My favorite dolls of 2011

Here are my ten favorite dolls of 2011, in no particular order.

Target Basics #02 (Lara)

I think she's an unexpected mold and skin color choice. It's nice to mix things up. My only complaint is the lack of contrast between the skin and eyes.

Denim Basics #08 (Mbili)


















This is a doll I didn't want until I saw it in person. The color palette is sweet and appealing. There's not much else to say for her.

Bratz Shadi


















She's my favorite of the 10/10/10 Bratz, and since I never saw her in stores until a few weeks ago, she's a 2011 doll to me.

Bratz Ciara


















I don't own this doll yet, but if I don't track down a good copy in person, I'll just buy her on eBay. The fashion and the doll are cute.

Dead Tired Ghoulia


















She's pretty sweet for a shambling abomination of decaying flesh. I never thought Mattel would release a doll with a blood spattered fashion, wow! I love her.

2011 Japan Barbie


















I need to restyle her hair. The bangs are so far back on the skull, she has to have some kind of updo. I love that yellow eyeshadow.

Green Lantern Barbie


















She has such a simple face.

Stardoll in the red dress


















AA Stardoll
I don't own her yet. Her face is lovely. Mattel hasn't released playline dolls this pretty in years.

Klimt Barbie


















She's another unexpected kind of doll. I hope this series continues with more abstract dolls.

Happy New Years! This is an scheduled post, I'm probably lighting something on fire right now. Woo!

Fallen Angel Stardoll

The price is high, but I think it's worth it if you can choose the best one in person. I also got the AA girl, but had to return her after realizing her head vinyl was full of small irregular wrinkle-like indentations. Mattel, get it together.

It seems that everybody likes this one best. She has nice proportions, a nice color palette, and color combos Mattel usually avoids.

I'll pop her out of the box once I find a body donor.

Barbie Basics Denim Model #14

I went to Big Lots last week, because of a toys sale for card members. I wasn't looking for her, but found a Louboutin Basic with nice eyes. Most of them have heavily painted irises that cover or extend beyond the gray lower eyelid. I don't like that, it looks flat and fish-eyed to me.

I think it was a great purchase for $9 and tax.

Bratz on the Mic Jade single doll

I got this girl on sale for her outfit. I love the asymmetrical lapel. She has flesh colored legs, black tights, and tall black boots.

There are two other versions of this doll packaged with a microphone toy. One comes in the same dress, the other comes in a cheap metallic dress. The doll in the metallic dress is a completely different doll. I don't think I've seen the gift set with the same dress in stores.

Bratz Style It Shania

This is one of the strangest looking Bratz out there. The eyes are very orange in person. Every store has plenty of her, I got one for $2.50 at TRU. She reminds me of vintage Barbie.

The dress looks cute in the illustration, but the real world version is just crazy. You can see her black legs through the white sweater. She has those peep toe ankle boots.

Bratz Style It Maci

Out of the four new "Style It" releases, Maci and Rylan seem to be the hardest to get. When I found a Maci with good face paint, I bought her. I like the contrast of the pale eyes with dark hair.

The outfit is just OK. The top and jacket are realistic. The skirt isn't much like current styles, but at least it's inoffensive. The shoes are those overused ankle boots. The legs are black plastic, rats.

This is the same outfit the Giant Bratz Cloe has. Even the illustration is the same, but heavily Photoshopped. I think the fabrics with large patterns worked better on the larger scale doll.

Bratz Meygan ($5 Wal-Mart Black Friday version)

A stack of Meygans was somehow left over from Black Friday, and I grabbed this one. I like her face colors more than most of the other new Meygans. I think her hair has three different colors mixed in.

RainbowDoll489 on Flickr grabbed five of the six-ish dolls released. I think they were a pretty good deal, the dolls are the same quality as the regular $11 Bratz. The clothes aren't that exciting, but the $11 dolls are the same way.

Bratz Xpress It Sasha

I love the hazel eyes on this girl, I think the colors of the doll are very well chosen. I can pass on the outfit. The drawing is cute, but the real thing has issues. The sleeve shape is all wrong, and the top stretched out, so now every Xpress It Sasha is flashing the world. The skirt has some kind of glue on the edges to keep it from fraying.

Brown Box Kisara #F5

Limited Edition Friend Kisara #F5
Headed for eBay, because she's a bit too much like Totally Hair Barbie for me.
I tried to love her, but she ended up under my bed for over a year, so out she goes.

Barbie Basics 2.0/Denim Aphrodite

I got her for her clothes, the doll will go. She's pretty enough, but kind of plain compared to most of the others made with the same mold. I threw in some pictures of the 1.0 model 07 as well. 2.0 has less red in her hair.

Disney Store 2009 Belle and 2011 Belle

After kvetching at the Disney Store for their horrid site failure on the 18th, I got an unexpected apology coupon and went on a splurge. Now I have several piles of dolls to keep, return, exchange, and a few headed for eBay.

2011 Belle is definitely not a keeper. I love side-glancing dolls, but she looks nervous and bloated next to the 2009 version. I'm glad they're trying to improve their dolls, it's too bad this one is a step backwards.