My Lammily dolls arrived yesterday! I had ordered 2 of them during the crowd funding in April. First, while I do like the doll and it is quite nice, I don't think it can really be compared well to Barbie. Totally different type of doll. I do think she is a nice addition and adds some diversity, but I still love Barbie! I will be showing some pictures of her and comparing her to other "Normal" and/or Plus size dolls. There will be doll nudity in this post, so if that bothers you, you should stop reading now!!
Here is the box she arrived in:
It is a nice box, and the packaging is very simple.
There are only 2 twist ties holding her in the box and a plastic strip is holding her hair in place. She is very easy to get out of the box. That is a great plus. I have always hated the packaging for the average doll. Mattel should take note of this!
Here she is out of the box. She cannot stand on her own. She is leaning against the backdrop here. The first thing I noticed is that she has some heftiness to her. Her feet are pretty big by Barbie standards, but are probably more realistic in proportion to the size of the doll. She has a nice face and her hair is very soft and does not have any glue or other product in it.
Here is how she stacks up to other dolls in the "regular", "normal" and "plus size" categories. I compared her to Mixis, American Teen, Tracy Turnblad, Rosie O'Donnell and to the Mattel Happy Family Grandma body (note that I have a Raquel head on the the HF Grandma body in these photos). I have named her Katherine or Katie for short. Still need to see how she will fit in and what family she will be a part of.
Standing between the Mixis and American Teen doll, you can see that she is shorter than Mixis, but taller than American Teen.
Katie is about the same height as Tracy Turnblad.
Rosie is a little taller than Katie and very close to the same height as Raquel on the HF Grandma body. BTW, this version of Raquel has been renamed Sarah, so I will refer to her under her new name in this review. CAUTION, NUDE DOLLS!
Lammily/American Teen Comparison
So I could do an adequate comparison, I stripped everybody naked! There are some similarities in the torso's of these dolls. I think Katie has a nicer shape than the American Teen. Katie's legs are more shapely.
From the rear, you can see that Katie has a more defined waste, but her butt is a bit larger.
Katie cannot sit very gracefully. American Teen's legs stay closed a little better. Also note that the height difference is less than when they are standing. This is because Katie has a longer torso.
Both girls can bend their knees slightly, but American Teen cannot bend her elbows like Katie can.
Katie can wear AT's top, but it is a little short for her.
AT's coat fits Katie OK. She cannot wear the jeans -- not because they are too short, but because Katie's has more junk in her trunk!
Katie's shirt fits AT nicely, but the shorts are way too big! BTW, they cannot share shoes.
Katie can sit in a chair if you do not put her in a fully seated position, so she can sit down to dinner if desired and at the right table. AT can sit in the chair, but her knees don't have much range. Both dolls have click bending knees with limited range. The American Teen cannot bend her elbows and she only has back and forth shoulder movement.
Katie can do the splits pretty nicely, however, AT cannot get all the way down. Neither doll can do the side splits.
Lammily/Mattel Comparison:
So here are the Mattel comparisons to Lammily. Sarah and Katie both have a nice shapely torso, however, Sarah is not as "thick". Rosie's waist is not as defined.
Both Sarah and Rosie can keep their legs together. Notice how much taller Katie is when they are all seated. Again, that is due to the longer torso.
Sarah can sit in the chair nicely. She doesn't have to lean back like Katie does to keep her legs together. Both of them have limited range click knee joints.
Rosie and Katie -- same as above for their knees, but Rosie cannot bend her elbows.
Sarah has greater flexibility in her elbow joints. Well, what can I say about Katie? She cannot touch her head. At least she will know what to do in case of a holdup! I did not do this with Rosie since her elbows are not jointed.
Both Sarah and Katie can do the splits. Sarah does have some side to side movement, but not enough to do the splits.
Rosie can do the splits too. But not the side to side ones. She has no side to side movement, just like Katie.
Lammily/Mixis Comparison:
Both dolls have a nicely shaped torso. Katie's torso is obviously longer than Mixis. Katie is a bit thicker than Mixis. The Mixis doll is taller and has more flexible elbow movement.
You can really see how much longer Katie's torso is when they are seated. Both have the same limited range click knees. Splits for Mixis is a no-no and she only has very limited side-to-side hip movement. Both dolls have very nice, soft hair.
Lammily/Tracy Turnblad Comparison:
Last but not least is the comparison for Katie and Tracy Turnblad. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and the picture here speaks volumes! Tracy has a very short torso and longer legs than Katie. She has a big tummy and is very round.
From behind, Tracy also is nice and round. Standing, they are both the same height.
Since sitting in the chairs was not an option for Tracy, I am showing them sitting on the floor. While Katie lacks grace in the way she sits, Tracy can only sit spread eagle. She does not have jointed knees or elbows. She cannot do any kind of a split. What she does have is a beautiful smile!
All-in-all, I really do like the Lammily doll. I am, however, disappointed in her limited articulation. Because of the jointed feet, she is unable to support herself standing. She cannot hold a baby. She has a pretty face and very nice hair. Her eyebrows are a little high for my taste. I hope that the Lammily company is willing to listen to feedback and that they can make some improvement in future editions. I did order a couple of outfits for her to come in January, so I will be interested to see the quality of the clothing. I would also like to see them produce more ethnic choices. I think Katie will be a nice addition to my doll community.
Hope you enjoyed this review! I will have another post in a couple of days with the rest of my doll purchases, so stay tuned.
Thanks for visiting and I enjoy receiving your comments.
