#original barbie fashionistas

[dat2ndaccount97]

Photos of the 3rd doll I ever bought, she's the blue dress doll from the Barbie Fashionistas Clutch Wave. I got her at big lots back in summer 2013, and while she's been through a lot, she's still so special to me and one my all time faves.

Her and the other 5 dolls I got that year could probably be considered the closest thing childhood dolls I had/have (along with my mom's old barbies I had up until earlier that year), even though I was 16 at the time and in high school.

[owlmoonboi]

Just a little bit of PINK

[lma-dolls]

[so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site]

Thought I'd take a break from fandom and post one of my original designs for once! I call this gal "Hayley," after the lead singer of Paramore. She was originally a Barbie Fashionista #140 "Kira" doll (before photo is a stock photo from Amazon).

If you're like me and like knowing the components of a custom and the story behind them, here they are under the cut:

Base doll: Fashionista 140 Kira Hair: rerooted in 12 inch Kanekalon in a blend of pink, purple, light green, and blue Face: partially repainted with acrylic paint for both makeup and piercings Clothes: skirt from Looks Model 10, sweater from Ken Fashionista 191, stockings made from scrap fabric by me Shoes: her original boots, repainted Necklace: an actual random necklace I had

Ever had a design go from least favorite to one of your favorites with a makeover? Fashionista 140 Kira sat in my "stock box" for a long time...the awful proportions, the ugly dress, the glue seepage hair, the pixilated face screening that couldn't even be removed with acetone...I disliked her so much that I ended up using her as a test dummy for different paints and sealants! Likewise, I ended up with some kanekalon hair that had a truly fried texture that I needed to use up.

So, I needed a design that could hide a LOT of issues with the doll and the materials. One that could involve hair that looked bleach-fried, a hair style that could cover holes and bald patches, grungy/messy makeup, and random questionably-fitting fashion. Then, I remembered the mid-2000s, and with it, scene fashion! Or is it emo? Alas, in high school I was not cool/uncool (depending on your POV) to ever be informed of the difference no matter how much I admired the fashion.

Thus, this girl emerged! I'm so happy with how she turned out; she really went from one of my least favorite designs to one of my favorite original designs of my own.

Tagging those that may want to see my OC designs: @serenityspiral @violetoftheendless (who helped with the name!) and @tryan-a-bex

[moltenzephyr]

This is Oracle and Batgirl. What's your situation, Huntress?

Babs & Cass are outfitted! I'd like to make them a proper background, more clothes, computers/gadgets, and someday find Cass a petite Made to Move body, but for now I'm very excited to have them looking like themselves!

Barbara Gordon / Oracle is Signature Looks #13, who has a Made to Move Classic body, and the Victoria face sculpt screened with green eyes, blue eyeshadow, brickish red lips, and freckles.

Babs has a lot of curly red hair that I've pulled back in a low loose ponytail to get her profile closer to the 1990's/2000's Scully-esque long bob. Honestly the gorgeous mass of curls would be perfect for her if I was making her original Batgirl style. Maybe someday!

Cassandra Cain / Batgirl is Fashionista #145, who has a Petite minimal-articulation body, and the Mbili face sculpt screened with brown eyes, several beauty marks, and light peach lips.

Cass came with long dark brown hair with blonde highlights. I cut it, gave her bangs, and used Sharpie to darken the blonde... but it ran when I did the boil-wash to reshape her hair and got on her face. Can't get it off so far. Fortunately it's not as visible in photos as in person, and hey, this is Cass. It's in character for her to have grime or bruises.

Babs' strappy blue heels & Cass's yellow hightop converse are the shoes they came with. Babs' pants & Cass's top are from Disney ILY Ursula Fan. I hand sewed Cass's pants & Babs' shirt. The wheelchair is from Fashionista #194. Babs' glasses are jewelry wire I wrapped around a pen several times & pinches into shape.

[sketchartbymarc]

Pink because… pink.

[barbielore]

As part of the more diverse Fashionistas range, Mattel released their first Barbie portrayed as having vitiligo in 2020.

