March 9th is the official Barbie birthday. This year it is her 55th anniversary. So what better way to take part into the celebrations than photographing one of the best Barbie dolls Mattel has released: the Hervé Léger Barbie. I had written all about the doll and the release in this post, so here I am just going to post a selection of photos I took of her and comment on the actual doll.
The quality of the doll dresses is incredible. Of course having them made by a fashion house instead of Mattel played a major part and it shows. Top notch craftsmanship, flawless outfits, amazing standards of quality of fabric and stitching. The brand said they used their original yarns and machines to make theme and I do believe them after having seen them with my own eyes.
The "leather" corset that is worn over the dress has a nice functioning mini zip at the back so that one can take it off without problem. It is an almost faithful reproduction of the ones the brand showed in their fashion show.
The boots are made of plastic but they have nice detail and are made very well. They slide of the feet without too much effort but one has to be careful to not tear them apart.
The clutch that comes with this outfit is a hard-edged, "metal and leather" design, edgy and modern. It is not functioning and has no way to be fastened to the doll's hands. The stiff Model Muse body without joints does not help either.
Here is the dress without the corset. The doll is wearing the second pair of boots that comes in the gift-set, ribbed ankle boots.
Both dresses have the brand's label sewn in on the inside. Great detail and very realistic too.
The second dress is a black and white short one, with wide shoulder to chest bands that stop right under the breasts. It is as well made as the other one and looks amazing too.
The one big flaw of this gift set is of course the doll's body. Without joints, it quickly becomes really boring as it has a very limited ability for posing. It may show off the dress nicely in the box but there are many people, like me, who like to pose and display their dolls outside of the box. I am probably going to rebody this one.
The doll's face is perfection. She looks gorgeous and reminds me a lot of the supermodel Angela Lindvall. Her hair is intricately braided and has highlights woven in. It messes up easily but it also can be tamed without any problems. She definitely deserves a better, articulated body.
The bag for this outfit is a large, "crocodile leather" concoction, a bit cumbersome to hold, definitely not suited for un-articulated dolls. Wonder how a real human would carry such a bag. Below you can see all the accessories of the gift-set.
For me, this is the direction that the collectors-only Barbie dolls should take. Modern, edgy fashions and doll design, without the cutesy and frothy stuff that is associated with the brand. But I am sure I am a minority in voicing this. Happy 55th birthday Barbie!
