One thing's for sure, they LOVE fashion!

Or so says Barbie (loosely paraphrased by me) in the booklet included with her new(ish) Glam Luxe Style doll. Last year I fell in love with Mattel's Life in the Dreamhouse Barbie line. Rather, I fell in love with a few of the dolls from that line. (I'm looking at you, Midge and Raquelle.) It didn't take me long to get my hands on those dolls, and so impressed was I that I ended up getting a third doll, the beautiful Nikki. After a long period (as in many, many years) of being utterly depressed with modern playline Barbie, discovering this cool new line was shocking for me. With their crazy-posable bodies (not unlike MH) and rooted lashes, they struck me as a sort of updated version of the original mod Barbie dolls. This year Mattel is releasing more of these dolls but without the Dreamhouse connection -- now they're part of the Fashionistas line. But no matter, for all intents and purposes these are pretty much "Dreamhouse: The New Wave." They've actually been split up into two waves themselves. The first, featuring two Barbies, Teresa, and Raquelle, is already out. The next wave again features two new Barbies, plus Midge and Raquelle. And a third wave featuring yet more Barbies plus Raquelle and what looks to be Teresa is rumored. (Which leaves me wondering: why no Nikki at all, Mattel? What's up with that?!? She's one of my favorites!)

Anyway, I was pleased as punch with my three Dreamhouse dolls and was excited to see that at least one of the new Fashionista Barbies appealed to me. If you're gonna collect a Barbie line, even as casually as I'm collecting this one, you kind of need a Barbie in your group! I picked up the Fashionista Barbie I liked just yesterday, and today pulled her Dreamhouse friends off the shelf for a quick photo session. Take a look!

The whole gang. (Soon to expand when I find the newest Midge.)

Midge rocks Pullip Nero's vintage-looking trench dress like it's second nature to her. And have I ever mentioned how much I love houndstooth? Because I do -- a lot!

Raquelle gives her signature smirk while Nikki flashes that million dollar smile.

Barbie's full outfit.

Raquelle borrowed some duds from Midge since she didn't need 'em -- she's got that houndstooth trench dress to keep her warm and stylish.

Another group shot. All lovely.

This Barbie's sandy blond hair is what ultimately sold me on her. I like it much more than the platinum blond on the other Fashionista Barbie.

Check out that striking blue of Barbie's eyes. This is one of the prettiest playline Barbies to come along in quite a while, if you ask me.

But Raquelle gives her a run for her money with her deep brown peepers.

And really all Nikki needs to do is smile and she's won my heart.

As always, thanks for looking!

Sara

Wait a minute, baby
Stay with me a while
Said you'd give me light
But you never told me about the fire

Drowning in the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
But now it's gone
It doesn't matter what for
When you build your house
Call me home

And he was just like a great dark wing
Within the wings of a storm
I think I had met my match -- he was singing
And undoing, and undoing
The laces
Undoing the laces

Sara, you're the poet in my heart
Never change, never stop
But now it's gone
It doesn't matter what for
But when you build your house
Well then call me home

Hold on
The night is coming and the starling flew for days
I'd stay home at night, all the time
I'd go anywhere, anywhere, anywhere
Ask me and I'm there
Ask me and I'm there
I care

In the sea of love
Where everyone would love to drown
But now it's gone
They say it doesn't matter anymore
If you build your house
Then please call me home

Sara, you're the poet in my heart
Never change, and don't you ever stop
Now it's gone
No, it doesn't matter anymore
When you build your house
I'll come by

There's a heartbeat and it never really died
Swallow your pride
All I ever wanted was to know you were dreaming

Melissa

Showing some Pullip love today! This is Melissa, wearing a dress and stockings she borrowed from Tangkou and her own corset and boots. You can check out Melissa in her stock outfit — think fetish cop kink — here. My favorite thing about her is those long, lush, sandy blond ringlets. They’re prone to frizz but this girl’s so pretty I don’t even care. This is my favorite Pullip body type; it’s much more natural looking than the earlier ones and not nearly as fussy to pose. Her eyes are a pure, bold blue, but the tone is so deep it can be hard to catch in photographs. Ditto her shimmering, silver-grey eyeshadow. Most Pullips have a heavy fantasy influence to them — wild hair colors, rainbow eyes, etc. What drew me to Melissa was how natural she looked. A true beauty.

Tangkou 1

Some pics of Tangkou, the Chinese fashion doll who's a sort of blend of Blythe and Pullip. I was playing around with B&W for this shoot...

Hollow

Harsh Light of Night

Ghost Fax

Face Without Eyes

Alien

Here's the artwork on her shipper sleeve. I really love it.

"hi"

And here she is in color. She's wearing Barbie's 1968 fashion Knit Hit, which needs a good wash, but I'm leery because it's so old and I don't want to ruin it. The boots are Tangkou's own.

Summarizing Roxy

Roxanne "Roxy" Pelligrini

Before joining The Misfits, Roxanne ran away from her Philadelphia home and dropped out of school. She later discovered her love of music and took up bass guitar, becoming an integral member of the band. Roxy has a noted fear of heights and often "clashes" with fellow bandmate Jetta. In her free time she enjoys learning to read with her tutor, Ba Nee, of the Starlight Foundation. But Roxy's truest passions are shredding the bass and looking fierce; she excels at both.

Winter Walk

The two princesses, intrinsically linked now and forever, donned their capes and headed to the woods for a walk. For them it was an act of defiance. No matter their differences they will always be joined by the hands of fate, legend broken or not.

* Forgive the wet faces. By the time they were ready to head outdoors for photographs the snow had turned into rain.