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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion

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Disney Dolls Appreciation Discussion
disneycrazee said:
Those are beautiful porcelain dolls! I didn't even know they existed.

I just snagged both Tiana Ashton Drake dolls for an awesome deal on the bay...can't wait until they arrive!!!
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Oooo! Congratulations! If possible, please post pics later! I am very interested to see the Ashton Drake dolls apart from the promo pictures.
 
It's that time again! So of course, I have to make reviews for the Designer Villains dolls to go with my reviews of last year's Designer Princess dolls. However, this year, I am going to do it a bit differently. Since I did put in a pre-order for the set, I will not see most of the dolls until that arrives around mid-October, so I will only review dolls as I actually get them. And instead of using stock photos, I will post my own pictures for your viewing pleasure. I passed up on getting a second Designer Maleficent, mostly because I do not like what they did with her hair, and so one of her is enough. This past weekend, I went to my local Disney Store to finally see the dolls in person. My mom went with me, and we spent a few minutes looking the remaining 5 that were on display (Maleficent had already been taken off the floor display). My mom made a rather casual comment that she would not mind having a Designer Queen Grimhilde, because the doll reminds us of Regina (a.k.a. the Evil Queen) in the ABC Prime Time Drama Once Upon A Time. So of course, I had to get one for my mom.

So today, I dropped by my local Disney Store at around 12:30 pm to put my name into the potential random drawing (apparently at that store last week, the store had 23 Designer Maleficent dolls, but less than 23 people showed up to buy her, so no lottery was needed). Today, there were 23 dolls, but 26 people had cast their bid to get one. So at 1:10 pm, the CMs started to draw the names out of the cauldron. I was the (lucky) thirteenth name called, which I find rather amusing. So without further ado, here's Designer Queen Grimhilde:

Designer Queen Grimhilde (a.k.a. Evil Queen) - 09/17/2012

Queen Grimhilde, the fairest in the land until Snow White takes the title is actually a real knockout of a Designer doll, despite my original thoughts about her. Since this line is not about staying faithful to the film designs, we can ignore most of the critiques I have in that area. She exudes the spirit of Queen Grimhilde rather well, as she looks every bit the proud, vain, regal queen that she is.

Starting with her face, probably my biggest complaints and compliments about Designer Queen Grimhilde are here. Her green eyes are marvelously painted to portray the constant look of disdain she has for the rest of the world that is only good for praising her beauty. Disney did well to give her these smouldering lidded eyes that stare forward, as if she were studying her own beauty in the Magic Mirror. Her eye makeup is in shades of pale plum and dark gray, giving her that smokey eye. Interestingly, she is the only Designer Villain who received what I call the antenna eyelashes that plagued so many of the Designer Princess dolls. They actually work very well for Designer Queen Grimhilde, perhaps because all of her eyelashes are longer and more curled than any of the Designer Princesses, and the overall look is not distracting. Her eyebrows look appropriately evil with their dramatic swooping arches. Okay... so what do I not like? Her lips combined with the head sculpt's mouth area. Though it is true that Queen Grimhilde's full lips do naturally have a downward turn at the corners (see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), here, she looks like she just smelled something bad. I finally pinpointed what is causing that, because her lips by themselves would have been fine. The actual culprits are the "laugh lines" that are framing her mouth along with her strong chin. All together, it is making that unattractive sneer. That said, it looks more pronounced when you look at her from certain angles, one of which unfortunately is when you look at her face head-on. It is definitely a look that does give this doll character, and I think one could make some good stories as to why she is making this face, but I personally do not like it so much.

Designer Queen Grimhilde's hair is nicely put into an updo that looks very mature, neat, and well-coiffed. I can best describe it as two layers of large curls pinned together into an updo. Disney has stiffened her hair to prevent the style from loosening and losing its shape. Since they took away her medieval hood, which I always thought was one of the most signature elements of an Evil Queen look, they gave her a widow's peak to mimic the look that her hood did in the film. Clever. The only time we ever see Queen Grimhilde's hair in the film is when she is turning into her hag form, so we know that she has long hair, but who knows how she styled it under that hood! This hairdo for her has grown on me since the first promo pics were released.