This was followed by another Barbie and a Ken in subsequent releases. As June 25th is World Vitiligo Day, I thought I would take the opportunity to spotlight these dolls.

For anyone who is unaware, according to the Mayo Clinic, vitiligo is a skin condition often caused by an immune system reaction that "occurs when cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning" and results in pale or white patches of skin. This can occur in anyone, but may be more noticeable in people who have naturally darker skin.

I personally do not know all that much about vitiligo, or the patterns with which vitiligo tends to present, so I asked a friend of mine who has vitiligo for their opinions on the dolls.

Overall their review was that these are "all really great" which was good to hear: I'm glad Mattel are putting in the effort with the representation. Specifically regarding the Ken and the original Barbie fashionista, they said that the shapes around the eyes didn't look quite right. Specifically the Ken looked "a little fantasy" and the Barbie looked "a little weird in 3D", though the box art looked right.

One of the things they specifically noted was that having big splashes like that but having the rest of the skin be quite even was "a little unusual" - though did want me to make sure I noted that segmented vitiligo is a real thing and does present differently in different people. They did note that it was most common to appear on the face, followed by hands and feet, followed by other body parts, so having it appear on the neck but not the rest of the body certainly isn't impossible but would be a more unusual presentation.

Regarding the second Barbie fashionista, they were more positive, and noted this doll more closely resembles how they look. (However it is important to note that they also said that they wished she was wearing "cuter clothes". Do you hear that Mattel?)

When researching for other opinions on the vitiligo dolls, I noticed several people also mention that it is common for patterns to be symmetrical - but then also other people commenting that their own vitiligo presentation is non-symmetrical, so this did not strike them as notable. In my opinion, this would be all the more reason to showcase multiple dolls with the condition - so that different kinds of presentation can all be represented.

[dollsahoy]

Fashionistas Ice Cream Romper head on a tan Pivotal ballerina Barbie body (no idea whose it was originally, it was a gift. a headless gift, with a broken neck peg I had to replace XD) I tried reshaping the feet to have bent toes, instead of en pointe. It...kinda worked--she can wear a lot of Barbie shoes, I just went with MH boots here so there would be room for all the leg wear.

And I was fully prepared to paint the Mattel Yellow eyes brown, but I got distracted by a bottle of purple paint.

Shorts pattern below the cut, plus the pattern I probably used (with variations) for the shirt

[strawberryamanita]

NOTICE: I'm aware I already made this poll, but I'm making it one more time because I accidentally set it to 1 day instead of 1 week and I wanted it to reach further. Take two:

Sorry for the mixup! Now we have more time to vote!

[genevieveskingdom]

I made my own

Minister of 🌸 Spring doll 😍

I could just not forgive Disney for not making dolls of the seasonal ministers, but only of the main Tinkerbell group and then Queen Clarion 👑 And because I realised I just need to have him as a doll, I decided to take it into my own hands and diy-ed him! 😇

It is not the best Hyacinth 🪻 but I tried my best 😅 I went to a toy store once and I saw this barbie fashionista male and when I saw his gentle face and straight brown hair I was like: hmmm, he reminds me of someone 😆 So I decided to restyle him into more sparrowman-like fashion so that he at least gives Hyacinth's vibes 🪻 The T-shirt is original, the other stuff I mixed with some current barbie clothes I have, the ceinture as they say in French is self-made and the same goes for the royal blue coat which I sewed 🪡🧥

He still does not have proper insect-like wings, sometimes I borrow the ones from Tinkerbell's doll, but I am planning to create his own at some point in the future 🙏 I already have the material ready 🤭

[hsslilly-blog]

been thinking about my bratz doll post. im going to start sharing my doll customising journey here so i get motivated enough to get back into it lol. the last time i posted about it was back in february i think? anyway

my plan is to make three custom dolls. claire (hwu mc), blair (hss mc) and addison (hwu). i also hope to make a bianca custom doll as i’ve found the perfect base doll for her, but she wasn’t in my original plans.

