Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Sea Holiday Midge 1992



While I’d been waiting for my temporary glass cabinet that I showed you in my previous entry, I’d made a review of my stock of doll stands to check how many I’d been missing. I picked up my Jewel Hair Mermaid Midge that I like so much and decided it was high time for another Diva. There were two potential candidates – Wedding Day and Sea Holiday. They’re so different and yet there are some similarities, both are very pretty, both have no bangs and are elaborately dressed. This time I chose Sea Holiday but only for the geographical proximity, I simply didn’t want to wait for her too long. Sea Holiday Midge arrived within a week and was NRFB which is a rare event for my collection, because although my dolls sometimes come with their boxes they are usually unboxed by their previous owners.


The box is a little beaten but still in a good shape. It’s actually quite large for an ordinary playline but that was the time when kanekalon hair started growing rapidly and the boxes needed to be sizable enough to hold it. The front window has some writhing in English, French and German and in gold to emphasize the fact that Barbie is going on a luxurious holiday. The back of the box shows the entire line- Barbie, Ken and Midge and they’re all dressed in 2 in 1 outfits but as they are going on a yacht trip, Mattel also released several sea holiday themed fashion packs for the dolls to change 5 times a day and Ken was not neglected this time, he got a fashion pack as well as the girls.




Of course there’s a yacht too which was called Barbie Sea Holiday Yacht Cruise Ship. I like it very much and I can even forgive the designers team for providing it with a real working blender and two cups – they must have been drunk at work to have come up with such a ridiculous concept but anyway, the yacht is huge (approx. 90 cm) and very luxurious. There’s a deck pool, a kitchenette, some lounge chairs and tables and golden china and a champagne ice bucket, but no steering wheel, oh well, that must have been redundant. Two years later Mattel released an identical playset and they called it Barbie Dream Boat - the Ultimate Seaside Adventure. The two sets differed only in terms of the box graphics and production countries, I guess. Although I collect only dolls and no playsets, I’d sure like to own the yacht, but it’s unobtainable, It’s ridiculously expensive and if it’s not, then it’s missing most of its pieces.



When I unboxed the doll, her kanekalon hair just exploded right in my face. The hair is so voluminous and so soft that although I prefer saran to kanekalon, I like Midge’s hair a lot. The curls are beautifully preserved and the color is quite unique too. When I think of Midge, I see a readhed, but her hair is this soft chocolate shade that I love. She’s got no bangs and her hair is pulled back which is good because nothing obscures the pretty sculpt. The facepaint is amazing. Midge’s eyes are two toned – green and blue and her green eyeshadow makes the colors really pop. Above the thin green line, there’s another layer of eyeshadow, green- white that reaches her brows and it’s barely noticeable, it’s actually visible only when sun light touches it. Her lips are candy pink, there’s no blush on her cheeks. I really like this simple facepaint and I think it goes best with the Diva mold.




The doll is beautiful, but I like her stock outfit just as much. Midge is wearing a yellow, ankle-long skirt with a pink belt that’s actually a separate piece. There’s a large scarf tied around her waist and a yellow top that shows her belly. The top has a dual function, it’s a part of her bikini, because underneath the skirt there’s its bottom part. Interestingly enough the bikini top is yellow, but the bottom is pink, the girl sure wasn’t afraid of mixing colors. If she happens to be cold during a storm, she’s got a jacket that’s the same pattern as her scarves. I’m not sure if I like her hat or not. It sure is pretty and tied with a scarf in a very elegant manner, and the idea of a large brimmed hat goes well with the entire luxurious feel of the series, but the material that it’s made of isn’t the best and there’s a hole in the middle of the hat that’s weird enough and will give her sunstroke as hell. The hat looks a bit awkward from the side. But I’ve kept the hat as it is because it secures her hair so it doesn’t go flying around. Her shoes are of course the classic Minnie Mouse pumps, this time they’re yellow to match the outfit.









Midge likes accessorizing, she’s wearing golden earrings and a matching ring that look rather modest and certainly not luxurious enough so she paired them with an intricate necklace. At first, judging by the photos, I was sure she had binoculars to observe dolphins, sharks or Barbie Mermaids, but the binoculars turned out to be a necklace, golden of course and if that’s not enough gold, there’s more. Midge is wearing a pink belt with a huge golden star that a Bronx rapper would be delighted with. She’s only missing a 24-carat lifebuoy that would match the rest, though it would be hardly practical.



Midge’s outfit and jewelry are so elaborate that she hardly needs anything else, so the only accessories that are included in the package are her brush- pink this time and a tourist folder that shows some of the picturesque places she can go to and the luxuriant greenery she can admire. I’m sure she should be comfortable sunbathing on Tahiti but she’ll certainly be cold on the North Pole.



Out of the entire Sea Holiday cast I like Midge the best. This time Barbie’s bestie decided to outshine the leading lady, Midge is spectacular. I can never resist the temptation of taking a group picture, but my little group consists of only two Diva dolls and there’s my beloved Jewel Hair Mermaid Midge next to my Sea Holiday. Sounds they’ve been designed to stand together in my cabinet.






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