Midge is back! Hollllaaa! Seriously though, look at that doll. She's gorgeous! After a pic of her popped up in my Tumblr feed last night I've pretty much become obsessed. I didn't find her at any stores today so I just went ahead and ordered her online. I didn't have to think twice. She's from the Life in the Dreamhouse line, which stems from that CGI show Mattel does. My only familiarity with it is through gifs on Tumblr. (Although I have noticed the show seems self-aware enough to poke fun at the Barbie brand. Which is cool, but they were totally ripping on the first Barbie. Too bad Mattel isn't self-aware enough to realize their modern playlines suck compared to Barbie's golden eras.) I checked out the other dolls in the line but wasn't too impressed. It looks like Midge will be my only doll from the Dreamhouse.
Anyway, this new Midge is the rare playline Barbie doll that Mattel got right. Her face is Steffie! Do you know how happy that makes me? Very, very happy! She also has rooted lashes (!!!) and a rosy, cheery faceup. The light dusting of freckles helps. Check out that long, red hair -- such a nice style for Midge! I don't love the dress she comes in but the jacket is ace and the backup outfit included lands on just the right side of fashionably cute. I'm not familiar with this body type for Barbie but the articulation looks very similar to MH so I'm on board. Basically my obsession continues unappeased so the postman better be quick!
What are your thoughts on the return of Midge? Is it a worthy comeback?
Being a huge fan of Barbie's golden age ( late 70's, through the 80's and up to the mid 90's), I now find it quite difficult to enjoy Barbie and her friends anymore. Most of the dolls released since Matter changed the ancient body type and face to fit more modern criterias have disappointed me. I miss when Barbie and her friends were glamourous, with the huge hair, gigantic boobs and the beautiful and dreamy evening gowns. I believe the last 2 dolls I've actually seriously liked was Happy Birthday Barbie in a flowing and sleeveless turquoise gown and red hair (circa 2005) and another birthday Barbie, also with red hair, but this one more sophisticated, wearing an elegant and glittery purple outfit (they called her Birthstone February,circa 2002). Every now and then, I see I like but not enough to buy.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, as for this new Midge, she's very pretty. Her hair is simply splendid. I'm glad you obtained a nice new doll. She's a beauty. She seems to make you very happy ;-)
I still hope I eventually find myself a Barbie I will truly loved. If not, I'll have to try and obtained some of the old ones because I want to have a new collection.
Yeah I think when they dramatically changed the body in the 90's a lot was lost. My favorite body type was TNT -- it still had the same classic shape but was more poseable. The poses were simple but surprisingly expressive. I don't know the Happy Birthday Barbie but I remember the birthstone dolls. I thought several of those of were really pretty. I think you're better off going for an old doll personally. If you don't want to spend buckets of money you can find banged up vintage and mod Barbies for cheap and restore them. I've done that a few times. Not full on restoration or anything, just cleaning the body and fixing the hair. It's surprising how big a difference a quick bath and boil wash make!
DeleteSo true!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if any of those (names) will seem familiar to you but you can always use Google Image. Some of my favorite Barbies: Dream Date and Dream Date PJ, Peaches & Cream, Jewel Secrets and Jewel Secrets Whitney, Pretty In Pink, Dream Glow, Superstar, Sweet Roses PJ, Angel Face, Loving You, Magicmoves and Mardi Gras, just to name a few.
However, there was a new line started last year called "Haunted Beauty". Have you heard of this line? The first doll is a ghost, with long platinum blonde hair, a flowing white gown and chains. She's stunningly gorgeous. The second doll of the line is a vampire and she was released just 3 days ago. I'd be very interested in those but there are a bit expensive. Loo them up, I'm sure you'll find them both very irresistible. ;-)
I'm pretty familiar with most of the early-mid Superstar era dolls. The ones that use the Steffie mold are generally my favorites (surprise surprise!). Peaches & Cream hit when I was first discovering Barbie so she's seared into my memory. I've always liked Angel Face's Victorian thing she has going on. I have to say though, some of my absolute favorite Barbies are from the early-mid 70's. I love the Quick Curl and Free Moving lines. I have a Deluxe Quick Curl Cara and she's one of my most prized Barbies, love her mustard brown eyes -- so unique and beguiling.
DeleteI collect Barbie Collector mags -- even though I never buy anything from them. I think I just like having pics of the dolls in full, glossy, high quality! I have one with Haunted Beauty Ghost on the cover and I totally agree -- beautiful doll. I haven't seen the vampire doll yet, will have to check her out!
She's so lovely and as Steffie is my favorite mold, well - tied with Teen Skipper & Lara, I'm happy to have another. The Dreamhouse dolls are easily some of their best work of the 2010s - jointed bodies, lovely hair and fully printed fashions for all! (my only real issue with modern barbie is the use of half prints. Why?! If your dollar store knockoffs can use full prints/detailing than you should too). The quality of barbie's fashions have really taken a nose dive, both in fabrics & style wise but these are a shining beacon to me. I don't buy babs that much anymore but I already have Barbie herself & Nikki with definite plans for more ;3
ReplyDeleteOh you're a Steffie fanboy too, Andrew? High five! What a perfect mold, am-i-right? I actually have the original Busy Steffie, her cornflower eyes are everything :D I also don't get the cheap fashion they saddle modern Barbie with. Why, Mattel, why??? I very rarely buy modern Barbie. The last one I got was the most recent DOTW France Barbie, mostly because of her lush hair and that cute outfit. I have to admit, even with the great hair and faceup I probably wouldn't have gotten Midge if she didn't have the Steffie face. That's the biggest draw for me. I'm also really curious about the body, since the articulation looks so similar to MH.
DeleteDo you watch the show Andrew? After hating on it in this blog post I ended up watching the first two seasons and it totally won me over. It's all about Raquelle -- she's hilarious! I'm not really digging the other dolls in the line but after watching the show I may end up picking up Raquelle. I saw some customized Raquelles on Flickr and they were gorgeous.
You must!
ReplyDeleteThe vampire is simply gore-geous! Some people actually described her as scary. This doll is certainly not all pink hearts, unicorns and flowers, lol!
Nice! Okay, heading to Flickr!
DeleteThis is so funny! Just this week I was looking through the toystore's commercial book, and this doll (now I've learned this is Midge) was prominently shown with the LitD dolls, and she caught my eye. I was thinking of getting her because she looks so pretty and vintage! I don't collect Barbie, but this is definetely the prettiest play line Barbie I've seen in quite a while :)
ReplyDeleteWow, that's really cool Mighoula. I think it's one of those great minds think alike kinda things or something! She definitely has a retro vibe going on. Her facemold is called Steffie (after the first doll that used it back in the early 70's). It's a really pretty mold, and it looks great on Midge!
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