If you happen to collect the cute
big-eye Skipper dolls then you surely know that they’re not easy to
dress. Of course there are still some NRFB Skipper fashion packs but
these tend to be almost as expensive as the dolls themselves. Most of my
Skipper / Courtney dolls came used, some of them either in incomplete
outfits or completely naked. Sure that some of contemporary Barbie’s
fashions would fit them in terms of size, especially Petite Barbie stock
clothes, but they are hardly ever compatible when it comes to their
style. I haven’t checked out the Hello Kitty fashions yet, so I don’t
really know how these would fit, but the Shibajuku Girls fashion packs
sure did catch my eye and they’re affordable, so I decided to take a
closer look. I’ve already shown most of the packs that I own before, but
this will be a collective entry on Shibajuku Girls fashions.
A quick word on Shibajuku Girls in
general: they were first produced by an Australian company called Hunter
Products in 2016 and these were inspired by Japanese fashion of Shibuya
and Harajuku districts of Tokyo. At that time, 5 characters were
introduced and each differed in terms of their personality and interests
as well as fashion of course. So far, 3 waves of Shibajuku Girls have
been released and amongst them there are 2 types of dolls – large scale
(about 30 cm) and small scale (approx. 15 cm). The large dolls have as
many as 11 points of articulation at their head, shoulders, elbows,
wrists, hips and knees. They have disproportionally large heads, rooted
hair and apparently, glass eyes. They seem to resemble Pullip dolls a
great deal, but they don’t have wigs, they lack articulation at their
feet and they don’t have the eye mechanism. Hunter Products have also
released hair accessory packs as hairclips are their signature and each
doll comes with several of them. A glittery, fur seat scooter is also
available to purchase and of course, fashion packs! So far I’ve seen 7
fashion packs, one of them is also a stock outfit of one of the girls,
and if I’m not mistaken, there’s also the 8th one that’s a school uniform, but I’m not sure about that one, I may be mistaken.
Hunter Products have offered quite a
variety of styles, you may find sweet pastels and glitter as well as
gothic black. So far, I’ve collected 4 outfits out of the 6 that are
easily available, the 7th one tends to be rare and I can’t
get it in my country. Almost all of the fashion packs consist of a
hairclip and 2-3 separate pieces for you to mix and match. They’re
neatly packaged, attached to the cardboard that also depicts the doll
it’s been designed for and the remaining box sides are clear so that you
can see the outfit. It also gives you an idea of what it looks like on a
doll. I’ve recently purchased the outfit #HUN6633 that consists of a
glittery turquoise jacket, a purple skirt and a black top with straps.
Of course, there’s a metallic thunder bolt hairclip. The top and the
skirt close with Velcro. The top is hardly visible still in the box and
the distributors seem to be unsure if it’s there so they sometimes don’t
mention it at all, but as you can see from my pictures, it’s included
in the pack.
The fashion packs that I own fit Skipper
dolls very well, the sleeves of the turquoise jacket are probably a bit
on the long side, but that’s acceptable in my opinion. The glittery
outfit seems to be a bit mature for Skipper, especially the black top,
but if you pair the skirt and the jacket with something else, it should
be fine. The remaining fashions though, are perfect in every sense. They
are bright and colorful, just what Barbie’s little sister would wear.
I’m also very pleased with their quality and design. I like the idea of
separate pieces more than anything else, because I’ve had just about
enough of tops and skirts stitched together, thank you very much.
Unfortunately, none of the packs come with socks or shoes, so they won’t
solve your barefoot doll problem. As far as the remaining 3 packs are
concerned, I don’t really know their catalogue numbers, because their
packaging is long gone.
My lovely models are happy to present
them. Sun Sensation Skipper is sporting a silver Lame jacket, a white,
sleeveless, polka dot top and a pink, tulle skirt. Wet’n Wild Skipper is
wearing a school girl kind of outfit that consists of a pleather skirt
and a striped sweater with a large collar. Finally Teen Time Skipper’s
presenting one of my top favorite outfits ever – a sleeveless Ramones
jacket with a real, functioning zipper, that won’t open all the way so
be careful. To make it easier for you to dress the doll, there’s Velcro
at the back too and I think it would look even better with some kind of a
T-shirt underneath. The skirt is pink and it has a rainbow metallic
print all over it. Each of the skirts has a ribbon that prevents it from
sliding upwards, though it does look a bit painful if you ask me.
Overall, I couldn’t be more pleased with
the quality of the clothes. I do like their style and I keep eyeing the
remaining two sets that are silver and black and I wonder what Skipper
would look like in a Gothic Lolita outfit. I’m very curious indeed so
they may appear on my blog soon.
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