Her accessories are nicely done. Her crown is a fair replica of the crown she wears in the film, and they have added five tiny gems at each point of the crown. Her gold, dangling earrings are just like the way they look in the design sketch.. Originally, I was afraid that her earrings were going to be stiff pieces, and in one of the stock photos, they were pressed up against her jawline. I am pleased to say that you can pull them away from her face to hang more naturally. Her jeweled belt is a "wow" piece. It is comprised of rows of faux diamond chains that encircle her hips to meet in the center, which has a large faux ruby. The chain ends then hang down, also decked out in faux diamonds, and end in metal tassels. I think that this was a clever way of changing her braided belt from the film into an expensive-looking piece of eye-catching jewelry for the Designer doll. She has dark purple high-heeled shoes.

Now for her gown, which is supposed to be the focal point of the whole project. Designer Queen Grimhilde wears a sleeveless mermaid-tail gown with a plunging neckline in a rich royal purple velvet. She has dark purple satin opera gloves and a voluminous black velvet cloak lined in red satin. Her trademark white evil queen collar is attached to her gown. My opinion is that it is not bad, but I would have tweaked a few things with it. First, I would have given her a dress that covered her from neck to feet, with a nice Mandarin collar at the neckline. Considering that Queen Grimhilde is one of the most covered up Disney villains of all time, it seems a bit weird to see her with so much skin showing, least of all her bosom. Then, I would have attached the white collar to the cloak, as it is in the film, but that's just my preference. Since I would never take her cloak off anyway, I guess that does not matter so much. The plunging neckline just seems out of character for me. Oh, on a side note, the satin opera gloves that half of the Designer Villains have are not as fitted as the stretch tricot opera gloves that the Designer Princesses have. That has everything to do with the material, as satin is a very unforgiving material. They really look like mittens now, and tend to look a bit baggy around the wrist area.

Overall, I do like Designer Queen Grimhilde a lot more than I thought I would. In my original ranking of the six dolls, I had placed her near the bottom, but I think she has moved up a spot or two. And I can finally say that I did go to the DS retail store and managed to return home with a Designer doll. All of my Designer Princess dolls were bought online at DS.com from product launch through Dollmageddon last year.



Designer Queen Grimhilde - #3853/13,000 - 01


Designer Queen Grimhilde - #3853/13,000 - 07


Designer Queen Grimhilde - #3853/13,000 - 03


Designer Queen Grimhilde - #3853/13,000 - 05


Designer Queen Grimhilde - #3853/13,000 - 04


Designer Queen Grimhilde - #3853/13,000 - 06


Designer Queen Grimhilde - #3853/13,000 - 02
 
I got her today . I got number 860 of 13,000 . I think she is beautiful . I'm not into Villians, but I really like her . I could have gotten Maleficent yesterday when I picked her up for Alexa, but I decided to wait until today .
 
Wow! Thanks for sharing Alan. She is much more impressive in your photos than the stock photos. She is actually really beautiful. Kind of makes me want to get her...but I have to remain picky about which ones I buy...too many dolls lately! ahhhh
 
disneycrazee said:
Wow! Thanks for sharing Alan. She is much more impressive in your photos than the stock photos. She is actually really beautiful. Kind of makes me want to get her...but I have to remain picky about which ones I buy...too many dolls lately! ahhhh
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I know the feeling, Kristin! Disney, alone, has been dropping so many dolls this year on us, plus I was playing catch up on the 17" LE dolls earlier this year. I still don't have a LE Tiana or LE Belle, and I don't think I ever will get them with the current eBay pricing being what it is. I suppose I can see that as a good sign that I should be more selective with which ones I get from that line, especially since they are so big. The Designer Villains dolls were unfortunately a no-brainer for me to get the whole set, because along with the Disney princesses, the villains are right up there in my fan book!
 
