DodaDolls

Was ist DodaDolls?

Mein Name ist Doda und ich bin eine passionierte Barbie-Sammlerin (bevorzugt Steffie-Face). Auf DodaDolls findet ihr Fotos aus meiner Sammlung, Puppenunikate, seltene Barbies und Accessoires, Diorama- sowie Fashion-Inspirationen. In meinem DollFinder (Puppen-Suche) möchte ich Euch helfen, Eure Wunschpuppe zu finden und nach Hause zu holen. Als Kind hatte ich einige wenige Barbies, da sich meine Eltern nicht wirklich welche leisten konnten. Meine Lieblinge waren Geschenke von Bekannten meiner Eltern aus den 70ern, die bereits von deren Kindern bespielt worden waren. Ich verliebte mich als 8-Jährige in eine Jewel Secrets Whitney / Prinzessin Laura und schwor mir insgeheim diese Puppe zu kaufen sobald ich erwachsen bin. Mehr als 20 Jahre später bestaune ich meine kleine aber feine Steffie-Face Sammlung an verpackten und unverpackten Barbies. Auch einige Fashionistas haben es mir angetan. Mit viel Freude fotografiere ich meine Mädels und baue Räumlichkeiten für ihre Puppenevents. Auf Youtube findet ihr meine Deboxing Videos der mir liebsten Puppen, Kleider, Möbelsets und Accessoires. Ich lade Euch ein auf eine farbenfrohe Reise in die virtuelle Welt der DodaDolls!

Who's DodaDolls?

My name is Doda and I am a passionate and avid Barbie collector (preferably Steffie mold). You can find pictures of my collection, one of a kind doll creations, rare Barbies and accessories, as well as diorama inspirations on my page. My DollFinder shall assist your search for your perfect doll. I want to help you bring your dream doll home! When I was young I only had a few Barbies since my parents could not afford them. Some of my favourites included vintage dolls from the 70ies that my parents' friends had given us as a gift (and which had been played with by their own children). When I was around 8 years old I fell in love with Jewel Secrets Whitney and made a silent promise to myself: "When I grow up, I shall get all the Barbies I always dreamed of." Over 20 years later I can look at a small but solid collection of boxed and unboxed Steffie mold dolls, Barbies and Fashionistas. It gives me enormous joy to photograph and pose my hybrid dolls or create rooms for their doll events. You can find my deboxing videos on Youtube, which mostly show my favourite Barbie dolls, fashions, playsets and accessoires. Let me invite you on a colourful trip into the amazing world of DodaDolls!

May/June 2021 - Times are changing, or are they? Barbie is never the same and yet a huge portion of her charm is her status as influencer and fashion icon.

In this blog I want to shed some light on the BASICS and LOOK series of the past that celebrate our most favorite doll in all her glamorous glory. These series of timeless dolls reconnect to the present, as in 2021 Mattel releases the long awaited and popular BARBIE LOOKS line with finally more body and skin diversity. Collectors all over the world hold their breaths and are delighted. The Amazon pre-order links are constantly selling out (find them below by clicking the fotos). Mid-2021 is a GREAT BARBIE YEAR.

🛍 Interested in welcoming Barbie LOOKS 2021 into your home? Look below or continue reading and click on the pictures!

❤︎ Barbie BASICS [2010-2012] ❤︎

But when did it start? Maybe with the Barbie Basics that had the stiff model muse body and made even the most simple fashion shine on our doll. The initial Basics indeed came with basic attire: all thinkable variants of short black dresses! In Germany Mattel partnered with the clothing store Peek&Cloppenburg and featured huge Barbie fotos as store decoration. The recent ZARA collabo comes to mind, even though the times back then focused on classy elegance, while nowadays we celebrate home office and pyjamas.

This line, coming in a few bouts (like "Red" and the "Bikini" series, for example), turned out to be one of the most sought after series of the past years. Maybe it is due to instagram and the gorgeous faces and make-up that those dolls demonstrate. They have an aura of sophistication around them and seem like real little models.

I myself own 2 of them, sadly missing the Steffie faced versions that are so popular amongst collectors. Especially the Steffie with blonde curly hair seems to have won the heart of many. This series also included 3 variants of Ken: a hispanic/dark haired mysterious guy, a blonde Ken and a dark skinned short haired version.

For more detailed pictures and a comprehensive list of Basics dolls visit the German source fashiondollz.de!

❤︎ The Barbie LOOK [2012-2017] ❤︎

The Barbie Look went on for quite a while, the last version of it being a cute faced curvy dark doll in a partially golden dress.

