Month: November 2020

I needed to see why these dolls beat the Fresh Dolls to be Toy of the Year 2020

I kind of missed these dolls as I collect Barbie and I am still not sure what height these dolls are and whether dolls like Honeylicious (below) can share her hip-hop inspired fashions with Barbie.  (Yes, sharing is fine.)

I have an unboxing video.   A few words and pictures cannot do justice to this set of toys. 

In my day Bratz were the big thing – a multicultural set of dolls who made Barbie look fuddy-duddy with their hardcore make up and endless accessories and fashions.  At the time, Barbie was being criticized for being to adult or whatever it was.  While Barbie tried to be sensible the Bratz dolls whizzed past her in a whoosh of lurid make-up and mini skirts.  MGA saw the from a child’s viewpoint.  A little girl won’t body shame her dolly.  Did we have that phrase back then.

In my eyes MGA has done it again and given little girls exactly what they want.  Bold characters, outrageous fashions and endless accessories.  If you remember lucky bags, (when I was a kid in Ireland lucky bags were paper bags with little surprises inside – sweets , whistle, plastic comb – that kind of thing).  Then imagine a set of lucky bags full of items for your dolls. 

Here they are called “blind bags” meaning that you cannot see what is inside until you open them.  The design and sculpting of the accessories is exceptional.  I do not own one (yet) and I think that the dolls are also packaged blind.  Be prepared is all I will say.

Words fail me so I am linking to a video.  The dolls in this set are in a band and Lady Gaga is referenced.  Beyonce’s influence is visible.  But the fun just goes on and on. Each girl has a mini-me baby sister.

I am doing a long blog about Where to Buy Beautiful Black Dolls and I can see that these dolls have a mix of skin shades and hair textures.  I still would have liked to see the Fresh Dolls win TOTY.

I have three affiliate links below. So many dolls! My choices were based on hair play.

Dollpreneur Dr Lisa posted a joyous film on Instagram saying how she had gotten a huge surprise.

Oprah Winfrey has added The Fresh Dolls to her list of Oprah’s Favorite Things 2020

A gang of male and female dolls appear in the category of gifts For the Family. When I clicked the link it brought me to the Instagram superstar Malik. Dr Lisa’s female dolls are in the Barbie mode but her black, male dolls are exceptional; sexy, handsome men who have inspired many an insta love story.  Malik has played the parts of buddy hubby and boyfriend in many a photo story.

For me Malik will always be the man who tried to chat up Chantelle on a storyline by @msgal1965 – but Chantelle stayed loyal to her boyfriend, also a Fresh Squad gent.

I already had Malik’s pic on my blog about where to buy beautiful black dolls .  Tomorrow I will add Dr Lisa’s story to that blog.

I already mentioned this Nigerian success story in my blog about where to buy beautiful black dolls online.  I am very happy to see the collection of dolls on Amazon.  As well as having African skin and hair these ladies have Barbie sized fashions in West African fabrics  and accessories .   If you are trying to #mixupthetoybox these girls, Wuraola Nneka (pictured) and Azeezah are a good alternative and accompaniment to Barbie dolls.

Queens of Africa

It looks like no expense was spared on this Netflix animation about a delightfully diverse set of prehistoric friends. Mattel have created a beautiful set of representative 10 inch dollies. the dolls are fully jointed and poseable.

The hair is lush and comes with accessories for hair play. The beautifully sculpted and witty accessories will thrill little girls. The group feels properly diverse. These dolls deserve to be the Christmas 2020 memory-making dollies. here is Fernessa..  As an contributor to BlackHair mag I am pleased to see the respect for black hair in this dolly’s design.  Just look at her pre-historic afro pick.