Love your review and pictures, Shivatopia!! I have to say I wasn't impressed with the doll at all at first glance but your pictures really show her off! I really love how the artwork and dolls for this series is reminiscent of OUAT ^.^

Thanks for sharing!
 
@Shivatopia Could you please tell us your Designer Villains Ranking? . My favorites turn out to be Maleficent, Gothel and Ursula. Cruella has a nice face, but I didn't really liked how her suposed White fancy coat turned out to be somewhat yellowish. Queen of Hearts actually looked amazing in the Sketch Drawing image, but didn't really like how it translated into the doll, I really didn't like the Red velvet material they used for her dress, and the face is somewhat annoying IMO. I liked Queen Grimhilde after watching your pictures, she looks quite nice. And congrats at getting her at the store, it must be so nerve wracking having to wait for your name to be pulled on the raffles. :O
 
Thank you for posting your insightful comments and photos , Shivatopia. Your attention to the details made me like her even more, I did not realize the belt had faux diamond accents, it looked plain gold to me. I pre-ordered too and can't want to get them now. I noticed that Ashton Drake started a new series of fashion dolls starting with the Evil Queen for villains and Snow White for princesses. They don't say the size or what they are made of, but usually AD has good quality. The problem with AD is that they have started Disney series and then discontinued. The Tiana(s) by Integrity designed by Jason Wu that were available through AD were supposed to be a high end princess series but they discontinued due to lack of sales, but they were $150 each and I don't think Tiana was a big seller being a brand new princess at the time of issue. That was a shame because I have the Tiana in blue and she is the best 12 inch doll ever. Then they offered the 17 inch BJD Princesses but only issued Snow White, Cinderella & Ariel. I believe those might be discontinued as well because Belle was supposed to be next but they have not issued anything in 2 years. So anyway, I hope this new line takes hold because it could be interesting given they may offer some villains that Disney Store may not make.

http://www.ashtondrake.com/products/301880001_.html
http://www.ashtondrake.com/products...tml?N=9047+9040+9044+9037+9038+9037+9038+9037
 
Thanks all! I do my best to lay it all out in terms of how I really feel about the dolls, both good and "what could be better." Now if only there were a way to make a career out of that...! hahaha...

Story, I also like that aspects of OUAT subtley leak out into this collection in the sense that they both are taking these iconic characters and fitting them into a more modern form. One does wonder how much Lana Parilla's Regina did influence the final version of Designer Queen Grimhilde, because I totally see her in this doll. Not a bad legacy at all! I wonder if she is going to get one of these for herself? I still think I would like to see the Designer Maleficent doll's hair styled the same way they styled Kristin Bauer van Straten's hair in OUAT (but not blonde).

Alex555, it was very nerve-wracking to go through the random name selection process. I don't want to do that again. Hmmmm... My rankings for the dolls have been fluctuating a lot recently. Starting with the design sketches only, I ranked them: Cruella de Vil, The Queen of Hearts, Mother Gothel, Queen Grimhilde, Maleficent, and then Ursula. Ursula ended up last at that point, because I was really initially turned off by them making her skinny, but I did think her gown was good.

Pongo, thanks for sharing the Ashton Drake Queen Grimhilde and Snow White dolls! I love their clothes, but unfortunately I am not too fond of their base dolls. From Ashton Drake, the Tiana dolls look good, but otherwise, the base dolls that they use are not so appealing to me for some reason. it's too bad they don't sell just the outfits.

