Dolls of the World Irish Barbie 1995

04.01.2019

I’d been silent for some time, but that’s because I took a long holiday and no dolls accompanied me. But now I’m back and the doll that I’m going to show you today is a fierce redhead! The Irish Barbie 1995 was an unexpected purchase, I just spotted her once when I was looking for a different doll. The Redhead skipped my wishlist and headed straight for my doll cabinet. I just have a soft spot for redheaded superstar Barbie dolls, so I joined the battle over her and won her to my great astonishment, because I usually lose auctions when there are more participants than just me. That was several months ago and the Irish Barbie had been waiting for her stock outfit that I wanted to purchase before her presentation, but she’s so pretty that she can’t wait any longer. I’m still planning to get it somehow, somewhere, but in the meantime, here’s my Fierce Redhead!

Her previous owner described her as Scottish Barbie 1990, but her eyes and the straight arms didn’t fit and I identified her as the Irish Barbie 1995 on the basis of her pictures. The doll is stunning despite her minor imperfections, one of them being her hair that is of course kanekalon, and probably one of the worst examples I’ve ever touched! It’s very dry, frizzy and almost impossible to style but the color is simply lovely, so warm and pleasant. The other flaw is her sticky legs. She’d been dressed in a great fashion pack – Twice as Nice Reversible Fashion from 1983 or 1984 and her previous owner added a pair of tights so at first I didn’t notice the stickiness, but baby wipes solved the problem and now she’s fine. By the way, Locket Surpirse Ken is pretty good too so the wipes really work long term.

She may not be flawless, but I’m very happy with her because her beautiful face makes up for her imperfections. She’s a mid-90s doll and her eyes bear all the characteristics of that period, they’re large and complicated, with a multitude of upper and lower lashes. Her eyes are emerald green and the navy blue eyeliner and mascara help bring the color out. It’s easy to identify the doll for the cross reflex in her eyes. Her lips are deep red and gorgeous. I think she’s an excellent doll. I’m also very happy she came with her stock jewelry – simple but interesting. The earrings and the ring are two colors in fact – silver on the outside and gold on the inside. At first I thought they’re simply faded, but the result seems very much deliberate.

As I’ve already mentioned, the Fierce Redhead came with a replacement outfit and that was stolen by my Magic Moves Barbie, so the Irish is now waiting for her stock outfit that you can see in the promo picture below and in the meantime, she’s been given several contemporary fashion options. The first one is the purple dress that had been already worn by some other dolls, my Mermaid Midge amongst them. Dark colors sure become her.

the source: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/barbie-dolls-collection/images/31646004/title/irish-doll-2nd-edition-1995-photo

FND47/ FTK10 was released early in 2018 or late in 2017 and it’s a pretty, short and shiny dress. The gold upper part is cut asymmetrically with a nice detail to the right shoulder. The lower part is two layers with pale pink tulle over the golden fabric and in the middle there’s a pink ribbon to add color to the dress. The set comes with a golden purse and a bracelet, but sadly, no shoes. The ones Barbie’s wearing in the pictures come from my own stock.

DMF51 from 2016 is one of my most favorite contemporary dresses. I purchased it used but in a great condition. I love the color of the dress, it’s peachy pink and has been heavily sprinkled with silver glitter. The heart shape cut and the mermaid tail bottom make it elegant and light at the same time. The dress is of course plain at the back, it’s one of those unfortunate one-sided dresses, oh well… The set originally came with a silver clutch and a pair of heels (!), those are missing now but I added a necklace and the peachy pumps belong to another Barbie.

So far I’ve collected three redheaded superstar Barbies, and of course I couldn’t resist a group photo. Below you can see the Irish Barbie 1995 accompanied by Purple Passion Barbie 1995 and Paint’n Dazzle Barbie 1993. I hope to add some more dolls to this lovely trio pretty soon. 

Paint'N Dazzle Barbie 1993

24.08.2018

Here’s one thing about me, all randomness bothers me greatly and so far I’ve avoided it in my collection by sticking to the theme I’d selected – glamorous, richly attired dolls, wearing dresses out of proportion. My three Dolls of the World aren’t really an exception to the rule, they’re rich and glamorous enough and fit with the rest of my girls beautifully. My Skipper dolls? Well, let’s just say I have a soft spot for Skipper. But Paint’n dazzle Barbie 1993? She’s just a girl next door. If she’s not random in my collection then I don’t know what she is.

But here’s the thing, she just kept popping up until I felt positively stalked by the doll. She’s kept me mesmerized ever since I first laid my eyes on her. The Paint’n dazzle series includes four dolls, three of them bear the beautiful Superstar mold and they differ in terms of their general color scheme, the fourth is AA Christie mold. Anyway, out of the four dolls I liked the Redhead the best and, as it happens, she was available for so long. Yet I kept postponing the purchase on the basis that she’d be so random and isolated … I succumbed.

