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.