With the promo pictures of the dolls thrown in, my ranking was initially: Cruella de Vil, Mother Gothel, The Queen of Hearts, Ursula/Queen Grimhilde (tied), and then Maleficent. I really hate what they did with Maleficent's hair horns, and it only got worse when it was revealed that they did a sloppy job of finishing up the hair ends with those hair nubs. So even though she has a good outfit for the most part and a very nice face, the hair ruined the overall look for me. The promo pictures of Queen Grimhilde put her near the bottom (all of the promo pictures highlight her "I smelled someting bad" expression). The color of Cruella de Vil's coat does not bother me at all, because her coat should be an off-white--all of Disney's Classic Cruella merchandise use a yellowish-cream color for her coat, and the Designer doll's coat matches that. I also mentally justify the "yellowing" as a consequence of all of her smoking!

After seeing the dolls in person, my current ranking is: Cruella De Vil, Mother Gothel/Queen Grimhilde (tied), Ursula, and then The Queen of Hearts/Maleficent (tied). As you can see, things have changed a bit. Queen Grimhilde moved up, as did Ursula. The Queen of Hearts moved way down on the list, despite having one of the prettier designs. Having seen the Designer Ursula doll in person, I got past her "skinny-ness" and weighed in on her gown, face, and styling. They are all very much Ursula. I actually envision her now at the point in the film when she is transforming into her Vanessa form, it's only a split second in the film, but it works for me. The Queen of Hearts fell in my rankings for three reasons: the execution and fit of her gown (it looks too bulky on her), the insistence that they give her those heart-shaped painted lips, and the spaced out look in her eyes. The doll just does not live up to the design sketch. I think there are two problem areas for the gown: 1) the tulle collar should have been a more streamlined collar made with gossamer-thin white lace ruffles, and 2) the layers of ruffles of the skirt should not have started so high up near the waistline of the skirt so that the red velvet side panels could lay flatter on her hips. Red velvet layered over stiff ruffles makes for a very bulky look. Sadly, for me, she is the "Designer Jasmine" of the collection: she had so much potential with the design sketch, but the execution of the actual doll failed her.

I will give my final rankings when I photograph and review each one in October.
 

Thanks for sharing the links to these Ashton Drake dolls, Pongo! I love the outfits! They look very well made and movie-accurate. Unfortunatley I am not too fond of the base dolls. It's too bad that they don't sell the outfits seperately.
 
And for a few fun pictures, here is my Classic Snow White doll with... a Gooseberry Pie! We always see Snow White with an apple or a blue bird, but one scene that I really love from the film is when she is making a gooseberry pie with her animal friends for Grumpy, just before Queen Grimhilde appears at the cottage in her haggy form. I'll be honest, it's because of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that I actually went seeking gooseberries, which are not common in my area at all. I've settled for gooseberry preserves that my mom sent to me from Seattle when she was visiting our relatives, and Ikea also sells a gooseberry preserve. Other than that, I can order canned gooseberries online, but it's by the case and kind of pricey. I do have a recipe for gooseberry pie from a Disney cookbook that I want to try someday.

Anyway, since this is an appreciation thread, I want to give a big thank you to DRJ1828 for providing me with this Classic Snow White doll (among several other dolls), as she is my favorite of the Disney Store play dolls. Thank you so much, DRJ1828! I did make a muslin petticoat for Snow White, which really makes her dress look fuller and also effectively blocks the semi-sheer qualities of the pale yellow satin. Her skirt was also ironed out to remove those pesky wrinkles that were made from the factory packaging. The pie is a Mattel Barbie accessory, but since Barbie is in the same scale, it works! I do plan on making a cloak for Snow White, based on the one in the film, but I have not gone fabric shopping for that yet. Someday...!






 
Ashton Drake Tiana dolls

First of all...I apologize ahead of time for this massive post... My Tiana dolls arrived today and they are absolutely gorgeous! I cannot stop looking at them.




I'm going to start out with Tiana in her blue dress. I was most excited for this one because this is the only collector Tiana doll (as far as I know) that showcases her in blue. The base doll is very pretty with subtle lashes, wonderful facial features, jointed wrists, and painted toenails! The gloves are nice and thin so they don't appear too bulky. The bodice is covered in sequins, her skirt is voluminous, and the dress even has a tiny functional zipper! Seemingly simple at a glance, but when carefully looked over, it's clear that the details are impeccable.