The Redhead arrived and no pictures do her justice. Her vibrant red hair is straight, long – goes past her waist, and so incredibly silky that if this is not saran, then I don’t know what it is. Unfortunately, her rubber band disintegrated, got very sticky and messy and it took me a while to get rid of it. Her disproportionally large fringe is perfect, and luckily doesn’t cover her pretty face. And the face is stunning. Her eyes are turquoise and there’s blue eyeshadow on her lids and another one (something between salmon, pink and red) reaches her eyebrows. The raspberry red lipstick finishes the look.

She’s wearing huge blue earrings and a matching ring. Her iconic pumps are color-coordinated with her jewelry and of course, her brush. The doll is lovely, but it’s her outfit that really makes her stand out. It’s a three-piece and it shouts the 90s! The oversized jacket imitates denim to perfection, though it’s only a print. Under a row of orange, iridescent sequins there is a colorful, flowery section of cotton that matches the doll’s leggings. Her short-sleeved orange dress / tunic is also adorned with sequins and trimmed with white lace. I would actually wear an outfit like that had I the legs for it, but I would certainly like to have that dress, it’s so cute!

Her outfit is so bright and colorful, so decorative and altogether great, who would’ve thought of changing or adding anything to it? Well, Mattel did actually. They included a number of vile accessories designed to decorate or rather damage the doll’s clothes. Her box contains some more of the orange sequins, some pear beads that can be glued on and two tubes of fabric paint to smudge it all up. To all likelihood, the little girls who were fortunate as to get the lovely doll would use these instruments of destruction so purchasing her used with her stock outfit not ‘’customized’’ is hardly possible. That’s why I was so torn about her. On one hand, I wanted the doll badly, on the other, I didn’t want to buy her NRFB.

But a doll’s box has for the second time turned out to be able to reveal some of the doll’s history. The price tag bears the logo of Kay Bee Toys which used to be one of Toys’r’us biggest competitor until its demise in 2009 when they went bankrupt and Toys’r’us bought what was left of them and that is mostly their brand, website and intellectual rights. Strange how things turn out, now that Toys’r’us is going out of business, KB Toys have announced their comeback and it is quite probable that before the end of 2018 new rows of Barbie dolls’ boxes are going to be tagged with Kay Bee Toys logo. Only, the dolls in those boxes aren’t going to be quite as marvelous as, for instance, Paint’n dazzle the Redhead.

Purple Passion Barbie 1995 Toys'r'us Special Edition

29.06.2018

Mattel is notorious for being inconsistent and changing their mind frequently. They’ve created Barbie, Teresa and Midge, each bearing particular hair and facial features, only to release a brunette or a redheaded Barbie (and I’m not talking about Dolls of the World as they are a separate category where everything goes as long as it’s consistent with the region it presents). This initially caused my discontent. After all, for me Barbie has always been and should remain a blonde, but I’ve changed my mind too. It seems me and Mattel have something in common.

The Superstar headmold looks great as a brunette or a redhead and Mattel has proven this repeatedly, one of my favorite examples being the Paint’n’Dazzle series dated 1993. In my own collection there is the gorgeous Happy Holidays 1997 the brunette, who for me is so much prettier than the blonde, but this post is not about her.

The Purple Passion Barbie would be just another doll wearing a dress of prodigious dimensions like so many others, only … she’s a redhead and thus so unique. She and her red locks have messed up my wish list to the point I decided to hunt for her. But she’s a rare doll and her price was beyond my budget set for a Barbie of this kind. But with patience and persistence everything is possible. There she was in a MNB condition (Mint No Box) at a very reasonable price which later dropped even more. I didn’t think too long before I made the purchase.

She arrived, her hair frizzy but evidently never brushed, I decided not to change that and I tamed it only by stroking it ever so gently. The hair is so lovely, the rich and warm shade of red makes Barbie really stand out. The hair is styled with simplicity, just a part pony tail and curled ends. Her eyes are purple and blue, Mattel had a thing for heterochromy back then. The doll’s makeup is simple too, just a pale purple eye shadow and a matte lipstick.

The doll’s outfit is complete, everything simplicity and style. The dress is a combination of silky satin and tulle finished with just a touch of brocade. Barbie’s headpiece is also made of the same fabric and her pumps are transparent and purple, though they look blue in the picture. It’s also hardly visible but they’re sprinkled with brocade as well. I’m so happy they didn’t get lost as often happens with second hand dolls. Barbie wouldn’t be Barbie without her jewelry – a heavy necklace, a ring and a pair of earrings, everything color and style coordinated.

The doll is perfect, she’s definitely one of my favorites and something tells me that soon another redhead is going to join her, one that has haunted me for quite a while.