So I stumbled upon this article from the Dailymail:
Party's over, Barbie! Meet the woman whose Harajuku-inspired dolls are set to shake up the toy industryhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3609999/Madeleine-Hunter-invented-Harajuku-inspired-Shibajuku-Girls-dolls-set-rival-Barbie.html
To be honest, these Shibajuku Girls remind me of other big- and round-headed dolls like Pullip, Blythe, La Dee Da, and Cutie Pops. I don't think they are in direct competition with Barbie at all because she's on a different league.
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| Shibajuku Girls |
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| Cutie Pops |
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| La Dee Da |
'I've made the doll large than any doll on the shelf. It's 13 inches and the standard doll size is 11 and a half inches,' Ms Hunter said.There hasn't really been a pretty doll. Well what do Ever After High dolls look like to her? A bunch of ogres? Or those Bratz, Disney Descendants dolls, Disney Star Darlings, and Moxie Girlz, are they not pretty dolls?
'I also went back to that really natural and pretty face, I know there are a lot of monster dolls and vampires are a huge trend, but since Barbie there hasn't really been a pretty doll.'
In terms of height, DC Super Hero Girls are quite the same. They're pretty looking dolls, too. And has she not seen Gooliope Jellington or those three frightfully tall ghouls dolls, or Madeline Hatter in her giant greasy hair glory? They're all really tall with bulbous head.
I think the best thing about Shibajuku Girls dolls would have to be the knee-high cat socks. I'm not even fascinated by their face or those inset glass eyes.
The Shibajuku Girls dolls just became available at my local WalMart. They are nicely priced, and since my WalMart doesn't sell Ever After High or Monster High anymore, I decided to see what these girls are all about. I'm an amateur customizer, so these dolls looked interesting for something new for me to play with a dress up, as well as customize. I plan on taking the eyes out and replacing them with BJD eyes, as well as rerooting the hair (which I've heard is a terrible Nylon blend with a lot of product in it). I bought two, but have yet to open them yet. :)
ReplyDeleteMonster High is disappearing from my local toy stores as well, what's up with that??!
DeleteI like the outfits on the Shibajuku Girls. They look really fun. And I think there's a new batch of dolls from this line and they look promising!