Next is Tiana in her lilypad wedding dress. It may be viewed as simpler and toned-down compared to the Disney Store's LE 17" doll, but she is beautiful nonetheless. Perhaps because I was already in this mindset, I was most pleasantly surprised by how much prettier she is in person. Her accessories are most impressive - her necklace is made up of chain and jewels and her tiara is made up of a sturdy material (I was expecting a really lightweight plastic, but was amazed that it had a bit of weight to it). The "petals" of the skirt are embroidered with gold thread and the underskirt consists of two layers of a delicate, soft, crinkled tulle. All I can say is that these dolls surpassed my expectations. I just wish that Disney's Designer Princesses could have been handled with the same level of detail here. If they had, they would have been beyond amazing.










 
Awesome pics, Kristin! The Ashton Drake Tiana dolls look like real-life versions of the animated character. It's like one could actually meet her, say at a Disney Park. Thanks for the fabulous pics! It's great to finally see both A.D. Tiana dolls really showcased!
 
Thanks Alan!!! I still can't believe I own them. lol And yes, they do look like real-life versions of her! They definitely did not disappoint.
 
disneycrazee said:
Thanks Alan!!! I still can't believe I own them. lol And yes, they do look like real-life versions of her! They definitely did not disappoint.
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I agree the dolls are gorgeous. That series had so much potential. I emailed Integrity a few times and they said it is discontinued, just after issuing only those dolls. I wish they had tried Rapunzel to see if they could get a following but maybe the price point at $150 was too high.
I also know that Disney is very difficult to deal with on licensing , the Tonner dolls are always waiting months, sometimes years for approval, yet they let Mattel put out a lot of subpar product.
 

That's such a shame. I guess fortunately for me, but unfortunately for the series, they started with Tiana. She's just not popular enough, and like you said before, she was a new princess at the time, which made it even more difficult. And I also have to agree that the price point is why I did not purchase immediately. I knew I wanted both dolls, but $300 just seemed a little steep (though I guess not when you consider some of the going prices for certain Disney dolls...*coughcough*LE Snow White*coughcough* :lol. Rapunzel would have been a good idea, given her popularity. Too bad they didn't give it a try. I'm just sad because had they been able to do all of the princesses at this level, they would have truly been standouts. Oh well...I guess the next dolls I'm going after will be the remaining Tianas:

-Tonner (anyone have any of these and can vouch for the price point?)
-Precious Moments (she's so adorable!)
-Madame Alexander
-Marie Osmond (this is my least favorite, but since I collect Tiana, I still want to add her to my collection)
-??? Anyone know of any other Tiana dolls I need to be aware of?
 

You should check the retailers page on Tonner's site and check each retailer's website. I am sure there are a few around. I have seen her heavily discounted. Continue to check Ebay. I have her and she is beautiful. I also noted on Angelic Dreamz they have both of the Integrity Tianas for $75 each. I have the blue gown doll already and cannot afford any more right now. I am watching for the DS releases , including the villains, it is like almost $1000 starting with Cinderella, if the anticipated ones do turn up. And I am sure they will have some holiday/year end surprises as well. This has been a good year for dolls, bad year for wallets.
One thing I noticed on DS Facebook is that people have been asking for regular play dolls of the villains and DS has been saying stay tuned or something like that. Usually when someone asks for something obscure that is probably never going to be made they will say, we will pass that idea along to our team or whatever. So I am hoping for regular 12 inch villains too. So long overdue.
 
