"She's the most Moschino Barbie® ever!" exclaims the young girl in a parody of a Barbie commercial designed to go viral. The doll is for adult collectors but the commercial features three kids playing with Moschino Barbie®, one of whom is a very fierce boy with a super trendy disconnected undercut.

According to the outlets with the latest scoop on the doll, she will retail at about $150. There is no official word yet on actual production numbers and where the dolls are going to be available. The latest rumors have some collectors grousing and grumbling already. Photos of the packaged doll clearly show that she is a Gold Label doll, which means we're probably looking at higher production numbers than the early rumors implying numbers in the 1K to 2K range. We now have official images of the dolls from Barbie Collector and Moschino.

This latest collaboration between Barbie Collector™ and Moschino comes on the heels of Jeremy Scott's Spring 2015 ready-to-wear collection for Moschino shown during Milan Fashion Week last year. The very kitschy capsule collection clearly drew much inspiration from Barbie, and we were told that a very limited collectible doll was also given to attendees of his show.

Barbie Collectors and Jeremy Scott fans knew it was only a matter of time before a collaborative effort would lead to Moschino Barbie® doll. So far, we know that Barbie doll will come with a logo T-shirt, quilted faux leather bomber jackets, earrings, sunglasses, a backpack, a logo baseball cap, a logo belt, necklaces, a purse, little Moschino heels, and a miniature Moschino shopping bag. Whew! She's heavily accessorized! We also know from early reports that another RTW collection will accompany the release of this doll. The collection will include adult-size versions of Barbie's clothes and accessories, and two Moschino Barbie T-shirts.

This doll will be available on November 9, at Moschino.com and net-a-porter.com.

Check out the Moschino Barbie Doll video from @BarbieCollector:

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.

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?

I attended "Everyday's a Holiday with Barbie®", the 2014 National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention in Nashville, Tennessee a few weeks ago.  The convention officially ran from July 23-26, but I was told that some of the best convention activities are unofficial--room sales, parties hosted by doll artists, etcetera, so my husband and I checked in at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville on the 21st to take advantage of everything this gathering of Barbie aficionados has to offer.  I am so glad that we did because my favorite convention activity turned out to be room shopping!  There's something especially thrilling about hunting for Barbie dolls, accessories, fashions and diorama pieces on several hotel floors where sellers leave their rooms open for conventioneers to enter and browse their staggering displays of merchandise.  I was not expecting the scale at which this took place. 

Anyway, there were so many wonderful sights, sounds and people throughout the convention week that just the thought of writing about the entire experience is exhausting. Instead of writing a novella, I'll simply share a little photo gallery with some captions.

The "Red, White, Blue and Pink" fashion show where participants modeled human scale Barbie® fashions from every era was a big hit and deserves its own photo gallery:

Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to our table hostess, Julia Bush, and our tablemates Elizabeth, Allison, Barb, Lisa, Debbie, Kim and Kathleen. Thank you for making this convention so fun!  I hope to see everyone again at the 2015 convention in Arlington, Virginia. 

xoxo
J

I'm quite excited about this year's Barbie® Fashion Model Collection.  For 2014, the Silkstone doll collection will have an Italian high fashion theme.  Barbie® is no stranger to the runways of the world's fashion capitals, so having Milan as the next source of fashion inspiration is a brilliant concept. 

So far, only Fiorella™ Barbie® doll (shown here) has been officially released. Members of the Barbie® Fan Club have been treated to sneak peeks of several upcoming dolls, including another glamorous Silkstone doll called Dulcissima™.  You can catch a glimpse of her in the teaser video below, which features the storyline created for Fiorella™.

In honor of the Swimsuit Issue's 50th Anniversary, Barbie® doll will be joining the ranks of their legendary cover models in a special editorial shoot with famed photographer Walter Iooss Jr.

Like many of the trailblazing cover models in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue, Barbie® made her public debut wearing a swimsuit--a black-and-white striped maillot.  From being a "teenage fashion model", Barbie® has embarked on more than 150 careers, and has reached the status of global icon.

As an anniversary tribute, Barbie® is issuing a collector Sports Illustrated™ Barbie® Doll, which will be available exclusively on Target.com.

You can also watch behind-the-scenes footage of Barbie®'s photo shoot (below), and join the conversation on social media with #Unapologetic.

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!

Confession: I have always had a thing for vampires.  

When I was eleven years old, I watched and re-watched Interview with the Vampire--the film adaptation of the Anne Rice novel--a few dozen times. I subsequently borrowed copies of Ms. Rice's Vampire Chronicles and devoured those books about the glamorous, bloodthirsty immortal beings that are now a staple of horror and pop culture. Buffy, Twilight, and Vampire Diaries, anyone? 

Fast forward nearly two decades later, and I am now an avid watcher of the HBO series True Blood.  Perhaps I'll pick up the Charlaine Harris books, too.  I am no longer obsessed with vampires, but they still hold some fascination. This may explain why I was drawn to Haunted Beauty Vampire™ Barbie® doll even though my collection is not focused on fantasy dolls. In fact, I opted not to purchase last year's Ghost™ Barbie®--the first doll in the Haunted Beauty series by designer Bill Greening.

Is it hot in here, or is it Barbie®?! The reigning queen of fashion dolls solidifies her style icon status in her latest incarnation--decked in head-to-toe designer duds.  Released this past September, Hervé Léger by Max Azria Barbie® Doll did not make it to my doorstep until October 25th, but this stunning beauty was worth the wait.

Not your child's plaything

Retailing at $150 USD (and higher in secondary markets), this Gold Label Barbie® Collector doll is a far cry from the loud, saturated pink, glittery, and cheaply mass produced aesthetic of the contemporary Barbie® dolls for children that line shelves at toy stores and other big box retailers.  

There have been complaints about the new minimalist Barbie® Collector boxes, which I love, but this Hervé box hits the sweet spot for everyone.  It doesn't make the doll look like a child's plaything, but it's not too stark or plain.  The black-and-white backdrop of a pack of photographers with flash bulbs going off is a clever nod to the many celebrities who favor the signature Hervé Léger bandage dress, which flatters a woman's sensuous curves.