Swedish sin

In mid February we have visited Turku, Finland where my sister in law with children lives and Stockholm, Sweden where we used to live. I was just after my birthday /yay, Aquariuses!/ 

so I kind of announced that i'll shop hard - it's official.

Sweden about 6 years ago was where I first bought a second hand Barbie as an adult (beautiful Ginger Lenara /Lea/ from Fairytopia) so I had quite a good association...

What can I say...there was plenty...my partner even joked that Swedes are so politically correct and gender neutrality aware that they gave awa all of their fashion dolls because helll yeah...

 can you see three huge boxes of dolls!!??? I'm very proud of myself I haven't buy too many 

and didn't loose my children in the process;-)

I have picked up each and every doll... tehre was everything...nudes were around 2 Euro and dressed ones of different shapes and epoques were bagged and piced for 6...

There was no African-american or Asian... I started to choose from brunettes and redheads...then I saw really vintage looking Superstars /i have a soft-spot akak post-communistic trauma regarding them;-)/...then some 80s ones with full dress and set which meant to be my investment /but I wasn't too sure and knew it won't be easy to say goodbye/, then million of Bratz of all kinds which i'd love to repaint and dress-down /all feet-less thanks god/, few vintage Sindies a tone of Simbas which I hate, fev unusual and japanese and Moxie Girlz /those eyes!/..even somefully articulated fashionistas with shoes /I have read way too many doll blogs and watched too many auctions/ but I stayed FOCUSED and didn't "invest"!

After exhausting ourselves and having a fight I was made to go to other shops on my own and buy what I want...there were shelves and shelves of omg...like everything but not 'Ethnic' dolls...

not that I did not manage to fill A4 bag with plastic and vinyl...

In the end I have no regreats as I have sined with nude Monsters ;-)

TBC

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My Dolls. No 19

Hello,

In a mean time I wanted to share one of my "spares" with you...

She is an unwanted extra and a damaged one...obviously I have a great heart and can not give

 her home and clothes;-) She could never end up in a bin... essp that she is ginger:-) 

being non-blonde is excuse good enough...

Not until I have played with her hair and gave her contrasting deep purple clothes /after ToyStory 2 action/, through my cmera lense I did noticed her potential...

She obviously needs some help with her 'hairstyle' but look at her pensive, porcelain face/

 ...and those natural and minimal yet detailed eye lines and colors...

At this stage I was intriqued and confused by every non-Barbie Mattel doll and this one had 1991 dated face mold combined with a definitely newer body /belly button meets one-elbow-bended fashion fever or sth;-)/

I would never even start to look her up if not an internet accident - recognising her on somebody else's picture / in somebody else's  collection...

Here she is:

Princess and the Pea - Masquerade Ball, Princess Collection...

look she even has the same issue with her eye...

...and here she comes boxed and with all her accessories:-)

so now I know!

(but is it a Mackie face??)

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Luted lot

I had one of those day or nights when you surf far, far to the end of 'da internetz'...

I burned ot my eyes browsing dolls on eBay... used ones and in mixed 'lots' to save myself nerves, morale and money in reslt ;-)

I stayed focused and assertive.

Found a seller with three batches, ten nude dolls each, ten per auction...

as I saw none of these sold I came with a bright dark idea to make an offer for all tanned, dark-haired or/and 'ethnic dolls'. She said yes, found few more as some had bites on their legs and hands...

 Ebay estimated delivery after Wednesday but to my surprise a not much promissing box arrived on Saturday morning. I'm still enjoying, enjoyg the identification and restoring process... Making stylish, contemporary clothes will take me ages, yay!

Expect a lot of new posts sooner or later...

Look at this lovely mess /with my markings/...

TBC 

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My Dolls. No 18

Hello,

Today i want to introduce one of my favourite kind of dolls - the charity shop survivors.

Pre-loved hard, heavely payed with little hands and dreastically restyled' with toy scissors ;-)

I never had, in my childchood, a propper Superstar face doll with gawn-ready bended elbows...

This done looked really sad and had unusually natural make-up...

Cost me 25 p I guess, and this is how she looks now...

I'm really happy she has found a safe home...

She is now waiting for quite a long time to be taken care off but at least she has quite a company:-)

Update: She is not as vintage as I thought but i managed to recognised her accidetaly on some Polish blog.

In her golden years she used to be a Vet - 'Pet Doctor Barbie' 1995

(source)

TBC

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My dolls. No 17

 Number SEVENTEEN! 

Seventeen is quite a lot of dolls I have to admit and this one was was exactely the turning point...

I have bought this doll deliberately on-line searching for Afroamerican or Ethnic Barbie /terribly Eurocentric description of course...:-( /

 here are her auction pics. Hair never seen a comb and she just lays down looking like doll becouse thats how author of the photograph sees her...

 

and here the adventure begins... the identification process... being child of the 80s I kept thinking they are just 'Black Barbies' /I was aware of brunette Teresa and young Skipper ofc./ but its not that easy  - thats why it is so exciting...all these dates of production, lines, variations, names...and OOAKs of course...

Such a wonderful diversity and quite a confussion for the beginners...

Here is a close-up of my "AA Barbie, long hair, pink earrings, brown eyes, pink lips"

 and pensive with Kiyoni...

 

 She had date 1990 on her neck (technically she is vintage but such a novelty for me:-) - she seems to wear original stylish pink laced underwear but I couldn't identify her...

hmmm

While searching for  answers I remembered my childchood Barbies. I remembered I had not one but two blondes wearing only underwear... they were cheap and we could afford at all...and her make up and hairstyle wasn't that terribly 80's /not that i dont have sentiment now.../

They were made every year few years in a row, also in 'Black' versions...