From Shivotopia :"And for a few fun pictures, here is my Classic Snow White doll with... a Gooseberry Pie! We always see Snow White with an apple or a blue bird, but one scene that I really love from the film is when she is making a gooseberry pie with her animal friends for Grumpy, just before Queen Grimhilde appears at the cottage in her haggy form. I'll be honest, it's because of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that I actually went seeking gooseberries, which are not common in my area at all. I've settled for gooseberry preserves that my mom sent to me from Seattle when she was visiting our relatives, and Ikea also sells a gooseberry preserve. Other than that, I can order canned gooseberries online, but it's by the case and kind of pricey. I do have a recipe for gooseberry pie from a Disney cookbook that I want to try someday.



Snow holding the pie is so cute. She looks so natural. Maybe we should have a diorama thread soon, although I am not organized to do them yet but have a few ideas. (Sorry I could not figure out how to quote without reposting your photos)
 
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I have the Ashton Drake Tiana in the blue gown as well, has been one of my favourites for past couple of years. They did make an Ariel last year in the pink gown but her face looked more like the current cheap mattel mould! So disappointing.
Though their Evil Queen coming out looks much better!
 
Limited Edition Cinderella Collector doll review

Here is my review of the LE 17" Cinderella doll released by the Disney Store on October 2nd, 2012.

This is my very first review here and my very first Disney doll since I was younger and my first LE doll in this series. Like most of the other main princess dolls in this series this doll is limited edition of 5,000. This doll was made available for pre-order in stores and online on July 30th, 2012. I pre-ordered my doll online on August 29th, 2012. She sold out about a week later on September 5th. I received my Cinderella doll on Tuesday October 2nd. My doll is numbered 2,442 of 5,000.

She is absolutely gorgeous. Her gown is exquisite with all of the crystals cascading downwards. Her hair is styled in a very fancy up-do with a crystal hair clip and a blue headband adorned with more crystals. She wears a ebony beaded choker necklace around her neck. I think that this necklace is lovely contrary to popular belief (from what I've heard). She has rhinestone studded opera gloves also and a curl hanging on the right side of her face ( my left, doll's right ).

The thing I was most excited about when acquiring this doll was her famous glass-slippers. However, once I opened the box and peeled away her skirt, I saw that one of her slippers had been stained by the metal rod on the display stand. I'm not sure how to remove the stain, some have recommended non-acetone nail polish remover, but I will wait and see if the Disney Store will offer replacement slippers first. I was so disappointed when I saw the slipper. These slippers also do not have the glass heart on them as they did in the film. Seeing as the slippers are such an important part of her story, I am saddened to see this happen especially with a $100 collector's item.

IMG_6172 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr

All in all I love this Cinderella doll and would recommend her especially if the slipper issue can easily be resolved. I haven't seen any of the other LE dolls from this line in person to compare her to, but I will say that I still think that Snow White is the fairest as far as these dolls are concerned, but I do think this doll is well made ( apart from the stand and slippers), and is up there with Wedding Rapunzel from the pictures I've seen. I do wish that she could have been given a prop, like say Gus Gus, or Jaq the mice. Since she was not given a prop, I took her un-damaged slipper and arranged it in her hand for display.I feel that this way this slipper won't get damaged and it does look nice this way.

I am so glad I ordered her despite the Slipper incident.


Here are some of my pictures of my LE Cinderella:



oct.3.2012 072 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr





oct.3.2012 071 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr





oct.3.2012 070 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr
Can you see all of the hidden mickeys on her dress?



A dream is a wish... by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr



If the shoe fits.. by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr



oct.3.2012 039 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr


and one two more...



oct.3.2012 043 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr



oct.3.2012 042 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr



IMG_6160 by Lost Princess of Atlantica, on Flickr

There are more photos on my Flickr. Here is the link to my page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostprincessofatlantica/
 
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Nice review & pics, disneygirl333! I like that you took her unsoiled slipper and put it in her hand. It looks great! And she really needed a hand prop. I'll post my pics and a mini-review in a bit (just my thoughts about the final product).
 