here’s my progress so far. all the pictures are going to be terrible btw:

blair stewart

outfit: their outfit is pretty much complete. the only thing missing is their sweater and their hairband. and i really really want to find/make a tie for them. i dislike the fact the skirt is a VERY grayish dark blue (in the picture it looks straight up gray) and i’ve thought about dyeing it blue but i’m afraid to ruin it and end up with nothing. so i’m keeping it as is for the time being. the boots are a perfect match. i plan on painting the gray details on the purse and making it completely white. but it’s very cute, it looks a lot like the one from this post.

the doll: this is a 2015 fashionista barbie doll that was WAY overpriced when i got her. i really like her hair colour though… it’s not exactly copper, it’s a very nice shade of pinkish orange. the picture does it no justice, but it looks a lot like the shade of orange i used to use for blair’s hair in my early 2021 drawings of them. the only issue with this doll: she has flat feet. which sucks. but she’s plastic so we just need to throw her in boiling water and mold it to my liking. medieval torture style.

my plan: i plan on repainting her face. i like this screening, but it looks… weird. im going to give her blair’s heterochromia + their scar and i plan on giving her less eyebrows. blair doesn’t have much of those. as for the hair, it still has some remains of box glue so i need to get rid of that before anything else. i plan on cutting it shoulder length and flipping the ends. i don’t know how i’m doing blair’s hairstyle though (the hair part/bangs) because this doll’s rooting is really weird. but we’ll see.

what do we think. hairstyle ofc not 100% blair compliant but gives me a general idea of what to do. there’s a really cool way of doing the bump/beehive-like/teased crown i sometimes draw them in, so i might try it if the doll has enough hair. also i realized just now how the eyes in this sculpt are very far apart. lol. i think it fits blair.

addison sinclair

outfit: and nothing for her!! i have her jacket and her boots (which have not been painted yet) and that’s it. addison has been the reason of my restless nights. i just can’t find a cropped top that looks like hers!!!! i didn’t think it would be so hard to find a blue/grayish/jeans-like cropped top but my god!! and the worst part of it all: i found a dress online that is a perfect match to hers but it’s been OUT OF STOCK since february!! here it is:

it’s not a Perfect Match, but i can work around it. it’s more than close enough to me. i’ve been checking the website every week but they haven’t restocked it yet and i fear they aren’t going to do so anytime soon. atp i think i’ll just sew it myself. i just need to find a similiar fabric to her dress. as for the socks… i have some white doll socks and i’m going to dye them purple. no bracelets yet.

the doll: i cannot for the life of me tell you which doll this is. she looks like a ~2012 barbie doll but i can’t figure out which one. and i don’t think these are the original clothes. the ad said she’s a fashionista but i don’t believe this. she does have articulated legs, but she doesn’t Look Like a fashionista. i think she’s from the early i can be line before they started using rubber legs. anyway. i fell in love with her hair. it’s perfect for addi.

my plan: i plan on repainting her eyes. here’s the thing guys. i’m a brown eyed addison truther. sorry that’s just who i am. i also want to close her mouth LOL. give her addison’s red lipstick and thin the eyebrows. as for the hair i think it’s perfect as is. i’m probably just going to style it better.

i plan on closing her mouth w/ apoxie paste or like. makeup clay (is that what it’s called?). her lips are going to be smaller too but i got lazy with the drawing.

claire swanson

outfit: isn’t she pretty!!!! i’m still having issues with her casual outfit but her formal outfit/the red dress i always draw her in is done. besides the shoes. i don’t like these open toed heels with this dress. for her Signature Look i have this cute red top which is a great match but i can’t find any shorts that match hers/the top. so far i have a miniskirt and these.. jean shorts. not my favourite. i have to paint the heels white but i found these gold hoops!!! w for me. no bracelets yet.

the doll: this is a 2011 glitz barbie doll and she’s been my holy grail for years now. the blue variant is so so so pretty. i never thought i’d find her since 1. it’s an old barbie doll and 2. i live in brazil. and then…. i found a listing online IN BOX!!! i got the purple variant but the screening is basically the same. i think her makeup is stronger though? but maybe it’s just a stock image thing. anyway i’m obsessed with the hair colour. this was such a great period for barbie if you were into almost-white-platinum-blonde hair. barbie bleach era.