The City Shopper variants from 2012 and 2013 somehow completely eluded me, even though they come with beautiful understated yet elegant outfits and gorgeous faces. The Red Carpet was always slightly too tacky for my taste, while my love for metallic dresses was fully satisfied by the City Shine series. Especially the dark skinned girls from this era are astonishing.

City Look Shine

🛍 click to reveal info and pricing 👇👇👇

In 2015, after the City Shine girls, the bodies turned from model muse to pivotal versions. The plastic is lighter and has a more hollow feel than nowadays' MTM bodies.

The main highlight here was definitely the abundance of Karl faced dolls. From the Tea Party, over the Pool Chic one up to the City Chic Style, those are all astonishingly gorgeous dolls. Hard to get these days, yet I managed to at least grab the Tea Party on ebay a few years back (as an avid tea lover it was a must!) and the moment of unpacking her was probably one of the most ecstatic Barbie experiences of my time as an adult collector.

Karlface Karlface

Take a look at a comprehensive list of The Barbie Look dolls and their fotos at the German source fashiondollz.de!

❤︎ Barbie LOOKS 2021 ❤︎

Fashionable, simple, elegant dolls with MTM bodies for the instagram era.

The Studs

Finally! The first batch of Looks dolls includes not one but TWO KENs. A blonde soft looking guy and - lo and behold - a dark skinned male. Both articulated, just like the whole line in general, but what is especially pleasant in this case is that Mattel chose a genuinely dark shade for one Ken, staying far away from the tanned or pale skin of the past (that we saw in the BMR line). The missing aspect here - as many collectors pointed out online - is an asian Ken with moveable joints. It would be nice to have this option in the future, for more diversity and more fun.

🛍 click to reveal info and pricing 👇👇👇

The dark Ken comes in a simple yet fashionable white ensemble including white sneakers (reminding me of Nike's), linnen summer pants and a half-transparent net shirt. The ideal outfit for a hot, Covid-19 free summer.

The blonde guy wears bolder, more massive sneakers in white. The rest of his outfit is black and - sorry to say that - he reminds me of a hairdresser or some gay fashion enthusiast. The black pants look like faux leather or maybe even vinyl, while the broad shirt he is wearing gives me organic cotton vibes. A healthy, environmentally conscious dude.

The Gals

Let's be honest here: the preview/prototype pics promised slightly different faces. The asian petite girl is probably closest to her initial press picture. She has a cute soft face, an undercut, awesome plateau sandals for the summer (in black) and an otherwise modest but fashionable outfit mostly held in black. Playwise I am not such a fan of petite dolls. They are cute to behold but finding shoes or fitting outfits for them can be a drag.

short haired cutie blonde queen

Same goes for tall dolls. The blonde goddess from this series is such one. Initially it seemed she may even be a Louboutin face. Alas, she is not. Apparently she is some kind of closed mouth Millie, Louboutin and probably a slight Karl face. But maybe that's just wishful thinking on my side. I ordered her nonetheless because her angelic ash blonde hair and white outfit exude positivity and make her radiate. Let's just hope her dead ice-blue stare is not as bad as in the promo pictures.

blonde queen

🛍 click to reveal info and pricing 👇👇👇

The diva, the highly anticipated (and the one that was definitely expected to be most on the Karl face mold side) brunette turned out to be a "mix of the Karl and Claudette mold" - as one collector on FB put it, but to me still reminiscent of Kim Kardashian. Her face ended up to be more a Melania Trump than a reminder of the Hipster Sweater / City Chic Barbie (which goes for $500 in some parts of the world still). She is the only one of regular size, with diverse streaks of brown hair. She looks like a rich bored housewife from Cali, but maybe that's just my overboarding fantasy speaking. All in white, she wants to appear clean but we all know she is dirty. The blonde guy may be her best friend. I can imagine them hanging out in bars together while her husband is making lots of money in some skyscraper office.

🛍 click to reveal info and pricing 👇👇👇

And then there is the mellow, humble and warm dark curvy girl/woman. Dressed in a black catsuit and silver boots, she is the artist. Maybe a poet. Her face reminds me of the Selma Dupar doll or the dark skinned Puma Barbie. Yet, it is a new mold that has a very appealing softness to it. I immediately pre-ordered her as soon as I caught her. The afro may be problematic - as some of them are, since they shed a lot of tiny hairs. But if her peachy lips and enigmatic eyes are anything like in the pictures, we are in for a treat this summer!

2021Looks

picture via youloveit.com