February 12, 2021 marks the beginning of the festivities of the Lunar New Year. This Barbie doll is a lovely way to celebrate.
 tokidoki Barbie doll Black Label in the box My Black Label tokidoki Barbie doll arrived this past Thursday. I pre-ordered this doll from Doll Genie, a trusted dealer, so I knew that I would have my consolation prize even if I didn't find a Purple-haired Platinum Label tokidoki Barbie doll in the much-maligned "treasure hunt" staged by Barbie Collector on September 1st. I haven't given up on miss purple hair, but this pink-haired twin sure is a great consolation.
I got into collecting Barbie dolls because of the original tokidoki™ Barbie® from 2011. There was a news segment on TV about this tattooed Barbie doll that was commanding something in the range of $500 on eBay. The suggested retail price was $50, I believe. I found the doll very attractive, but I could not bring myself to spend that kind of money on a Barbie doll, so I wound up starting my collection with a Barbie Basics 2.0 Ken doll. Years later, I found myself still yearning for tokidoki Barbie, and I was able to get her on the secondary market for a more reasonable amount. That's what happens when a doll is no longer the "doll of the moment". I finally found the time to de-box Black Label tokidoki Barbie earlier today, and I snapped some photos.  Most of my model muse dolls are now in these display cabinets. Six months ago, I promised an update on my Barbie® den upon completing my vision for it. Of course, any collector would know that one's collection is never quite complete. I constantly change my displays as new dolls come in, and the occasional doll is sent to a new home. When I wrote the post, I had a total of two sparsely populated glass cabinets in the den. Most of my dolls were stored in a large built-in closet. I reached a turning point in my collecting habits a few weeks after posting that blog entry. I decided that it was not worth having all these dolls unless I could display most of them. I didn't want them to sit in their respective boxes in a closet, only to be admired when I pull them out for a photo session, so I talked my spouse into allowing me to purchase three additional display cabinets. It took weeks to pull all the dolls out of their boxes, dress them, and arrange them in the cabinets. I also hung up some framed Barbie® sketches to give the space a very Barbie®-centric ambience. I left a smattering of Barbie® books on the coffee table and arranged some little dioramas all over the room. Lastly, I got an inexpensive dresser to organize my doll fashions, accessories, beadwork materials, and other doll accoutrements. I can't tolerate a cluttered doll room. I go through periods of time when I don't seem to have any energy or enthusiasm for dolls, but seeing my collection on display always makes me happy. :) How do you store and display your dolls? Photo credit: ©2013 Mattel (stock photos) The latest installment of Bill Greening's The Barbie Look™ series was released just a few days ago (available for pre-order at BarbieCollector.com). In Mr. Greening's Barbie Fan Club exclusive designer interview this past September, he hinted that the 2014 Barbie Look™ dolls would have a glamorous theme.
I like these dolls, but the overall series doesn't have the same cohesiveness as the Barbie Basics line. We've already seen a party dress and a red carpet gown in this series, so these new iterations feel a bit redundant. Furthermore, the Mackie face sculpt makes a second appearance in the series, and there are two dolls in this installment that use the Aphrodite sculpt, which has some collectors wondering why The Barbie Look™ doesn't have the same diversity in face sculpts as the Basics line. My personal favorites from this set are Blue Jumpsuit and Gold Gown. Blue Jumpsuit reminds me of the Versus Barbie® doll from circa 2004, and Gold Gown is a lovely new look for the Goddess face sculpt. I'm looking forward to doing a full review of these dolls when I get my hands on them next year! |
About the WebmasterMy name is Jared. I began collecting dolls in 2011. It all started with Barbie® Basics Model No 16 Collection 002 for me. Soon after that, I started photographing my dolls, editing the images and sharing my work on my Tumblr photoblog, Life in Plastic. "Playing" with dolls has inspired me to learn to sew, paint with acrylics, re-root doll hair, practice my bead craft, among other things...My collecting hobby turned into a passion for creating art in different media! 
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