My first Barbie doll - Fun to Dress 1987!

I can't recall what happend with her which is shocking as I played with her haaard...

my number two, which I loved a bit more it seems and her hand was chewed by my puppy dachsundbut I was above that at the time (like 13 I mean;-)...

 To make the long story short - years 1987 and 1989 had AA versions but it wasn't mu outfit and not my face (1990) obviously...

                                                           and Hispanic one as well...

Debbie Garrett from blackdollcollecting.com came with help saying "It's a Barbie or Christie that uses the Asha head sculpt post 1990." but cold not dentify the clothing...

...so 'Black Barbie' or 'Barbies friend - Christie' using Asha sculpt...

anyone??

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My dolls Nr 16

Todays post will be about my discovery which wasn't a mistery at all in the end

 but again - opened my /doll/ eyes.

The story goes - one Sunday morning i went with family to massive, seasonal  boot sale - still pretending I am not collecting:-)

Beside expensive porcelain dolls and piles of slutty Bratz i saw a real beauty!

As you know by now - my standard of doll beauty is dark hauir and /at least/ tanned skin...

when mixed with natural make-up, brown eyes and violet tones - i'm in:-)

The misterious young lady was wearing oversized, blue and gold Disney Prince top - how disgraceful!

(there was one more dark haired doll, and i guess others from the same line but oh dear - I've been so consequent once...) 

Just look at this sweet face!

whats not to love

She has a body of a young girl - very simillar to Skipper but much rounder and /even/ more friendly face.

It didn't took me ages to find that my fantastic discovery is yet another paralell doll series/lines by Mattel...

She is one of Three Wee Friends 

Blonde, Ginger and Dark-haired. Her name is Janet (sometimes Alexia).

  (source) 

 (source)

Their outfits are perfection. Unfortunatelly they are not very common in UK and shipping fro, US is crazy do I am on a safe side (or mad;-))

As I tried to be focused I gave her away in deposit to my 2 years daughter. Sounds scarry for collectors, I know, but she isn't a barbarian and hiding dolls from young girls would be rediculous; She can touch my collection so that she doesn't find it that atractive or tempting. I've made one semi-princessy dress for her. Voila!

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My Dolls, No 15

Got her by accidentin a bunch - which is good as she is a part of Barbie history and Family 

but I personaly don't like her and wold never desire to own her, new or vintage...

Her joints are really worn out and hair a bit dry and fluffy...

Thanks to relatively unusuall auburn hair, freckles and wedding ring I was able to identify her 

/when i still pretended I am not collecting/

as Minge, part of Happy Family line /1991/

(she comes pregnant as well and all family has Afro-american edition too - me wanna)

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My Dolls No 14

...and at last time to share my ideal yet mysterious doll;

Again a great gift from my hubby - tottal surprise and accident too of course. I would never find her as I didn't know what to look for... one of those amazing times when you reach to the end of Internet /sort of/ and then something clicks in your head and doors open:-)

My fav for long time had lovely dark, mat skin, natural African hair, green eyes and red lips plus fully articulated body /the first I ever seen/... 

she was nothing like other Barbies, much smaller yet made by Mattel...

just look at her, here and there!

To make a long story short - I have emeiled a specialist, and it was in times when i still pretended I am not collecting anything;-)...

Lovely author behind The Black Doll Collecting website!

I have received a very precise answer in no time...

Her name is KIYONI

from multi-etnic, hip-hop, street-style doll line FLAVAS

well obviously... now I know.

In general - not my style fashion-wise, but body-type definitelly yes

 and give me more pretty please:-)

Here are my first fotos of her:

TBC

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More experiments

Told you it is addictive...

Attendion all dolls - crazy woman with varnish remover!

Victim number two is an unidentified platinum blond doll /anybody??/, with slightly mean and not-so-bright look on her face and yes - blue eyes, pastel lips with glitter, aggghhh

(Her body is all floppy - her joints are completely loose at this point:-( )

Before:

oh wait, I have this banal, contemporary Barbie as well...

After (varnish remover + brown point pen) 

tadaaaam:

again - almost likable ladies /Barbie didn't get more than ( seconds of attention obviously;-)

and nicely dressed:

(this time real silk dress - theatre costume scraps and beyond vintage, pre-war lace application from some pillow I can't believe we deconstructed...)

high five!

Stay tuned:-)

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First experiments

Things are happening now like a lot...

I experiment, I order, I shop and first of all browse the internet way too much.

I swear, I almost had Fashion Fever vision/s/ when picking up my son fro school this afternoon

 - so many beautiful mammas! ;-)

Anyway, as I had few spare platinum blondes from nude, pre-loved on-line doll shopping

 I decided to experiment a bit at last.

I only had tiny bit of time before school and nursery, nail varnish remover and a permanent point pen...

1. Victim number one - unidentified My Scene doll

Before - blue eyes, pastel lips with shimmer + platinum blonde

After: tadaaaam!!!! almost lovable doll with neutral make-up! 

All I did was removing the vulgar lipstick and add some brown color on her pupils...

 Then I dig out a classy dress from vintage fabric /like 70's, it used to be my sister's skirt/ I've made in late elementary school and, even more vintage, necklace from mix of crystals and beads which origin i remember so well /made by me in late 80s/...

 

It is very satisfying proceder!

Fast to do with an immidiate effect.

From slut to girl next door so to speak;-)

New life for abandoined dolls, new /after-life for ancient hand-made clothes 

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