my plan: i didn’t want to touch this doll but she is missing… claire-ness. i plan on repainting the eyes, giving her claire’s beauty mark and her red lipstick. the hair is perfect and honestly. such great box hair. like 13 year old box hair.

it’s not visible on the first picture and i edited out here, but she two black spots in her nose. otherwise she’s fine.

alright. my main issue at the moment is that i can’t seem to find any 100% acetone nail polish remover so i can get started on the repaints. they don’t sell these here anymore. so i’ve been looking for SOMETHING that can clean off the screening of the dolls. so far, no luck. which is why i got demotivated back in february. also something i probably should have mentioned: i have terrible motor skills so repainting these dolls is going to be so much fun!

setting some goals for the time being: 1. paint the accessories that need to be painted and 2. style blair’s hair. okay! that’s it!

[dat2ndaccount97]

If it weren't for the fact that it literally says "Twist & Turn" on her sack dress and the bow, you'd have no idea she's supposed to be inspired by 1967 Twist N' Turn Barbie. No Bangs, instead of a mesh top it's a solid white sack dress. and the trim on her fit is red not orange. I know in some photos the orange on the original TNT fit can look a little more red, like the stock photos form the My favorite Barbie Repro Version. But even then it's not this deep of a red.

Look I LOVE Twist N Turn/Mod Era Barbie, it's one of my fave eras of barbie, and i'm totally down for a doll inspired by said era even if it's a playline doll with almost no budget. Playline fashionistas can come out looking really cute (the base doll here I actually quite like). But I just think they botched the execution on her.

[toychest321]

Barbie 65th: Classic Swimsuit Barbie

With the upcoming Barbie Fashionistas for her 65th anniversary being inspired by various historical barbies, I decided (by the suggestion of my friend @dollsinvogue) to create helpful infographics to point out the specific inspirations they take! First is obviously the one inspired by the original barbie from 1959

[lma-dolls]

[so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site]

When you can't afford the Haunted Beauty Mistress of the Manor Barbie (2014) so you make your own... out of a doll you saved from the trash no less!

It was SO difficult to keep this set to just ten pictures, so there will definitely be a details and before-and-after post on the way.

Component parts and the story of this gal's months-long creation under the cut:

Head: 2015 Fairy Godmother Barbie (Helena Bonham Carter face sculpt), with face completely repainted and hair rerooted in extra-long kanekalon

Body: Tennis Player Barbie

Dress: made by modifying a Victorian wedding gown pattern by u/MyMisfits on reddit

Necklace: constructed out of ribbon and a nail charm

Boots: Barbie Fashionista boots repainted black

Book: new custom print made by me, book template by myfroggystuff on YouTube

Keys: key-shaped beads strung on a hair decoration loop

Candelabra: constructed from beads, wire, and q-tip sticks

Funny enough, this gal is the "sister" of my Christmas Tree Angel Barbie. I used the leftover body and head from this project's component parts to make that doll!

I knew I wanted to re-create this doll with my own spin for a long time, but struggled to find a base with the right face shape (the original has a special custom collector face mold that isn't found in regular Barbies...befitting a doll that retails for $800+). Then, one day one of my neighbors had a box of stuff marked "free" that was otherwise going in the trash can, and in it was a VERY worn-out and dirty Fairy Godmother Barbie. The face shape was perfect (after all, doesn't Helena Bonham Carter often play spooky roles like this?) so I cleaned up the doll, rid her of her matted old hair, painted a new face for her, and gave her a new poseable body.

I didn't just re-create the original doll's dress an accessories either; I tried to put my own details into them. That book is fully printed on the inside... I'll show off the text in a future post! I also had to give her my signature elaborate hair compared to the original's prim and proper bun.

This was months of work, including gathering parts, rerooting the hair, learning different sewing techniques, learning new prop construction techniques, and troubleshooting issues like the glue not setting on the candelabra pieces. This is one of my most elaborate customs and I'm very proud of the result.

[moltenzephyr]

Millie & Hester in their original clothes but swapped bodies. Classic clothes on Petite are a bit baggy, while Petite t-shirt top on Classic has become a slight crop top.