It often happens that I can’t find a
particular doll that I have in mind, but my search leads me to something
that turns out to be quite a revelation! On that evening, I was looking
for one of my Grail Dolls – the Birthday Surprise Barbie 1991, well I
did find her gorgeous gown, but the doll wearing it was none other than
the Hollywood Hair Barbie 1992. Although her hair was cut short, I
recognized her immediately by her iconic earrings – gaudy dangling and
gold adorned with stars of varying sizes.
As to the Hollywood Hair series of 1992,
it consisted of four dolls: Barbie, Skipper, Teresa (my absolute
favorite of the gang with her splendid, dark blonde hair) and Ken. Their
clothes were all different colors, but the golden stars and the word
Hollywood was common for all of them. Each of the girls had long hair –
past their knees and Ken got fair blonde molded hair, a very unfortunate
decision in my opinion. The dolls had a subtle gimmick, nice and not
over the top – they were accessorized with a comb and a spray bottle and
the trick was that if you sprayed their hair, it would change into pink
and then it would go back to normal once it dried. It apparently worked
only with the Hollywood Hair series, so when you spayed some other
Barbie’s hair, there would be no effect. Ken’s molded hair was painted
with temperature sensitive paint and the golden stars would appear with
the use of water. Of course, there was a line of Hollywood Hair Fashion
Packs to go with the series.
the source: the Internet
Although I’m not so crazy about dolls of
disproportionally long hair in general, I closed the deal immediately.
The dress itself was worth it and the doll, perhaps she’d be the body
donor for my Royal Romance, I thought. Her previous owner was selling
off her entire doll collection which apparently she kept closed in a
glass cabinet, so I expected a clean doll that would smell nicely. That
was not the case. I’ve never seen a doll so filthy! Her lovely dress was
heavy from the dust that had accumulated over the years and the smell!
She smelt like granny’s closet! Despicable! It also turned out that her
hair has not only been cut short but also dyed with some kind of a
marker pen so she had one ugly black streak amongst her golden mane! The
doll’s face, however, was simply gorgeous and apart from being dirty
and smelly, she was in a pretty good condition. So off she went to spa
as I felt sorry for her as I did for my Midge. If this goes on like
that, my Royal Romance is never going to get a new body.
Hollywood looked much better after a
long bath, though the smell was still there and needed over two weeks to
disappear entirely. I removed the black dye and curled her hair. It was
short and sparse so it curled nicely and kept the style, but I couldn’t
conceal the bald spots so I just waited for the hair that I had ordered
just in case and when it arrived, I started my needlework.
That reroot was a true test to my
patience and determination. It was a toil from day one when the 90 cm
strand arrived and needed to be divided into 3 shorter ones, secured
with rubber bands and all. Then the hair would get tangled, there was
much waste and I was worried that I’d run out of the fibers and
replenishing my stock wouldn’t be possible. The knot would untie on its
own and refuse to stay in place sliding as I pulled the strands through
the holes. So I ended up with horribly uneven hair that needed trimming
and I hate to do that because I’m just horrible with scissors.
Although this second reroot went much
worse than my first one I was determined to bring it to an end my
motivation increasing when I saw that after implementing just several
strands the hair fell down softly on the doll’s cheeks already looking
beautiful. The blond nylon also showed a tendency for curling as opposed
to the red one that would stick out in an odd manner when I finished
with the last of the strands and still remains stiff even after several
boil wash treatments. What I had in mind was a head full of large, heavy
curls and no bangs. I wanted her to be a true star, she is Hollywood
Barbie after all.
Well, I’m still clumsy with curling and
need practice. The result isn’t entirely satisfactory but it is an
improvement and luckily, her beautiful face takes all the attention from
the imperfect curls. It’s unbelievable what difference the lack of
bangs makes. All of a sudden, Hollywood looks so mature and feminine!
How hypnotizing are her eyes made up with the dark, blue eyeshadow, her
eyebrows are sharp and her lips are raspberry, almost red, though they
look coral in the pictures. Mattel gave her a very grown-up look, she
certainly isn’t a doll for a five-year old but an adult collector would
sure appreciate her.
To balance the vibrant colors of her
make-up I selected a very pretty, contemporary, mint, mermaid dress -
Fashion Pack #DNV26. The set is a complete look and includes the dress, a
purse and a pair of shoes. The dress is a simple cut and very fitting,
there’s a white flowery pattern at the front, not the back I’m afraid.
It’s finished with pleaded organza fabric and it looks quite
spectacular, one of the best dresses released as a fashion pack in the
recent years. The mint purse is a nice touch, but I’m really grateful
for the pearl ankle strap stilettoes! Just two or three years back
Mattel would release complete fashion packs that included shoes as well
as accessory packs consisting of two pairs of shoes, usually flats and
heels, a purse and some jewelry or sunglasses, always interesting colors
and styles. That is no longer the case! This year they’ve released two
shoe packs five pairs in each, most of them black or white and they
don’t match the available fashions! It seems Barbie will have to go
barefoot again!
Oh but I’m bit… complaining about
contemporary practices of the company, so I’ll have a look at my
magnificent Hollywood of 1992 in all her glory anew. There she stands
on a shelf amongst other dolls already forgetting the past.