Here are a few pics of my LE Cinderella doll. I received doll #0038/5000 via UPS today. disneygirl333 has already presented a great review of this doll, so I'll just keep this to comments on what I like about LE Cinderella and also what I would have done differently.

First: a few words about whatever is going on in the factory... Like several other people here on DPF, my doll's box was a bit dinged up sometime before it was placed inside the shipper box. When I took my doll out of the shipper box, there is a crease on the right hand side a little more than halfway down, which distorts the rectangular shape of the box. Worse still is that the cellophane window was also creased. These things cannot be fixed. Bad, bad factory workers, Disney Store! They need to be more careful with these collectible items.

LE Cinderella is without doubt a very beautiful doll. She's totally worth the $99.50 price tag and sparkles brilliantly with all of the gemstones on her gown and gloves. Unfortunately, when I look like her, she reminds me more of a Disney Parks Cinderella meet-and-greet character rather than the Cinderella we know from the film.

I like her eyes and eyelashes, as they carry a very sweet and pure look to them. Her open mouth smile is okay, but the pale pink lipstick is not so good. Not only does the muted color make her face look a bit plain, but it makes her teeth look a bit more pronounced than they really are. Referencing the film, Cinderella had more of a coral colored lipstick. I think that would have made her face pop a bit more.

Her hair is interesting. This is a definite interpretive re-imagining of her updo. It's basically a bun surrounded by two layers of curls. On my doll, I think the curls ended up a bit looser than they were intended to be, so her updo looks a bit big. One curl in the back actually lost its shape and needs to be reset (without deboxing her, who knows how I can do that), but luckily it's only visible from the side view of the box. Her side-swept bangs and that side curl are elements of the "new look" Cinderella. I am not a huge fan of that, but I think I can live with the bangs. The side curl... well, my original plan was to thread it up through her headband and try to hide it in her updo. Unfortunately, her headband is tightly secured to her head, so that is another project that will take some work to do. But luckily, the curl can be swept back away from her face to be less obtrusive. Since her head is turned to that side, it's even easier to ignore.

As sparkly and pretty as her dress is, it lacks any "wow" detail features for me to do any focus photographs (like LE Snow White's cloak and collar or LE Rapunzel's bodice, sleeves, and skirt borders). LE Cinderella's gown is best admired when seen as a whole. I don't know if it's just my doll, but the neckline and the sleeves are maybe just a bit too sexy for Cinderella. In particular, the sleeves are not only very fitted, they are rather daringly slung off-the-shoulder. I know I would have preferred the traditional poofy Cinderella sleeves. As simple as her skirt looks, it is actually made of several layers of fabric: from the outside-in, she has a layer of sheer organza decorated with gemstones, two layers of blue tulle, and then the base skirt of blue satin. The satin could use some ironing, if I ever debox her. Personally, I am not a fan of the organza layer's tendency to appear longer than the length of the rest of the dress, but I suppose it's all a matter of taste.

Her jewelry is well-made, but she would have looked just as beautiful if they had simplified them. I think she would have looked better with a simple black ribbon choker, even though the beaded necklace looks a lot better here than the version on the Designer Cinderella doll. The jeweled hair piece is nicely made and I like that you are able to adjust it into different positions as you please. I agree that the inclusion of one of her mouse friends would have been nice, but she's fine without, as well.

Overall, I do like LE Cinderella a lot, but she falls short of being as impressive to me as LE Snow White, LE Rapunzel, or LE Wedding Rapunzel. With a few adjustments, she could have been at that same level. I'm still very happy I got one and she is going to be proudly displayed as a part of my ever-growing collection.


Cinderella 0038 - 01 by Shivatopia, on Flickr


Cinderella 0038 - 02 by Shivatopia, on Flickr


Cinderella 0038 - 03 by Shivatopia, on Flickr
Cinderella 0038 - 07 by Shivatopia, on Flickr


Cinderella 0038 - 08 by Shivatopia, on Flickr
 
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