find her.

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  19. Hello there! You have such a large collection! You made a good point about the fashionistas articulated bodies. When they removed the articulation from the fashionistas, they launched the Style Luxe dolls with fully articulated bodies. But then, all of the sudden, they started mixing dolls with no articulation at all, articulated dolls and dolls that only had articulated arms. That makes no sense!
    I agree with you, if the new fashionistas came articulated, it would have been much better. I hope we can see more of this new characters in the Stlye Luxe line... with fully articulated bodies.

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