I don't usually do box openings, but I was so excited for the debut of the new line of Barbie Style dolls, that I wanted to do a full review of my impression of the first in the line of these dolls. I have long been a fan of the Instagram account @BarbieStyle and was one of the followers who clamored for Mattel to grace our collections with the beautiful dolls we saw on those pages. I loved the sophistication of the look of the dolls on the Instagram account and wanted my dolls to at least have the very well made clothes you saw on the dolls that graced those pages! I could not help but notice that almost all of the dolls appeared to be Made-To-Move as well! So, when Mattel announced the launch of the dolls and gave us the opportunity to vote on what the first dolls would look like, I jumped at the chance. I will tell you, though that this first doll was not dressed the way the I envisioned her. At any rate, I found the doll to be done very well and I was not disappointed and was pleased to use my $20 coupon from the Signature club to purchase her. So here we go!
When you open the outer box, you are greeted with a very nice box protected with tissue paper. Don't worry, no photos of the tissue paper, but here is the box:
The box is a sturdy cardboard with a very nice marble design suitable for a photo background. Next, here is what you get when you open it up!
The inside of the box had side flaps with very nice artwork depicting the doll like you would see her on the pages of the Instagram account. The center of the box contains the two outfits and accessories on either side of the doll. The doll itself has a shaded panel hiding most of her body so as to keep the secret for just a little longer! The side panel artwork is very well done, so let's take a quick look at it:
The left panel has a dressing room scene so you can see what the doll and the outfits and accessories look like. Barbie is dressed in the pink suit. I wish they had included that chair!
The right panel shows the doll on a street dressed in the blue dress a black jacket as well as a closeup portrait of her.
Now it is time to see what is behind that shaded panel!
Upon closer inspection, you can see that Barbie is wearing a pair of underpants and a T-shirt. The clothing is held in with a plastic form shaped like the clothes. No little plastic do-hickies (what are those called?) holding them in, so no damage to the fabric when taking the clothes out of the packaging. Very similar to the how they packaged the Creatable World doll clothes. The doll, however, did have the standard fastening technique used in all of the Signature dolls.
The tri-sectioned divider comes out to reveal a sleek marble patterned wall that can easily be used as a background for doll photography.
Now let's take a closer look at the doll and the clothing.
Her face is well done. No eye pixelation. Her make up is soft and not overdone. Very much the modern, natural woman. You can see that the hair has waves, it is tied back and it is held in place with a hairnet.
Before dressing the doll, I wanted to take a closer look at the jackets. They are both lined and well sewn. The black "leather" jacket has a working zipper.
I took her hair out of the netting and dressed her in the pink suit and gray sports shoes. The suit is nice, has working pockets and fits well. You do need to remove the underpants to get a smooth closure of the pants when tucking in the T-shirt. The pants Velcro in the back. Her glasses are perched on top of her head and she is holding the black vinyl purse, which does open so she can put her phone and a few other small items in it as well! The hair is set in a beachy wave that is a very popular hair style today.
Finally, I dressed her in the sheer blue chiffon dress with a gathered waist and a strappy loosely gathered top. The skirting has a sheer white underlining. I paired it with the black leather look jacket and the black high heeled shoes.
Over all, I really like this set. I might have chosen a suit in a color other than pink, but this is Barbie! I do think the blue chiffon dress and black jacket ensemble is well done. The clothing is well made and I like the understated makeup and the modern wavy hairstyle. And she is Made to Move! It shows me that Mattel is listening. This doll definitely has walked right out the screens of the Barbie Style Instagram pages! I believe the set is price fairly at $100 US and I see her already on the secondary market at prices ranging from $140 to $185. I would rank this set as 4.5 stars out of a possible 5!
I have seen photos of the next 2 Style dolls that are supposed to be released soon. The first is a black doll with an original MTM doll body and the third is a Curvy MTM. I will most likely purchase them as well!
I hope you enjoyed this review!
See you next time!
